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Curiosities of ancient Rome (Artifact)

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 silver ladle

Roman silver ladle. Object found in Pompeii and dated to the 1st century CE. It is now located in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Roman silver ladle

Gladiatorial fight – secutor and retiarius

One of the most popular gladiator fights in ancient Rome was the clash of secutor (“the chaser”1) and retiarius (“net-man”). Roman mosaic from the 3rd century CE depicts perfectly the way of fighting of the “net-man”, who tried to keep his distance and immobilize his rival at all costs by throwing a net with sinkers on him and then stabbing him with a trident.

Roman mosaic showing the fight of the secutor and retiarius gladiators

Mosaic showing feeding donkey

Extremely interesting Roman mosaic showing the scene of a donkey being fed by a man. The object is dated to the 5th century CE; now the artifact is in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum (Turkey).

Mosaic showing feeding donkey

Amor on winged phallus

Roman agate gemstone depicting Amor flying on a winged phallus with eagle legs. He holds lightning in one of the claws, while Amor holds a laurel wreath. Object dated to the 1st century BCE.

Amor on winged phallus

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