

ROMAN MOSAICS
The floors, columns, fountains, and walls of Roman buildings and private homes across the Empire were often decorated with mosaics...


THE SILK ROAD
The Silk Road was the ancient network of trade routes that connected East and West. The name derives from the lucrative trade in silk...


A TWO HORSE TOWN
A Two Horse Town, by Kathleen Kaska, is the second mystery in her Kate Caraway Animal-Rights Mystery Series. The story takes place in Two...


LIBRARIES THEN AND NOW
Libraries are more than a repository of books; they’re a culture’s symbol of knowledge. Dating back to ancient Mesopotamia and coinciding...


PLEASE PASS THE RED HERRING
A red herring could refer to a herring kippered by smoking, but as an idiomatic expression, it refers to a literary device used to...

The Changing Economy in First-Century CE Judea
In The Deadliest Fever, the rabbi and Amram, one of the elders, discuss the background of Daniel, the security guard at the Great...


A TRIVIA TEST FOR MIRIAM BAT ISAAC FANS
It’s time now for that assessment! Answer the questions and then check your answers in my next newsletter, coming November 24th. You...


AN OVERFED GORILLA
In The Deadliest Hate, Miriam dines with her cousin Eli as they head for Caesarea on his ship: Eli was dressed as a Roman but with too...


The Rod of Asclepius
Although Greek physicians were distinctively secular, the people of Miriam’s time still regarded healing as a sacred enterprise. That is,...


Locked-Room Mysteries
A locked-room mystery is a story about the solving of a crime, usually murder, that appears impossible to have been committed. The crime...