An excellent paper - I never would have guessed Valentinian was so concerned with swine related fraud!

Naturally, this encourages my worst habit of going down very long and inconclusive rabbit holes when it comes to the details - but hopefully some benefit will come out of it in the long run!

It's still a work in progess, but the idea is to provide a guide and research tool for readers by providing my 'data' so-to-speak (it is also helpful to me, as my own notes are much less organised). Ideally it will be an appendix to the monograph.

A little sneak peak at something I'm working on...

As I have been going through the process of transforming my thesis into a monograph, I decided to make a start on something which was mentioned in my Viva - a list of all the major ceremonies mentioned in the thesis!

Would you believe it if I told you this happened on my birthday too?

My first time in Glasgow was eventful to say the least

Caesar III box cover

Caesar III inside box.

Interesting charity shop find (I didn't pick it up because I'm not sure I can even run this?)

Looking forward to this semester‘s @qubhistory.bsky.social seminar series which starts this Friday! Drinks and snacks provided as usual. All welcome!

#OnThisDay - 9 January - in AD 400 Aelia Eudoxia, the wife of the emperor Arcadius, was elevated to the status of 'Augusta'. On the Obverse below she is shown being crowned by the 'Hand of God'. #AncientHistory 🏺

Image: RIC X Arcadius 15; ANS 1948.19.1945. Link - numismatics.org/ocre/id/ric....

This time four years ago I had just finished my MA, quit my retail job (cruelly just before Christmas), and was awaiting the start of my PhD programme in January.

I don't know what I expected the thesis to look like back then - but I am very happy with how it turned out.

This week my e-thesis was officially uploaded to PURE, marking the end of all work on the thesis.

Do you think I added enough key words?

Thanks! Doesn't feel like I'll ever get used to the title! 😂

Really I just enjoy using the return shoot

Now that my thesis corrections are done, I ceremonially returned the last books I had loaned out.

I have been very busy since September (jumping between jobs, teaching two modules, and finishing thesis revisions), hence my lack of activity here.

So this was a nice break just before the end of the semester (with marking and revisions deadline impending).

Me peaking at the ancient history section, partially hidden under the shelves.

Me pointing out the new Aeneid translation, coffee in hand. The coffee was just okay, but necessary.

I was in Stockholm yesterday with my partner and came across this bookshop. I had to indulge a little (and my partner sneakily took pics).

There were a lot of cool books - but I was most impressed by the Swedish edition of Theophanes and the entire section devoted to esoteric religious literature.

I left it tastefully long, but I have now updated my Bsky title accordingly.

It was an honour and a pleasure to talk about my thesis with one of the giants of the field of late antiquity!

Congratulations to Dr Croman @croeuan.bsky.social

I presume this is the point where I throw the sacred chickens overboard and go ahead with the plan.

My Viva is today and so far the omens have not been promising:
1. Heavy rain forecast for the rest of the day.
2. My phone passed away, peacefully, in its sleep last night.

Love him or hate him, he was of the few emperors to celebrate a tricennalia ceremony!

Submitted my first article for peer review today. I'm curious to see what the infamous 'Reviewer 2' I've heard so much about has to say about it.

It's been a long 3 and a half years, but today I submitted my thesis at long last.

It has been a wonderful experience to undergo this research - though I must say I am happy to be done with the editing process for now!

And they all lived happily ever after!

I have this one - I highly recommend it!

Oh, and I had fun finding replicas of Constantine's disembodied feet.

Some select photographs from my trip to Trier. I had an excellent time, despite the poor weather most of the week.

In particular the folks from the University of Trier were extremely welcoming and provided fascinating insights into the city and their own research.

And now back to work...

Guten Morgen