Curiosities of ancient Rome (Other)

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Other Facts is a category of curiosities that encompasses diverse and unusual facts from the world of ancient Rome that don’t fit into other thematic sections. Here, you’ll find interesting facts, anecdotes, and less obvious details that complement the life, culture, and history of the Roman Empire.

From Popina to McDonald’s: Roman fast food before the neon sign

In Rome, “eating out” was not a luxury but a daily necessity in a big city. Street bars selling ready-made food, described by archaeologists as thermopolia, operated from stone counters with large jars (dolia) set…Więcej

Feast with lampreys

Lampreys (Petromyzontiformes) are jawless, predatory aquatic animals that can grow to over a meter in length. They are mostly parasites – they bite into the victim’s body using sharp teeth set in their round mouths.…Więcej

Curule chair

Curule chair (sella curulis) is a folding stool with crossed straight or curved legs, originally backless. It was known to many ancient cultures of the Mediterranean basin, including the Greeks and Egyptians (it reached China…Więcej

Yew – tree of death and longevity

The common yew (Taxus baccata) is an evergreen conifer native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Today, it is a popular ornamental plant, but in ancient times its meaning was quite different. The ancient Greeks,…Więcej

Monument to Emperor Antoninus Pius near Wrocław

In the town of Magnice (commune of Kobierzyce) in the suburbs of Wroclaw, a new street has been named after a Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. A monument to his adoptive father and predecessor on the…Więcej

Donkeys – inconspicuous co-creators of empires

When we think of the animals that have most influenced the fate of humanity, we likely first place horses – after all, it was on their backs that armies, rulers, and ultimately, multitudes of ordinary…Więcej

Roman graffiti – voice of ordinary people from centuries ago

On the walls of ancient Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other Roman cities, archaeologists have discovered thousands of inscriptions that offer a glimpse into the daily lives of the empire’s inhabitants. These are the so-called graffiti –…Więcej

From swamp fever to green fairy

In one of Rome’s most powerful periods, when its borders stretched from Britain to Syria, when Julius Caesar spoke in the Forum, and when legions marched along roads leading to the Euphrates, there was a…Więcej

Ancient statues off coast of Egypt

Several large sculptures were among a treasure trove of artifacts recovered by divers from the waters near Alexandria, Egypt. A collection of ancient statues, coins, pottery, and fragments of a merchant ship have been recovered…Więcej

Bloodletting as form of treatment in ancient times

Aulus Cornelius Celsus was a Roman scholar and encyclopedist of the 1st century CE, best known as the author of De Medicina, one of the most important sources of medical knowledge in antiquity. In his…Więcej

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