#ancientbluesky #history #archaeology #skystorians Number Three in the Postcards series, in which we dip a sickly toe into the slimy waters of Roman medicine, including vivisection on Egyptian criminals and medical quackery. Don't forget to subscribe! Enjoy! tinyurl.com/yzsu4jpv

Another happy customer! It's genuinely humbling to think that anyone finds my little corner of the historical world so inspiring. Why not join us and get a free ebook copy of Suetonius' Twelve Caesars, translated by yours truly? It's got sex and violence in it! 🤣

#ancientblusesky #skystorians #history #archaeology Issue two of the Newsletter is out, and this week we discuss Roman shoes, medieval scribes, witches and, of course, cauldrons! Enjoy! open.substack.com/pub/jamescov...

#Archaeology #Ancientbluesky #skystorians #history #England Want one! www.bbc.com/news/article...

#ancientbluesky #skystorians #history #archaeology Did the Romans have the equivalent of Sherlock Holmes, who would turn up with a magnifying glass, high on cocaine, and investigate crimes? Find out below, and while you're there, go ahead and sign up for a free subscription. shorturl.at/RwIA8

#archaeology #history #ancientbluesky #skystorians Mystery Monday question - How Did the Romans Solve Crimes? Did they have detectives or investigators/Latin-speaking Sherlock Holmes types? What do you think? All to be revealed tomorrow, so sign up for a free sub now! jamescoverley.substack.com

#writers #Occult #magick #witchcraft #alchemy #medieval #goth Available now in time for Halloween and terrifying people sitting next to you on the bus, the definitive version of Paracelsus' epic alchemical magick tome, 'Of the Supreme Mysteries...' Available now at this link shorturl.at/lMXWz

#skystorians #writers #witches #medieval #Halloween In time for Halloween, would you like a copy of what I believe is the only available English translation of Ulrich Molitor's 1489 'De Lamiis et Phitonicis Mulieribus'? Well, you're in luck, because I translated it! shorturl.at/cb9Qp

#Ancientbluesky #Skystorians #history #swearing #archaeology This article is cool because I can legitimately say 'fuck' a lot and claim that this is all part of academic discourse. So fucking read it, please. Oh, and please fucking subscribe to my shit. Thanks! open.substack.com/pub/jamescov...

#ancientbluesky #skystorians #history #archaeology #France This week in Postcards From the Past, we're off to Roman Gaul, where the people have unruly haircuts and wear excitable trousers. Plus ça change, mes amis.... open.substack.com/pub/jamescov...

#Britain #archaeology #history #ancientbluesky #skystorians I have a new YouTube channel, and if you lovely people would be so kind as to pop along there and click the 'like' and 'subscribe' buttons, I would be supremely grateful to all of you. youtu.be/ezU_rZHooqg?...

#archaeology #ancientbluesky #skystorians The first of the new weekly newsletters in which some Scottish chap gets angry, rightly so, at the Romans, I get angry, rightly so, at some electronics, and there’s a pig called Cecil who is always angry. And some archaeology news, too! shorturl.at/MEU7L

#ancientblusky #skystorians #archaeoloy #history All these are available for free, or take out a paid subscription for exclusive nice stuff and a FREE copy of my last book! (ebook only) jamescoverley.substack.com

#archaeology #ancientbluesky #skystorians #history Just a reminder that if you sign up for a $5 a month subscription on Substack, not only will you bring joy and peace to my soul, and support an independent writer, but I'll send you a free ebook of my latest book! I'm paying you to like me! 🤣🤣

#ancientbluesky #skystorians #archaeology #history So, in answer to yesterday's question - How do you address a Roman Emperor? - the answer is not as complicated as you might think - you just grovel, basically. Read the full article below (and please subscribe - it's free!) shorturl.at/XaM27

#MosaicMonday #ancientbluesky #archaeology Detail of the Nile mosaic of Palestrina showing a trireme and a huge Egyptian bloke in a tiny boat. Uncertain in date, but probably somewhere around 100 BC, I'd reckon, judging by the subject matter and style. The mosaic that is, not the bloke in the boat.

#ancientbluesky #history #skystorians #archaeology When talking to the emperor (or anyone) in ancient Rome, how would you address them? Big Boy? Boss? Sir? Jules? What do you think? Let me know, and tomorrow I'll take you through the minefield of speaking to someone without getting executed!

How did you address an Emperor? Caesar? Sir? Lord? Mr Augustus? Vespy Babes? There are rules for how one should address King Charles, but did similar rules apply to Roman Emperors, and if so, what DID one call them? Answer coming soon, but what do you think? #Ancientbluesky #history #skystorians

#ancientbluesky #history #skystorians #archaeology Were Romans short or tall? What does archaeology reveal, and what do the sources say, and what, if anything, can we surmise from this? Please subscribe - it's free! Or $5 a month if you can afford it! But free if you can't. shorturl.at/zo6TB

#ancientbluesky #skystorians #archaeology #Egypt #history In a new series of snapshots into the archives, we take a peek into the records of Roman Egypt! This is, naturally, free for everyone, so please subscribe! (or for $5 a month, for which I would be deliriously happy) shorturl.at/x483H

#ancientbluesky #history #skystorians #archaeology Caracalla was famous for four things: scowling menacingly, which he was rather good at; murdering his brother (ditto); and not being a pasty-faced white chap like in the movies. Oh, and the 'edict' thing, of course! shorturl.at/71lEf

#ancientbluesky #skystorians #archaeology #history How much did everything in ancient Rome cost? Well, not everything, of course - this article would be two weeks long! - but a lot of stuff! Please remember to subscribe, or I'll come round and put a bat up your nightshirt. shorturl.at/oXn5P

#ancientbluesky #skystorians #archaeology #history I have recently found that I don't have enough time in the week to put out all the content I like, and so, as a result, I have decided to put out more content, because fuck it, why not!? jamescoverley.substack.com/p/changes-pl...

#archaeology #history #ancientbluesky #skystorians *Homer Simpson voice* ... hmmmmm.... meat feasts..... www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

#hillfortswednesday #ancientbluesky #Wales #Cymru #skystorians Dryslwyn Castle, Wales, Cymru, glowering in the mists. Built in the 1220s by one of the princes of Deheubarth who, presumably, lacked somewhere to glower from. (Please subscribe on Substack so I, too, may glower from somewhere misty.)

#ancientbluesky #skystorians #history #archaeology Further to today's article on what Romans put on their heads, here's a helmet! An no, that's not a euphemism, you dirty soldier! It's just a helmet. www.bellinghamherald.com/news/nation-...

#archaeology #ancientbluesky #skystorians #history Did the Romans Wear Hats? Thank you to everyone who guessed at this, both here and on Substack. The answer is, of course, yes! Find out more in the article below, and please remember to subscribe. It's totally free! shorturl.at/6L8U9

#ancientbluesky #archaeology #skystorians Tomorrow's article (available on Substack) will be about Roman hats. If you want to get ahead, get a hat! If you want to murder a tyrant, get a hat, two daggers and mint some coins! Subscribe now - it's free and makes me happy. jamescoverley.substack.com

🔮 Mystery Monday: Did the Romans wear hats? Every statue shows bare heads with the infamous Roman haircut, but the real answer reveals fascinating Roman social rules and political power. What do you think? Did Romans wear hats? Subscribe for free! Full answer tomorrow: jamescoverley.substack.com

#archaeology #gaming #skystorians #ancientbluesky All I know is that even after becoming an actual archaeologist, you still don't get a whip, a cool hat or a butler called Winston www.theguardian.com/games/2025/s...

#ancientbluesky #romanhistory #skystorians In AD 197, one Gemellus Horion, a farmer in Karanis, Egypt, filed a series of petitions in which he describes a terrifying series of events. Two men, Julius and Sotas had, he claimed, come onto his land and attacked his labourer with something awful. 🧵

#ancientbluesky #history #archaeology #skystorians Don't look at it! Ok, just a peek... greekreporter.com/2025/09/03/m...

#ancientbluesky #history #skystorians No matter how long I work in archaeology and history, every time I hear "mysterious ancient tablet...", the Indiana Jones music starts playing in my head. www.popularmechanics.com/science/arch...

#ancientbluesky #history #skystorians #romanhistory "Maximus! There's a problem at the Roman villa!" "The Roman villa!? What is it?" "It's a big building in the countryside full of mosaics, but that's not important right now." Ok, I stole the joke, but what is a villa anyway? shorturl.at/yze4M

#ancientbluesky #history #skystorians I think the most expressive piece of Roman history I have found in my career is also one of the simplest. There's a prostitute's sign outside an inn in Pompeii that reads "I am yours for one as", the 'as' being the smallest unit of Roman currency, of course.

#ancientbluesky #history #skystorians A quick reminder that if you take out a month sub on Substack (for $5!), you will not only receive the warm glow of supporting an independent historian, but also a free ebook of my translation of Suetonius' The Twelve Caesars! jamescoverley.substack.com

I'm not one of those people who are automatically against AI. It's a tool and any tool can be used for good. But it does aid the gibberishification of history and create a snowball effect that just increases the amount of nonsense out there. Fighting against the nonsense is a constant struggle.

enshittification | noun | when a digital platform is made worse for users, in order to increase profits

#ancientbluesky #romanhistory What if I told you the most scandalous political exposé ever written was penned 2,000 years ago? Suetonius had access to the imperial archives. He knew where the bodies were buried (literally). His "Twelve Caesars" makes Game of Thrones look tame. 🧵

#romanhistory #history #archaeology #ancientbluesky As the great philosopher David Coverdale once said, "I don't know where I'm going, but I sure know where I've been ..." But then he probably had a map. But did the Romans have them? jamescoverley.substack.com/p/did-the-ro...

#history #archaeology #ancientbluesky #peru Look at these little fellas! They have a message, and I bet that message is 'ribbid'. www.popsci.com/science/anci...

Sausages! I'm not entirely sure if Rome tasted like sausages, but ‘Sausages' is one of the English language's finest words, along with ‘trousers' and 'crumble'. You could buy a juicy sausage in Rome, though, so maybe it did taste of sausages after all? Let's find out, shall we? shorturl.at/k4x5y

#romanhistory #archaeology #ancientbluesky #Wales #Cymru The reason there are no Roman villas in North Wales is partly down to a fierce pride in local trousers. Everyone should be proud of their local trousers, I reckon. (Please subscribe - It's free and it makes me happy!) shorturl.at/1h03N

#archaeology #history #ancientbluesky #France If anyone has lost a cathedral in France, they found it! thecatholicherald.com/article/anci...

#history #romanhistory #archaeology #ancientbluesky Could Romans just say 'civis Romanus sum!' or did they actually have to prove their citizenship? If so, how? Find out here! (and please subscribe - it's free and makes me happy) 👉 jamescoverley.substack.com/p/how-could-...

Ask me anything about Rome. From gladiators to toilets to taxes, and I’ll answer ... or try to! You can ask here, or go to Substack and ask there, or am I also up to receiving long missives sent by messenger from the distant provinces. Fire away! jamescoverley.substack.com

#Music #History #archaeology #ancientbluesky This is what Roman music sounded like! youtu.be/3z_QAPB3XeA?...

“If music be the food of love, wallop some hairy barbarian oaf in the chops with a hammer!” as Shakespeare famously never said. But what did Roman music actually sound like? Was it all trumpets and lyres, or maybe a bit like ancient hip-hop? Let's find out - open.substack.com/pub/jamescov...

Tomorrow: discover the music of ancient Rome. 🎶 Don’t miss What Did Roman Music Sound Like, but don't worry, I will not be singing. In fact, if you subscribe (for free!), I promise never to sing in public* (*This is an absolute lie.) #RomanHistory #History #AncientBluesky

Rome was a noisy old place, and tomorrow we'll have a look at what the music sounded like! 🎵 Any guesses? Subscribe now (for free!) for my new article, What Did Roman Music Sound Like → jamescoverley.substack.com