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,…

Following Hadrian

21.10.2023

Autumn AD 123 – Hadrian reaches Trapezus and sails westwards along the Pontic coast (#Hadrian1900) FOLLOWING HADRIAN

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…

Following Hadrian

25.01.2024

Felicem diem natalem, Hadriane! 🎂 FOLLOWING HADRIAN

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,…

Following Hadrian

28.02.2024

Early AD 124 – Hadrian spends the winter in Nicomedia, tours Bithynia and meets Antinous (#Hadrian1900) FOLLOWING HADRIAN

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.…

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Following Hadrian

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Remembering the Sycamore Gap Tree FOLLOWING HADRIAN

Autumn AD 123 – Hadrian reaches Trapezus and sails westwards along the Pontic coast (#Hadrian1900) FOLLOWING HADRIAN

Felicem diem natalem, Hadriane! 🎂 FOLLOWING HADRIAN

Early AD 124 – Hadrian spends the winter in Nicomedia, tours Bithynia and meets Antinous (#Hadrian1900) FOLLOWING HADRIAN

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Following Hadrian