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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.
Extremely rare and well-preserved remains of the armour of Roman legionaries – lorica segmentata with the reconstructed fragment. The object dates to the 1st – 2nd century CE (probably 122-138 CE) and it is located in a museum in the Roman town Corbridge.
The common history of Rome and Egypt is associated primarily with the period of the late Republic, when Cleopatra became involved with the life of Caesar, then Mark Antony. The moment when Egypt is incorporated into the structures of the Roman administration is also discussed quite often. However, the first contact between Rome and Egypt is rarely mentioned. It is hard to trust the sources that were written for many years after establishing an official, closer relationship between Rome and the Ptolemy ruling in Egypt.
How did ancient Romans speak? According to scholars, there is no unequivocal answer to this question. The Latin language has changed a lot during the course of centuries. Linguists believe that the ancient pronunciation may have been very different from the one we know today.
Roman silver goblet, dated to the 1st century CE. Object found in Jabučje, around Lazarevac, central Serbia.
Octavian Augustus, after the victory at Actium (31 BCE) and the suicidal death of Cleopatra and Antony, when he entered Alexandria, ordered to be taken to the tomb of the great Macedonian general, Alexander the Great. According to Suetonius, he honored the body, put a golden crown on his head and showered the body with flowers.
Roman floor mosaic depicting various species of birds. A beautiful work of art adorned a Roman villa in Italica (around Seville, Spain).
Reconstruction of a Roman country estate in Britain from the 3rd century CE. The estate had, among others bathhouses with smoke coming out of the chimneys, which proves the high position of the owners. The complex was located in Priory Lake, in central England.
Roman lead pipes in Bath, England. Some of them are still in use. Dated to 1st – 2nd century CE.
Pliny the Elder, author of the encyclopedic work “Natural History”, often relied on various and often unverified sources. The writer even mentions that if a mother wanted her child to have black eyes, she had to eat a shrew during pregnancy.
