After I'd had the idea for "The Unexpected Message", I thought I should do some research to make sure it wasn't so outlandish as to be literally incredible - so this is in case anyone wants to check up on where I was coming from with it.
As far as I can tell, the likelihood of there being a yet-undiscovered Roman mosaic near Angel Tube station seems vanishingly small, and the earliest-known Romano-British Christian image is of Christ himself (at Hinton St Mary in Dorset), so the premise of my story is based on some very outside chances and a good deal of wishful thinking. That said, all the points Charlie makes in her email to Mike are based on what I've learnt from the list below.
Not being connected to a university, my access to academic research is limited, so a real-life Charlie Miller's reading list would be a lot more up-to-date than this, I think. I've had to rely on what I could find for free online (I can highly recommend the free sub to JStor!) and on my landlady's and parents' bookshelves, or obtain either online or in person via my local library (when they weren't in lockdown).
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Besides being the Roman god of trade and communication, Mercury was the messenger of the gods, and the "mediator between the divine and the human" (according to the Companion to Classical Literature below); I felt that the similarities to the Archangel Gabriel's role in the Gospel of Luke were too good to ignore.
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Articles
Adams, Edward, "The Ancient Church at Megiddo: the discovery and an assessment of its significance" in Expository Times vol.120/2 (2008) pp.62-69
Association for the Study and Preservation of Roman Mosaics, "British Museum – Hinton St Mary Mosaic" [free leaflet from asprom.org]
Browning, W.R.F, "Annunciation" and "Mercury" in A Dictionary of the Bible (OUP, 2010)
English Heritage: "Romans: Art" [on english-heritage.org.uk]
Frend, W.H.C, "Altare Subnixus: a cult of relics in the Roman-British Church?" in Oxford Journal of Theological Studies vol.48/1 (April 1997) pp.125-128
Griggs, C. Wilfred, "Early British Christianity" in BYU Studies Quarterly vol.29/1 (1989) pp.47-65
Howatson, M.C (ed.), "Mercury" in Oxford Companion to Classical Literature (OUP, 2011)
Leeming, David, "Mercury" in Oxford Companion to World Mythology (OUP, 2006)
MacGregor, Neil, "Jesus, the early years" [article in The Guardian, 19th April 2003, via theguardian.com]
MacKillop, James, "Mercury" in A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology (OUP, 2004)
Painter, K.S., "Villas and Christianity in Roman Britain" in British Museum Quarterly vol.35 no.1/4 (Spring 1971), pp.156-175
Pearce, Susan, "The Hinton St Mary Mosaic Pavement: Christ or Emperor?" in Britannia vol.39 (Nov 2008) pp.193-218
Perring, Dominic, "'Gnosticism' in Fourth-Century Britain: the Frampton Mosaic reconsidered" in Britannia vol.34 (2003), pp.97-127
Petts, David, "Christianity in Roman Britain" in The Oxford Handbook of Roman Britain (OUP, 2016) pp.660-681
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Books
Milne, Gustave, "Book of Roman London: urban archaeology in the nation's capital" (English Heritage, 1995)
Somerset Fry, Plantagenet, "Roman Britain: history and sites" (David and Charles, 1984)
Todd, Malcom (ed.), "Studies in the Romano-British Villa" (Leicester University Press, 1978)
Wilson, Roger, "A Guide to the Roman Remains in Britain" (Constable, 1975)
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Short Stories 2020 (Prompts/Contest Entries)
Short StoryStories for several comps/collabs, amalgamated into one collection. Two of them actually placed in their respective sections (yay!): -Mysterious Ways - 1st place, @PsychologicalNovel's "Wake Up In the Morning" comp (June 2020) -The Listeners - 1st...
