Glass drinking horn from Pompeii
Glass drinking horn from Pompeii. The object is in the British Museum.
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Curiosities of ancient Rome
The world of ancient Romans abounded in a number of amazing curiosities and information. The source of knowledge about the life of the Romans are mainly works left to us by ancient writers or discoveries. The Romans left behind a lot of strange information and facts that are sometimes hard to believe.
Casts of the victims’ remains
Casts of the remains of victims (two adults and two children) of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. The find was discovered in the House of the Golden Bracelet in Pompeii. It is currently in the British Museum.
Fish on Roman fresco
Fish on Roman fresco. The object is discovered in Pompeii. The artifact is located in The British Museum.
Decorative Roman table – cartibulum
Roman stone table (cartibulum), in the form of a single support, in the shape of a panther. The object was discovered at Pompeii; it is in the British Museum.
Roman army decorated iron shield boss
Roman army decorated iron shield boss (umbo) with IUPPITER (Jupiter). The piece is around 70mm wide and was originally attached to the wooden shield by nails – the holes remain visible. Object discovered in Britain.
Ballista quadrirotis – ballista on cart
Ballista quadrirotis is a weapon that Roman troops could have used. Information about this weapon appears in the anonymous work “De rebus bellicis” from the 4th-5th century CE. It presents the weapon as a ballista mounted on a four-wheeled cart and pulled by horses, which allowed it to be mobile on the battlefield.
Artisans and technologies in ancient Rome
Preserved objects show that the ancient Romans were excellent craftsmen, working with a variety of materials: from leather, fabrics, wood to metal and glass.
Glass brain of Vesuvius
Man’s brain turned to glass in hot ash cloud from Vesuvius. Nearly 2,000 years after a young man died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, scientists have discovered that his brain was preserved when it turned to glass in an extremely hot ash cloud.
Roman glass cameo
Roman glass cameo that shows the upper half of the goddess Venus Anadyomene (rising from the sea) touching her hair. The artifact is in The British Museum.
Giant blocks of Baalbek
Baalbek is home to one of the most impressive quarries of antiquity, known primarily for its gigantic stone blocks, such as the “Pregnant Woman Stone” (Hajjar al-Hibla). The largest of these weighs about 1,000 tons and is one of the heaviest worked stones in the world. The Romans used similar blocks to build the monumental Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek, one of the largest temple complexes of the empire.
