At last, here’s a crossword to test all you Latin lovers

The Latin crossword is the first to appear in The Times for 85 years
The Latin crossword is the first to appear in The Times for 85 years
MARY TURNER/THE TIMES

What have the Romans ever given us? To the famous list, beginning with the aqueduct, we can now add a new way to while away a Saturday.

Cruciverbalists will from today find an extra mental challenge in the form of a weekly Latin crossword. No, it is not the Kalendae Aprilis (April 1).

This has been a long time coming. In 1930, The Times published a one-off Latin crossword, a month after the first appearance of an English crossword in this newspaper.

After 85 years, and with the classics enjoying a revival, helped by the popularity of books by the likes of Mary Beard and Robert Harris, it is time to try it again with a tabula rasa (clean slate).

Called O Tempora! and compiled