Curiosities of ancient Rome (Artifact)

A detail of a large mosaic floor in the Roman luxury estate Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily. The fragment shows the scene of transporting animals to the Games and proves how complicated the operation was to organize the ludii.

Roman marble bust showing Marcus Aurelius as a youth. Object dated to the 2nd century CE.

Roman fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, showing a representative of the Arimaspian people stealing gold from a griffin. Object dated to the middle of the 1st century BCE.

Itinerarium (literally “journey”) was a Roman map showing cities, smaller centers (vici) and other places of interest to travelers. The only surviving map / note of this type is the so-called Tabula Peutingeriana or Itinerarium Antonini Augusti.

Roman road in Cagliari (Roman city of Carales), Sardinia. The road was built at the end of antiquity and connected the city center with the coast. The object is inside the museum – Museo del Tesoro di Sant’Eulalia.

Tablet (No. 311) discovered at the Roman camp of Vindolanda, in northern England. In the letter, Sollemnis addresses a certain Paris (a soldier of the third Batavian cohort), to whom he points out that he did not send him even a single message. The object is now in The British Museum and dates back to the 1st century CE.

A preserved Roman road that used to lead from Londinium (London) north to Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) and Eboracum (York).

The so-called Ludovisi’s great sarcophagus was discovered in 1621 in a tomb on Via Tiburtina and found its way into the collections of the famous collector of ancient art – Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregory XV.

Roman wall fresco depicting Amores playing hide and seek. Object dated to the middle of the 1st century CE. The painting was discovered at Herculaneum at Casa dei Cervi; now it is in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Roman wooden tablet from Vindolanda (northern England) with the text of the message preserved. A plate was registered under the number 892. In ancient Rome, this type of plates were covered with wax and written with a special stylus. The preserved scratches on the wood allow the message to be recreated.