Following Hadrian
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My name is Carole Raddato. I love to share with other history fans all the incredible facts and stories that I discover throughout my journeys. I am neither a professional photographer nor an ancient history scholar, but I hope that everybody can enjoy my photos.
Following Hadrian
1M ago
After sailing along the southern Black Sea coast, possibly visiting the Pontic towns of Amisus, Sinope and Amastris (see here), Hadrian is thought to have spent the winter of 123/4 in Nicomedia or possibly Byzantium. Nicomedia was the capital of the dual province of Pontus et Bithynia in what is now Izmit in northern Turkey ..read more
Following Hadrian
3M ago
Happy 1948th birthday, Hadrian! This year, I decided to cook Cato the Elder’s recipe for Libum (sweet cheesecake) as Hadrian’s birthday cake. Libum (original recipe from LacusCurtius): Bray 2 pounds of cheese thoroughly in a mortar; when it is thoroughly macerated, add 1 pound of wheat flour, or, if you wish the cake to be more dainty ..read more
Following Hadrian
6M ago
After his inspection tour of the eastern frontier provinces (see here), Hadrian travelled through the Pontic mountains to the Black Sea port of Trapezus (present-day Trabzon), the northernmost end of the Cappadocian limes. Trapezus was one of the furthest points reached by Hadrian, and in the AD 130s, his friend L. Flavius Arrianus, as governor of ..read more
Following Hadrian
7M ago
Standing tall for nearly three hundred years, the lone Sycamore tree that grew within a dramatic dip in Hadrian’s Wall was cut down in the early morning of 28 September 2023 in a mindless act of vandalism and violence. Having survived all sorts of storms and extremes of weather that often batter its remote setting ..read more
Following Hadrian
7M ago
The Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures of the University of Chicago possesses a papyrus with the inventory number E8349, which contains the only surviving copy of Hadrian’s lost autobiography. Written toward the close of his life, Hadrian’s autobiography appears to have taken the form of a series of letters to Antoninus Pius. Its ..read more
Following Hadrian
8M ago
A new slab of the Fasti Ostienses, an ancient Roman marble calendar (extant in fragmentary form) recording imperial news, magistrates and events related to the city of Ostia, the harbour city of ancient Rome, emerged during the second excavation campaign at the Forum of Porta Marina in Ostia Antica, as part of the Ostia Post ..read more
Following Hadrian
9M ago
Another fortnight of digging at Vindolanda ended earlier this month. It was my second season of excavations there, and I enjoyed it as much as I did the first time last year (read here). As I was alone this time, I booked the Excavate & Stay two-week placement and stayed at the Hedley Centre located near ..read more
Following Hadrian
1y ago
Happy 1947th birthday, Hadrian! I made some Cato’s Globi (Pastry Balls) as Hadrian’s birthday cake this year. Globi (original recipe from LacusCurtius): Mix the cheese and spelt in the same way (as Libum), sufficient to make the number desired. Pour lard into a hot copper vessel, and fry one or two at a time, turning them frequently with ..read more
Following Hadrian
1y ago
Having returned to Gaul from Britain (see here), Hadrian made his only known visit to his native land as emperor during the winter of AD 122/3. He took up his residence at Tarraco (Tarragona), Rome’s oldest foundation on the Iberian Peninsula and the capital of Hispania Tarraconensis. Anthony Birley has proposed the identification of some ..read more
Following Hadrian
1y ago
Towards the end of AD 122, Hadrian left Britain and set sail for Gaul, travelling southward to Nemausus (Nîmes) in Narbonensis before crossing the Pyrenees to Spain. His route would have certainly been along the via Agrippa from Bononia (Boulogne) on the North Sea to Lugdunum (Lyon), down the Rhone valley, and then along the ..read more