“Clearly there was no real barrier to what the Emperor could spend. In practice his financial position tended to coalesce with that of the state, even if Emperors varied in their willingness to exploit this fact.” Duncan-Jones, Money and Government in the Roman Empire, page 43.

Should I start a new series titled “Sentences I like”? “The literary tradition is typically more concerned with moral stereotypes than with systematic description” Dunca-Jones, Money and Government in the Roman Empire, pg 16.

Two British academics discovered that a "copy" of Magna Carta, held in Harvard Law School’s library for 80 years, is one of seven originals dating from 1300. Read more: nyti.ms/4dkc3ma

New volume of the Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists Vol. 61 (2024) poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?... @irenin.bsky.social @cbzeichmann.bsky.social @richardbott.bsky.social

Tax and tax evasion! www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/s...

occasionally in the Roman world women acted to sponsor local coinage, as here on a coin of Eumenea in Phrygia, struck by a high priestess named Bassa, daughter of Kleon. The obverse of the coin shows a bust of Agrippina II and the reverse shows the goddess Cybele. rpc.ashmus.ox.ac.uk/coins/1/3151

Thanks to the Hyperallergic team and my ever-supporting friend and colleague @sarahebond.bsky.social !

Pretty cool find out of Oxy! news.artnet.com/art-world/ar...

Finally published in BASP 2024! This papyrological edition and commentary took a long time and a lot of work. I hope I did some justice to this important official document, which states the total size of cultivated land for the Oxyrhynchite nome.

On December 1st, 1948 the Costa Rican government abolished the army. “Dichosa la madre costarricense que sabe que su hijo al nacer jamás será soldado”

Taking a break from academic life to celebrate my brother Andrés who was nominated for a Latin Grammy! Proud Costa Ricans :)

my collection of about 14,000 photos (and growing) of ancient Mediterranean (broadly construed) archaeological subjects with Creative Commons license available here: www.flickr.com/photos/dandi...

Two graphs that I have recently posted separately actually go together very well as a pair: 1. Global Income Growth by economic percentile, 1988-2008 (Milanovic's "elephant curve"). 2. Increasing use of the term "authoritarian," 1900-2022 (Google N-gram). 1/3

So excited to speak with Harvard’s Econ Historians today!

Today’s topic in Roman Egypt: “Class and Female Economic Performance in Roman Egypt: Obstacles and Resilience”

I love few things more than a good Roman-period Bes.

About 3,600 Roman coins discovered with metal detector in Limburg | NL Times - nltimes.nl/2024/09/21/3...

So many good objects at the Florence Archaeological Museum! The numismatic and textile collection alone were outstanding; I have all these ideas for classes etc. bustling in my head. Academia is hard so these little research and conference trips are good for the renewal of purpose and soul 🤗

New review of Peter Brown's *Journeys of the Mind* by Charles Maier, eminent historian of the modern international order. It's a smart discussion, with several useful insights into how Brown's work can help us to understand "structures of order" (an incisive observation, I think)...

A package full of econ/numismatic offprints arrived from doktorvater. I feel like I am back in grad school with a reading list 📜📝🪙💰

a bone gaming piece or 'tessera' reading PRANDIVM (late breakfast/lunch) on one side and with the number six (VI) on the other, now in the Museum August Kestner. Am taking this as a sign that its time to eat lunch! nds.museum-digital.de/object/5493

One of my favorite things from Raffaella’s library. A Location-List of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri 📜

First day of school! Lovely weather :) Nice to see so many happy faces

Preparing my first lecture for Roman Egypt tomorrow! Below, a 2nd-century CE statue of Hermanoubis, a fusion of Hermes psychopompos and Anubis. The head is adorned w/ a Kalathos and he’s carrying a palm frond in his left hand. Pic from my visit to the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria this summer.

What a momentous day!! I’ve been working on this papyrus for longer than anything in my academic career, including my dissertation and book project. I still cannot believe the awaited proofs are finally here! 📜🫒👨🏽‍🌾 Coming soon in the next Bulletin of the American Society of Papyrologists!

Campus looking pretty today!

Best kind of early morning texts!

Proofs day! This one took a very long time to come to fruition, and I'm so excited to see it out in the world later this year in Ancient Society. For those interested in questions of standardization, infrastructure, and the intersections between the two.

Here I am, laid back with my mind on my money and my money on my mind

My class on Roman Egypt is going to benefit SO much from my recent trip to Alexandria. The renovated Graeco-Roman Museum was nothing short of pure magic.

Giving this app another go! Excited to share some class content on Roman Egypt and Fashion this semester :)