We have recently been reading 'The Thieves of Ostia' by Caroline Lawrence. After a particularly gruesome incident involving one of the character's dogs, we decided to write a newspaper report about the incident. Here are some examples:
The Roman times
V sesterces
28.06.79 AD
Watchdog Beheaded
Alexandrius Ekrius
Yesterday, in Green Fountain Street, a shocking event took place. A loyal watchdog named Bobas, got decapitated in a shockingly brutal way.
Watchdog which got beheaded
This horrifying event took place at Dr Mordecai’s house. This happened while he, his children, his children’s friends and his children’s friend’s slave were at the harbour saying goodbye to Captain Flavius Geminus. When they came back, they found that there was a trail of blood leading to the front door. Jonathan, Dr Mordecai’s son, rushed inside, ignoring the will of his father. When we asked him what he saw he answered. “It was horrifying. The stench of blood had filled the house.
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The vivid red color, in the pool all around him, made me feel like vomiting and to see his body just lying there, it somehow made me feel unsafe there. I immediately went outside, not wanting to look for I second longer.”
It is a mystery why anybody would take the head of an innocent dog. However, some people have theories. Jonathan quoted “ Me and my family could have been targeted because of our religion for at our old house our neighbours didn’t like us.” Flavia, Jonathan’s friend, disagrees. “There are lots of jewish people in Ostia and this has never happened.No, I think it was a thief who needed to kill Bobas in order to make sure boabas didn’t make any noise. However, nothing was stolen so maybe the thief had no time to steal something.”
After such a savage event, we would like to recommend you to keep your dogs indoors and your doors locked when outside the house.
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Our magistrate Publius talking to a crowd
Our magistrate was also interviewed. “ If you are dog owner, we strongly recommend that they are kept indoors as the criminal hasn’t been identified yet.”
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THe Roman Times
Cost: IV sesterces
79 AD
Watchdog Violently Beheaded!
Rebhius Resolutus
A few days ago in the month of Quintilis, in Green Fountain street, a shocking event occurred. A watchdog named Bobas was decapitated in a barbaric and savage manner.
Bobas before decapitation.
This horrendous incident took place in Doctor Mordecai Ben Ezra’s house. While Dr Mordecai and his children’s friend’s and his children’s friend’s slave were at the harbour saying goodbye to Captain Flavius Geminus. When they came back, Jonathan( Dr Mordecai’s son) found that there was a trail of blood leading to his front door. Jonathan rushed in against his father’s will.
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When top interviewer Alexandrius asked him what he said and he replied “The sight was gruesome. The stench filled the house. The vivid red colour of the pool of blood was all around the body and I nearly vomited.
Nobody knows why someone would kill an innocent. However, we believe there could be a number of different theories why this beheading happened. One possibility is that the doctor and his guiltless family have been targeted because of their religion. Doctor Mordecai said “ We have had trouble before with break ins before because we are Jewish.” Another thesis is that the murderer is a burglar. However, Flavia ( Doctor Mordecai’s neighbour Marcus Flavius Jeminus’s daughter) explained “This is unlikely as the person didn’t steal or take anything.” Another theory quoted by Jonathan “ This probably happened because he left a dice in the atrium and this probably means a gambler did it.”
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Our Roman Magistrate Germanus tells us to keep an eye on our dogs.
After such a violent event, we recommend that you pay close attention to your hounds. We also advise that you keep your doors locked and your canines indoors when you are away from your house. The local magistrate was quoted saying “ This event is likely to happen again as the killer has not been identified and restraint.”
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The Roman Times
Cost: 100 sesterces
Date: 79 AD
The ugly truth!
Sanaiyus Asuis
Yesterday at an area called Green Fountain Street a shocking event occured. A watch dog named bobas was decapitated in a gruesomely brutal and savage manner.
The cute bobas before the decapitation
This horrific event took place at Dr Mordicai ben ezra’s house. While Dr Mordicai and his children were saying their goodbyes to each other when Jonathan [ Dr Mordecai's son ] spotted a trail of blood leading to there front door. Jonathan had found the door open and rushed into witness the horrendous site of the beheaded watchdog lying on
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the ground. Jonathan was quoted saying “ The site was so appalling and ghastly! It looked like my worst nightmare.
No one knows why someone would persecuted an innocent dog. However we believe could be a number of different theories. One hypothesis is that this family was targeted because of their religion. Dr Mordicai stated “ We have had a lot of troubles with break ins in the past however not as serious as this.” Another theory is that the murderer was just an ordinary thief and the dog was in the way of his mission. However Flavia Gemina, daughter of Captain Marcus Flavius Geminus was quoted saying “ As there was nothing stolen it is not likely the prosecutor was a thief.” The last theory is the murderer was a gambler as a couple of dice were found at the crime scene and he was passing the house and bobas was barking wildly which might have triggered the gambler.
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Bobas the watchdog
After such a violent and appalling incident, we advise you to pay extremely close attention to your dogs. We also recommend keeping your doors locked and keeping your dogs indoors when you are away. The local magistrate said “ This event is likely to happen again unless the killer is caught.
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