This week on Two Friends Talk History, I spoke with Dr Maxime Ratcliffe, hot off the press with his recently awarded doctorate, to discuss Romano-British well depositions, and the tantalising mysteries that were buried within them. We explore their persistence in the British landscape, and their possible uses in antiquity.
Dr Ratcliffe’s thesis analysed the social history and topographical significance of the locations where the lead tanks were discovered – and continue to be discovered! They are surprisingly prolific in Britain, and quite unique as a collective practice; only four decorated lead tanks of similar form have been found elsewhere within the region contained by the Roman Empire: three were found in Italy and one in Switzerland (Crerar 2012).
Top left: Cavensham lead tank; bottom left: reconstruction; right: Mithraeum from Wallbrook – well in top left corner.
Scholarship in the 1970s suggested these lead tanks be considered as early Christian baptisms (Toynbee 1964). In Crerar’s 2012 article, she noted that they were commonly analysed as Romano-British art and religious practices, but “few scholars have recognised that their design and potential use make them worthy of separate and more detailed consideration”…which is where Dr Ratcliffe joined the investigation. The areas that had previously received little attention – how the tanks were used, how they were destroyed, what was found contextually with them and how they might have been viewed by Roman-British society- are all aspects of Maxime’s study into the elusive tanks.
2. List of locations where lead tanks were found as of 2012 (Crerar).
If you would like to learn more about the Ashton tank, which was featured for the podcast cover art, this article is free and accessible. Reading Museum’s online catalogue gives a nice reconstruction of the crushed lead tank from the well at Dean’s Farm in Caversham (1988): Click Here.
If you would like to get in touch with Dr Ratcliffe on the Durham University Archaeology department website here, or you can follow him on Academia.edu.
While we wait excitedly for Dr Ratcliffe’s work to be made public, a useful introduction to the lead tanks (baptismal fonts) of Romano-Britain can be found in Crerar, B. (2012). Her article, “Contextualising Romano-British Lead Tanks: A Study in Design, Destruction and Deposition” in Britannia,43, 135-166 was an interesting read and had excellent visualisations.
Thank you for tuning in to Two Friends Talk History and checking out this blog!
This week on Two Friends Talk History, I interview returning guest, Alex Slucky. Alex is an archaeologist with Atkins and archaeobotanist, whose work has taken her to Italy, Australia and most recently in Uzbekistan. Alex discusses her work in the ancient city of Bukhara which was a prominent stop on the so-called Silk Road trade route that linked East and West. We discuss vessels as material culture, and embodied archaeological processes of alcohol consumption.
If you would like to get in touch, you can find Alex onInstagramor on Twitter @SluckyAlex.
For readers of Spanish, these resources were recommended to me by friend and listener, Rodrigo: “Las drogas en la prehistoria. Evidencias arqueológicas del consumo de sustancias psicoactivas en Europa”, by Dr. Elisa Guerra Doce, from the University of Valladolid. She also discusses prehistoric psychoactive in: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360789885_Psychoactive_Drugs_in_European_Prehistory
To get in touch and find out more about Two Friends Talk History: Find us on Instagram Support us through Patreon Buy our merch onRedbubble Explore more resources and topics about the ancient world on ArchaeoArtist
Thank you for reading. See you soon with new friends on Two Friends!
This week on Two Friends Talk History, Zofia interviews Dr Elke Close about Polybius, an Achaean statesman, teacher, and historian from the Hellenistic period. Polybius was active in Megalopolis at the tail end of the period of Greek independence following the wars of the Hellenistic kings and the rise of the Roman empire. His surviving text, Histories, has provided scholars with unparalleled evidence for the social and political changes that led to the changing balance of power in the Mediterranean in the second century BCE.
From the introduction of Polybius’ Histories, we are told of the weight and significance of his treatise for readers to understand the rise to power of Rome, while synthesising the events more broadly around the Mediterranean.
But all historians, one may say without exception, and in no half-hearted manner, but making this the beginning and end of their labour, have impressed on us that the soundest education and training for political actions is the study of History.
His aims are outlined, and through his unique position as Achaean statesman and hostage in Rome, Polybius had intimate access as a teacher and client to one of the most powerful Roman families, the Cornelii Scipiones. Due to his proximity to power and usefulness, Polybius rode shotgun on several watershed moments of the Republic.
This week on Two Friends Talk History, I was joined by expert in the field of Roman history and Classics public engagement powerhouse, Dr Alex Imrie. Dr Imrie’s doctoral thesis concerned the Constitutio Antoniniana (Antonine Constitution), the edict of mass enfranchisement promulgated by the infamously violent emperor Caracalla, and is a self-described Dio nerd. Dr Imrie is a Tutor in Classics at the University of Edinburgh and the National Outreach Co-ordinator for the Classical Association of Scotland. The CAS has been spearheading free and accessible learning for true beginners to the topic of Classics, and Dr Imrie brings together talented and interesting new scholars to share their experience and time with the public.
Last year, Dr Imrie and I collaborated on a seminar hosted by the Classical Association of Scotland called, Artistic Responses to Antiquity. We organised this event to host discussions from several artists based in the UK who worked in various mediums to create art inspired by the ancient world. Presenters included Dr Briana King (University of St Andrews), myself, Zofia Guertin (PhD Candidate – University of St Andrews) @ZofiaAstrid, Dr Maria Haley (University of Leeds/University of Manchester) @marianuncsum, and Flora Kirk (MA, University of Durham) @flaroh. The diversity of backgrounds and approaches was really exciting to see. The seminar opened with a discussion of ancient styles and techniques in art, then on to Classical Reception and its ongoing relevance to the modern world. As Dr Imrie and I discuss in the podcast, the final session of the seminar involved thirty or so scholars, interested members of the public, and even some wee ones! The turn out was fabulous, and the art that our attendees created in session three was really fun.
Several months ago, we reconnected to record an episode of TFTH, and dive into the tumultuous history of the Severan dynasty. Admittedly, I was not as familiar with the political and military side of their reign, and it was fascinating to hear about the game of whack-a-mole among generals that eventually led to Septimius Severus taking control of the Empire from 193-211 CE.
Our conversation follows the ups and downs of the imperial familial relationships, particularly the crucial turning points between Caracalla and Geta who were also very keen to exterminate one another. Dr Imrie brings humour and humanity to Caracalla and his family, an emperor that is typically lumped into the ‘bad emperor’ category, and offers a more nuanced reading of these individuals. It was a joy to record, and I hope you take a listen!
If you would like to hear more from Dr Imrie, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via Twitter @AlexImrie23 or edinburgh.academia.edu/AlexImrie. In the interview, we discuss his publication on Caracalla’s supposed use of the Macedonian phalanx, which you can read more about HERE.
To find out more about the CAS and register for upcoming 2023 programmes, please check out their website: https://cas.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/. The upcoming seminars include Greek, Latin and Egyptian Hieroglyphics taught online.
In this week’s podcast on exploring plagues in the late Medieval period with Dr Alex Lee, “The Bianchi Plague Processions of 1399”, she offered an exciting perspective on religious expressions in response to plague. Alex provided details about the historical context and the religious symbolism to help explain the reasons why Italian communities dealing with the huge impacts of the plague of 1399-1400, gathered together in groups and processed from city to city across Tuscany and how their local governments work out the logistics to facilitate these religious expressions and maintain order.
Thinking about plagues from the ancient world and their impacts is something I’ve considered a lot since starting a podcast. After choosing a variety of topics and individuals to discuss, it has surprised me how frequently I’ve seen connections back to the Antonine Plague. There were many types of cures and prayers used in antiquity to deal with plague, which Liam and I discussed in our first episode, “Plagues and Pandemics“, looking at the Antonine Plague of the 2nd century CE and the cult of Glycon from Abōnóteichos (later Ionopolis), in Asia Minor. This mystery-healing cult gained prominence due to its ritual healing prescriptions and the charismatic leadership of Alexander Abōnóteichos.
Bronze coin of Antoninus Pius minted in Abonoteichos and showing the snake god Glycon with the legend “ΓΛVΚΩΝ ΑΒΩΝΟΤΕΙΧΕΙΤΩΝ”- Wikimedia commons.
Alexander mixed various traditions into his cult: he said a snake would be born of an egg in the foundations of the temple of Asclepius in Abōnóteichos, and then when it spoke, the voice and prophecy would be directly from the god. He would interpret the Harry Potter-style parcel-tongue utterances and give out cures for healing, political advice, oracles and more. For many centuries before, snake cults were intimately associated with the healing gods from Apollo, Asclepius and Hygiea, to Isis and Serapis! This new popular religious cult gave its founder influence within the ranks of the elite of Roman provincial administrators, his daughter even married the governor of the Roman province of Asia.
Glycon, the human-faced snake god of the 2nd c. CE. Art by Z.Guertin
As the outbreak of plague swept the Roman Empire around 160 CE , desperate people sought all types of cures and protective charms; those included visits to Glycon, whose interpreters issued a little prayer: “shorn Phoebus, keep away the cloud of plague” which people have been found in the archaeological record carrying on their person (in burial) and inscribed on doorways. Christian writers in the period were incredibly sceptical and condemned Alexander and his cult as charlatans. One unexpected outcome of the religious prescriptions to the plague was that it made those who had the magic words on their person, or above their house door, more confident and less likely to stay away from crowds or those with illness, since they believed they were under the protection of Apollo through Glycon. Thus, according to Christian writers, his adherent’s were the most likely to die and also prove their case that their god was the right one.
Italy, 1399-1400
The foundation story of the Bianchi movement has a few sources, but one is the the ‘tre pani’ story, discussed in greater depth here on Dr Lee’s website, taken from the account of Luca Dominici, a chronicler from Pisotia. In the story, a labourer is working minding his own business when an elite looking fellow (Jesus) shows up and asks for food which the labourer does not have. Miraculously, Jesus has him open his jacket to find- lo! bread! Jesus then asks the labourer (witness) to moisten the bread with water, which again, is not available but with some cajoling, the man go out looking for a fountain which was previously not there, to find a white-robed woman (the Virgin Mary) trying to convince him to not dip the bread. The labourer is ping-ponged between the two for a bit then ultimately does dip the bread, which spreads the pestilence. It seems like entrapment since the poor man didn’t know who they were and was just following hospitality norms but hey ho. The plague is released, but why? Effectively, the pestilences that humanity faced in this period were because Jesus was angry about the high levels of sinning, so decided to destroy mankind. Seems fair.
To remedy this pestilence, the Virgin suggests a white-robed procession for nine days between cities, walking barefoot, not sleeping within walled towns, singing laude, and fasting from meats and nice things 6 days a week and only water and bread on Sunday. Though as Dr Lee investigated, there were many food rules for each community and could be some significant variance as to what was not allowed and what was freely given to those on procession.
The Bianchi, so-named for their white robes- were men and women who processed in groups with red crosses on their heads (women) or shoulders (men). Fresco image from tuttoggi.info, S. Maria Assunta, Vallo di Nera.
The communities of Tuscany had survived successive periods of plague, and those wishing to organise Bianchi processions could rely on existing infrastructure and guidance from civic officials and religious leaders to facilitate these processions. What was striking about discussing this medieval plague is the way the community came together and supported one another throughout this societal crisis to really inclusive worship. As we discuss, it had elevated performative aspects which were quite proscriptive and, as Dr Lee argues, likely no small degree of peer pressure to participate.
Do check out the episode for many more exciting details, and to find out more, I strongly encourage interested readers/listeners to read Dr Alex Lee’s forthcoming book, “The Bianchi of 1399 in Central Italy: Making Devotion Local“, and visit her website Bianchi 1399.wordpress.com! You can also get in touch via Twitter @AlexRALee.
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