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Artifacts is a collection of curiosities dedicated to objects left behind by the ancient Romans. This category features lesser-known facts and interesting information about archaeological finds, such as tools, weapons, coins, inscriptions, and everyday objects, which provide a deeper understanding of life in the Roman Empire.
Roman bust of Julia Mamaei, mother of Emperor Alexander Severus, who was only thirteen years old (222 CE) at the time of his official reign. In practice, power was in the hands of his mother Julia Mammei and his influential grandmother Julia Maesa, who had a great influence on him.
The skull of a man who received a severe blow to the skull in Roman times; however, the wound was healed. The man additionally suffered from a severe toothache; he finally died as a result of decapitation at the age of around 30. The remains were found at Corinium, in central England.
Digital reconstruction of a Roman sculpture from the 2nd century CE performed by “Chapps”. The object that adorned one of the Roman villas depicts Cupid on a dolphin. The artefact is in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The Roman sculpture was a copy of a Greek one.
Roman mosaic from Villa Winterton in Lincolnshire (England) showing the mythical Orpheus playing the lyre. According to Greek myths, the singing and playing of Orpheus was so beautiful that it was able to calm the weather and animals. The object is dated to the middle of the 4th century CE.
Roman mosaic showing Neptune in a chariot, accompanied by Triton and Nereids. In the corners and sides of the work, we can see figures and animals that symbolize specific seasons – and so olives and wild boar symbolize winter; roses and dog, spring; lion and grain, summer; leopard and grapes, autumn. The object was found in Chebba and dates back to the middle of the 3rd century CE.
Roman tile, with the imprint of a small child’s foot. A frequent find from Roman times are the remains of tiles from ancient houses. Probably the imprint was made on a clay tile still wet and drying in the sun.
Portrait of a mummified woman from Roman Egypt. The object was found in al-Fayyum (the so-called Fayum portrait) and shows a woman wearing beautiful jewellery. The artefact is dated to the 1st century CE; it is currently located at Royal Ontario Museum in Canada.
