MARGINALIA

On August 23, 2011, at 1:51 p.m., a very rare thing happened. There was a rumble, a small rattle, and then the earth shook for what seemed l...

My daughter Sarah is heading off to college in a couple weeks. She will be a freshman at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and s...

Question #4: Why are the sidewalks in Pompeiian streets so high? Stepping stones crossing a street in Pompeii from elevated sidewalks. ...

Question #3: How in the world did traffic navigate those stepping stones in Pompeii? In my last posting I considered the ruts between thos...

Question #2: Why are there obvious ruts in Roman roads? Ruts between the stepping stones in Pompeii The quick answer is that these ruts...

I have been thinking about those ancient roads that run through parts of the Roman Forum, the Appian Way, and Pompeii, and have come up with...

I am starting an occasional series titled Imagine That , in which I imagine how things would have been in the ancient Roman world. I welcome...

At this year's American Classical League Institute in Minneapolis, I attended a session on the Cambridge Latin Course . Having taught f...

I finished reading Lindsey Davis ' The Jupiter Myth this morning. I began re-reading this series in March and have completed the fourt...

One of my favorite sites in the Roman Forum. I remember giving an oral report on this monument when I was a student at the Intercollegiate ...

I was recently informed that adorning the facade of the city hall building in downtown Fredericksburg were two caducei. I was so surprised I...

In my brand new, right-out-of-the-package Latin II classes, I have led off early with an exercise having the students translate an English p...

I went into school this morning and began work on recreating my classroom. At the end of every school year we are required to pack everythin...

August has arrived, and, since this is so, I must turn my attention to things academic and scholastic. The first teacher work day is Wednesd...

There is news out of Rome that the Culture Ministry is soliciting bids from private sponsors to raise funds to help preserve the Colosseum....

http://www.imageenvision.us/images/070724181742_Bullfighting_Scene_in_Barcelona_Spain_LG.jpg In the news today , we learn that Catalonia has...

Since the recent announcement of the changes to the curriculum in the new AP Latin exam, I have been pondering the required readings. For Ve...

I have just turned the last page of Robert Harris' Conspirata . This impressive novel tells the story of Marcus Tullius Cicero's ris...

A colleague, who is an outstanding teacher of geography, is conducting some research and came across this map of what is now eastern North C...

There's an interesting article on teachers, students, and their relationships on Facebook. All teachers should take a moment and read. ...