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Tastes Of History
Jul 25, 2022
Kitchenalia: Fish Eaters
In the 1880s, while the ‘Old Money’, the aristocracy, ate their fish course using two table forks, the ‘New Money’, the nouveau riche,...
Tastes Of History
Jul 24, 2022
A Brief History of Food: Oranges
Origins The name 'orange' derives from the Sanskrit word for 'orange tree' (नारङ्ग nāraṅga). The Sanskrit word reached European...
Tastes Of History
Jul 18, 2022
Pillory or Stocks?
The Hunt for Witches Respected historian, author and broadcaster, Dr Lucy Worsley OBE, had a new documentary series that first aired on...
Tastes Of History
Jul 18, 2022
Mithras versus Christ: a Centuries Old Dispute?
Introduction The background to the eastern mystery cult of Mithras was outlined in 'Mithras Sol Invicti: an Initiates Guide'. With the...
Tastes Of History
Jul 5, 2022
Dispelling Some Myths: A Short life
Average height One of the misconceptions about history is that people were shorter ‘back then’. Would it surprise you to know that the...
Tastes Of History
Jul 2, 2022
Kitchenalia: Roman soldier's cookware
In an earlier article, we challenged the idea that Roman soldiers cooked farinata, a type of unleavened bread made from chickpea flour,...
Tastes Of History
Jun 6, 2022
Dispelling Some Myths: Romans cleaned their teeth with Urine
While teaching primary school children about the Romans, and specifically hygiene, we have encountered the belief that they cleaned their...
Tastes Of History
May 27, 2022
Taking the pee: should you drink urine?
Urine has been used throughout history for many different uses. As a freely available product - everyone produces at least some each day...
Tastes Of History
May 24, 2022
Norse America
In our post ‘Dispelling Some Myths: Romans in the Americas’ we attempted to disprove a ‘theory’ that the ancient Romans had contact with...
Tastes Of History
May 18, 2022
Dispelling Some Myths: ‘Over and Out’
In the big scheme of things today’s post is a very minor ‘gripe’. It does, however, reflect on the historical accuracy of television...
Tastes Of History
May 16, 2022
Recording History
History is not only the study of past events, particularly in human affairs, but it is most uniquely, also a continuous, typically...
Tastes Of History
May 13, 2022
Why did the ancient Greeks exercise naked?
At the age of 12, ancient Greek boys would begin training at the gumnasion or gymnasium. Having a physically fit body was extremely...
Tastes Of History
May 9, 2022
Ludi: ancient Greek and Roman games
Continuing the series 'Ludi', and following on from ancient Egypt, here are selection of games played by ancient Greeks and Romans. Pente...
Tastes Of History
Apr 19, 2022
Dispelling Some Myths: Romans in the Americas
The mosaic floor pictured (right) is housed in a gallery dedicated to ancient Roman frescoes and mosaics on the second floor of the...
Tastes Of History
Apr 19, 2022
A Brief History of Food: Pineapple
The pineapple (Latin: Ananas comosus) [1] is a tropical plant with an edible fruit indigenous to South America, where it has been...
Tastes Of History
Apr 14, 2022
What’s in a Name: ‘Barbarian’
In April 2022 social media, specifically Twitter (now X), was awash with criticism of the UK’s Conservative government’s plans to...
Tastes Of History
Apr 11, 2022
Ludi: the ancient Egyptian game of Senet
Senet is one of the oldest games in the world and may be the ancestor of modern backgammon. The oldest known representation of Senet is a...
Tastes Of History
Apr 6, 2022
A Brief History of Food: Leeks
According to a BBC News tweet (see right), the ‘Welsh leek’ could be set for protected status [1], alongside foods including Cheddar...
Tastes Of History
Mar 29, 2022
Dispelling Some Myths: 'ancient Roman trebuchets'?
A recent search of the internet for information on Roman artillery machines returned, amongst other results, a website with a page...
Tastes Of History
Mar 14, 2022
Ludi: the ancient Egyptian game of Aseb
Aseb is the Egyptian version of the ancient Middle Eastern game called ‘The Game of 20 Squares’. Aseb is related to the ‘Royal Game of...
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