PS Don't forget Saint Valentine (possibly two of the many) was buried next to the Via Flaminia. See, romance and Roman roads all together.

It's sunshiny and mild. Get outside. Stop looking at the your phones/laptops/other electronic devices talking to people online you've never met but have the same niche interests as you. Go and find some snowdrops.

Note to self. Love a bit of Mercia

For anyone who's interested @waterstones.bsky.social is running a special pre-order offer (no pun intended) on my new book about King Offa of Mercia, valid from Friday 20 Feb. eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Yesterday I mentioned our next talk was Feb 19th. That's currently postponed. More when I have more info. Meanwhile feel free to speculate why as that is apparently what the internet is for. Free reposts for the most imaginative suggestion based on no facts whatsoever.

We've got another talk coming up. Conquest and Change in the Hinterland of Roman Alchester: impact, development and legacy from Becky Haslam of the AOC Archaeology group Thursday 19 Feb at 7.30 online. Tix: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/conquest-a...

What a useful document. (Hang on, is that the right phrase, just let me check)

There's a shed load of bridleways/tracks along the chalk ridge I note. Need a nice, mild dry day. I dream of nice, mild dry days and long rides. I bet it's a really old track, too. Folk must have been using that for as long as they've been in the area

Is that just not a little bit crazy? And wonderful. mapapps2.bgs.ac.uk/geoindex/hom... is another of those frankly just amazing resources online these days.

This all came about after Rob from @romanpalace.bsky.social 's talk last week and him sending me a paper to read about where the tesserae come from

I seem to have spent a chunk of the day looking at the Isle of Purbeck on maps and street view. This is all the fault of @romanpalace.bsky.social as usual. Or maybe it's my longstanding weakness for looking at maps. Not that I personally consider map-looking a weakness.

And quite right to be excited, too

Don't forget Ian Jackson will be talking about rocks tomorrow night, Thursday 22 Jan. Tix here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-did-r... 'What can a better understanding of geology do for archaeologists? A lot more than it currently does.' Which sounds rather promising

Absolutely nothing to do with Roman roads but Dolly. What a legend. Just like Romulus and Remus.

Next season's National CX dates are out already. Yes, it's a cross over post. One round is in Pontypool. Someone is chelping about that already. 'Why would you want to go to Pontypool?' I got as far as 'tramroad tunnel' on google maps before deciding I'm definitely doing that round

@romanpalace.bsky.social My mother informed me earlier to day that I have been to the palace. 'You were quite small,' she added. Then thought about it further and realised she might only have been pregnant. Either way it's been a while.

Turn of the century mapping round Fishbourne @romanpalace.bsky.social just shows some 'Roman tiles found'. I can't remember how many roof tiles they have - my notes are upstairs - but little did they know what would be uncovered. I love NLS maps

Having just listened to the talk about @romanpalace.bsky.social I have to say it's even more interesting that the Bluesky feed suggests. Hard to grasp as a concept admittedly. Just off to look at roads round Swanage. Thanks, Rob

I mean, isn't plotting usually done in secret? Otherwise what's the point of it? I'm sure there are several historical precedents for secret plotting. I'll think of a couple in a minute

Not only is the sun shining currently, but it's set to be a glorious day anyway because this evening it's the @romanpalace.bsky.social talk about hypocausts. I am excited. If you want to come too, tix here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/x/online-tal...

What a brilliant sounding job. If you like outreach and getting people excited about stuff. If you don't, a) It's not for you and b) what's wrong with you?

A dodgy shot of one of the banks up the top of Ingleborough for #hillfortsWednesday Of course there's a (probable) Roman road nearby.

That's just made the National XC MTB round at Margam more interesting www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Flicking through maps, as one does, and musing as ever about the crazy rights of way in England. If it's an engineered Roman road it should be a bridleway at least. So frustrates me

Oh. It's Thursday somehow. Which means it's talk time tonight (nicely alliterative) 7.30 online: Roger White 'Tabula rasa, or building on the past?' Roman roads in Shropshire - what did they use of the stuff already there? Tix: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tabula-ras...

So, one of our talks this Thursday, this one next Thursday, and then one of ours again the week after. So much Roman goodness in your lives

New year, according to one way of counting at least, new talks. Not one, but two talks coming up this month because we are just so full of goodness to all mankind. Actually, scrap that, not all mankind. Some of them are bonkers and not interested in roads.

we all need more of this sort of thing

Mum doesn't know it yet but this is what she's got me for Christmas. I seem to have got sucked into exploring that mysterious late Romano-British early 'English' phase of things. I'm sure this will be dead useful @alexharvv.bsky.social I may be some time

Our friends at Castleshaw fort in the Pennines on RR712 have made digital a video made of the late 80's dig of the fortlet. www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9wA... It is absolutely of its time, a study in historiography in itself

Newsletter should be put before Christmas once Dave has added his notes about the AGM,. A slimmer volume this time. I think everyone's got sidetracked looking at the new map.

In case you're at a loose end tonight, our next talk is this every evening (Thursday 11 Dec) all about the Gough Map. Tix www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-15th-c...

As others have said, this: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Obviously, all we're interested in is what sort of road led there ;-)

Can absolutely recommend a trip to Ostia Antica. Short train ride from Rome and way quieter than sites in Rome itself. Massive site - so, so much to see.

Don't expect much from me today. I'm playing with Mike Haken's mapping (not a euphemism). The first new mapping for erm, 50 years or so, and as accurate as possibly given all the new techniques we've acquired since then. Nearing completion it will be free for all to use when launched.

Next Thursday evening, 11 Dec at 7.30 it's our next talk in the winter series. Dr. Eljas Oksanen & Dr. Stuart Brookes are talking about what insights we can gain from the Gough map about the survival of Roman routes in Britannia Tix: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-15th-c...

Llanymenech is also on a list. I didn't know about this Hoffman kiln - there's a cracking one in the Dales not far north of Settle that's well worth a visit.

Now I can't remember what I came on here for but I have just been sidetracked by this. Added to the list of things to poke at next time I'm that way. Please tell me other people have lists of this sort of stuff

Word

Well worth a read.

Yet another talk this Thursday. I know. It's been all go this month what with maps and AGMs.

À La Chapelle-des-Fougeretz (Ille-Et-Vilaine), l'Inrap a mis au jour en 2022 les vestiges d'une importante occupation gallo-romaine comprenant un vaste sanctuaire. Vidéo complète 👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=enFJ...

It was our AGM last night with some useful reports about where we've got in the past ten years. I'll be feeding some of that info to a wider audience gradually. The main thing is, of course, Mike Haken's new mapping of the roads in Britannia which will be released to all shortly.

AGM tonight. I know.

This week we've also got the AGM, although I doubt we'll struggle to handle all the numbers for that one. If you are interested in that, what we've been up to and what we're planning, it's on Thursday at 19.30. Drop me a DM for details.

Mike Haken's talk last Thursday on the new digital mapping of Roman roads in Britannia seemed to go down very well. At least for those who got into the talk. Despite us paying for extra places, Zoom had a wobble and many missed out.

If someone could drag me away from @ainmean-aite.bsky.social that would be handy. That site is way too much fun. I have things to do.

Don't forget Mike Haken is talking about new interactive mapping for UK Roman roads this evening. This is more a reminder for myself than anyone else ;-) romanroads.org/2025-6_lectu...

Also, we're ten. Not sure quite when - you know the difficulties with precise dating. 'Early November sometime' was what I was told.

Thursday 13 Nov is our next talk. This one is a bit special because our Chair, Mike Haken, is talking about A New Digital Map of Roman Britain: how to access it, how to use it and what comes next. It's a huge step forward that's taken a decade to develop