Showing posts with label Roman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roman. Show all posts

Monday, December 12, 2011

Roman Intaglios


Aren't these gorgeous? They are ancient Roman intaglios -- tiny gemstones for rings or other jewelry. A person hand carved these figures into the stone. No laser. No sophisticated magnifying device.


See how tiny?
I love these. The craftsmanship amazes me.
You can see many of these intaglios at the Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon, Wales.


Photo Credits:  The top image is from @RomanCaerleon and the bottom image is from http://www.antique-rings.co.uk/roman.htm

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Roman Dice Tower


"You can just see the dice tower on the table, it has a little set of stairs for the dice to roll down." - @RomanCaerleon, http://twitpic.com/7rxa04

This device prevented cheating by providing a uniform way by which the dice were thrown.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Roman Chariot Pug

Copyright ClaireLynn


This wonderful Roman chariot pug was part of Portland Oregon's PUGLANDIA event, which was held May 22, 2011 and raised funds for the Oregon Humane Society.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Roman Sweet Cheese Cake


This blog post is from: http://bathsbloggers.blogspot.com/2011/08/sweet-cheese-cake-but-not-as-we-know-it.html


Sweet Cheese Cake but not as we know it....


You will need:
130 grams plain flour
250 grams ricotta cheese
1 egg
4 bay leaves
4 tablespoons of clear honey
Serves 4

Libum to be made as follows: 2 lb cheese well crushed in a mortar; when it is well crushed, add 1lb bread-wheat flour or, if you want it to be lighter, just half a pound, to be mixed well with the cheese. Add one egg and mix all together well. Make a loaf of this with leaves under it, and cook slowly in a hot fire under a brick
Cato on Agriculture 75

Cheese was generally salty in Roman times and while the recipe above does not state it, other sources for libum contain honey. The combination of a salty cheese and a honey finish would not go down too well; as such, a soft-cheese substitute has been chosen to make a ‘sweet’ cheese cake based on the recipe above.

Instructions

• Sift the flour into a bowl. Beat the cheese until smooth.

• Combine the flour, cheese and egg into a soft dough. It will be quite sticky.

• Split the dough into 4 and place on a grease-proof papered baking tray.

• Place them in the oven for 30 minutes, oven setting 220 degrees Celsius, until golden brown on top.

• Score and pour warmed honey over them.

• Leave to cool for 10 minutes and serve.

Recipe formed part of Bel's Tuesday Timetable event - What did they eat?