Audio Book Spotlight: Dagger’s Destiny (Curse of Clansmen and Kings, Book 2) by Linnea Tanner. Narrator: Kristin James.

 

A Celtic warrior princess accused of treason for aiding her enemy lover must win back her father’s love and trust

In the rich and vibrant tale, author Linnea Tanner continues the story of Catrin and Marcellus that began with the award-winning novel APOLLO’S RAVEN in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings Series. Book 2: DAGGER’S DESTINY sweeps you into an epic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia.

War looms over 24 AD Britannia where rival tribal rulers fight each other for power and the Romans threaten to invade to settle their political differences. King Amren accuses his daughter, Catrin, of treason for aiding the Roman enemy and her lover, Marcellus. The ultimate punishment is death unless she can redeem herself. She must prove loyalty to her father by forsaking Marcellus and defending their kingdom—even to the death. Forged into a warrior, she must overcome tribulations and make the right decisions on her quest to break the curse that foretells her banished half-brother and the Roman Empire will destroy their kingdom.

Yet, when Catrin again reunites with Marcellus, she is torn between her love for him and duty to King Amren. She must ultimately face her greatest challenger who could destroy her life, freedom, and humanity.

Will Catrin finally break the ancient prophecy that looms over her kingdom? Will she abandon her forbidden love for Marcellus to win back her father’s trust and love? Can King Amren balance his brutality to maintain power with the love he feels for Catrin?

Praise:

“Tanner is a masterful wordsmith and storyteller. There were no plot holes, everything was believable, and her characters grew as did the plot.” ~ The Audiobook Reviewer

" For those with an interest in epic fantasy, the characters and their interactions, each with their personal goals and motivations, and often in conflict with each other, Dagger’s Destiny is a book sure to keep your interest.” ~ Geoff Habiger for Readers' Favorite (GOLD MEDAL Fiction: Magic/Wizardry)

 Buy Links:

 Universal Buy Link:  https://books2read.com/Daggers-Destiny-Book2

 Audible US: https://www.audible.com/pd/Daggers-Destiny-Livre-Audio/B07HR3CQ6R

 Audible UK: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Daggers-Destiny-Livre-Audio/B07HR3CQ6R

 Audio Clip from Soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/user-713878612/daggers-destiny-retail-sample-chapter-1

 ***

  *AUDIOBOOK GIVEAWAY*

 Linnea Tanner is giving away an audiobook copy of Dagger’s Destiny!

 Visit the blog tour page and leave a comment to enter the giveaway: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/06/blog-tour-daggers-destiny-audiobook-by-linnea-tanner.html

 A winner will be chosen at random and announced after the tour has finished.

 

Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. She is particularly interested in the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.

Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3), and Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4). She has also released the historical fiction short story Two Faces of Janus.

 A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.

 Author Links:

 Website: https://www.linneatanner.com/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/linneatanner

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/linneatanner.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinneaTannerAuthor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linnea-tanner-a021932b/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linneatanner/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@linneatanner

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/linneatanner/_created/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/linnea-tanner

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Linnea-Tanner/e/B01N6YEM04

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16474282.Linnea_Tanner

 

 

Audiobook Spotlight: Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings, Book 1) by Linnea Tanner. Narrator: Kristin James

 

A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people.

AWARD-WINNING APOLLO'S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren's former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him.

 

The king's daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and that her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break the curse, but she is torn between her forbidden love for her father's enemy, Marcellus, and loyalty to her people. She must summon the magic of the Ancient Druids to alter the dark prophecy that threatens the fates of everyone in her kingdom.

Will Catrin overcome and eradicate the ancient curse? Will she be able to embrace her forbidden love for Marcellus? Will she cease the war between Blood Wolf and King Amren and save her kingdom?

 

Praise:

“Mystery and intrigue with each word, Tanner is a master wordsmith. Her vivid imagery and imagination are captured in her story and character development.” ~ The Audiobook Reviewer

" Many surprising twists enrich the historically drawn plot. Points of view shift between different characters effectively, heightening the tension from one moment to the next." ~ Historical Novel Society Review

Listen to a sample HERE  

 Buy Links:

 Universal Buy Link for Apollo’s Raven: https://books2read.com/Apollos-Raven

 Audible US: https://www.audible.com/pd/Apollos-Raven-Livre-Audio/B072C2NK8H

 Audible UK: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Apollos-Raven-Livre-Audio/B072C2NK8H

 

*AUDIOBOOK GIVEAWAY – UK Only*

Linnea Tanner is giving away an audiobook copy of Apollo’s Raven to listeners in the UK. Visit the blog tour page and leave a comment to enter the giveaway: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2025/04/blog-tour-apollos-raven-audiobook-by-linnea-tanner.html 

A winner will be chosen at random and announced after the tour has finished.

 

 

Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. She is particularly interested in the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.

Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3), and Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4). She has also released the historical fiction short story Two Faces of Janus.

A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.

Author Links:

 Website: https://www.linneatanner.com/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/linneatanner

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/linneatanner.bsky.social

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinneaTannerAuthor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linnea-tanner-a021932b/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linneatanner/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@linneatanner

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/linneatanner/_created/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/linnea-tanner

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Linnea-Tanner/e/B01N6YEM04

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16474282.Linnea_Tanner

Book Spotlight: Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book #1) by Linnea Tanner. Audiobook Narrator: Kristin James

 A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people.

AWARD-WINNING APOLLO’S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren’s former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him. The king’s daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break the curse, but she is torn between her forbidden love for her father’s enemy, Marcellus, and loyalty to her people. She must summon the magic of the Ancient Druids to alter the dark prophecy that threatens the fates of everyone in her kingdom.

Will Catrin overcome and eradicate the ancient curse? Will she be able to embrace her forbidden love for Marcellus? Will she cease the war between Blood Wolf and King Amren and save her kingdom?

 Buy Links:

 

*Apollo’s Raven will be free on Kindle on September 26^th – 30^th, 2024!*

 Universal Buy Link for Apollo’s Raven:  https://books2read.com/Apollos-Raven

 

 

All four books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series are available on Kindle Unlimited.

Universal Buy Links for all Individual Books in Curse of Clansmen and Kings series:

 Apollo’s Raven (Book 1): https://books2read.com/Apollos-Raven

Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2): https://books2read.com/Daggers-Destiny-Book2

Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3): https://books2read.com/Amulets-Rapture-Book3

Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4): https://books2read.com/Skulls-Vengeance-Book4

 

 Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. She is particularly interested in the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.

Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3), and Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4). She has also released the historical fiction short story Two Faces of Janus.

A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.

Author Links:

Website: https://www.linneatanner.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/linneatanner

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linnea.tanner

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linnea-tanner-a021932b/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linneatanner/

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@linneatanner

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/linneatanner/_created/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/linnea-tanner

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Linnea-Tanner/e/B01N6YEM04

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16474282.Linnea_Tanner

What AMAZON reviewers say about Apollo’s Raven

 “If you mingled the history and romance of Philippa Gregory with the magical fantasy of George R.R. Martin, the result just might be the fascinating Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 1) by Linnea Tanner. Get ready for a journey filled with the desires of star-crossed lovers, the horror of a son polishing his own mother’s skull and the fantasy of humans becoming creatures as a tool to save their very humanity.”

 “Sorcery? Mythology? Forbidden love? An ancient curse? Yes, please! I fully enjoyed this epic tale of intrigue, deception, and love. The characters are developed well, while the plot leaves the reader wanting more.”

 “What a story! I am a huge fan of "Game of Thrones," and this book grabbed me in much the same way. The author took me inside the world of ancient Romans and Celts. The imagery was compelling. I could see the characters, the weapons, the countryside, the lairs, and the castle. She stayed true to the times.”

 “A love story full of intrigue, power struggles, choosing one’s fate and a doomed love, this story reminds me somewhat of an old book called “The Silver Land” by Nancy Harding or even “The Forest House” by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The undercurrents are the same as they are set in similar times, but the finer details are different enough that it only feels the same while still being uniquely its own.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Britannia, Druids and the Surprisingly Modern Origins of Myths

Ancient Origins

The new TV series Britannia, which has won plaudits as heralding a new generation of British folk-horror, is clearly not intended to be strictly historical. Instead director Jez Butterworth gives us a graphic re-imagining of Britain on the eve of the Roman conquest. Despite its violence and chaos, this is a society bound together by ritual under the head Druid (played by Mackenzie Crook). But where does this idea of pre-conquest British religion come from?

 Contemporary sources of the period are very thin on the ground and were mainly written by Britain’s Roman conquerors. No classical text provides a systematic account of Druidical ritual or belief. In fact, little was written at length for hundreds of years until William Camden, John Aubrey and John Toland took up the subject in the 1500s and 1600s. But it took later antiquarians, including William Stukeley writing in 1740, as well as William Borlase in 1754 and Richard Polwhele in 1797, to fully develop their thinking.

Popular ideas of pre-Roman Britain today are derived from their elaborate Druidical theories: the bearded Druid, possessor of arcane knowledge, the stone circles, the ritualistic use of dew, mistletoe and oak leaves in dark, wooded groves, and the ultimate horror of human sacrifice and the bacchanalia that followed.

MacKenzie Crook as head Druid Veran in Britannia. (Sky Atlantic)

Ancient disputes
The antiquarians were a disputatious lot and their debates can seem baffling, but underpinning them were fundamental questions about the first settlement of the British Isles and its religious history. In particular, the antiquarians asked if ancient Britons were monotheistic, practising a “natural” religion awaiting Christian “revelation”, or polytheistic idolaters who worshipped many false gods.

The answer to this question determined how the antiquarians understood the monumental stone structures left by this past culture. Were Stonehenge, Avebury or the antiquarian riches of Devon and Cornwall not just relics of idolatry and irreligion but also evidence of the supposed hold the Celts once had over the land? Conversely, if the stone circles and other relics were evidence of the struggle by an ancient people to make sense of the one true God before Roman Catholicism corrupted their beliefs (remember these antiquarians were all Protestant thinkers), then a God-fearing Englishman could claim them as a part of his heritage.

Stukeley believed Britain’s first settlers were eastern Mediterranean seafarers – the so-called Phoenicians – and they brought Abrahamic religion with them. In studies of Stonehenge (1740) and Avebury (1743), he argued that the ancient peoples descended from these first settlers lost sight of these beliefs but retained a core grasp of the fundamental “unity of the Divine Being”. This was represented in stone circles, so “expressive of the nature of the deity with no beginning or end”.

By this reading, Druidical veneration of heavenly bodies, the Earth and the four elements was not polytheism but the worship of the most extraordinary manifestations of this single deity. Moreover, that this worship was conducted in the vernacular and relied on the development of a teaching caste intended to enlighten the people meant that Druidical religion was the forerunner of Protestantism.

Sacred site. (Sky Atlantic)

Borlase, surveying Cornwall’s antiquities, rejected much of this. He scoffed at Stukeley’s Phoenician theories, saying it was illogical that Britain’s first people were overseas traders, and he argued that Druidism was a British invention that crossed the channel to Gaul. Borlase reckoned patriotic French antiquarians, convinced Gauls and Druids had resisted Roman tyranny, were reluctant to admit that “their forefathers [were] indebted so much to this island”.

But was Druidism something to be proud of? By drawing on classical, Biblical and contemporary sources, Borlase developed an elaborate account of the Druids as an idolatrous priesthood who manipulated the ignorance of their followers by creating a sinister air of mystery.

 According to Borlase, Druidical ritual was bloody, decadent, immoral stuff, with plenty of sex and booze, and only compelling in atmospheric natural settings. Druidical power rested on fear and Borlase implied that Catholic priests, with their use of incense, commitment to the Latin mass and superstitious belief in transubstantiation, used the same techniques as the Druids to maintain power over their followers.

Going over old ground
 Poems such as William Mason’s Caractatus (1759) helped popularise the idea that the Druids led British resistance to the invading Romans – but by the 1790s sophisticated metropolitan observers treated this stuff with scorn. Despite this, Druidical theories retained much influence, especially in south-west England. In Polwhele’s histories of Devonshire (1797), he wrote of Dartmoor as “one of the principal temples of the Druids”, as evident in iconic Dartmoor sites such as Grimspound, Bowerman’s Nose and Crockern Tor.

Most important were the “many Druidical vestiges” centred on the village of Drewsteignton, whose name he believed was derived from “Druids, upon the Teign”. The cromlech, known as Spinsters’ Rock, at nearby Shilstone Farm invited much speculation, as did the effect achieved by the “fantastic scenery” of the steep-sided Teign valley.

Spinsters’ Rock, Dartmoor. Matthew Kelly, Author provided

Polwhele’s influence was felt in Samuel Rowe’s A Perambulation of Dartmoor (1848), the first substantial topographical description of the moor. Many Victorians first encountered Dartmoor through Rowe’s writings but the discussion of these texts in my history of modern Dartmoor shows that a new generation of preservationists and amateur archaeologists did not take Druidical theories very seriously.

For the late Victorian members of the Devonshire Association and the Dartmoor Preservation Association, scepticism was a sign of sophistication. If an earlier generation had detected Druidical traces in virtually all Dartmoor’s human and natural features, these men and women were more likely to see evidence of agriculture and domesticity. Grimspound, once a Druidical temple, was now thought to be a cattle pound.

Despite Protestant hopes during the Reformation that superstitious beliefs associated with landscape features would be banished, the idea that the landscape holds spiritual mysteries that we know but cannot explain, or that the stone circles of antiquity stimulate these feelings, remains common enough. Indeed, Protestantism came to terms with these feelings and the Romantics saw the beauties of the British landscape as the ultimate expression of God’s handiwork.

 Britannia recalls Robin of Sherwood (1984-6), with its mystical presentation of the English woodland and, of course, the BBC comedy Detectorists, that delicate exploration of middle-aged male friendship against the rustle of rural mysticism. A sense of spiritual presence can also inflect the British landscapes of the New Nature Writing.

But Butterworth is working according to an older tradition. Rather like his antiquarian predecessors, he has created a largely imagined universe from some scattered classical references and a great deal of accumulated myth and legend. Whether Britannia will re-enchant the British landscape for a new generation of television viewers is impossible to say, but my hunch is that those lonely stones up on the moors, such as the Grey Wethers or Scorhill on Dartmoor, are going to attract a new cohort of visitors.

Top image: Zoe Wanamaker in TV series ‘Britannia’. Source: Sky Atlantic

The article ‘Britannia, Druids and the Surprisingly Modern Origins of Myths’ by Matthew Kelly was originally published on The Conversation and has been republished under a Creative Commons license.

Retracing ancient footsteps around London’s Roman Wall

KCWToday

By Owen Fulda

 Back in around 200 AD, the shape of London was defined by one single structure; its enormous defensive city wall. From Tower Hill in the East to Blackfriars Station in the West, the wall stretched for two miles around the ancient City of London. While most visitors to London only see remnants of the original Roman London Wall adjacent to the Tower Hill or in and around the Tower of London, there are actually many other pieces to view, which provide a broader perspective of the original walled city.

 In 1984 the Museum of London set up the official ‘London Wall Walk’ featuring 21 tiled panels, many of which are now sadly long gone. But with a little bit of research, a keen eye and a certain level of intuition, the Roman Wall walk makes for an enthralling afternoon on a beautiful sunny spring day in the capital. The walk itself is about 3.2km (2 miles) long and takes between one and two hours, with much of the most important sites wheelchair accessible.

 Meandering along the appropriately named London Wall road, you might notice a row of concrete blocks acting as temporary partition, and it is just underneath them that it’s possible to locate one of the larger intact remains of the Roman Wall. Beneath what once formed part of a long-forgotten and fortunately abandoned ring road network, is the hidden section. During the construction of what is now a subterranean car park, this impressive part of ancient Roman Wall was uncovered. Whenever a part of the barricade, no-matter how small, is suspected to have been discovered by construction workers, work must cease immediately and expert archaeologists are called in to establish whether it is indeed part of the Roman Wall.

 This fragment of Roman Wall is all that remains of a longer section of walling (of about 64m) which was uncovered in 1957 during clearance works for the new road and was, for the most part, subsequently demolished during the construction of the road and car park. As much of the Roman Wall was actually later Medieval conversion, said demolition is not as heinous a crime as it might sound. To find the well-preserved section head over to the Museum of London, and then locate a suitable entrance into the underground car park.

 Further sections of London Wall lie concealed approximately 60m to the east and 120m to the west of this section. Sadly they are deeply concealed so cannot be seen. There is also a rare and mostly intact example of a Roman Bath House locked underneath a nearby 1970s office block, which is really worth a visit. One of the first scheduled monuments in England, the Billingsgate Roman House and Baths date back almost 2,000 years and are now open to the public for guided tours. The baths were re-discovered in 1848, during the construction of the Coal Exchange, but not excavated properly until 1968-9, when the road was widened and the current office block built on the site. Tickets cost £8 for adults, £6 for children and can be booked online through the Museum of London website.

Who Said Ancient People Had it Tough? Luxury Homes and Underfloor Heating Were a Part of Life in the Roman Province of Britannia

Ancient Origins

Archaeologists have uncovered a fantastic Roman mosaic and evidence of good living over 1,500 years ago in Leicester city centre in a home with underfloor heating.

 The team from the University of Leicester is currently excavating a large site on the corner of Highcross Street and Vaughan Way, next to Leicester's John Lewis car park. The project, which has been running since November 2016, is uncovering exciting new evidence for Leicester's Roman past, including evidence for a Roman street, and a Roman house once floored with mosaic pavements.

The excavation is funded by Ingleby, who will be developing the site into apartments, and the team from University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) is working closely with the architects to minimise the impact of the new building on the underlying archaeology. Modern rubble and Victorian garden soil are being removed from the footprint of the proposed building to expose the medieval and Roman archaeology. This allows archaeologists to identify where the footings for the new building will have an adverse effect on important archaeological remains, which can then either be designed around, or excavated before they are destroyed, leaving most of the archaeology preserved intact beneath the new building.

The mosaic floor. ( Carl Vivian / University of Leicester )

The excavation covers nearly two-thirds of a Roman insula (city block), giving archaeologists an amazing opportunity to investigate life in the north-east quarter of the Roman town. So far, a Roman street and three Roman buildings have been identified.

Today, Highcross Street still follows the line of the main road leading from the Roman forum (beneath Jubilee Square) to the north gate, at the junction with Sanvey Gate. On this western side of the site a large Roman building has been uncovered. Two ranges of rooms flanked by a corridor or portico appear to surround a courtyard. At least one room had a hypocaust (underfloor heating), and it is likely that this is a large townhouse, reminiscent of the Vine Street courtyard house excavated nearby, beneath the John Lewis car park, in 2006

A hypocaust (Latin hypocaustum) in the Roman Baths, Bath, UK.

A hypocaust is an ancient Roman system of central heating. The word literally means "heat from below", from the Greek hypo meaning below or underneath, and kaiein, to burn or light a fire. (Ad Meskens/ CC BY SA 3.0 )

North of this building, running east to west across the northern edge of the site, close to All Saints' Church, a cambered gravel street has been recorded. Activity along this street appears to have been quiet during the Roman period. Roadside ditches and boundary walls have been identified, but no substantial buildings are present. Instead, activity seems to be more ephemeral in natured, gardens and yards, probably with some timber buildings. Evidence for copper working has been found in the area, perhaps suggesting commercial or industrial activity taking place along the street.

On the eastern side the site, close to the John Lewis car park, a second Roman house has been found. There is evidence for mosaic floors in at least three of its rooms, and one of the mosaic fragments, measuring some 2m by 3m (about a quarter of the original floor) is one of the largest pieces of mosaic pavement found in Leicester in the last 30 years.

Mathew Morris, site director for ULAS, said: "The mosaic is fantastic, it's been a long time since we've found a large, well-preserved mosaic in Leicester. Stylistically, we believe it dates to the early fourth century AD. It would have originally been in a square room in the house. It has a thick border of red tiles surrounding a central square of grey tiles. Picked out in red in the grey square are several decorations, including a geometric border, foliage and a central hexafoil cross. The intricate geometric border follows a pattern known as 'swastika-meander'. The swastika is an ancient symbol found in most world cultures, and it is a common geometrical motif in Roman mosaics, created by laying out the pattern on a repeating grid of 4 by 4 squares. As part of the project, our plan is to lift and conserve it for future display."

Detail of the swastika in the mosaic pavement. Credit: Carl Vivian/ University of Leicester

More curious, however, is a third small Roman building found in the centre of the site. It has a large sunken room or cellar, and it possibly has a small apse (semi-circular niche) attached to one side. Currently, the building has no obvious purpose, but sunken rooms are relatively unusual in the Roman period.

Archaeologists excavate a Roman sunken room, possibly part of a shrine or ornamental garden feature. Some of its walls still survive partially intact. Photo credit: Mathew Morris / University of Leicester

Mathew Morris added: "At the moment there is a lot of speculation about what this building might be. It could be a large hypocaust but we are still investigating. It seems to be tucked away in yards and gardens in the middle of the insula, giving it privacy away from the surrounding streets; and the possible apse is only really big enough to house something like a statue, which makes us wonder if it is something special like a shrine."

 Archaeologists will be onsite through February as they investigate the Highcross Street frontage. In the medieval period, the site was occupied by St Johns' Hospital, Leicester earliest hospital founded in the twelfth century, and the town goal, and it is hoped that evidence for both important medieval buildings will found.

A lion-head spout from a Roman Samian ware mortarium (mixing bowl), late 2nd century AD, found during the excavation. Photo credit: Mathew Morris / University of Leicester

Top Image: A reconstruction of what the Vine Street courtyard house might have looked like in the late 3rd century AD. It was discovered during excavations for the John Lewis car park in 2006. Source: Mike Codd

The article, originally titled 'Fantastic mosaic' and home with underfloor heating among new evidence discovered from Leicester's Roman past’ was originally published on Science Daily.

Source: University of Leicester. “Fantastic mosaic' and home with underfloor heating among new evidence discovered from Leicester's Roman past." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 February 2017.