Echoes From the Dead World

  Image: The beach at Hunting Island State Park, SC. Image taken by myself. Smoke, ash, and embers floated into the air from the fire pit in the middle of the courtyard. The orange flames danced, the people standing around it idly chatting had their shadows cast long from its light. Earlier there had been string lights lit to illuminate the courtyard, but the hour was late and they had long since been extinguished. Now their shadows melded with the darkness of the night, beautiful people betrayed by their gangly, wavering shadows, spiraling from the center of the fire like black points of a crown for the king of a midnight mass. All the spirits of the night were in attendance, the cool wind off the ocean, the cicadas were beginning their late night chitters and chirps, the distant amber streetlights, and hushed conversation. Gabriel’s face illuminated for a brief moment as the tip of his cigar burned like a smoldering coal, his normally blue eyes lit orange like Beelzebub’s. A lone...

Images: One of the Roman sarcophagi that Ignatius told me was in the cemetary. The other images are of the Roman theatre in Mainz.Images taken by myself. After a time, I walked away from the graves, but Ignatius kept talking to me. He described how the town used to look and the places he used to go. My next stop was the ancient Roman theater just up the road. I paused, again feeling the weight of my doubt, and pulled out my phone. On a whim, I googled the name "Ignatius." Incredibly, it was a Roman name . What’s more, it was a name that did not appear until the first century A.D. —the same century the graveyard was built. This shook me. Perhaps there is something to this, I wondered. Now curious and less self-conscious, I allowed him to speak as I had promised. As I stood in the theater, I felt him tell me that he had attended shows there semi-frequently. I initially pushed the thought out, assuming it was my own bias, but the spirit corrected me, confirming I had heard corr...

  Images: A Roman pottery kiln in Mainz used for making funerary offerings. The image of the ditch depicts a depression that was used for water in cremation and pottery services. Another image depicts a Roman kiln, and an information board that shows what some of the Roman grave monume nts looked like. The stories we leave behind are etched not only in memory but also in stone. For the ancient Romans, the desire to be remembered was a powerful cultural force that literally shaped the landscape of their cities. In Mogontiacum, the Roman city that would one day become Mainz, Germany, this belief created a remarkable and poignant landmark: the Grave Road. This is a deeper look into the history behind the graves like the one where I met Ignatius, and the powerful beliefs that placed them there. Mainz was founded as a military base of operations on the Rhine for Rome's Germanic campaigns in the second decade BC. Above the marshy Uterzone, southwest of today's old town, opposite the...

  Image: A Roman carving in Mainz depicting a 'barbarian' archer. This was possibly part of an arena or breeding stables. Image taken by myself. I felt his friendliness, but also his desperation and a profound fear of being forgotten. As he spoke, I could feel his emotions as clearly as I heard his words. It was as if he were standing right there beside me. I asked how he died; he said it was old age. I asked if his family was here; he indicated that his wife and children had been buried nearby, but their graves were long gone. The communication was difficult, especially when it came to his name. My own mind kept trying to guess, to fill in the blank, but the spirit said no to each one. I felt that I should just relax and listen. When I emptied my mind, the name came through clearly: Ignatius . My first reaction was pure skepticism. What a strange name, I thought. It sounds like something from a fantasy novel. I couldn’t recall ever hearing it before, and my mind immediately ...

  Image: Beaufort, SC. Taken by myself. “Now,” Mark said with a sigh, “just remember the…the uh…flip value here right? A little investment can go a long way in a property like this.” Though Gabriel could tell he was trying to put a nice spin on it, Mark’s heart was not in it. “I’m sure,” Gabriel said with a weak smile, before opening the door and stepping out into the whipping, chilling wind. Mark kept his smile but with a shake of his head, and some eyebrow raising, seemed to brace himself before stepping out likewise. Mr. and Mrs. Walker were already waiting outside, both standing side by side as they looked on at the warped, derelict house. Mr. Walker with his arms crossed looked over his shoulder at Gabriel as he approached. “Now I know it don’t look like much at the moment, but she’s got some beautiful bones,” Mr. Walker said in a matter of fact tone, wagging his finger at the decomposing home. Mrs. Walker untied a small sports jacket she had around her waist and put it on. “D...

  Image: A photo from St. Helena Island, taken by myself.  “Everything okay, sir?” Mark asked, giving him a worried look. “Fine, yeah, sorry, I just…” Gabriel turned around again, looking down the road beneath the forest canopy. “I thought maybe I could see the house from here.” “You’re from Georgia ain’t ya’? I think you’d know better than to think we could see much through these woods. Could be someone right on the other side of a thicket and you’d never know.” Gabriel looked back over at Mark who only shrugged his sloping shoulders, the shadows of the trees dancing from the sudden strong wind danced across his business casual attire. There was a sudden grinding of rocks and brush behind them, where they saw an old gold colored SUV pulling up behind them. “As I live and breath, speak of the devil!” Mark said with a slap to the top of his Prius and then began walking over to the SUV which came to a stop behind them. A middle aged, balding man in a polo was driving, a small wo...

  Images: Was the Mainz Roman Maritime Museum closed when I was there? Yes. Was I disappointed? Yes. Did I peer through the glass and take pictures anyway? Also yes. The second image are the original Roman ship remains found from under the Hilton Hotel when it was build on the Rhine in Mainz. So we are talking about Ignatius and we now know from the story shared on Saturday he was a carpenter when he was alive. So what would his work have looked like in Roman era Mainz? In a major Roman frontier city like Mogontiacum during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, a carpenter, known in Latin as a faber tignarius, would have been a foundational artisan whose skills were in constant demand. His work would have spanned both the critical military and burgeoning civilian spheres. For the powerful legions stationed at the fortress, a carpenter was essential for constructing and repairing not only the timber palisades and scaffolding of the fortifications but also the barracks, granaries, and headqu...

  Top: A replica of the remains of a Roman ship found on the banks of the Rhine River in Mainz. These were found beneath where the Hilton Hotel stands today. Bottom: A replica of what this boat would have originally looked like at the nearby Roman Maritime Museum in Mainz.  Hesitantly, looking over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching, I went back. I stood there, unsure of what to do. The carvings on the stone were worn beyond recognition; there was nothing left to observe. Then, I felt the words from the Holy Spirit whisper their impression upon me: a spirit was here, and it wanted to talk if I would only be open to listening. I felt conflicted, almost insane. But the feeling was so strong it felt disobedient to ignore it. It was not me compelling myself to this experiment, but I could feel the hand of God, the Holy Spirit, compelling me to reach out. To do what I would have normally never once considered doing. After several minutes of indecision, I gave in. I decided t...