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The world of the ancient Romans was rich in extraordinary, and sometimes even surprising, facts. We draw our knowledge of Roman daily life, customs, and mentality primarily from works left by ancient writers and historians. It is thanks to them that we discover information that is astonishing today – sometimes even hard to believe. Below are some interesting facts that reveal a lesser-known and less obvious side of the Roman world.
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Following its victory in the Second Punic War (201 BCE) and the conquest of the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, the Roman Republic – and subsequently the Empire – began the intensive exploitation of the region’s metal deposits. Silver was among the most valuable resources and also the most dangerous to mine; it served as the basis for Rome’s coinage.
The Romans left behind thousands of texts, inscriptions, and objects that allow us today to reconstruct a surprising number of details about their lives. And yet there is one object whose purpose we still cannot explain. What’s more, not a single contemporary description or depiction survives to tell us what it actually was.
In 1878, during archaeological work in Paris, a Roman sarcophagus containing the burial of a small child was discovered. The find comes from the area of ancient Lutetia, a Roman city that developed on the site of present-day Paris. Preserved within the grave was a remarkable imprint of the face of the child, who was between six and twelve months old at the time of death.
There are six species of hare found in Europe (Lepus europaeus, L. timidus, L. granatensis, L. castroviejoi, L. corsicanus, and L. capensis). Unlike their close relatives, rabbits, they have never been domesticated. Although their population has now declined significantly, hares were once a common sight, especially in rural areas. It’s no surprise, then, that they also appeared in almost all ancient cultures and mythologies – from Britain and Rome to Greece and Egypt and Persia.
Densely populated Rome was a city under constant threat from fire. Tall, tightly packed residential buildings and the widespread use of fire in everyday life meant that fires ranked among the greatest dangers faced by the city’s inhabitants. Plutarch even describes how Marcus Licinius Crassus exploited these fires to increase his wealth, buying up burning or threatened buildings for next to nothing.
The “Patcham Woman” is one of the most intriguing figures from the Roman period in Britain. Her remains were discovered in 1936 in Patcham, now part of Brighton, southern England. Bone analysis, DNA testing, and facial reconstruction have allowed us to reconstruct not only the woman’s approximate appearance but also some details about her life.
Emperor Claudius, regarded by his contemporaries as a harmless eccentric, a stammerer, and a reclusive scholar, surprised Rome after unexpectedly coming to power in 41 CE with a decision that even many enthusiasts of antiquity know little about today. He introduced three entirely new letters into the Latin alphabet and, by imperial decree, attempted to impose their use in official documents and on public buildings. The reform survived for exactly as long as his reign did.
During the reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117 CE), gladiatorial games reached a massive scale. One of the most spectacular events was the games held in 113 CE, during which 2,000 gladiators fought in the arena for about four months.
A small bronze disk depicting Perseus freeing Andromeda is an interesting example of a Roman artifact found outside the Roman Empire. The artifact dates to the 1st century CE and was discovered during archaeological excavations in Brahmapuri, India.
A Roman spectacle began long before the first roar of the crowd, before the arena gates opened, before the animals, gladiators, and condemned prisoners were brought into view. It began behind the scenes, in corridors, holding rooms, and cells, where men were counted, searched, stripped of anything that might be used as a weapon, watched closely, and made to follow the rhythm of the coming show. Everything had its place and its appointed moment, because Roman disciplina extended far beyond military drill or the orderly running of public offices. It also governed those who were expected to die for the entertainment of the audience.
