Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting Sextilis MMDCCLXXIX

 August 3rd, 2026, 6:00 p.m. - 7:51 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
Marcus Quinctius Clavus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus
Titus Ovidius Nonus

Marcus Livius Maruffus

   Soon after Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia and M. Quinctius Clavus joined the call, conversation started with some reporting of our recent contemporary activities. For instance, it was reported that  farmer's markets were going well. Quinctius mentioned that there had been a Roman presence at Pennsic, including a Temple of Aphrodite set up by a gladiatorial school. We also discussed the new Odyssey movie briefly. T. Ovidius Nonus arrived in the midst of this conversation. Quinctius reported on the appearance of the new Barnes & Noble at Farmington, now located at the West Farms Mall.
    Sibylla kindly brought us on topic with a question on herbal essences/incense in Rome. Nonus, who is a creator and seller of incenses, reported having been a vendor at a Renaissance Faire with M. Cassius Julianus on August 2nd, 2026. Nonus stated that there was not much information on Roman incenses, but that the Romans were known to use frankincense, myrrh, cedar, juniper, and rosemary. Quinctius mentioned the story about Alexander the Great being reprimanded in his younger years for wasting expensive frankincense. Nonus stated that he had picked up some ancient scents and a book on Egyptian incense in during his recent trip to Egypt.
    Quinctius mentioned that he had book on ancient medicine written by modern medical doctor, which Sibylla then asked Quinctius to bring along on his next visit to her house. Sibylla asked how much information (on incense & medicine) filtered to Rome from other ancient cultures. Quinctius replied that Romans were not allowed to dissect bodies, which limited to a degree the direct medical knowledge they could obtain. Sibylla mentioned that endocrine system had not been not understood until relatively recently.

    Quinctius shared some facts on the Antonine plague, first that it was not the bubonic plague. Quinctius stated that Lucius Verus had been handling warfare, brought the disease back from Parthia and died of it, leaving warfare in M. Aurelius's hands.
    Nonus showed us an image of the first known depiction of medical instruments in a photo taken in Egypt: a temple of Sobek built by Ptolemy. Nonus said that almost all the temples which his tour had visited were built by Ptolemy or by the Ptolemaic dynasty. Quinctius mentioned an exhibit he had attended in New York on Ptolemaic syncretism.
    Sibylla commented on the cultural interplay between the Greeks, Romans, & Etruscans. Quintius talked about ancient ideas of whence Etruscans came, and wondered aloud about modern DNA studies. He talked about the information which could be revealed by bio-archeology, such as analysis of teeth at Kalkriese, which revealed a childhood diet which was Mediterranean rather than Germanic. Sibylla recalled how analysis of Ötzi ("the Iceman") had revealed his diet, and Quintius mentioned that researchers had also used DNA to learn about Ötzi's appearance. Sibylla & Quinctius talked about tracing of human migration by DNA.
    Quinctius said that in Battle of Teutoburg Forest, Varus was tricked. Quinctius also informed us that the conflict stemmed from a tax revolt, as Germans did not want to pay in coin, which they did not use, and that Varus was trying to run Germany as he had Syria, where society was already monetized. Quinctius also brought up the proposal by Marcus Antonius & Octavian to tax Roman women and the backlash that had faced, noting that many Roman women had jobs. Nonus said that Romans would collect taxes from Egypt based on height of "Nilometer" (a well dug to measure flood of the Nile, of which Nonus shared a picture). Quinctius said that flooding in the right levels spreads silt, while if water was too high or to low it would jeopardize crops, which was why this was a rational basis for measuring Egyptian prosperity. There was talk about how the annual flooding of the Nile no longer took place, due to the Aswan Dam, and Nonus mentioned seeing someone smoking atop the dam.
    Sibylla asked whether they used to smoke anything in Rome. Nonus noted that he was not aware of any smoking paraphanelia which had been found. M. Livius Maruffus, who had joined the call around this time, said that the Romans would not have had tobacco, since it was a New World crop. Quinctius stated that the Romans would have had hemp and that the Scythians used hemp in rituals.

    We talked a bit about the most recent Senate session before Zoom ended the call.
    Four of us returned: Nonus, Quinctius, Maruffus & I (Paterculus).
    Returning to the topic of Nova Roma's official actions, Quinctius talked about the legion equipment being moved to California. Quinctius was familiar with the legion in question.
    On the topic of reenactor legions, Quinctius informed us that Mike Heenan had resigned as centurion of Legio III Cyrenaica and said that Quinctius should be Nova Roma's primary contact with Legio III going forward. Quinctius clarified that Andy was in charge of Legio III but that Quinctius could pass along any messages from Nova Roma. Quinctius said that Andy monitors Legio III's email and that we should reach out to both emails.
   In terms of Legio III's upcoming activities, Quinctius told us that he and the rest of Legio III would be at the Special Arms & Armour Program at the Wooster Arts Museum in two weeks (Aug. 16th). They were also thinking of going to Providence Rhode Island Columbus Day Italian Festival.

   Nonus said that he was descended from Sons of Italy in Massachusetts, who claimed a role in the establishment of Columbus Day. Nonus & Quinctius talked a bit about the history of Columbus Day. Quinctius spoke about a moving film he had seen, Cabrini, about an Italian nun sent to New York by the Pope of the time, who fought for better treatment of Italian-descended New Yorkers, suffered from consumption (tuberculosis), and was eventually declared the first U.S. saint. 
    Maruffus talked about how Romans determined who should be considered Roman citizens, stating that it was mainly a combination of word of mouth with the census. Maruffus added that Cicero did not like the census because it was not accurate. Quintius noted that the census used to determine both citizenship & Senate membership. Maruffus mentioned that Cicero had defended someone in danger of losing citizenship due to missing the census twice.
   Quinctius gave the example of a soldier, Flavius, who needed affidavits to prove citizenship and that he was not a freedman. Maruffus said that families took names of existing gentes when becoming citizens. Quintius talked about the family of this Roman soldier: his mother had Greek name, but must have been a citizen. The soldier himself served as a marine.
   Quinctius stated that the navy & vigiles were the only places freedmen could serve (and that they served 28 years rather than 25 years like everyone else). He clarified Imperial-era distinctions between Roman citizenship vs. Latin rights, noting that such a difference also existed during Republic, but had been based more on distance at that time. Quinctius said that a freed slave needed to be over 30 to gain citizenship when freed, while younger freedmen and freedwomen gained Iunian Latin rights instead. Quinctius went over some of the timeline of changes in citizenship rules: Claudius introduced citizenship for retiring auxiliaries, and was much freer with citizenship than Augustus, while his wife Messalina was accused of selling citizenship; in 212 A.D. Caracalla gave citizenship to everyone.

   Quinctius stated that Danes recruited to serve in Roman army for fixed periods as mercenaries, that desertion was a constant problem - especially near the border, and that Dacians had been in contact with Greece for centuries.Maruffus mentioned that a professor had said, incorrectly according to Maruffus, that Romans made heavy use of Etruscan mercenaries. He also mentioned use of Goths at end of empire. Quinctius replied that some early Roman kings were Etruscan and that the Etruscans were closely-related people, also agreeing that late Roman Empire admitted Goths to serve in the army. Quinctius added that Alaric did not touch churches when he sacked Rome, whereas the Vandals did destroy such buildings when they sacked Rome.
   I mentioned the possibility that Nova Britannia could potentially merge with Mediatlantica et Nova Eboracum and America Cismissipiana.
   The call ended due to Zoom's time limit. Nonus, Maruffus, & I returned. Nonus showed off Roman glassware purchased from Cassius as well as a picture with Cassius from Renaissance Faire. Nonus stated that at a future fair he intended to play the role of Emperor Nero, whom he thought was unfairly depicted. Nonus said he had a lyre, though it was a Welsh lyre, not exactly the same as would have been used in ancient times. Maruffus asked how the word "lyre" should be pronounced. There were differing opinions on the English pronunciation, although Nonus did clarify that it should sound approximately like "lira" in Greek.
    Maruffus mentioned that he had ordered a toga from Arx Mercatura, along with caligae. Maruffus showed a picture of Archimedes he had in his room and avowed that he believed in Archimedes's legendary 'death ray'. We all talked a bit longer about improbable stories from antiquity before the call ended again. I also mentioned a (fictional) story I had been reading about someone who was reborn as the son of C. Iulius Caesar and introduced a surprising number of innovations from the future to the Roman Republic (https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/152098/son-of-julius-caesar-rebuilding-rome-businessrepublic).

Nova Britannia General Meeting Julius MMDCCLXXIX

 Monday, July 6th, 2026, 6:00 p.m. - 7:27 p.m.

Participants: Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   I was on the call by myself for a time, as a result of sending out that night's link too close to the time of the meeting. I spent this time continuing to read a review of The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, which seems like quite a worthwhile book to read.

   N. Octavius Astronomus joined the call at around 6:30 p.m., and we conversed for a bit about his recent activities. Astronomus told me about his activities for the 4th of July and shared some pictures, in which he was carrying a patriotic sign he'd written in Latin in front of Vermont's state capitol. He also described some of his research in genealogy and places in Canada and Europe to which he hoped to travel.

   Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia then joined the meeting. Astronomus gave a brief review of what he'd discussed with me, and also mentioned traveling to the Vermont Renaissance Faire, where'd he'd suggested to some people that they join forces with the Living History Expo, which had been having trouble operating independently recently. In return, some of these fairgoers told Astronomus about a living history timeline at Fort #4 in New Hampshire coming up in September, which he planned to attend. Astronomus said that Nova Britannia should try to have a presence at some such events, and I suggested joining Legio III in some of their planned activities.

   There was a discussion of the Pioneer, Voyager, and New Frontier space probes. Sibylla brought us back to Roman topics with some questions about Roman astronomy as well as the origins of the days of the week, months of the year, and hours of the day. This prompted mention of less well-known deities such as Februus and the Horae.

   Zoom ended the meeting at this point, but Sibylla and I returned and had a brief conversation including other Roman topics, such as the burned Herculaneum scroll which had been recently decoded, the availability of works in translation, and ancient codes. Sibylla told me that the earliest binary code similar to Morse code was used by the Norse. We then said goodnight.

Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting Junius MMDCCLXXIX

 

Monday, June 1st, 2026 5:59 p.m. - 7:48 p.m.
Participants: Marcus Quinctius Clavus
Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
Marcus Livius Maruffus
Titus Ovidius Nonus
Numerius Octavius Astronomus
Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   M. Quintius Clavus and Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia joined the meeting first, and M. Livius Maruffus joined them shortly thereafter, though it took him a few minutes to connect fully. During that time, I arrived also, and had a short conversation with Quintius and Sibylla about their current modern activities. Quintius mentioned that he was re-reading Colleen McCollough's series Masters of Rome.

   We moved on to the topic of Roman food just as Livius was able to join in. Quintius and Sibylla were speaking about their first introduction to liver and how they enjoyed it now as a shared meal. Sibylla commented that the Romans would also have eaten organ meat. I said that I thought that the entrails would be burned when an animal was slaughtered. Quintius replied that this was true of sacrificed animals, but that not all animals eaten would have been sacrificed, though for poorer people this would have been the majority of the meat they ate. Quintius said that especially in Greece, they ate a lot of pork, more than we eat in modern times, because pigs could be turned loose in the woods to feast on acorns, whereas beef was uncommon, because oxen were used to do work.

   Quintius continued to the topic of vegetables common in Roman times, mentioning the asparagus famously enjoyed by Augustus and that spinach originated in central Asia but was used in the Mediterranean by the time of the Roman Empire. It was around this time that T. Ovidius Nonus joined the call. Quintius mentioned that he knew so much about historical vegetables because he had been researching stuffed breads, which seemed to be a dish the Romans would have made.

    I mentioned that I had read recently in Plutarch's Moral Letters (for a philosophy discussion the previous weekend) that brides in a certain Greek city-state wore a garland of asparagus on their wedding day. Sibylla commented that she would prefer to have the asparagus on her plate. Nonus asked what the asparagus was supposed to symbolize. I reported Plutarch's analysis as being that marriage was like asparagus in that there was a long tougher part, like the stem, which you have to get through to reach the more tender part at the end. Quintius commented that it was the expectation, at least among the elites, in Roman times that married couples would grow to like one another over time rather than that they would be in love when they first married.

    We continued speaking about Roman topics. Quintius mentioned that Augustus had wanted to take the name "Romulus", but that he had been talked out of it, both because it was not particularly well-omened, as Nonus pointed out, and because there could only be one Romulus. I mentioned that by some accounts Romulus Augustulus was the last emperor of Rome, so it might be right to say that was a poor choice of name. Quintius added that that Romulus Augustulus had reigned as just a boy (hence the diminutive suffix "-ulus" in his name) and only for few months before he was displaced by the new Visigothic King of Italy.

    Quintius mentioned a documentary, Prophets of Doom, in which he and Mike from Legio III had participated for the History Channel, specifically a segment on the fall of the Roman Empire. Quintius still had a copy of the DVD.
     We talked a bit about Roman roads. Sibylla asked the interesting question of whether each side of the road was reserved for walking/riding in a particular direction, as on modern roads. Quintius said that he did not believe so, and that the roads were narrow enough that it would require people passing in opposite directions to squeeze past one another or for one to give way. He stated that when the army used the road, cavalry was typically on the shoulder so as not to wear out the horses' feet. He added that horseshoes had not been found for from this time period, and that it was unclear the Romans had them, though they had found hipposandals, which were thought to be for oxen (which would have needed to use the roads, since they would have been pulling carts and wagons).

     Quintius reported on some of the Roman roads which he had seen in England, including one case in which he had seen a modern road built atop a Roman one which diverged where the modern road curved away and the Roman one continued straight. Quintius clarified that the Romans could put curves in roads, something they would do to make climb easier on animals. Sibylla brought up the fact that not only Roman roads, but also at least one Roman bridge was still in use. Quintius recalled having heard of such an active Roman bridge in Spain and added that a Mycenaean bridge was still in use in Greece. I asked whether this Mycenaean bridge was built with huge cyclopean stone blocks, but Quintius replied that it was smaller than some Roman bridges. The book Route. 66 A.D. was recommended.

   Sibylla asked whether the Romans had anything equivalent to a bus: a vehicle which passengers could board at fixed stops. Quintius said he didn't think so, but that there were certainly places which would let you hire horses for the day, or a litter if you were in the city, for which a taxi would be a better analogy. Nonus reported that, according to Wikipedia, the Romans had ferries. Quintius agreed that it was possible to hire space aboard ships fairly easily and that this was a major mode of travel.
   Sibylla brought up Roman tourism, noting that people often traveled together in groups to be shown the sights. Quintius brought up Pausanias, whose reports of his touristing were the only record of sights now lost. Maruffus told us that the Romans loved to go see the pyramids and were famous for vandalizing them, though he was unsure whether the graffitti was still there.
   N. Octavius Astronomus joined the call around this time.
   Sibylla stated that the Romans were in general fascinated with things Egyptian and brought up the cult of Isis, which was quite different from the Egyptian cult of the goddess. Quintius replied that this cult represented the Ptolemaic adaption of Isis to Greek mythological and religious ideas. Nonus mentioned having seen a statuette of Isis-Fortuna, which brought us to the topic of the Interpretatio Romana.
    Around this time, 6:39 p.m., Zoom ended the first session of the meeting. Sibylla told us just beforehand that she would be heading to sleep, but the rest of us came back.

    Nonus asked about the latest session of Nova Roma's Senate. We discussed a few of the salient points, one of which was the fact that confirmations were now to be sent notifying citizens that their tax payments had been received.

    Nonus then started a discussion of whether it was worth paying Nova Roma's taxes. I said that the chief advantages were increased voting power and the ability to have official responsibilities within Nova Roma, something in which I thought Nonus might be interested.

    Quintius gave us a comparative view of some of the other organizations with which he was involved and their respective hierarchies, pointing out that each group had its own style of selecting officers.

    We looked over Nova Roma's page of job openings for things which might be of interest to those on the call. The second Zoom session ended, but Nonus & Maruffus came back to continue this investigation. Nonus requested more details on the Senate session, so we went over the transcript item by item, skipping the one under seal.

    We talked about ways about promoting Nova Roma, including some ideas by Maruffus about social media, about filming a commercial for Nova Roma, and about reinstating the "Roma" tag for the Forum Domitium, something Nonus had paid to make possible but which someone else (we were unsure who) would have to actually instate.

    We discussed future meetings for Nova Britannia, including the Latin meeting on June 15th and presentations for future meetings. Nonus said that in July he could give us a report on his trip to Egypt, which would test whether it would be worth expanding to a more detailed presentation for the Sodalitas Barbarica. Nonus mentioned that he had started learning the ancient Egyptian language years ago and might eventually try again.

    We talked briefly about our experience with Latin. Maruffus & Nonus had each studied the language a little in the past. I recommended listening to a reading of the chapter just before where the group had left off in Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata to confirm it was a level at which they were able to understand a fair percentage of the vocabulary and grammar.

After Action Report: MithraCon 2026 Day 3

Sunday, April 26th, 2026
Around 8 a.m. - around 12 p.m.
Participants: Marcus Quintius Clavus
Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
Marcus Cassius Julianus
Titus Ovidius Nonus
Erica
David
Aulus Iulius Paterculus
   Most of us awakened a bit earlier on Sunday than on Saturday. M. Quintius Clavus, Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia, M. Cassius Julianus, T. Ovidius Nonus, and I went to breakfast at Patricia's again, but our new friends had breakfast at the hotel, which was part of a package deal with their room. Patricia's was a bit busier than the day before, but not by too much. We expected larger crowds to be arriving when church services ended. Patricia remembered many of our orders from the previous day. During breakfast, Nonus mentioned plans to stop by Denny's on the way home, and this opened up discussion of restaurants in Maine, storms & flash floods, and visits to Salem, Massachusetts. Cassius again paid for breakfast.
   We returned to the room and met with Dave and Erica again. Dave had brought a number of art pieces he'd created himself, including larger & smaller tauroctonies etched on wood, leather book marks, including one depicting the Mithraic grades, and images of the face of Mithras surrounded by rays. Cassius liked this last image so much, he requested permission to put it on the t-shirts for the following year. Dave offered the pieces for sale at a generous "pay-what-you-want" price. Nonus purchased a larger tauroctony, Cassius purchased everything not already bought by others and then gave much of it away.
   Those of us who'd been staying in the shared rooms packed up. Sibylla started the drive home, while the rest of us, including David & Erica, headed to the Yale University Art Gallery. While walking we talked. Erica told me about her hobbies; I mentioned reading some poetry by William McGonagall (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-mcgonagall). We noted an independent bookstore along the way which had seen visits in previous years.
   At the museum, we looked at the Classical artwork and the finds from Dura Europos, but also ventured into some other exhibits. Next to the Classical exhibit was a gallery of early modern currency; of particular interest was a series of coins struck with the image of Liberty/Libertas. I left the group briefly in order to make a call and stumbled into a room of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican artwork, which I encouraged the others to check out, and they also appreciated the works we saw.
    At last we bid each other goodbye. Cassius had let me store the leftover fruit in his car when we'd packed up the room, so we headed back together. We stopped at the bookstore along the way. Cassius made a number of purchases, and I collected two books from the "Free Books" bin, one of which was Murder on the Appian Way by Steven Saylor. I thought some of our other friends were browsing there around the same time, though we didn't actually greet one another.
   Cassius and I said our farewells back at the hotel parking lot, both agreeing that we looked forward to seeing everyone again in the near future.

After Action Report: MithraCon 2026 Day 2

Saturday, April 25th, 2026
Around 8 a.m. - around 10 p.m.
Participants: Marcus Quintius Clavus
Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
Marcus Cassius Julianus
Titus Ovidius Nonus
Aulus Iulius Paterculus
David
Erica
   M. Quintius Clavus woke up well before most of the rest of us. A bit after Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia had also awakened, Quintius dropped by to check on everyone else. Within a few minutes we had all showered and were ready to go to breakfast at Patricia's, the restaurant next to the hotel. It was bit less packed than usual, probably because we'd arrived early.
   Patricia herself remembered our group and was surprised it had been a year already. I asked whether Patricia's was older than MithraCon. Sibylla (who was the only one to have attended the conference since it first began) didn't know, as the earliest MithraCons had taken place in a different location. M. Cassius Julianus generously treated everyone to breakfast.
   Sibylla remained at the hotel room while the rest of us headed down to the Sterling Memorial Library. Once we arrived at the library, we headed off in different directions. Quintius had already renewed his library pass online and headed off to do research. Cassius went to the desk to renew his pass. T. Ovidius Nonus & I examined an exhibit of errata (https://events.yale.edu/event/beauties-of-my-style-errata-and-the-printed-mistake) (emendations appended to books to correct printers' errors). Nonus afterwards walked to the Yale Peabody Museum, while I went to the Bass Library downstairs.
   In the Bass Library, a display showed students who'd worked at the library were being honored by each receiving a nameplate in a book of choice. A Classics student had selected the Thebiad by Statius. I looked through a number of different collections while in the Bass Library: in the graphic novels section, I attempted to find the graphic novel adaption of 1177 B.C., which Quintius had recommended the preceding night, mentioning to us that he had gone to a talk at which he'd had his copy signed by the illustrator.
   At the Peabody, Nonus told some other visitors about Mithraism when they were discussing sun gods. He later took an Uber back to the hotel due to the rain. 
   After stopping at The Yale Bookstore, I returned to the room, only to find some new people had joined us and were engaged in conversation with Sibylla & Quintius. They introduced themselves as Erica & David. David had been informed of MithraCon through Reddit (where he'd also posted an etching he'd made of the tauroctony (https://www.reddit.com/r/Mithras/comments/1s2kd58/tauroctony_designed_and_etched_by_me/) and the two of them had decided to come up to check it out. It had required some detective work on their part, as the hotel staff didn't know about MithraCon when asked. They finally met Sibylla in the lobby wearing her MithraCon t-shirt. David told us that the person who'd told him about the conference had tried to attend as well, but had gotten discouraged at not being able to find us and left.
   Quintius told us that Cassius was still at the library because he'd found a book in Italian he was trying to scan into Word for ease of translation. We talked about various topics until Cassius and Nonus returned, and carried on when they came back. Erica & Sibylla both had experience in the medical field which gave them shared material for conversation. We talked about the Masons and about different Christian denominations. David shared a song (https://soundcloud.com/user-430526764/oh-mithras?si=79ffaab719cc4943adfdab8f9101f9bf&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing) which a friend of his, a talented musician, had set to music at Dave's request. Cassius recommended Andrew Fear's book and highlighted the shortcomings of the book he'd brought with him.
   We decided it was time for dinner. Sibylla had brought chicken & Caesar salad, Quintius almonds & dried fruit, Cassius plenty of stuffed grape leaves. Nonus brought lupini beans which he'd been saving for this occasion. I brought fresh fruit: grapes, apples, & a pineapple*. Cassius sent a photo of the pineapple to Pattie.
   Nonus read us his carefully researched essay on the gladiatorial diet, which he'd finished and sent to be graded that very weekend. One key point he made was that gladiators were not vegetarians, as we know from direct literary evidence, but that it appeared that way because the vast quantities of beans in their diet reduced the amount of nitrogen in their remains.
   David had handmade phrygian caps which he gave us to wear for a group photo. We discussed the gladiatorial reenactors who'd once been in New England.
   After we'd cleared away the dishes and leftovers, some left the room while a Raven grade initiation took place. After that was complete, Nonus, Cassius, and I talked a bit longer about polytheistic religion before going to sleep.   

* This was a nod to Vermaseren's identification of a sculpted object included on a Mithraic statue as a pineapple, which we had seen and commented upon the previous.

After Action Report: MithraCon 2026 Day 1

Friday, April 24th, 2026
Around 3 p.m. - around midnight
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
Marcus Cassius Julianus
Marcus Quintius Clavus
Aulus Iulius Paterculus
Titus Ovidius Nonus
   I arrived somewhat after 6 p.m., asked at the front desk, and was given the room numbers for the conference, along with a key card. Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia, M. Cassius Julianus, & M. Quintius Clavus had already been talking for some time. Sibylla had arrived first in the early afternoon to set things up. Cassius, who had arrived afterwards, had set up a tauroctony in one corner of the room, consisting of both a canvas image of the bull-slaying and a bronze statue of the same, set up on a table. On the counter on the other side of the room, he'd brought some of his small antiquities for sale in their portable display case.
   We spent only a little further time speaking up in the room before deciding to head down to dinner. We passed through the lobby, where Sibylla told the staff that T. Ovidius Nonus was expected to arrive later that night, giving them his macronational name. Across the street, we had dinner in the same Japanese restaurant where we'd eaten the previous year. While waiting for and during the meal, we discussed various topics. Cassius told us about an antique urn he'd purchased as part of his antiquities trading business, only realizing after it arrived that it was enormous. Sibylla told us about the farmer's markets which were soon to resume, her process for inventing new spice blends, and the fact that really hot spice blends had to be made by her colleagues, as even mixing them exposed the mixer to their heat.
   At the end of the meal, the waiter brought us an unexpected treat - eight French-style macarons. We had a few with the tea which had been shared by the table and brought the rest up to the room.
   We stayed up talking a while longer. Cassius gave out t-shirts with an image of the taurontony on them. Cassius also offered to give away his extra copy of a book on Mithraism which he had accidentally bought twice, but he reviewed the book so unfavourably that no one wanted it even for free. Then we set up the beds. I went down to the lobby & lingered there until after 11 p.m. Nonus arrived a bit afterwards.

After Action Report: Nova Britannia General Meeting Martius MMDCCLXXIX

Monday, March 2, 2026, 6:00 p.m. - 7:44 p.m.
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
    Publius Sextius Laevus
    Titus Ovidius Nonus
    Marcus Quinctius Clavus
    Numerius Octavius Astronomus
    Aulus Iulius Paterculus
   Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia, P. Sextius Laevus, T. Ovidius Nonus, and M. Quinctius Clavus proceeded me on the call by about 11 minutes and were talking about Latin and plans for dinner during that time. Laevus called me by phone and reminded me to join, which I did. Shortly thereafter, N. Octavius Astronomus joined as well.
   We discussed the Nova Britannia Facebook page, who had been participating there, and the post Nonus had made recently (which we hoped Cn. Lentulus would pin for us, as the moderator) to encourage anyone who had been interacting with Nova Britannia primarily through Facebook to join our list on groups.io (https://groups.io/g/NovaBritanniaProvincia) as well as to get involved with our meetings through Zoom & in-person. We discussed some technical problems which had come up with Facebook, particularly for Sibylla, for whom it was no longer a viable method of communication.
   Sibylla redirected the conversation to Roman things. Astronomus and Quinctius discussed business.
   Laevus explained that his name appeared as "retiarius" on Zoom because he had named the device he was using after the net- and trident-armed gladiator.
    Sybilla asked Nonus for confirmation that Nonus was a Maine resident and asked whether he had met with M. Cassius Julianus in Maine. Nonus recounted having met Cassius at the Renaissance Faire, where Cassius was selling ancient artifacts (https://www.etsy.com/shop/ImperiumAncientArts?section_id=33471086). Nonus had asked Cassius whether he was familiar with Nova Roma, to which Cassius had replied, with some surprise, that he'd co-founded it.
   Astronomus mentioned the other person he knew of in Maine who was active in Nova Roma, Tyler, whom he'd met with at the Kennebunk May Parade a few years earlier. This led to a brief discussion of that event. It seemed that Legio III Cyrenaica might not have enough legionaries in attendance to make their participation worthwhile.
   We also discussed MithraCon approaching on April 24th-25th, particularly how and when to register as well as the logistics of travel to New Haven. Sibylla stated that she would be bringing wine and shrub, which was similar to posca. Quinctius shared the recipe for recreated posca that he and other reenactors had imbibed together in the past: red grape juice, water, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Sibylla stated that she also had some non-alcoholic wine. Laevus said that he was thinking of attending MithraCon this year, a prospect which the rest of us greeted with enthusiasm..
   Nonus was asked where in Maine he was located and answered that he was in central Maine, near Orland. Laevus commented that he owned a pipe organ which had spent many years in Orland (after being built in Portland by John Knowles Paine in 1832) and that he had done some research on its history and that of the family that had owned it.
   Sibylla stated, for the benefit of those working out their travel plans, that she would be at the Courtyard Marriott setting up for MithraCon at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 24th.
   Laevus left the meeting at this time.
   I asked whether Nonus had any Roman garb. He said that he was actually making his own tunic and fillet. I suggested that he might consider attending the Kennebunk May Parade in Roman clothing, adding to whomever was able to come from Legio III Cyrenaica..Astronomus said that he would also like to participate again if it were to happen. Quinctius said that it would be complicated to come up this year, especially with all his Roman equipment. He did say that that he hadn't minded driving up in legionary garb, despite getting the occasional stare while stopped at the gas station.
   Sibylla pointed out that Quinctius was an optio. Quinctius confirmed this and gave a bit of background on the role this rank played in the Roman army. Astronomus asked whether Quinctius was the "chosen one", translating his rank literally; Quinctius verified that the rank came from the same root as the English word "option".
   Astronomus stated that he was going to an event in Auburn in March, the 100th anniversary of Robert Goddard's rocket launch (https://goddard100th.org/) and that he would like to visit the Worcester Art Museum where Legio III Cyrenaica did so many of their presentations. Quinctius gave Astronomus some details about visiting the museum. Astronomus also said he planned to attend the Artemis II launch.
   Sibylla noted the recent request I'd sent out for gubernatorial candidates for Nova Britannia and the fact that she had stepped forward reluctantly. Quinctius related that he had expressed willingness to serve in the past and might do so again in another year, when conditions were more suitable. We discussed the appointment process by the Senate and the duties of the office, of which I said the most important was probably to ensure the provincial reports were sent to the Senate as they were due. Astronomus asked who the current and most recent governors were, and I answered that the office was vacant for the time being, but that Cassius had been the most recent.
   I requested permission to reach out to new Nova Roman citizens in Nova Britannia, informing them of our provincial list and of our upcoming meeting for MithraCon. Everyone present formally approved the measure.
   On the topic of new citizens, questions this past January on Facebook by a newcomer, Anthony, were mentioned. Anthony had been asking about Nova Britannia, Legio III Cyrenaica, and the SCA.
    I mentioned having tried to organize an event in the past during which all of the participants would make their own Roman clothing. Astronomus suggested that this might be a good situation for a partnership with another group. Quinctius told us about the current standards among reenactors regarding cloth clothing: hems have to be done by hand, but it is generally considered acceptable for the sides to be done by machine. Quinctius also mentioned that during ancient times garments were often woven in their final shape rather than as bolts of cloth, so hemming was not really necessary in many cases.
    Nonus showed off the hand-stitching on his home-made ancient clothing, advising us that starting off with a two-sheet tunic was a good way to learn. Astronomus stated that he would like to see the process. Quinctius recalled having sewn Tudor clothing. Quinctius mentioned that the Romans tended to have very roomy tunics, while those worn by the Greeks were more fitted.
   Nonus arranged to go to the Worcester Art Museum with Astronomus. Nonus also mentioned that Euripides' Medea would be performed at a public Boston theater the first weekend of April, suggesting this as a potential outing.
   At this point, Zoom ended the meeting for a second time. Sibylla & Quinctius did not come back, as it was getting a bit late.
   On the topic of potential outings, Astronomus mentioned the Greek theater in Storrs and expressed the hope that we could take a group trip there one day.
   I commented that Sibylla & Quinctius both knew people in the Society for Creative Anachronism and that the SCA would probably be a good group with which to partner, as suggested earlier by Astronomus, for a garment-creation meeting.
   We discussed arranging for Nonus to be added to the Nova Britannia channel on Discord, as the only provincial channel to which he had access on Nova Roma's primary server was America Transmissippiana. While we were on the topic, Nonus informed us of recent discussion in America Transmissippiana.
   We also took a brief look at Nova Roma's official Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/novaromanitas/), run by Flavius Stilicho, before finally closing the meeting.