Armilustrium — a festival in honour of Mars which officially (it seems) brought the campaigning season to an end. The Salii (the dancing priests of Mars) were likely heavily involved with their characteristic dance and with the storage of their figure eight shields. A lustratio (purification ritual) also took place on the Aventine, with the…

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IN THE NEWS … Stone by stone, Türkiye rebuilds 1,800-year-old fountain in ancient Tripolis – Türkiye Today 3,000-Year-Old Tomb in Jordan Reveals Phoenician Ivory, Rare Phrygian Belt and Exotic Spices | Arkeonews 2,000-year-old Roman kitchen found with Italian pottery and cooking tools in Spain | Archaeology News Online Magazine Roman House Cut Into Rock Found…

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48 B.C. — Octavian dons his toga virilis 17 A.D. — restoration of the Temple of Janus at the Theatre of Marcellus (and associated rites thereafter) 31 A.D. — Execution of the commander of the Praetorian Guard, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, after revelation of his activities against the emperor Tiberius. 33 A.D. — Death of Vipsania…

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IN THE NEWS … Biblical Archaeology Society – Archive of Hittite Tablets Discovered Herculaneum: Priapus’s Workshop reopens after restoration I discovered a Roman fort in Wales – it may hold the key to the ancient Welsh legend of Macsen Wledig Path Jesus may have walked to his crucifixion unearthed after 2,000 years | Daily Mail…

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1861 — birth of J.B. Bury, author of History of the Later Roman Empire, among other ‘standard’ texts

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