why does this keep happening to me?

[bedlamsbard]

I'd be a lot more excited about learning in which months Romans (both in the city and in Italy outside of the city -- interestingly, it's different) had the most and most effective procreative sex if I was actually getting anything useful for my diss out of this book, which I'm not so far, but I think I might in the next chapter.

The thing about my diss topic is that I do find it really interesting, I just find other things that are more interesting most of the time, so I only spend about an hour to two on it per day (I'm aiming for four but haven't hit it yet -- probably this week, though, since I need to have something written). But, and I'm hoping that this is the thing that separates my master's diss from my failed senior honors thesis, I do spend some time on it every day. I didn't do that last year and I still beat myself up over that damned thesis. So that's something, at least.

This is also the book where the author spent a footnote approximately the size of an entire page explaining the theory that the Roman Empire fell because women discovered effective contraception.

And in case anyone's wondering: In urban Rome, the, er, most successful procreative activity, in Brent Shaw's own words, was performed in the period between March and May, but also in the months of (roughly) August and November. In Italy outside of Rome, it was the period between December and June. Do with this information what you will. I'm here for all your useless classical trivia inspired needs.

Granted, I may not be here much longer given the horror movie set-up that ULAS just found at the Richard III cemetery site. "We've never seen anything like this before!" says one of the archaeologists. A lead coffin inside another coffin! BECAUSE THAT'S NOT A HORROR MOVIE SET UP AT ALL. I'm kind of afraid to go into the School of Archaeology and Ancient History just in case they're keeping it in the general vicinity.

Bizarrely, this is the second time that I've been at a university with an archaeology horror movie set-up discovery. What's going to be at my next institution of higher learning, one of those crystal skulls from Indiana Jones? The Ark of the Covenant? A stargate? I'm really starting to worry here, y'all!

Comments

[harpers_child]

i personally would have been tipped off by the stone coffin and never gotten to the lead coffin. but there are reasons i'm not an archaeologist. i'm having stargate feels over this. if people start walking around with big gold tattoo/scar things on their foreheads please hide. there's a glowy eyed guy walking around trying to enslave humanity.

[bedlamsbard]

Well, stone coffins are common! Many people have stone coffins. It's the coffin-inside-a-coffin that's really alarming. That and "we've never seen anything like this before!"

I will keep you updated on the alien invasion and/or undead medieval knight situation.

[cursor_mundi]

I am pretty sure the kiddos at Georgia Tech would love to build a Stargate. Perhaps a group project...it's multi-modal, after all, and it hits Diversity Bingo. Plus we can have a discussion of ethics, human subjects, and cross-cultural communication!

Excellent idea, many thanks.

[bedlamsbard]

I find that there's a real dearth of interdisciplinary work, even at the undergraduate level. A stargate might be just the thing!