Rome’s military is renowned as one of the finest fighting forces of the ancient world. But what was life really like for…
In the summer of 1911, the young Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) went on a bicycling tour around Rome and began to realise that…
Today, Gravina is one of those little-known Italian towns that every tourist falls for. Meaning ‘ravine’ in Italian, the town is aptly…
In 1996, Alastair Small and his wife Carola launched a major fieldwalking project to examine the countryside near Gravina. Focusing on the…
Throughout most of Italy, the 2nd and 1st centuries BC were a time of increasing prosperity. Towns sprang up and flourished, while…
The fate of the inland cities of Southern Italy depended to a considerable extent on the fortunes of the Greek colonies springing…
The Samnites were hardy folk. Living in a region dominated by the Apennine mountains to the southeast of Rome, they proved reluctant…
In 1997 four cavers set out to explore the deepest galleries of the Grotta della Monaca. It was not an easy task.…
The sheer scale of Rome's German frontier is overwhelming. Running for almost 550km, and boasting at least 60 forts, 80 fortlets and…
Khentkawes is hardly a household name. The historical record passes over this elusive figure without comment, while the scraps that testify to…
For the Hittites of the Late Bronze Age it was a difficult, wild country where the restless Kashka people lived. For the…
Sicily was best known during the Roman Republic as the breadbasket of Rome. Although she never reached such dizzy heights again (Africa…
When Cyprus adopted the Euro early in 2008, the government had to decide what symbol should adorn its new currency. Although the…