Entertainment

‘Rare find’: amphitheatre dig in Kent paints picture of Roman town

A big night out for the people of the Roman settlement at Richborough on the Kent coast about 2,000 years ago might have involved gladiatorial contests, wild beast hunting or the occasional execution of a criminal.

Taking place in a vast amphitheatre, seating up to 5,000 people, on the western edge of the settlement, such an event was a “special occasion, drawing people from Richborough town and its surrounds”, said Paul Pattison, a senior properties historian at English Heritage. “These were public spectacles, the equivalent of going to a big blockbuster film, in our terms.”

Centuries later, a new window into those times has emerged during an archaeological excavation at the site over recent weeks.

Among the discoveries is a skeleton of a cat, nicknamed Maxipus by the excavation team, which was buried in an area of domestic settlement and is believed to have been a pet.

“Normally you would expect it to have been dismembered by predators but it’s almost complete, so it looks like it was deliberately placed where it wasn’t disturbed,” said Pattison.

People were likely to have had pet animals, but “they weren’t quite as soppy as we are about them. Whether they had them in the house is probably debatable.”

Other finds include a small “carcer”, or cell with a doorway, that was probably used to hold wild animals and people before being released into the arena.

The excavation, delayed from last year because of Covid restrictions, began in mid-September and is due to finish next month. “We knew the amphitheatre was there because of a partial excavation in 1849. We had a clue, but only a clue – so we wanted to find out more,” said Pattison.

The remains of the amphitheatre are on a low but prominent hill with an oval-shaped depression, close to one of the most important Roman historical sites in England. The settlement dates from the Roman invasion in AD43 to the end of Roman rule in about 410.

Part of Emperor Claudius’s 40,000-strong invasion forces came ashore at Richborough, known as Rutupiae to the Romans, which became the main entry point from mainland Europe. A busy town grew up around the port.

In the past few weeks, excavators have discovered details of how the amphitheatre was constructed. The exterior wall was up to six metres thick and made of stacked turf, and the interior wall around the arena was made of locally quarried chalk blocks.

“Really significantly, we’ve discovered that they rendered the inside of the wall that was facing into the arena, and then plastered it. And there are traces of paint on the arena wall,” said Pattison.

“We are beginning to think there was a series of painted rectangular panels, because there are vertical and horizontal lines in red, yellow, black and blue. They probably originally contained painted scenes, perhaps figurative scenes of what happens in amphitheatres.

“We don’t have that detail yet, but we have the paint and that’s a really good start. Given that we’ve only excavated a tiny fragment of the wall, it bodes well for better-preserved painted scenes elsewhere around the circuit. So we’re pretty excited.”

None of the other 15 or 16 amphitheatres discovered in Britain had this treatment, Pattison said. “This is a very rare find in Britain. There may be about 19 or 20 in the whole Roman empire.”

Excavators have also unearthed coins, items of personal adornment, pottery fragments and the bones of butchered animals, all providing evidence that the town of Richborough was occupied by civilians right through the Roman period in Britain.

The recent discoveries “dramatically increase our understanding of the structure of the amphitheatre and the nature of the adjacent settlement”, Pattison said, adding that further excavations in the future would help build a more accurate picture of how the settlement developed and grew.

The excavators were “absolutely hyped” about their finds, he said. “Everyone’s highly motivated and looking forward to digging every day. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to excavate a site of this kind.”

The on-site museum at Richborough is being refurbished over the winter and is due to reopen to the public in the summer of 2022.

Entertainment

I don’t know Bobrisky from Adam, never spoken to him – Falana reacts to audio clip released by VDM

Oil Theft: Falana Calls For Irabor’s Sack Over Destruction Of Vessel

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has denied having anything to do with popular crossdresser, Idris Okuneye known as Bobrisky and his alleged assistance to get him a presidential pardon while he served his term in Kirikiri prison.

Recall that social activist, Very Dark Man, a few days ago, released a purported audio conversation between Bobrisky and a man where the crossdresser claimed that singer, Falz reached out to him saying his father, Femi Falana, could help him secure a presidential pardon with 10 million naira, so his name would be cleared from criminal records.

Both father and son through their lawyers, demanded an immediate retraction of the said publication as well as an apology from VeryDarkMan to be published on all his platforms within 24 hours. However, VDM argued that he didn’t defame the Falanas but only brought the audio recording to light because he wanted relevant agencies to investigate statement allegedly made by Bobrisky.

However in an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, October 3, Falana denied ever meeting Bobrisky or speaking to him. He also mentioned that a civil proceeding will be initiated if a retraction and an apology suitable to him and his son is not received.

“Bobrisky never spoke to me, I have never met him, I do not know him from Adam. He was alleged to have spoken to my son Folarin (Falz). Yes, my son said this guy was appealing to people for assistance and called my son I think on May 4 this year – please can you give me N3 million to be placed in a special part of the prison, we call it the VIP section.

My son asked him, are you calling me under the authorization of the superintendent of prisons? He said no – please don’t call me again, I am unable to assist you to bribe the prison authorities and be very careful since you are already in prison for an offence.

Please if you are you are going to call me next time, you either do through the superintendent or you write a letter endorsed by the prison authorities and that was the last. Somebody now start releasing tapes somewhere and went out to lampoon and rather defame me by saying the guy has spoken to me.”

Falana says his family is going to embark on civil proceedings with a view to restoring his and his son, Falz’s name.

“In this case, we are not going to file a criminal complain. What we are going to do is to embark on a civil proceedings with a view to restoring our integrity, my own name and that of my son so that nobody will simply rush to the social media to defame any Nigerian.

“We want to make an example in this case . We have asked for a retraction and an apology rendered to us and that is not too much and if we don’t have a retraction, an apology rendered to us, accepted by us, we are certainly going initiate civil proceedings in the court”.

Entertainment

Queen Lateefah movie hits 57.7 million in opening weekend

Nollywood actress Wumi Toriola has expressed gratitude to her millions of fans following the impressive success of her debut cinema film, Queen Lateefah.

The movie, which premiered last weekend, grossed an astounding 57.7 million Naira in its opening weekend.

In an Instagram post, Toriola celebrated the achievement, noting that Queen Lateefah secured the highest Nollywood opening for a non-holiday weekend and also set a record as the biggest Nollywood opening weekend by an independent distributor.

Grateful beyond words,” she wrote. “Queen Lateefah just hit 57.7 million on its opening weekend! Thank you all for the love and support. Don’t miss out on this wonderful journey, grab your tickets now and join the adventure!”

The film’s success stirred excitement among Toriola’s colleagues, with many taking to her comment section to celebrate the achievement.

Actor Stan Nze commented, “Congratulations,” while Jamiu Azeez echoed the sentiment with “Yas.”

Nollywood stars like Mercy Aigbe, Joke Jigan, Kemi Korede, Mo Bimpe, and others also sent their best wishes, applauding her accomplishment

Entertainment

Actor, Yomi Fabiyi flees Nigeria after alleging threat to life over Mohbad’s case

Popular Nollywood actor, Yomi Fabiyi has jetted out of Nigeria after escaping an alleged assassination attempt.

The actor made this known after his absence at the late singer Mohbad’s Coroner court and failure to lead a planned protest to the Lagos State Assembly on Monday September 30 2024.

Fabiyi had scheduled a protest for September 30, coinciding with the resumption of the coroner investigating Mohbad’s death.

However, revealing reasons for his absence, the actor said that his life was under threat, as he just escaped assassination attempt two days ago.

In a now controversial video on his Instagram page, Fabiyi who is currently hiding, disclosed an alleged plot to waste his life over Mohbad’s case.

“I escaped assassination two days ago and they still planned to kill me tonight. If they had succeeded, I would have been buried tomorrow.

“They will now waste me all because I’m fighting for Justice. I didn’t collect money from anybody. I am just doing my own for God. I have to run for my life. I just left Nigeria unplanned and as it is now I don’t even know my destination,” he claimed.