Category Archives: Epigraphy

Abusive working relationships

Posted on March 14, 2018 by

Many strikes do not leave any substantial traces in the historical record. In other cases, the historical record proves extremely hard to read. The following instance is one such example – to show just how sketchy the evidence can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Labour disputes, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Creative disruption and relentless retribution

Posted on March 7, 2018 by

Strikes are annoying to everyone: employers, customers, and – last, but certainly not least – their employees. Annoyance quickly leads to anger, and anger quickly leads to advocacy for acts of retribution for a perceived injustice – retribution that in … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Labour disputes, Prose | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Strike, Legal Action, and Delusion

Posted on February 26, 2018 by

Many stories about walk-outs and strikes in the Roman Empire originate from its Eastern provinces. A particularly noteworthy event in this context is the strike of the bakers’ guild in Ephesus in the second half of the second century A. … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Labour disputes, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

United we stand, divided we fall

Posted on February 23, 2018 by

A Latin inscription from Beirut, dating to the third century A. D., records a conflict between shipowners from Arelate (Arles) in Gaul and the Roman government: [- – – I]ulianus naviculariis / [mar]inis Arelatensibus quinque / [co]rporum salutem / [qu]id … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Prose, Labour disputes | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Once a thief…?

Posted on November 29, 2017 by

I have been looking at the Latin inscriptions of Silchester recently, and in that context I came across a very remarkable item: the so-called Vyne ring: The Vyne ring, around a seal depicting (and naming) the goddess Venus, bears a … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bokelmann’s shade

Posted on April 13, 2017 by

I am in North Frisia right now, spending a few days by the North Sea shore with my son. I fell in love with this primordial landscape when I was a child myself (rather longer ago than I care to … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

No graffiti please!

Posted on April 5, 2017 by

Yesterday news broke about houses that were defaced with graffiti (or, strictly speaking, dipinti – after all, the text was painted onto, not scratched into, the surface) in Cambridge – in Latin: Locus in domos … loci populum is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, Prose | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

New Year’s Death

Posted on January 1, 2017 by

For at least thirty-nine people their desire to celebrate the new year ended fatally last night in Istanbul when a hitherto unidentified perpetrator marched into a nightclub and gunned down his victims. Another 69 or so have been injured. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Carmina Epigraphica, Epigraphy, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Called to the Grave

Posted on June 2, 2016 by

It has been almost a year since I last visited Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard. Back to  Edinburgh this week as external examiner, I found a little spare time to take a stroll to this marvellous space, and I came back with … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Sneaking a Peek at Reading Abbey

Posted on May 15, 2016 by

Recently, I have not found as much time to write pieces for this blog as I used to. Summer term – exam period  at Reading – is upon us, and in addition to that, I have been very busy working … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy, History of Reading | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment