Classicist says her assertion that there was at least some diversity under Roman rule led to ‘torrent of aggressive insults’Mary Beard has said she faced a “torrent of aggressive insults” on social media after posting messages asserting the ethnic diversity of Roman Britain. Beard told Taleb on Twitter that this kind of family in Roman Britain was unsurprising. Writing in her blog, Beard said: “I think I was courteous throughout, though I guess that is for others to judge. The BBC video that triggered the storm could have been based on Quintus Lollius Urbicus, a Berber from what is now Algeria who became governor of Roman Britain, Beard said. The online commentators wanted a certainty that may not be possible, but there was evidence of diversity, she wrote.

Source: The Guardian August 06, 2017 15:06 UTC