When in Rome

In this episode When in Rome travels further west than it has ever gone before, to the Roman fort in Caerleon, headquarters of the Legion II Augusta, close to the River Usk in modern day Wales.

Germania is a new podcast series from Rhiannon Evans and Matt Smith. You can support it now on kickstarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nightlight/germania-a-roman-history-podcast-miniseries

Guest: Dr Peter Guest (Vianova Archaeology)

In the Roman period, Nea Paphos was the capital of Cyprus and a thriving centre of administration, culture, and commerce. Its theatre—first built in the Hellenistic age and later transformed under Roman rule—became one of the city’s most impressive monuments, a place where architecture, performance, and imperial power all came together.

Guest: Dr Craig Barker (Head of Public Engagement, Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney and Director of the Paphos Theatre Archaeological Project)

As a prominent coastal city on the island of Cyprus, Salamis had a lot to offer the Romans. Well situated in the middle of the Mediterranean, it was the perfect location for maritime trade, as well as, unfortunately, the occasional war.

Guest: Dr Christopher Gribbin (Adjunct Lecturer, Classics and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

Lepcis Magna, the ancient Roman city on the coast of modern day Libya, has such a long history of excavation and restoration that it deserves its own episode. While much of the city remains undisturbed beneath the sand, plenty has been explored, restored, or scattered throughout Europe.

Guest: Dr Niccolò Mugnai (Assistant Professor at the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Tübingen, Germany)

Lepcis Magna had much in common with Roman cities in Northern Africa - former colonies, built on the coast next to a river, and a blend of Roman and local cultures. So it would have continued until the late 2nd century, when Septimius Severus, a local lad who made it big, became the Rome’s newest emperor.

Guest: Dr Niccolò Mugnai (Assistant Professor at the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Tübingen, Germany)