More background to our current read, The Edge of the Empire: A Journey to Britannia: From the Heart of Rome to Hadrian's Wall by Bronwen Riley. (May 3 & 17):
Charlotte Higgins interviewed, in The New Yorker, Roger Tomlin, Chief Researcher, Roman Inscriptions of Britain III, Fellow, Wolfson College. How to Decode an Ancient Roman’s Handwriting. This is very helpful as Riley cites him many times in the above book.
That led me to Higgins' own book on Roman Britain, which, upon inquiry in our Facebook group, was highly praised. With a little monetary windfall that I have reserved for buying books, I downloaded Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman Britain.
The two books take a very different approach. Riley sets up an imaginary travelogue in the year 130 CE for the then newly appointed governor. Higgins takes a look at the entire Roman Britain – albeit with selected sites – and explores the sites, the related history and archaeology, and frequently delves into literary connections, ancient and modern. Did you know that Wilfred Owen, a "Shropshire Lad," was an enthusiastic boyhood archaeologist and might have well chosen this as a profession, had he survives the Great War?
I am halfway into Higgins' entertaining book and highly recommend it as a companion to our reading selection!
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Newcomers to the chats are always welcome! The Roman History Reading Group meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month except August at Skype IM (no video) from 9:30 to 11:00 p.m. U.S. EDT (UTC/GMT -04). This means that in Asia and Australia/Pacific it's daytime. Here is a world time clock to help you.
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