• ca. 250 A.D. — martyrdom of Albina at Formiae

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LEGENDA
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Remains of ancient king’s temple dedicated to sun god discovered in Egypt – CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ancient-kings-temple-dedicated-sun-god-discovered-egypt/

Roman-era marble bathtub, male statue unearthed at ancient Ephesus in Turkish Aegean region
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkiye/roman-era-marble-bathtub-male-statue-unearthed-at-ancient-ephesus-in-turkish-aegean-region/3772011

Hanukkah and Apamea: how Jews thrived under Hellenistic rule
https://www.ynetnews.com/magazine/article/r1hx5dpf11e

Italy arrests dozens for robbing archaeological sites | The Jerusalem Post
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-880241

Among the founders of the city of Valencia were the Italic tribe of the Peligni, who lived in the heart of the Apennines, researchers reveal

Among the founders of the city of Valencia were the Italic tribe of the Peligni, who lived in the heart of the Apennines, researchers reveal

Rare oil lamp, Second Temple stylus found in Jerusalem | The Jerusalem Post
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-880345

Rare Discovery: Menorah Amulet From Byzantine Period Found in Jerusalem – Archaeology
https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/2025-12-15/ty-article/menorah-amulet-from-byzantine-time-found-in-ancient-jerusalem/0000019b-2137-d0fb-a9df-6fff06e80000

Magna Roman Fort reports amazing year of discoveries in Northumberland | Hexham Courant
https://www.hexham-courant.co.uk/news/25684978.magna-roman-fort-reports-amazing-year-discoveries-northumberland/

Roman urbanism was bad for Brits health – University of Reading
https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Research-News/Roman-urbanism-was-bad-for-Brits-health

The Blogs: Masada: New Evidence | David Ramati | The Times of Israel
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/masada-new-evidence/

‘This has re-written our understanding of Roman concrete manufacture’: Abandoned Pompeii worksite reveal how self-healing concrete was made | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/this-has-re-written-our-understanding-of-roman-concrete-manufacture-abandoned-pompeii-worksite-reveal-how-self-healing-concrete-was-made

Magdala stone: 2,000-year-old carving from Jerusalem is world’s oldest known depiction of a menorah | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/magdala-stone-2-000-year-old-carving-from-jerusalem-is-worlds-oldest-known-depiction-of-a-menorah

Spencer Alley: Dieux
https://spenceralley.blogspot.com/2025/12/dieux_01969642977.html

Looting Matters: A head of Hermes from a genuinely old Italian collection
https://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2025/12/a-head-of-hermes-from-genuinely-old.html

Looting Matters: Further returns to Italy from the San Antonio Museum of Art
https://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2025/12/further-returns-to-italy-from-san.html

Weekly Varia no. 160, 12/14/25 – Noodlings

Weekly Varia no. 160, 12/14/25

On My Love of the Classics – CANE
https://caneweb.org/on-my-love-of-the-classics/

Laudator Temporis Acti: Ceremonial Defecation
https://laudatortemporisacti.blogspot.com/2025/12/ceremonial-defecation.html

Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: Yet Another British Museum Theft
https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2025/12/yet-another-british-museum-theft.html

Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: Ukrainian Border Guards Foil Coin Smuggling to Bulgaria
https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2025/12/ukrainian-border-guards-foil-coin.html

Give Helen Back! Trojan Politics in Iliad 7 – SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE

Give Helen Back! Trojan Politics in Iliad 7

PaleoJudaica.com: Archaeological evidence for a Maccabean battle?
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/archaeological-evidence-for-maccabean.html

PaleoJudaica.com: The “degraded Hasmonean coins”
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-degraded-hasmonean-coins.html

PaleoJudaica.com: Byzantine-era menorah amulet excavated near Temple Mount
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/byzantine-era-menorah-amulet-excavated.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Women’s Healthcare in Ancient Mesopotamia in the First Millennium BCE: An Edition of the Textual Sources
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/womens-healthcare-in-ancient.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Neo-Sumerian barley allotment rolls from the Umma region
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/neo-sumerian-barley-allotment-rolls.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Studies in Sumerian Civilization. Selected writings of Miguel Civil
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/studies-in-sumerian-civilization.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: «Sentido de un empeño». Homenatge a Gregorio del Olmo Lete
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/sentido-de-un-empeno-homenatge-gregorio.html

The Stoic cosmos: conflagration, cosmogony, and recurrence in early Stoicism – Bryn Mawr Classical Review
https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2025/2025.12.18/

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AUDIENDA
===========================================================
Ancient History Hound: Exploring Place in Regal Rome (Part 1).
https://ancientblogger.libsyn.com/exploring-place-in-regal-rome-part-1

All I Want for Chanukah is a New Hasmonean Wall in Jerusalem, or, Shameless Holiday Tie In Edition | This Week in the Ancient Near East
https://thisweekintheancientneareast.podbean.com/e/all-i-want-for-chanukah-is-a-new-hasmonean-wall-in-jerusalem-or-shameless-holiday-tie-in-edition/

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VIDENDA
===========================================================
(286) Greece before the Acropolis – YouTube

• Consualia — a festival in honour of Consus which likely involved a similar celebration held on August 21 (i.e. horse races, chariot races, and garlanding of the steeds)
• 337 B.C. — death of Timoleon (according to one reckoning)
• 215 B.C. — assassination of Hieronymus, one of the tyrants of Syracuse (by one reckoning)
• 19 B.C. — dedication of the Ara Fortunae Reducis
• 37 A.D. — birth of the future emperor Nero
• 130 A.D. — birth of the future co-emperor Lucius Verus

===========================================================
LEGENDA
===========================================================
‘This has re-written our understanding of Roman concrete manufacture’: Abandoned Pompeii worksite reveal how self-healing concrete was made | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/this-has-re-written-our-understanding-of-roman-concrete-manufacture-abandoned-pompeii-worksite-reveal-how-self-healing-concrete-was-made

Rome’s teenage emperor died at 18 – Boing Boing

The teenage Roman emperor who scandalized an empire and died at 18

Ukrainian Border Guards Stop Attempt to Smuggle Ancient Greek Coins to Bulgaria | BGNES
https://www.bgnes.com/society/ukrainian-border-guards-stop-attempt-to-smuggle-ancient-greek-coins-to-bulgaria

Study is unlocking secrets of Roman Empire’s leather economy
https://www.heritagedaily.com/2025/12/study-is-unlocking-secrets-of-roman-empires-leather-economy/156587

Sora, sotto piazza Palestro riemerge un tempio romano – Ciociaria Oggi
https://www.ciociariaoggi.it/news/cronaca/312772/sora-sotto-piazza-palestro-riemerge-un-tempio-romano.html

A Man From the Roman Empire Diagnosed With Metastatic Cancer 1,700 Years After His Death – OncoDaily
https://oncodaily.com/oncolibrary/roman-empire-metastatic-cancer-case

Discovery at Pompeii confirms long-lost secret that built the Roman Empire | Daily Mail Online
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15376233/Pompeii-built-Roman-Empire.html

Oldest iron shackles ever found in the Mediterranean were in Egypt – Earth.com
https://www.earth.com/news/oldest-shackles-ever-found-in-the-mediterranean-were-in-egypt/

Forgotten Roman Complex Emerges Near Switzerland’s Limmat River – GreekReporter.com
https://greekreporter.com/2025/12/12/roman-complex-switzerland-limmat-river/

Florence, Palazzo Vecchio excavations with remains of Roman theater return open to visitors after five years
https://www.finestresullarte.info/en/archaeology/florence-palazzo-vecchio-excavations-with-remains-of-roman-theater-return-open-to-visitors-after-five-years

Syria steps up efforts to combat illegal excavations in Palmyra

Syria steps up efforts to combat illegal excavations in Palmyra

The forensic archaeologist on the hunt for trafficked antiquities | CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/13/style/forensic-archaeologist-trafficked-antiquities-scli-intl

‘Tomb raiders’ arrested after ancient treasures stolen from Italian archaeological sites | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/tomb-raiders-sicily-calabria-ancient-treasures-b2883476.html

Thessaloniki: Ancient Streets Discovered Intact Beneath Metro Construction
https://greekcitytimes.com/2025/12/13/thessaloniki-ancient-streets-discovered-intact-beneath-metro-construction/

Türkiye, Italy to hold Troy-themed exhibition in Rome
https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkiye-italy-to-hold-troy-themed-exhibition-in-rome-216767

Antiquities trafficking: A threat to cultural heritage

Looters are stealing our historical treasures

Drunk, the ancient Greeks brightened up their evenings with a funny game of skill – News Maven
https://newsmaven.io/drunk-the-ancient-greeks-brightened-up-their-evenings-with-a-funny-game-of-skill/

[paywalled] Roman propaganda still plagues Cleopatra
https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/roman-propaganda-still-plagues-cleopatra-2m6zxd870

First reactions to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey prologue: breathtaking, jaw-dropping, “biggest movie ever made”
https://www.joblo.com/the-odyssey-prologue-reactions/amp/

Richard Stephens Ellis Obituary (2025) – Broomall, PA – Logan-Videon Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. – Broomall
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/richard-ellis-obituary?id=59867130

Massive Spending in War Against Sparta Backfired in Ancient Athens – GreekReporter.com
https://greekreporter.com/2025/12/13/massive-spending-war-sparta-backfired-ancient-athens/

Bronze Age Minoan Ingots Are Evidence of Ancient Trade Links – GreekReporter.com
https://greekreporter.com/2025/12/13/bronze-age-minoan-ingots-cyprus/

[paywalled] Stoppard, Sappho and me – The Spectator World

Stoppard, Sappho and me

Spencer Alley: Déesses
https://spenceralley.blogspot.com/2025/12/deesses.html

Laudator Temporis Acti: Death Wish
https://laudatortemporisacti.blogspot.com/2025/12/death-wish.html

Portable Antiquity Collecting and Heritage Issues: Italy Arrests Artefact Hunters Supplying the Antiquities Market
https://paul-barford.blogspot.com/2025/12/italy-arrests-artefact-hunters.html

Looting Matters: Head of Demosthenes returns to Türkiye
https://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2025/12/head-of-demosthenes-returns-to-turkiye.html

Looting Matters: Düver fragments returned to Türkiye from Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
https://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2025/12/duver-fragments-returned-to-turkiye.html

Looting Matters: Returns to Italy from the San Antonio Museum of Art
https://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2025/12/returns-to-italy-from-san-antonio.html

Looting Matters: Another statue associated with Bubon returns to Türkiye
https://lootingmatters.blogspot.com/2025/12/another-statue-associated-with-bubon.html

Ausonius: Graevius, Valesius, and Ammianus at the Last Historians blog
https://ausonius.blogspot.com/2025/12/graevius-valesius-and-ammianus-at-last.html

(Reclame) – Mainzer Beobachter

(Reclame)

Een grafmozaïek uit Sétif – Mainzer Beobachter

Een grafmozaïek uit Sétif

Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIb: A Phalanx By Any Other Name – A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry

Collections: Hoplite Wars, Part IIIb: A Phalanx By Any Other Name

Jezus en de centurio – Mainzer Beobachter

Jezus en de centurio

PaleoJudaica.com: Hanukkah 2025
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/hanukkah-2025.html

PaleoJudaica.com: Screnock, Reading Psalms with the Scribe (OUP)
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/screnock-reading-psalms-with-scribe-oup.html

PaleoJudaica.com: Harris, Religious Experience and Divinization in the Sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls (Brill)
https://paleojudaica.blogspot.com/2025/12/harris-religious-experience-and.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Writing from Invention to Decipherment
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/writing-from-invention-to-decipherment.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Divine Names on the Spot III: Naming and Agency in Ancient Greek and West Semitic Texts
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/divine-names-on-spot-iii-naming-and.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Metamorphosis, Landscape, and Trauma in Greco-Roman Myth
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/metamorphosis-landscape-and-trauma-in.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Sequania, société et dynamiques territoriales
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/sequania-societe-et-dynamiques.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Fouilles à Marseille: Approches de la ville antique (vie s. av. – viie s. apr. J.-C.)
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/fouilles-marseille-approches-de-la.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: 2025 Review: The First Year of the Coptic Magical Formularies Project
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/2025-review-first-year-of-coptic.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Proceedings of the Twelfth International Congress of Coptic Studies (Brussels, 11–16 July 2022). Volume I. Plenary Papers
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/proceedings-of-twelfth-international.html

AWOL – The Ancient World Online: Ancient Divination and Experience
http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.com/2025/12/ancient-divination-and-experience.html
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AUDIENDA
===========================================================
Anima Latina 14.12.2025 – Podcast – Radio Vaticana – Vatican News
https://www.vaticannews.va/it/podcast/rvi-programmi/anima-latina/2025/12/anima-latina-14-12-2025.html

Audio-Nachrichten auf Latein 13.12.2025 – Vatican News
https://www.vaticannews.va/de/podcast/audio-nachrichten-auf-latein/2025/12/audio-nachrichten-auf-latein-13-12-2025.html
===========================================================
VIDENDA
===========================================================
(251) Archaeologists uncover intact section of ancient Jerusalem wall from Hanukkah era – YouTube

(252) “Tomb of Cerberus”: Guided tours of the archaeological site begin in Giugliano. – YouTube

(253) Rome Refused to Fall: The Cimbrian War (113 – 101 BC) – ALL PARTS – YouTube

(253) De variis disciplinis colendis ac subinvicem contaminandis, cum Maria Ludovica Reinhard – YouTube

(254) Archaeologists uncover rare Roman-style ‘Good Shepherd’ fresco near Iznik – YouTube

(254) Inside The Fight To Save The World’s Most Important Manuscripts – YouTube

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NOTANDA
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explorator 27.52 ~ December 14, 2025 – Explorator

explorator 27.52 ~ December 14, 2025

• Rites in honour of Tellus, the earth goddess which perhaps included a lectisternium (a ‘dinner party’ at which images of the god(s) would ‘dine’ with participants) in honour of Ceres.
• 405 B.C. — battle of Aegospotami (by one reckoning)
• 304 A.D. — martyrdom of Lucy of Syracuse
• 1783 — Death of Samuel Johnson