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 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: 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.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Februarius MMDCCLXXIX

Monday, February 2, 2026, 6:19 p.m. - 7:41 p.m.
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
   Titus Ovidius Nonus
    Aulus Iulius Paterculus
   The meeting started 19 minutes late because I had not sent the Zoom link to the Nova Britannia list the preceeding night as I had thought. T. Ovidius Nonus pointed out that there should have been a meeting. Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia was the first to join once the link had been sent.  
Sibylla and I spoke about our current activities for a while.
    Turning to Roman topics, I brought up a recent discovery in Britain (https://archaeologymag.com/2025/01/roman-road-and-mercury-temple-in-germany/), though I didn't remember any details. We talked about how modern roadwork often turned up archaeological discoveries, and whether the Romans might similarly have turned up items from earlier eras when they were excavating roads. I speculated that certain antiquarians might have been interested in purchasing interesting artifacts which were found. 
    Around this time, T. Ovidius Nonus joined us. The three of us continued discussion of archaelogists in ancient times. I pointed to the preservation of certain historical sites, notably Pindar's house, as a sign that people in the ancient world respected their history.
This eventually turned to the topic of witches who were said in ancient times to dig up bones for use in their spells, something about which Nonus had recalled hearing. I also remembered having heard of a character in the Civil War (De Bello Civili/Pharsalia by Lucan) who was described as practicing that type of magic, though I hadn't read the poem.
     This brought us around to discussing other items on our reading lists. Sibylla was reading about WWII submarines. I had just discovered the Dionysica, an epic poem discussing the invasion of India by Dionysius, and read a long excerpt in translation. Nonus commented that not only was this right in his area of interest, but that since it was written by another Nonnus he would really have to read it. I admitted that I hadn't read the history by M. Velleius Paterculus and probably should. Also, Sibylla had not read the Sibyline Oracles. Nonus had read these oracles however and not only recommended them highly but also offered to send Sibylla a PDF, which she accepted, as this would complement her previous interest in and research into divination.
    Nonus brought up the topic of ancient archaeology again, having looked up some information. There were people involved in such activities, he'd read, but more in the spirit of treasure hunting rather than the more methodical study of the past we associate with archaeology today. We discussed recovered shipwrecks from ancient times and more recent ones, with Sibylla telling us about the recovery of the Swedish warship Vasa and about ships which were deliberately sunk around harbours in wartime as a defensive measure. Sibylla also talked about the entrepot and its role in trade.
    We talked about recent usage of Latin, including by Carl Linnaeus, who not only used Latin in his classification system but titled and wrote books in Latin. In part this may have been because he was Swedish and Latin was more widely understood at the time than his native language.
We talked a bit about plans for MithraCon, before Zoom ended the call.
    Once we had reconnected, we talked about potential for meeting(s) to take place in Maine where Nonus was located.
    We discussed whether the Romans ever tried to cross Atlantic. The answer appeared to be "no", and the reason appeared to have been there was no need. During the Age of Exploration, the Ottomans blocked the Spanish & Portugese from traditional spice routes, motivating them to look for another route. With those trade routes still open, the Romans didn't have the same motives to go searching unfamiliar seas. I recalled some northward exploration which took place during ancient times (the voyages of the Greek explorer Pytheas being the prime example.
    Nonus asked about a claim one of his professors had made: that crepes at Candlemas dated back to Roman tradition. I brought an old message on the Nova Britannia list which had actually touched upon a similar topic (https://groups.io/g/NovaBritanniaProvincia/message/93 and the original article https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9265655/Second-century-pancake-recipe-proves-Romans-similar-sweet-tooth-modern-day.html).
    I asked about how the cats who now populated Rome had first gotten there. This lead to a discussion of the domestication of cats more generally. We learned in researching the topic that a separate species of cat had been domesticated independently in China.
    We discussed some other interesting facts about domestication. Nonus brought up as story he'd encountered about river otters trained by villagers in South Asia. It was reported that dogs diverged from wolves thousands of years prior to domestication and that the dingo descended from dogs domesticated in China.
    We also discussed potential pre-Colombian Chinese contact with new world before turning in for the night.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Ianuarius MMDCCLXXIX

 

Monday, January 12th, MMDCCLXXIX, 6:00 p.m. - 7:20 p.m.
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
                    Marcus Quinctius Clavus
                    Aulus Iulius Paterculus

                    Publius Sextius Laevus

   Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia and I joined the call first. I suggested to Sibylla that we might use this session to plan a few presentations for later in the year. M. Quinctius Clavus joined just as this proposal was being made, and it was repeated.

  P. Sextius Laevus also came on the call briefly. However, there were apparent technical issues which appeared to prevent him from speaking and to kick him out each of the two times he attempted to join.

   I asked whether either Sibylla or Quinctius had any agenda items they wanted to discuss. Quinctius mentioned that he would like to correct his display name in groups.io to show his Roman name rather than his English one (using the official version "Quinctius", rather than "Quintius", as we'd been accustomed to call him). As it turned out, we were able to do this on the shared screen right away, at least for the Nova Britannia list (https://groups.io/g/NovaBritanniaProvincia). Quinctius mentioned that the Nova Britannia list and the Main List (https://groups.io/g/TheForumRomanum) were the only groups to which he subscribed on groups.io, so it made sense to use his Roman name there.

   I expressed surprise that Quinctius was not on the list for Sodalitas Militaris (https://groups.io/g/sodalitas-militaris). He said that he might stir up some controversy there, especially over the optio's helmet, as many reenactment groups used the wearing of two plumes on the helmet as a distinctive badge of office for the optio, something that Quinctius said had little if any historical basis.
   This lead to a discussion of Roman helmets, with Quinctius providing most of the information as Sibylla & I asked occasional questions. Quinctius recommended the book Army of the Roman Emperors by Thomas Fischer, citing it frequently in the information he told us.Among the Fischer's theories which Quinctius thought credible were that a lot of helmets which had been found were contemporary rather than styles which had succeeded one another. In writing the book, many Eastern European helmets otherwise little reported in English-language texts had been studied, including the one example with a crosswise crest. By contrast to this singular example, many helmets with side plumes had been found, which made it unlikely that this was a mark of rank unless a disproportionate number of optiones were losing their helmets.
   Sibylla asked whether there were different regional styles. Quinctius answered that there did not seem to be much regional differentiation in helmets within the Roman army, but there was some evidence of different belt styles for different legions.
   Sibylla asked whether armour was provided to soldier or bought by them. Per Thomas Fischer, Quinctius said, these would have been bought by soldiers on installment plan. One legionary's mother was given money when his armour was sold back to the army. It was in the 1st century that this would have been deducted from pay, during the 4th century such armour had to be bought directly. It would have been bought back when soldiers left the army, as they wouldn't necessarily need their armour and might not have been permitted to take their swords. Armour which had been found with multiple names marked into it showed that the same suit of armour was reissued.
   I asked whether there were restrictions on who could be armed with swords, outside the city of Rome itself. Quinctius replied that it depended whether swords were actually needed, and gave the example of recent colonies such as Britain and Pannonia as places where former soldiers had been settled together and where they might retain weapons into retirement. Pannonia, Quinctius added, was incorporated under Augustus, while Caesar re-founded Corinth (which had been destroyed at around the same time as Carthage) as a colony.
   Sibylla asked about armour found in Teutoburg Forest. Quinctius reported that there were a few plates found, as well as one near-full set of armour on buried body. This was the second near-full set to be discovered, a rare and unusual find, and was on display in the local Kalkriese museum. These finds had actually help persuade archaeologists that segmented armour was in use earlier than previously thought.
   Sibylla asked where the armour was made. Quinctius answered that there were shops that supplied armour and cloaks to the troops: local businesspeople were recorded as selling it. It was only in Late Antiquity that state-owned fabrica were employed for supply. I wondered, though did not say, whether the private manufacture of items worn by the troops could have enabled others to impersonate soldiers, and what the penalty would have been for doing so.
   The conversation turned to army transport, which Quinctius told us was independent from the civilian system and which employed rivers when possible, as water transport was much cheaper than land. This lead to a conversation about canals, ancient and modern. There was an old canal near Quinctius, of which the most noticeable remnant was "Canal Street". We wondered whether the Erie Canal was still in use (the answer appears to be yes, based on brief subsequent research, but the modern canal is somewhat different than the original one and sees less commercial traffic). Quinctius brought up the canal at Corinth.
   We discussed Roman concrete and differences between Roman and Medieval stonework. Quinctius noted that Roman stonework was smooth and even, while Medieval stonework was more often of differently shaped stones.As further points of comparison, Sibylla brought up Inca & Aztec stonework.and Quinctius the Cyclopean walls of Mycenaean cities, both cases in which close-fitting stones were laid together without the need for mortar.

   We also talked about how later people often cannibalized old monuments for their stone. Sibylla mentioned the pyramids, while Quinctius mentioned that certain parts of Hadrian's wall had vanished because local farmers had repurposed much of the materials. Quinctius also mentioned a Roman gravestone had been incorporated into the foundation of a church.

   Quinctius stated that the remains of most Romans whose tombstones were still in existence had been lost, but that the ashes of Marcus Favonius Facilis were believed found under their marker.
   For my part, I said that I would be pretty nervous about having a gravestone incorporated into my house and that I was surprised that the Medieval or early modern people reusing these stones were not more concerned about being haunted. Quinctius expressed doubts that people of the time of which he was speaking would have been concerned about ghosts of an earlier and different culture. I mused aloud that incorporating a gravestone into a church might have been seen as less risky than building it into a private home.

  Sibylla asked about Roman beliefs about ghosts. I mentioned the book Greek and Roman Ghost Stories by Lacy Collison-Morley, but wasn't able to remember many details from it. Sibylla said that a story of a Roman ghost awakening in Medieval or early modern times due to reuse of a gravestone would be an interesting story. Quinctius recalled a short story in the ebook sequel to "The Legions of the Mist" by Amanda Cockrell (https://www.amandacockrell.com/) with a somewhat similar premise.
   We talked a bit about the beliefs of modern people concerning ghosts. Quintius mentioned taking a class on religiously unaffiliated people, in which he'd learned that a significant minority of people who did not believe in Heaven or Hell still believed in ghosts. Sibylla and Quinctius each told stories of things which had been experienced by people they knew. I suggested that "Ghost Stories from Ancient Times" might be a good topic for a presentation, and Quinctius said he might be able to research the topic, but that it would have to wait until later in the year. (It wasn't said at the time, but October might be a good time.)
   Sibylla asked whether the Romans would have had option for storage of goods by private individuals, analogous to the storage units we have in modern days. I was doubtful that this was as in-demand in ancient times, and Quinctius could not recall an exact analogue, though he did speculate that it might have been possible to rent space in a warehouse. With respect to the military, Quinctius mentioned the mansiones as a system of transportation and storage.
   Sibylla brought up weekends in Roman times. There were no weekends for most Romans during Classical times, as a day of rest was a Jewish & Christian tradition. However, Saturdays were observed in Israel. Quinctius said that even slaves & animals had Saturdays off, per Torah. Quinctius & Sibylla each also mentioned lengths to which observant Christians & Jews would go in modern times to keep from working on their respective holy days. 
   We talked a bit about the Jewish diaspora. Quinctius mentioned a few places with significant Jewish communities: Alexandria, Rome (especially trans Tiber). Quinctius also stated that Caesar supposedly knew many Jews as a result of growing up in the Subura. 

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Decembris MMDCCLXXVIII

Monday, December 1st, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 7:21 p.m.
Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia
Numerius Octavius Astronomus
Aulus Iulius Paterculus
    Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia and I were the first to join the meeting. We were both hopeful that others would join to help work out the details of the Saturnalia gathering on December 20th, but we started hammering out those details we could while it was just the two of us. I confirmed those transportation arrangements with which I was involved, and we each spoke about what we would be contributing towards the potluck. It was estimated that arrival would be 10 a.m. the morning of December 20th.
    Sibylla also noted that Cassius had reserved rooms for MithraCon, which would take place on April 24th, 25th, & 26th. We discussed who might be attending.
    We discussed Roman roads, and Sibylla shared that the gauge on most modern railways, with the odd exception of those in Russia, were based on the spacing of grooves for wagons on Roman roads. This lead into a brief discussion of railway travel. We also discussed other aspects of Roman transportation and compared with what we knew of other contemporary societies (which was not very detailed knowledge for either of us).
    I reported that another Nova Roman, Cn. Aurelius Carolus, had shared plans in the Forum Domitium to build a hydraulus. I suggested that we invite Cn. Aurelius to present the results to us once the project was farther along, knowing that we had multiple fans of the organ in our province, and Sibylla was enthusiastic about the idea.
    Soon after, N. Octavius Astronomus joined the call. Astronomus told us about his schedule and conflicts which could potentially prevent him from attending Saturnalia in-person, though he wanted to if it was possible. If not, he suggested incorporating an hour-long Zoom call into the meeting for remote attendance.
    Astronomus shared a book on science in antiquity which he thought he might have acquired during MithraCon. There were chapters on science in a number of ancient civilizations. We discussed the fact that the libri fulgurales divided the sky into 16 sections rather than the more usual 12, and whether this might have some relation to the origins of the Etruscans.
    Astronomus shared a video on ancient timekeeping from Luke Ranieri's Polymathy channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSV0Amt0GC8).
    Astronomus said he would reach out to Marcus Claudius Pupienus Maximus and Tyler to see whether they would be coming down to Connecticut for Saturnalia. Astronomus reported that Pupienus had been occupied with publishing his book on Roman numismatics and related history. He also said that Tyler had been making a study of ancient philosophy. Sibylla said she would reach out to M. Cassius Julianus to clarify whether he was coming down for Saturnalia also and asked me to send an email to the Main List to invite Novi Romani from further afield.
    Astronomus stated that he would be heading back to Toronto next summer and would be meeting with Corvus again, and possibly other Nova Romans in Canada. We discussed whether he could get a message to Canada's provincial forum letting the local citizens know he would be interested in meeting them.
    We discussed the future remote meetings for the month: a Latin meeting on December 15th, which we decided should probably begin with 10 minutes or so in English to finish our planning for the 20th, and the 29th, which might be a good time for someone to give a presentation.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Novembris MMDCCLXXVIII

Monday, November 3rd, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 7:38 p.m.
Participants: Publius Sextius Laevus

Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Marcus Quintius Clavus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   When I joined the meeting, P. Sextius Laevus was already present. He asked whether I had seen the link which he had posted to a Latin Halloween story (https://beluosus.dreamwidth.org/544998.html) in Discord. I replied that I had seen this link both there and on the Nova Britannia list, though I had not read the story itself. I asked whether he wanted to make an attempt to read it during our Latin meeting later that month, and he replied that it depended on what others wanted to do, as it might make for slow reading. I agreed, recalling that our last attempt to read a story by the same author, while entertaining, had been rather challenging.

   Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia joined the call, followed shortly thereafter by M. Quintius Clavus. We had a short conversation on several modern topics, including vacination and various wildlife which people had encountered both close to home and while on trips. Quintius reported seeing bighorn sheep, rocky mountain goats, coyotes, and a wolf on trips in the Black Hills and Canada. Sibylla also brought up the issue of Quintius' car, which as it turned out had given out entirely. This meant that Quintius would need a ride to Sibylla's house for Saturnalia.

   Sibylla brought the topic back to Roman things, asking what each of us had been looking into recently. I mentioned having begun a fantasy audiobook about the Legio IX Hispania and its teleportation to another plane of existance (Lost Legio IX by Marc Alan Edelheit).

   Laevus shared with the others what he had been telling me about the story he'd read, and mentioned that it referred to a real Roman town which had been excavated near Cambridge, Durobrivae. He mentioned that there was a Wikipedia page and three YouTube videos (https://youtu.be/fbjnzTjBP58?si=W38wJk8mPKKPgywU ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_CCsWf1c9w ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TeCQhuTZVM) about it.

   Quintius talked about reading some letters sent by a Roman soldier who had attempted to join Legio III Cyrenaica (in ancient times, not our Legio III!) and was sent into the Navy instead before finally gaining the deployment he wanted. Laevus asked for the link to these letters.

   There was some discussion about the authorship of the gospels of Luke and Matthew based on the language, with Luke appearing to be a native Greek speaker while Matthew was not. Laevus mentioned a desire to learn Greek, but noted that there was not really time to pursue such a gramatically complex language at the moment, in addition to Latin. There was some conversation about the evolution of the Christian Church. Sibylla brought up the cult of Isis, and Quintius made the point that the Isis brought to Rome was a thoroughly Hellenized version of the goddess as a result of Ptolemaic influence. Laevus mentioned that he would like to have an in-depth religious discussion with a cultor or cultrix deorum. Quintius talked about a book he'd read about Roman army religion in Britain, including both Roman and indigenious British deities. He mentioned that the cult of Mithras appeared to draw mainly from the ranks of centurions, while lower ranking soldiers tended to worship a British god who was similar in certain ways.

   The call was cut off here. Laevus and Quintius rejoined, but Sibylla did not, presumably having gone to bed. Astronomus joined soon after, having just arrived back home from college.

   There was a bit of personal discussion, and Laevus told Astronomus a bit about the Halloween story and the town of Durobrivae, as Astronomus had been absent for the earlier conversation.

   Quintius said that he recognized the name, though he might not have been able to place the town on a map. He said he might have passed near the town on his trip to England. Quintius told us about some of the ruins he'd visited on that occasion, one of which was in a cowfield entered through a "kissing gate" (designed so that humans could pass easily while humans could not), which the tour guide had complained was not being maintained. Astronomus shared the YouTube channel of Paul Whitewick (https://www.youtube.com/@pwhitewick), who took viewers through some of these ruins in the British countryside.

   Laevus talked about having steped on the ground of the old Roman forum in one English town he visited, much to the annoyance of the residents of the home above, who had tourists traipsing through their house all the time. Astronomus said that the fact that it was underground showed how the ground had settled. Quintius remarked that this was much like the underground part of Seattle, which had similarly been buried through the passage of time.

   The meeting ended again, and this time Laevus did not come back. Quintius and Astronomus talked about upcoming events. Sibylla would be at Changing Times Changing Worlds (https://ctcw.net/ctcw-2025-speakers/). Quintius would be at the Worchester Art Museum November 22 (https://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/arms-and-armor/), but possibly not on December 13 when others from Legio III Cyrenaica would be there (https://www.worcesterart.org/events/arms-and-armor-up-close-legion-iii-cyrenaica/), due to the car troubles. Astronomus expressed a desire to gather some citizens to visit the Worchester Art Museum together for one of these events. We also talked about Saturnalia, and Quintius confirmed that there was no conflict for him after all, meaning it would probably be the weekend of December 20th-21st.

   There followed a discussion of the evolution of Roman helms and armour. Quintius cited Thomas Fischer (https://www.oxbowbooks.com/9781789251845/army-of-the-roman-emperors/) as an opponent of the school which believed in a more "linear" evolution.
  

Nova Britannia Latin Meeting: Octobris MMDCCLXXVIII

Monday, October 20th, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 7:03 p.m.
Participants:    Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

                        Publius Sextius Laevus

                        Marcus Quintius Clavus

                        Numerius Octavius Astronomus

                        Aulus Iulius Paterculus

    Early in the meeting there were in-person congratulations, first by M. Quintius Clavus and then by P. Sextius Laevus and me, of Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia on her adlection to the Senate. There was some discussion of what responsibilities this entailed, which it was agreed would also be posted in written form on the Nova Britannia list for future reference. Sibylla promised to be a voice for Nova Britannia in the Senate and told everyone to let her know their concerns.

    Quintius then left the call to enjoy dinner. I noted that it would be good to have a version of the phrase " Bon appétit" in Latin, but no one knew it.

    The three of us still present on the call spent some time reading and translating from Familia Romana. We read from the start of Capitulum IX to line 74, leaving on a cliffhanger: the words "Lupus collum ovis petit dentibus..."

    We decided to end the Latin session there, and were cut off just as Laevus was about to make some final comment. I returned just in case Laevus wanted to come back and finish what he was saying.

     This was fortuitous, because shortly thereafter, N. Octavius Astronomus joined the call. Astronomus explained that he had just returned home from school and asked whether there was any vital news in Nova Britannia. I commented on Sibylla's adlection and we discussed this for a while, as well as how the censors usually post the results of the census in general. Astronomus was struck by the fact that the censors hadn't contacted Sibylla beforehand, but had left her to discover her new status along with everyone else.

    Astronomus gave some updates on his work as Triumvir monetalis, working alongside Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus and Marcus Octavius Corvus to plan the creation of new Nova Roman coins. Astronomus said the process was going well but slowly, with the cost of the project being a large factor and an ongoing debate on whether to use modern or ancient minting methods. He added that the reception and use of the new coins by citizens was a major consideration. Astronomus also said he'd communicated with some Rome enthusiasts outside Nova Roma for advice on the project.

    Astronomus asked whether there had been any progress on the conventus. I said there had not, but that I had not tried to get in contact with Cassius recently and should reach out again.

    Astronomus described his busy schedule, but said that he would try to make at least one meeting a month and that he would try to let people know if he was planning to attend, so that we knew to wait for him. He sent greetings to everyone, saying to let them know he was still here.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Octobris MMDCCLXXVIII

Monday, October 6th, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 6:56 p.m.

Participants:    Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

                        Marcus Quintius Clavus

                        Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   Upon joining the call, I asked Sibylla, who was already present, "What's new?"/"Quid novi?" She responded to both the English and Latin version of the question with a shrug.

   This prompted me to ask whether the shrug was used in ancient Rome, noting that in ancient Greece we knew nods to have a different usage than in most of the modern West. Quintius, who had joined about this time, concurred that nods and other gestures were different in ancient Greece. Quintius added that Jan Fraizer, whose YouTube series on Alexander the Great Quintius had found very enjoyable, had gone into this topic, as had some historical novels. However, the gestures used by the Romans had not been explored by the same sources. Quintius did comment that the shrug in particular was sometimes associated with the Jews. I wondered aloud how far back any such cultural connection might have gone.

  This lead to a discussion of Jewish history, and particularly of the Babylonian exile. Quintius clarified that the Babylonians had actually taken two groups of Jews captive at different times, both times primarily elites, while much of the lower class was permitted to remain in Israel. Quintius stated that these captives did not appear to have been enslaved, and added that slavery was somewhat less pervasive in Babylon than in Rome, though still extant. Also discussed was the origin of the Jewish diaspora with these events and the decision of some communities of Jews to remain abroad when the Persians ended the exile. Quintius wondered how far back the synagogue found at Dura Europus might have been found to date.

  I commented that the Romans also would probably not have enslaved members of a foreign elite, even if they were taken captive, as this would have compromised the broader project of co-opting the elites of subject peoples. Quintius agreed, citing the examples of Arminius taken as a hostage for his father and the of Claudians an elite clan of a non-Roman (non-Etruscan) people which had joined the Romans back in the Regal Period.

  I then asked about plans the others had for the Autumn season. Sibylla stated that farmer's markets were tapering off for the year. Quintius stated that he would be attending the East Kingdom Coronation for the Society of Creative Anachronism in Wooster, followed by the Providence Columbus Day Parade with Legio III Cyrenaica. He commented that it might rain, and that while they would march rain or shine, it was a bit miserable dealing with wet armour.

  This led to conversation about the weather, which Sibylla deftly brought back on topic by asking whether there had been frost in Rome. Both Quintius and I asserted that there had been. Quintius more specifically stated that there was cold weather on north shore of Mediterranean, but that the climate was mildness due to the temperature-moderating effect of the sea. He added that during the height of the western Roman empire, the climate worldwide was warmer and that archaeologists were able to measure drought.

 Quintius also mentioned that grapes in Britain during this time, another sign of warmer temperatures. I mentioned Concord grapes, developed during the era of the North American British colonies, as a form of grape which could endure a cooler climate. Sibylla stated that the Concord grapes were likely bred from indigenous wild grapes and I agreed.

 Quintius stated that humanity had engaged in selective breeding from time immemorial. Sibylla cited the examples of corn, bred originally from a kind of grass, and of the various exotic breeds of dogs. Quintius brought up cats as a species which had not been quite as heavily modified through breeding as dogs. I mentioned that there was a certain breed I'd heard of with dog-like behavior patterns, though I didn't recall which one. Quintius recalled something similar and also did not remember the breed, although he did mention that Siamese cats could become very attached to a single person.

  Sibylla stated that dogs were frequently mentioned by Romans in their literature and that cats had likely come north with the Roman Empire, although the Norwegian forest cats may have already been there from an earlier migration. Sibylla mentioned that these were the ancestor of the Maine coon cat (which she also later mentioned was the breed she'd had at home while growing up). Quintius recalled a genetic test which revealed some Siberian cat ancestry.

  Zoom then ended the call. Sibylla had time to warn us that she would not be coming back that evening, as it was time for bed.

  However, Quintius and I rejoined for a while. I asked Quintius whether the proposed date of December 21st for Saturnalia would work for him. He cited a potential conflict with the Yule celebration for the local SCA and agreed to discuss this with Sibylla once the SCA's dates were finalized.

  Quintius shared the sad news of having read an obituary on the Main List. I was shocked to learn that this obituary was for P. Annaeus Constantinus Placidus and we spent some time reflecting on his character and achievements.

  Quintius asked after Astronomus, and, after a bit of further conversation, signed off.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Septembris MMDCCLXXVII

Monday, September 15th, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 7:02 p.m.

Participants:    Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

                        Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   The evening started with some catching up on one another's activities. Sibylla reported having been busy with the spice trade, which had been busy. I mentioned having begun Medicus by Ruth Downie, a book which Sibylla had confirmed having read in the past. We talked a bit about historical fiction, including the Marcus Didius Falco books and Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove.

   Sibylla's roommate Cindy dropped by and shared some Latin quotations that she knew.

   We talked a bit about Roman cuisine, naturally including spices. Sibylla talked about the origins of the varieties of pepper (long and black). I recalled a recent interview with Mary Beard (though I don't recommend it too highly) in which there was a brief mention of the enormous amounts of silver mined in Spain and shipped east to buy spices. Mary Beard was new to Sibylla, and I recommended her as an authoress who was both accessible and academically qualified.

   We read a bit of Capitulum VI from Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata.

    We also briefly talked about the Interpretation of Dreams by Artemidorus, of which I had recently acquired a copy. 

   Sibylla disclosed that the date for our Saturnalia festivities was tentatively set - December 20th-21st. I encouraged her to share this on the list to make sure everyone was in agreement on the dates. Sibylla also mentioned that Cassius had firm dates for MithraCon.

    In discussing Saturnalia, Sibylla mentioned that Quintius was planning to bring his fantastic Roman cheesecake. I asked whether there was such a thing as Roman fruitcake. We both felt that there must be, and a brief search revealed this page, with a recipe from Apicius for a pear dessert.

    We also tried to brainstorm some ideas for future presentation topics. Sibylla came up with two interesting ones which neither of us knew much about - Roman farming and Roman fishing.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: II Januarius MMDCCLXXVIII

 Monday, January 27th, MMDCCLXXVIII, 6:00 p.m. - 7:20 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Publius Sextius Laevus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Marcus Quintius Clavus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

    Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia & I were the first to join. Sibylla told me she was reading about World War II history and recounted a story about two of her own family members during that war. P. Sextius Laevus arrived in time to hear the end of the story.

    Conversation returned to ancient and modern (water, pipe, and reed) organs. Laevus explained the principles by which different types of organs created sound vibrations, comparing them to smaller instruments like recorders, transverse flutes, and harmonicas. He had even sketched out illustration to show how the shape of the instrument effected airflow. N. Octavius Astronomus joined just as Laevus was showing this illustration. Laevus also shared the website where he had obtained much of this information (https://www.archaeologychannel.org/video-guide-summary/109-the-ancient-hydraulis).

   Sibylla wondered aloud how the Romans had been inspired to create the organ. Laevus speculated that panpipes had been the original protype and recounted for us the myth of Pan and Syrinx. Around this time, M. Quintius Clavus joined the call.

   Laevus wondered whether the Romans had bells, or, if not, what would have been used to wake people up in the mornings. 'Sunlight' was my suggestion. Laevus mentioned horns or trumpets, and Quintius confirmed these to have been used by the army to mark out watches. Another possibility raised by Laevus was that of someone being hired to go door-to-door waking people, and Quintius mentioned being cast in this role himself on one occasion. I asked how Quintius himself managed to wake up on time, to which he replied that he was naturally an early riser.

    Discussion moved on to other ancient musical instruments and what we knew of the music itself. Astronomus recommended the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@faryafaraji, which not only had re-creations of ancient music, but explained how these recreations were made. I mentioned having started (but not finished) the lecture in Latin by Luke Ranieri on YouTube for which Astronomus had shared a link on the Forum Domitium shortly before the meeting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OjMTxWYrOY&t=77s). I commented that the astronomical terms must be useful to Astronomus, and he agreed there was a lot of interesting technical terminology, adding that some terms were relatively easy to figure out.

    This led to a discussion of Latin in general. Laevus commented on how the most recent Sunday Latin meeting had gone and made suggestions for future improvements. Astronomus brought up Latin-related activities he had seen taking place in Virginia. Quintius commented that Classical studies received a lot of attention in that area. I wondered about Nova Roman activities in the area. Astronomus found the local legion on our website (http://novaroma.org/nr/Legio_XXIV_Media_Atlantia_(Nova_Roma)). Quintius told us some of the history of this legion and of Legion XX (https://www.larp.com/legioxx/), which was not affiliated with Nova Roma, but was known for such excellent research that our own Legio III Cyrenaica used them as a source.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Julius MMDCCLXXVII

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Julius MMDCCLXXVII

Monday, July 6th, MMDCCLXXVII, 6:00 p.m. - 6:40 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Publius Sextius Laevus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   At the start of the meeting, I requested a delay of my presentation on Roman medicine, as I had not yet done enough research for a full introduction to the topic. Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia and N. Octavius Astronomus agreed. A second later, P. Sextius Laevus signed on.

   The conversation turned to the announcement four days earlier by M. Cassius Julianus on the dates for MithraCon the following year (Friday, April 25th to Sunday April 27th, 2025). Sibylla stated that she planned to take more notes next MithraCon, as the conversation had been quite interesting in April 2024. Astronomus likewise recalled the detailed presentations given by Patty and Zoe, and the distance Zoe had travelled to attend. I asked about progress on steps needed to qualify the next MithraCon as a Conventus. Sibylla and Astronomus reported that they and Cassius had discussed venues and looked into the ballroom of the hotel where the majority of MithraCon took place. We agreed that this would require more deliberation, but that having the dates was an important step, allowing people to add it to their plans.

   Laevus said that he would not be able to attend MithraCon, since it would involve too much travel. He did say that one of us could meet with him if we happened to be passing through Albany and called ahead.

   Sibylla mentioned that she would have copies of her newest book Tales of the North at MithraCon. This an irreverent take on Norse myth continuing her earlier book - Norse Mythology...According to Uncle Einar. Sibylla said she might next give Greco-Roman mythology the same treatment.

   We next discussed Saturnalia for the coming December. It was agreed that either Sunday, December 15th or Saturday, December 21st would be good options, but it was left open for everyone, particularly Sibylla as the hostess, to think about further.

    Astronomus announced as the call ended that he was gathering a local in-person Latin group, which hopefully would begin meeting regularly.

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Junius MMDCCLXXVII

Nova Britannia General Meeting: Junius MMDCCLXXVII

Monday, June 17th, MMDCCLXXVII, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Participants: Marcus Quintius Clavus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Publius Sextius Laevus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

   Shortly after the call began, we drifted into a conversation about different styles of armour, particularly mail, in Roman times and afterward. Since this was in his area of expertise, much of this was questions to M. Quintius Clavus from the rest of us. He told us that 4-on-1 mail was the most common form of mail through much of history, with the exception of the Seleucid Empire, where archaeologists had found 5-on-1 mail. Quintius also mentioned some of the activities Legio III Cyrenaica had planned for the coming months and John Conyard of Comitatus.

   When Zoom ended the meeting, Quintius was not able to call back in due to another item on his schedule. P. Sextius Laevus talked a bit about his history in the Roman Republic Cultural Group. N. Octavius Astronomus and I tried to help Laevus to join the Nova Roma and Curia servers on Discord, as well as a non-Nova Roma-affiliated Latin server recommended by Astronomus.

   Zoom ended the meeting again. Astronomus & I returned and had a surprisingly long and detailed discussion about the effects of translation technology on language (conversational Latin in particular), which language(s) would make the best lingua franca (Astronomus suggested each region of the globe have its own), and how Roman revivalism might evolve when humanity colonized the stars (I suggested Astronomus should found Nova Roma's space program).

Nova Britannia General Meeting Aprilis MMDCCLXXVII

Monday, April 22nd, MMDCCLXXVII, 7:00 p.m. - 8:02 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

                    Marcus Quintius Clavus

                    Aulus Iulius Paterculus

                    Publius Sextius Laevus

                    Numerius Octavius Astronomus

    When I joined, Sibylla and Quintius were already present and discussing plans for MithraCon, which was to take place the following weekend. Laevus joined shortly afterwards.

   I expressed a bit of concern on behalf of those attending due to the recently publicized disruptions on the Yale campus. Quintius replied that there was no cause for concern and that he was no stranger to protest himself.   Astronomus joined around this time, and conversation turned to meals. Sibylla had a list of what everyone had agreed to bring to the Roman dinner, and compared notes on which restaurant plans would be best for dinner the other night.

    They also talked about planned activities during the day: Sibylla would be spending much of Saturday in the hotel room with Cassius and Patricia, sketching out a modern Mithraic system, while Quintius led the rest of the group to the library, where he would himself do research on regal and Hellenistic Macedonia, as well as catching up on any new resources related to the Roman army acquired by Yale.

    Quintius also mentioned some presentations to take place in early May at the Peabody Museum, including a talk by Eric Cline (author of 1177 B.C. and After 1177 B.C.), which Quintius planned to attend. 

     Sibylla commented on the book by Andrew Fear on Mithras which she had been reading and her plans to talk with Cassius about the possible Mithraic background of Masonry. Quintius doubted any direct line of descent, pointing out that certain features were common to secret societies in general. This led into a discussion comparing and contrasting Mithraism, Masonry, and the cult of Bona Dea, which was brought up by Laevus.

      Astronomus mentioned an observatory around New Haven he hoped one day to visit, which he had learned about while researching potential collaborators for his work. Quintius mentioned a Farmington astronomy club, which had recently given a presentation on meteors to the public.

      Astronomus also shared some pictures he'd taken of the full moon.

      After Zoom kicked us out, only Sibylla, Astronomus, and I returned. Sibylla and Astronomus discussed having an astronomy activity during the weekend of MithraCon, Astronomus reached out to Pupienus to see if he would be attending, and we talked about plans for MithraCon the following year.

Nova Britannia Meeting – Ianuarius MMDCCLXXVII

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

Publius Sextius Laevus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

Marcus Claudius Pupienus Maximus

    The first portion of this meeting was occupied with provincial business.

    Sibylla, who had been close to cancelling MithraCon due to lack of confirmed attendees, stated that the event could be financially viable if we could sign up six paying attendees by the Ides of March, in addition to Sibylla and M. Quintius Clavus. We discussed possible weekends for this gathering and agreed to send messages to Discord and the Main List to interest people.

   M. Claudius stated that he lived in New Hampshire, four hours from New Haven. He also introduced himself, sharing his brief biography.

   We moved onto the provincial requirements and how we could ensure Nova Britannia met them. The two big issues were required message volume on the forum (15 per month by at least 5 citizens) and in-person meetings (at least two per year with at least five resident citizens in attendance). We all agree to post more and Sibylla stated that she would ask Quintius to ask members of Legio III whether some of them would be willing to become nominal members of Nova Roma so that a higher proportion of events could reach the threshold number of local citizens.

   We then talked a little about food - Sibylla was snacking on a horse-shaped gingerbread cookie, and Astronomus gave a positive review to the tahini halva I'd brought for Saturnalia.

   There was a conversation about numismatics, which was a particular topic of interest for Claudius. Claudius said that Roman coins continued in circulation into the Middle Ages. Sibylla mentioned imitation of Roman coins, sometimes creating a "Xerox effect" Claudius also mentioned that he knew someone who found a hoard from the crisis of the third century. Astronomus commented that coins "very fingerprint of the government that made them."

   Then we made plans for presentations for the year: Claudius agreed to present on numismatics in March, Astronomus on astronomy in June or July, Sibylla on spices, and I on Roman medicine on unspecified dates.

Novembris MMDCCLXXVI – Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting

Novembris MMDCCLXXVI – Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting

Monday, November 6th, MMDCCLXXVI, 7:00 p.m. - 8:20 p.m.

Participants: Publius Sextius Laevus

Marcus Quintius Clavus

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

   P. Sextius Laevus was first to join the call. He shared a bit more about the Latin language blog to which he had just sent out a link on the Nova Britannia list. The author of this blog had been posting a scary story for

Halloween, in Latin, for years, and these were still available in the blog archives.

   M. Quintius Clavus joined toward the end of this conversation. Quintius mentioned that the source of his cognomen was his ownership of a set of iron Roman nails, which he liked to display while giving educational presentations. Laevus asked about other items in Quintius's collection of Roman artifacts. Quintius mentioned several coins, including a coin of Constantine with Sol Invictus on the opposite side.

  Discussion turned toward Roman coins in general. Laevus and I had a variety of questions, which Quintius answered.

   N. Octavius Astronomus joined and spoke briefly with Quintius about logistics for his attendance at our next Saturnalia gathering.

   Zoom then ended the call and we rejoined for the second half.

   We had a discussion of the recent change of the hour. Laevus and Quintius recounted the experience of adjusting the time on old grandfather clocks. This led Astronomus to propose the topic of timekeeping in the ancient world as a subject for a future presentation. Quintius shared a bit he knew about watches kept by the Roman military overnight and agreed this would be good to look into in further detail, perhaps including earlier ancient cultures in the research.

   Quintius mentioned an upcoming Zoom call with his SCA barony. This led to a discussion of the evolution of the SCA's kingdoms in eastern North America, which led us to converse about the recent establishment of Colonia Cornelia Aquincensium in Budapest by citizens of Nova Roma.

  We finished with a brief conversation about the macronational elections which would take place the following day in certain locations.

   Many thanks to the participants who reviewed this report.

Remote Roman Birthday Feast

Remote Roman Birthday Feast

April 18th, 2023, 7:00 p.m. - 7:37 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

                     A. Iulius Paterculus

                     Cn. Cornelius Lentulus

                     M. Quintius Clavus

                     A. Tullia Scholastica

   Sibylla Fulvia and I joined the call first and engaged in some pleasant conversation about our lives and farmers' markets.

   Cn. Lentulus arrived shortly thereafter. I expressed the hope that Lentulus was not too exhausted, since for him it was 1 a.m., on a weekday. He replied that while it was late, he had come because he had been invited and to honour Scholastica on her birthday. Lentulus added that he expected to leave early.

   The three of us examined the Latin translation of "Happy Birthday" Scholastica had provided to us. Sibylla asked Lentulus to share the Hungarian version of the song, which he did. Sibylla shared a verse of the SCA version.

    Quintius and Scholastica joined around that time. I pointed out that Lentulus had said he wouldn't be staying very long and suggested we jump ahead to the cake, if anyone had made one. No one had, but Sibylla did fetch and light a candle for Scholastica.

    Scholastica showed us photos of her childhood, one being carried as a baby by her mother (whom Lentulus compared to a young Queen Elizabeth), another standing outside her house on the day of her high school graduation (wearing a white gown and rose bouquet, as well as the medal she had been given), and a third sitting next to her younger brother (she was 11 & he was 8). We learned that Scholastica's mother had also been a teacher.

   Scholastica & Sibylla shared some experiences in teaching, which showed that the profession was not for the faint of heart.

   The others told of the meals they had earlier in the evening. Sibylla had enjoyed chicken, which Scholastica also planned to have that night, Quintius had eaten lamb with Greek seasoning, and Lentulus humus with pita bread with vegetables. We agreed that these dishes would likely have been recognisable to the ancients, although Quintius had supplemented his lamb with a thoroughly American side of home fries.

   Sibylla mentioned the fast food restaurant unearthed in Pompeii, and Lentulus told us of the visit he and Tita Popillia Laenas had made to Pompeii & Herculaneum the previous year. Conversation turned to upcoming trips: Lentulus to Rome, Scholastica to Budapest, and Sibylla to give a presentation in southern Connecticut. Scholastica was encountering some challenges in planning her trip. Quintius had some suggestions, but it was clear that Scholastica had research and preparations ahead.

   I told the others of the tour I would be taking of Greece in a few weeks and showed the two Roman dishes I'd prepared: olive relish & fish with cheese.

   We sang Scholastica's translation of "Happy Birthday". Lentulus fetched a candle and I a flashlight, so that Scholastica could ceremonially blow them out alongside the candle Sibylla had burning all along. Lentulus made a toast to Scholastica in Latin, and we drank to her health.

   Quintius was telling us of his intended travels, to CT Latin & Greek Day on April 27th, to Kennebunk on May 6th, and elsewhere when the call ended.

Thanks to Scholastica for feedback on the initial draft.

Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting: Martius MMDCCLXXVI

Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting: Martius MMDCCLXXVI

Attendees: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

Aulus Iulius Paterculus

Aula Tullia Scholastica

Marcus Quintius Clavus

Numerius Octavius Astronomus

   As we joined the meeting one or two at a time, Sibylla, who had joined first, inquired what we had been up to lately.

   I reported typing up some of the vocabulary for our next Latin meeting.

   Scholastica mentioned that she had processed a number of citizenship applications while her Latin class was on recess and persuaded one of her best students and his wife to join Nova Roma, as well as another acquaintance in Ukraine contacted with the help of Sarmatians affiliated with Arx Mercatura. Sibylla suggested that Scholastica's friends would be welcome to join our remote meetings, although Scholastica pointed out that the time difference might be an issue. (They are six hours ahead of us.  Ukraine may be seven hours ahead, as is Finland.)

   Octavius told of his recent trip to gaming convention PAX East (https://east.paxsite.com/) and shared photos of the many Roman-/Classical-themed board games he'd found there, included one he'd purchased. Sibylla invited him to bring this to the next in-person event.

   We discussed ancient board games and the possibility of playing them together, perhaps even remotely via a website we found with a brief search, Locus Ludi (https://locusludi.ch/play-ancient-online-games/).

   Quintius described two recent events he'd attended with Legio III Cyrenaica (https://www.facebook.com/LegionIIICyr/). The first was a meeting of the Classical Association of New England over St. Patrick's Day/Liberalia weekend. The second was a display at the Worchester Art Museum, that past Saturday, March 25th, which had over 50 attendees per presentation, which Quintius attributed modestly to the weather.

   Sibylla informed us that there would likely not be a full MithraCon that year, as the number of expected attendees would not be sufficient to cover a hotel room. However, a day trip to New Haven was not out of the question.

   We talked about Roman bread and food in general. Octavius said that it was too bad food could not be shared digitally. I suggested we each cook the same Roman dish at home and eat it together (remotely). We settled on the 18th of April as the best date for this little party, which was very felicitous, as it happened to be Scholastica's birthday. It was agreed that we would sing "Happy Birthday" in Latin to mark the occasion. (Scholastica herself provided the translation via Discord soon after this meeting.)

Thanks to Scholastica for feedback on the initial draft.

Februarius MMDCCLXXVI – Nova Britannia Meeting & Roman Transportation Presentation

Februarius MMDCCLXXVI – Nova Britannia Meeting & Roman Transportation Presentation

Part I

Monday, February 27, 2023, 8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Participants: Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

M. Quintius Clavus

N. Octavius Astronomus

A. Iulius Paterculus

        During the first half hour of our meeting, I gave a presentation on transportation in the Roman world. N. Octavius Astronomus, who had not been able to join us for the first part of this meeting came on after the presentation finished, and a few of us carried on discussion of various topics for some time after that.

Part II

Wednesday, March 1, 2023 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Participants: N. Octavius Astronomus

A. Tullia Scholastica

P. Aurelius Barbatus

A. Iulius Paterculus

        I had agreed to repeat the Roman transportation presentation for N. Octavius Astronomus and A. Tullia Scholastica. We decided to have this second presentation on the “Open Forum” voice channel of the Forum Domitium and to let others on the forum know that it was taking place. P. Aurelius Barbatus joined shortly after the presentation started and left soon after it finished.

        Octavius showed Scholastica & me a virtual Rome which had been constructed in Minecraft by a dedicated community. We spent quite some time touring the city and discussing the research and effort which had been invested in it. Octavius expressed the hope that Nova Roma might undertake some project of this kind.

Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting: Februarius MMDCCLXXVI

Nova Britannia Remote General Meeting: Februarius MMDCCLXXVI

Monday, February 6, 2023, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Participants: N. Octavius Astronomus

A. Tullia Scholastica

Sibylla Ambrosia Fulvia

A. Iulius Paterculus

    N. Octavius Astronomus and I joined the meeting first. After Octavius had dealt with a minor technical issue, I asked him whether he intended to run for one of the minor magistracies being elected for the first time this year. The deadline was mentioned (February 8) as was the requirement that applicants were up to date with their Nova Roman taxes.

    The conversation then turned to MithraCon. I reported on progress for a potential Conventus in New England, specifically the need to integrate a reenactment. Sibylla suggested we contact Yale and get them involved, as well as involving Legio III Cyrenaica.

    Sibylla proposed an outing to Wesleyan during MithraCon of this year, to visit the observatory. It was stated that MithraCon would be either April 7-9 or 21-23. (Sadly, this later had to be cancelled for the year due to low attendance.)

    I thanked Octavius for recommending the ToldInStone YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@toldinstone), which was an entertaining source of previously unknown details on the ancient world. Octavius mentioned having showed some videos from this channel to Sibylla and Scholastica while staying at Sibylla’s house the previous December. I also noted that one of the videos I’d watched thus far mentioned the (historical) Legio III Cyrenaica.

    Sibylla reported giving a presentation on Mithraism the previous weekend. Someone had mentioned Apollo or Helios having a lion-headed charioteer - Sibylla asked us to be on the lookout for any information about this. Scholastica mentioned a lion-headed Hindu deity; I mentioned that Mithras had a Hindu counterpart.

    Sibylla mentioned her friend Chris LaFond (https://www.lafond.us/about/), an Astrologer who employed Medieval and earlier astrology. I requested that Sibylla persuade him to come talk to us. Octavius was going to contact him online. Sibylla said she couldn’t entice Chris to go to MithraCon, but that perhaps he might be interested if they went to the observatory.

    After a brief intermission to reconnect to Zoom, I asked whether people were going to the event hosted by Flavius Vedius Germanicus in Pennsylvania (http://www.gensvedia.org/2023/03/13/fors-fortuna-2023/).

Octavius happened to be going to a convention in Pennsylvania that very weekend and started planning how to combine the events. Sibylla was somewhat interested, but would need a ride.

    I told everyone about two books I had just gotten: Memorize the Stoics! by Kevin Vost and A Handbook for New Stoics: How to Thrive in a World Out of Your Control by Massimo Pigliucci & Gregory Lopez.

    Sibylla told us more about her Mithraic presentation. Octavius communicated with Ty Stout, who confirmed he was still interested in events (but still lacked transportation).