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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.
A wounded Adonis in a Roman fresco being comforted by the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite. According to Greek mythology, Adonis was a beautiful young man with whom Aphrodite and Persephone (the wife of Hades, the god of hell) were in love. Ares decided to solve their dispute by sending a boar to attack him.
The remains of another victim of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE were discovered in Pompeii. A well-preserved skull protrudes from the pyroclastic material.
Roman sculpture of Antisthenes, a Greek philosopher who is the creator of cynicism – a philosophy focusing on the analysis of virtue and considering it the most important value. The Greek lived in the 5th-4th centuries BCE.
Fragment of a Roman fresco showing Iphigenia, priestess of Artemis, with her assistants. The object dates back to the 1st century CE and was discovered in Lucius Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii. The artifact is located in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
Roman dragon head, made of bronze. The object dates back to the 2nd-3rd century CE; discovered in Niederbieber (Germany). The artifact decorated the banner of the Roman cavalry and was carried by a draconarius.
Roman bust of Hadrian, the emperor who ruled the Roman Empire in 117-138 CE. The object is located in The British Museum in London; discovered in Tivoli (Italy).
The skeleton of a soldier from Herculaneum who died in 79 CE as a result of the eruption of Vesuvius. According to researchers, the man was over 35 years old at the time of his death and was probably a soldier who served at a seaside base. He was 172 cm, so he met the minimum height requirements for recruits in the Roman army.
Preserved Roman chain mail found in the barracks of Fort Arbeia at Hadrian’s Walls in Britain (Tyne and Wear). The armor certainly belonged to a soldier of the 5th cohort of the Gauls, an auxilia unit that had been brought from present-day France.
Very well preserved Roman road Via Flaminia, discovered in Riano (central Italy). The discovery occurred when construction works were being carried out for new waterworks; the road was almost a meter underground. In ancient times, the Via Flaminia led from Rome to Ariminum (north-east).
In San Casciano (northern Italy), a fragment of a marble statue of Apollo, which was over 2 meters high, was discovered. It was a marble copy of a Greek bronze sculpture.
