Roman army decorated iron shield boss
Roman army decorated iron shield boss 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.
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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.
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.
Pyxis – an ancient treasure box
Pyxis is a cylindrical vessel with a lid, used in ancient Greece and Rome to store jewelry, cosmetics, perfumes and even poisons. Initially made of boxwood wood (Greek pyksos – boxwood), with time they began to be created from ceramics, silver, gold, pearl mass, turtle shell or ivory.
Agrippa Postumus
Agrippa Postumus (12 BCE – 14 CE) was born as Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus and was the son of Marcus Agrippa – the famous general of Augustus – and Julia, the daughter of the emperor.
Corinth Channel – ancient plans for great construction
Corinth Channel, which today connects the Ionian Sea with the Aegean Sea, was a construction dream in ancient times. The Corinth Channel is strategically and economically important because it avoids swimming all of the Peloponnese. Moreover, in ancient times, swimming in the Peloponnese was difficult and dangerous due to difficult weather conditions and strong sea currents. According to ancient sources, the plans to build the channel were tried to realize the Romans, who reportedly during the reign of Emperor Nero (54-68 CE), attempted to dig it in 67 CE.
Polybolos – ancient Greek machine gun?
In the world of ancient military, the Greeks and Romans perfected siege art, constructing machines that were awakened by the battlefields. One of the most fascinating inventions of those times was polybolos – a weapon, which can be called the prototype of modern machine guns.
