A relief of Dionysus, discovered in 1907 in a shipwreck off the coast of Mahdia, ancient Aphrodisium, in Tunisia. Archaeologists believe the ship was sunk in the 1st century BC, and its cargo, which contains other important statues, may have been stolen during the sack of Athens by Sulla in 86BC. 🏺

The Roman city gate Porta Nigra in Trier, Germany. It is the finest surviving Roman building north of the Alps. Construction began after 170AD. In 1030 Saint Simeon was enclosed in a cell there. He died 5 years later and was buried in his cell. Miracles were reported at his tomb shortly after. 🏺

The giant Basalt lion sculpture from the Ain Dara temple complex in Syria. The temple itself dates from around the 13th century BC and was discovered in 1955. The site was largely destroyed in 2018/19 and the lion sculpture was stolen, it’s condition and whereabouts are now unknown. ancientbluesky 🏺

The poet Apollinaire in 1916 after he was wounded during Word War I. He coined the term Surrealism in 1917 to describe that new art movement “When man resolved to imitate walking, he invented the wheel, which does not look like a leg. In doing this, he was practicing surrealism without knowing it.”

  This mural of Julius Caesar is located outside the Roman Walls of Lugo. The city walls are the most complete example of Roman military architecture within the Western Roman Empire. The mural was created by the graffiti and urban artist Diego AS. It was awarded the best mural in the world in 2022 🏺

The Roman wall surrounding the city of Lugo in Galicia is the only complete Roman wall remaining. According to legend the Romans built it to protect a forest and not a city, the“Sacred Forest of Augusto”. The walls still contain 85 towers and have survived intact for 18 centuries. ancientbluesky 🏺

A section of the painting "Scipio presents gifts to the king of Numidia, Massinissa." by the Italian Baroque painter Lazzaro Baldi. (1624-1703) It depicts a scene that I also wrote about in my first novel about Masinissa (1 less S for me!) The jewels Scipio Africanus offers him really sparkle!

A pair of Etruscan Bronze attachments, circa 5th Century B.C. They depict the 3rd and 4th Labours of Hercules, the capture of the Ceryneian Hind and the Erymanthian boar. The lion skin-clad Heracles is on the left and Iolaus, his charioteer and one of the Argonauts, is on the right. 🏺 ancientbluesky

The legacies of Roman Emperors can be varied. Vespasian, known for the Colosseum, is also more humbly associated with public toilets in Italy and France, known as Vespasiano and Vespasienne. This association arose as a result of a tax he imposed upon the collection of urine. ancientbluesky 🏺

'But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late.' Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front Remembrance

I'm not able to attest to the authenticity of the accents in this video but I was fascinated by the range of ancient languages spoken. The general style seems to resemble the Bee Gees in their heyday, millennia before hairdryers, let alone disco, had been invented! www.youtube.com/watch?v=slDJ...

The classical composers Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel were born in the same year, 1685, and in the same country, Germany. Bach was born in Eisenach and Handel in Halle. The towns are approximately 80 miles apart. The two composers never met. 🎻

This is a story written by Charles Amherst Milward (1859-1928) who was a sea captain for many years. His daughter intended to publish this and other stories about life at sea but they were never published in his name. It was a tale told from bitter experience. robedmunds.substack.com/p/man-overbo...

A bronze of the Etruscan sun god Usil, circa 500-475BC. It was possibly originally a chariot ornament. Usil was syncretized with the Roman god Sol and Greek Helios. This might be considered the ancient equivalent of a car hood ornament such as Rolls-Royce's The Spirit of Ecstasy. Ancientbluesky 🏺

Just a quick note of thanks to both Brisbane Libraries and South Australia Libraries for kindly adding my novels about the Numidian King Masinissa to their collections. I really appreciate it. It's quite a thrill to know I can find my books there!

My latest Substack post is about the World War II British Officer Brigadier Michael Calvert. He features in my latest novel which I'm currently querying. If anyone from the Writing Community or Independent Company has any suggestions for a good home! robedmunds.substack.com/p/brigadier-...

The statue of the Assyrian King Ashurbanipal. He was crowned in 669BC and created the first systematically organized library in the world. Whilst library fashions have changed greatly over the centuries, it's reassuring to know that a fondness for cats and fastidiously maintained beards persists!

A salute to the favourite beverage of the #writingcommunity. A scene from a Luc Besson movie and writing advice from Douglas Adams. "The only real answer is to drink way too much coffee and buy yourself a desk that doesn't collapse when you beat your head against it." www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pj0...

The Iron Crown of Lombardy was made in the Middle Ages. Legend maintains its central band was beaten from a nail of the True Cross. It was used in the coronation of the first Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne on Christmas day 800 and was worn again in 1805 by Napoleon when he was crowned King of Italy.

The poet Ovid was banished from Rome in 8AD to Tomis (modern Constanța in Romania) by the Emperor Augustus. The council of the city of Rome revoked his exile in December 2017, over 2000 years after his banishment. "My hopes are not always realized, but I always hope." Ovid ancientbluesky

A magazine with an article about the first ever epic historical movie, Cabiria (1914). It depicted several historical figures who feature in my novels including Hannibal, Masinissa, Sophonisba, Scipio and Archimedes. Martin Scorsese described it as "the moment cinema became art." Ancientbluesky 🏺

Saint-Malo was the home town of the French writer Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand. "Every man carries within himself a world made up of all that he has seen and loved; and it is to this world that he returns, incessantly, though he may pass through and seem to inhabit a world quite foreign to it."

The forum and Byzantine fort in Madauros, Algeria. It became a Roman colony for veterans in the 1st century. It was the birthplace in 124AD of the Numidian Apuleius who wrote the only Latin Roman novel, "The Golden Ass", to survive intact. St Augustine of Hippo also studied there. Ancientbluesky 🏺

A bust of Ptolemy of Mauretania. He was the last ruler of the fused Numidian and Ptolemaic dynasties. His ancestors included the Numidian King Masinissa and Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter, successor of Alexander the Great. He was the grandson of Cleopatra. Caligula executed him in 40AD.

Just a quick, slightly tentative, introduction. Hello everyone! I'm pretty sure I have a few friends here already who have migrated recently searching for pastures new. I'm looking forward to exploring around here, learning as I go, and sharing hopefully interesting and engaging content.