In the year 112, Pliny the Younger was faced with a dilemma. He was the governor in the Roman province of Bithynia (modern day Turkey) when a number of Christians were brought into his court.

His own father died when Pliny was still very young and he was adopted by his ... and one in four children did not survive their first year. As a result, funerals were a standard part of daily ...

For centuries, Pliny the Younger's accounts of when Mount Vesuvius erupted, bringing an end to Pompeii were gospel. But as scholars, researchers, and archaeologists continued to dig, finding ...