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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.
Roman bust showing an older man – so-called patrician Torlonia. It is widely believed that the sculpture depicts the famous Cato the Elder (234-149 BCE). The object is in the collection of the Torlonia Foundation in Rome. The sculpture is dated to the 1st century CE and is a copy of a republican masterpiece from the 1st century BCE.
Golden Roman ring with the image of the goddess Minerva. Dated to the 4th century CE.
Emperor Commodus – reigning in 180-192 CE – often fought as a gladiator in the arena, armed with an iron sword. His rivals wielded a heavier lead weapon to make it harder for them to hurt the ruler.
Roman legionaries on a pedestal relief in the ancient Mogontiacum (now Mainz, Germany). The legionary in the foreground was shown in a fighting position: shield in readiness, protects the body; gladius ready to push; legs apart to maintain balance and the left foot without crossing the lower edge of the shield in case the legionary had to lower it to defend himself.
Cream recipe by Marcus Gavius Apicius, a gastronome from the times of Octavian Augustus and Tiberius.
Amazing 3D animation showing the Roman imperial palace Felix Romuliana, in which the emperor Galerius resided (293-311 CE). The site was located near Zaječar, eastern Serbia – the Gamzigrad archaeological site.
In the famous “Periplus of the Erythraean Sea”1 – a manuscript from the turn of the 1st century CE, which served merchants navigating the waters between East Africa and India – we can find a place called “Rhapta”, which is described as “the last marketplace of Azania” and was located two days south of the so-called Menouthias Islands (it is suspected that it could have been Zanzibar, Mafia or Pemba).
