Most people who went to elementary school in the United States were given at least a cursory education in this country’s pre-colonial and colonial history. We learned about the so-called “Thirteen Colonies” which were owned by the British from the… Read More ›
Europe
The Possibly Fictitious Battle of Potentiana, 379 AD
Roman soldiers of the late antique period assemble for battle at the Musée Parc Archéologique des Temps Barbares MARLE – Aisne. Photo by Jacques Maréchal (2013). Image used with permission. Introduction In the year 379 AD, an epic battle took… Read More ›
Astrodon
If you were to ask people if they know a good place to find dinosaur bones, many of them would say “Go west, young man!” There is a lot of truth to this. There are vast areas of western North… Read More ›
Altispinax: The Mysterious Meat-Eater of Early Cretaceous England
Introduction There are many dinosaur species which have been identified based upon very scant remains, and this article concerns one of them: a meat-eating dinosaur named Altispinax dunkeri. If you’ve never heard of this animal before, you’re not alone. It’s… Read More ›
Ceratodus: The Iconic Lungfish of the Mesozoic Era
Ceratodus was a genus of prehistoric lungfish which existed on Earth for a surprisingly long time, from the middle of the Triassic Period approximately 227 million years ago to the beginning of the Eocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period about… Read More ›
Promastodonsaurus
This is Promastodonsaurus, literally meaning “before Mastodonsaurus”. Despite its saurian name, it was not a dinosaur, or even a reptile – it was actually a large amphibian. Fossils of Promastodonsaurus were found in Argentina within the rocks of the Ischigualasto… Read More ›
February 2 – The Feast of Ceres and the Blessing of the Seeds
Today is February 2. Most Americans know this as “Groundhog Day” in which, according to their superstitions, a groundhog is able to predict if warm or cold weather will come. The story is that if a groundhog emerges from its… Read More ›
February 1 – The Month of Februus, the Ancient Roman God of Purification
In the ancient Roman calendar, several of the months are named after gods in the Roman pantheon. January is named after Janus, the god of new beginnings. March is named after Mars, the god of war. But what about February?… Read More ›
January 24 – The Feast of Tellus: Ancient Rome’s “Earth Day”
Kissena Park. Photograph by Jason R. Abdale (2017). It’s late January. In New York City, the temperature is cold and raw, there’s ice and snow on the ground, everyone walks around bundled up in Winter attire, and more than a… Read More ›
January 16, 7 BC – The Day that Germany Surrendered to Rome
The date of January 16, 7 BC is important for both Roman and German history. Ten years earlier in the year 17 BC, three German tribes crossed the Rhine and raided Gaul, which was controlled by the Roman Empire. It… Read More ›
DINOSAURS AND BARBARIANS 