ORBIS: your route planner for the ancient world

Ancient mystery authors rejoice!  Stanford University has produced an online trip planner: one for getting you around the ancient Roman Empire.  It comes complete with route planning, schedule estimates and fare costs.  

My only complaint is all the fares are calculated in denarii rather than drachmae.  But then, the hyper-inflation of the post-Alexander period throws out the costs for me anyway.  

I heard about this from the excellent Ruth Downie, who writes the equally excellent Ruso mysteries starring a medical doctor in Roman Britain.  

I instantly tested the system on a route for which I knew the answer.  Those of you who've read The Ionia Sanction will recognize this map:


This is the route Nico and Asia took from Athens to Ephesus, aboard Salaminia, the fastest trireme ever built.

Like any ancient author dealing with travel, I worked it out with a map, a ruler, and by knowing the average speed of an African swallow the top speed and average speed of a trireme.  (In the process I learned a lot about trireme dynamics.)

I figured that Salaminia could do it with only a single overnight stop and two very long days. Orbis produced 2.4 days for a standard boat on its quickest route, or 4.5 days if I restricted it to coastal waters and only daylight travel, which would be your average trader.  I did notice you have to be careful with the options.  If I left road travel turned on, the boat stopped on one side of an island, people got off, crossed the island by horse or donkey, then got back on another boat.  Which is obviously unrealistic, but since I did allow it in my choices it's fair enough.

With a little common sense, and by modifying the result with any specific knowledge, it's guaranteed to save you piles of time.  I think this thing is just awesome.  This is what historical research should be in the modern world.


A merry time at Merrylands

Poppy the Possum and friends
Reading is alive and well in Merrylands.  I know this because they invited me to speak there, last Friday, on the occasion of their library's 21st birthday.  It's a week-long celebration and I was privileged to be first off the rank.

The staff at Merrylands are loads of fun.  The picture on the left is me with Poppy the Possum, who encourages kids to read, ably assisted by Kirsty in the middle.  Kirsty's husband is a very clever man because (a) he married Kirsty; (b) he's an expert on ancient history; and (c) he asked tough and fun questions during my talk.

The next two pictures are me pontificating, which I'm rather good at.  I went over time by about 20 minutes and never even noticed.  Frankly, I was having too much fun.

I was also seriously well-matched by the audience.  Early on I was talking about Ephesus, which if you've read The Ionia Sanction you'll know is a city that figures prominently.

It turned out a lady in the audience had walked the place and knew exactly each spot I described.  Then when someone asked me how you get there, I explained the closest location was a Turkish town called Izmir.  Another lady in the middle rows puts up her hand.  She says, "I'm from Izmir."

Piles of brilliant questions from the audience, and they entertained me as much as I, them!

Gary pontificates some more
Gary pontificates

Gary eventually stops talking and signs books