3 h. ago Santa Maria Maggiore: why Pope Francis decided ‘this is my place’ to be buried

The pontiff shunned fanfare by picking a small niche in the basilica he visited more than 100 times during his papacyAs a priest, and then cardinal, Jorge Mario Bergoglio would always call into Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), one of the four papal basilicas in Rome, during his regular visits to the Italian capital.The fourth-century basilica with its distinctive bell tower is perched on one of Rome’s seven ancient hills in Esquilino, a neighbourhood that lies between the Colosseum and Termini train station which during the Roman empire served as a burial ground for slaves. Continue reading...

Politics

41 h. ago Bite marks show evidence of gladiators fighting lions, experts say

The discovery on remains found in York highlight how humans fighting large cats was entertainment on the edge of the Roman empire.

Politics

1 week ago Fall of Roman Empire may have been caused by 'mini ice age' which 'broke the camel's back'

There were lots of reasons that the Roman Empire may have collapsed, but recent research suggests there may have been a climate crisis that contributed to its demise

Politics

2 w. ago Scientists reveal what REALLY caused collapse of Roman Empire

A new study has found new evidence to suggest that a little-known factor played an important role in the Eastern Roman Empire's collapse 572 years ago.

Politics

2 w. ago New evidence suggests surprise reason behind fall of Roman Empire

Discovery of ‘unusual rocks’ may confirm an ice age caused the fall of the Roman empire

Politics

2 w. ago The killer drug becoming more popular because it's cheaper than cocaine

Known as a dissociative anaesthetic, ketamine is used as a party drug for its hallucinogenic effects. However, it can also cause serious health problems such as irreversible damage to the bladder and kidneys.

Events

3 w. ago Discovery of mass grave under football pitch changes what we know about the Roman Empire

The pit of bones suggests a hasty dumping of corpses

Politics

3 w. ago Barbarians who toppled Roman Empire were 'high on hallucinogenic drugs' at the time

Barbarian hordes invaded and sacked the Western Roman empire while under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs when taking on their enemy, researchers in have suggested

Events

3 w. ago 'Barbarian' warriors who toppled the Roman empire were high on drugs, boffins say

Roman soldiers may have been defeated in battle by warriors under the influence of a host of substances taken to relieve them of fear and increase aggression in combat

Events

3 w. ago Harrowing moment Bruce Parry suffocates goat to death with his bare hands before repeatedly vomiting on hallucinogenic drugs as BBC's Tribe makes stomach

The show, hosted by the former Royal Marines commando, 55, first hit our screens in 2005 on BBC Two and went on to air 15 episodes across three seasons.

Events

4 w. ago Cynthia Ozick: ‘Alice in Wonderland seems calculatedly cruel’

The American author on the wonder of Little Women, re-evaluating Lolita and her belated discovery of ThoreauMy earliest reading memory Andrew Lang’s Fairy books – the blue, yellow and violet ones. And the unadulteratedly grim Brothers Grimm, evocative phrases like “avenue of trees”, the now and then alluring English archaisms, the always expected three sisters or sons, the youngest first despised and then victorious.The book that changed me as a teenager A late teenager, at 17, and it was two books nearly simultaneously, both histories. One was Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in dazzling prose. The other was Heinrich Graetz’s 19th-century History of the Jews, translated from the German, far out of date but distinctly not dated. (It was revelatory to learn much later that Kafka was immersed in this multivolume work.) Together they gave me a sense of the long and intertwined corridors of the past, and a conviction that a mind shorn of history is vacuous. Continue...

Politics

4 w. ago Firsthand evidence of Jesus' crucifixion is found in ancient Roman manuscript

Ancient manuscripts detailing the events during the Roman Empire may contain 'historical evidence' about Jesus Christ. The Annals was written by Roman historian Tacitus around 91AD

Politics

4 w. ago Historical 'evidence' of Jesus' crucifixion found in ancient Roman manuscript

Ancient manuscripts detailing the events during the Roman Empire may contain 'historical evidence' about Jesus Christ. The Annals was written by Roman historian Tacitus around 91AD

Politics