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Curiosities of ancient Rome
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.
Siege of Masada and its defenders
In 73 CE anti-Roman riots prevailed in Judea, which general Flavius Silva was supposed to quell. The Romans surrounded Masada – a Jewish fortress on the Dead Sea and erected a series of ramparts and fortifications to cut fortress defenders from food and drinking water supplies. This tactic, however, did not bring any results because the Jews had large reserves.
Extremely rarely preserved Roman hair
In the Yorkshire Museum, you can see the rarely preserved Roman hair that once belonged to a young Roman woman.
Roman Letters – database of information about life of legionaries in Britain
Interesting items related to the private life of legionaries were found in one of the military camps in the north of Britain. Well, one of them was the shopping list, which included coat, probably needed to survive in the cold northern conditions by the “southerner”.
Roman inscription from Azerbaijan
In Qobustan (a town located 70 km from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan) there is an extremely rare monument dating back to Roman times. One of the stones has an inscription made by a Roman legionary.
Who was “barbarian” for Roman?
The word “barbarian” comes from the Latin word barbarus, which means “foreigner.” The ancient Roman felt that anyone who was not Roman was a barbarian.
Roman theater on island of Milos
Roman theater on the Greek island of Milos is one of the most important monuments of this place. The building was built for the first time in the 3rd century BCE, before being rebuilt by the Romans.
Beautiful ancient necklace
Beautiful ancient necklace made of gold and semi-precious stones. The object dates to the II-IV century CE; he was found in a grave near the ancient city of Viminacium (near Kostolac, in eastern Serbia). Currently, the artifact can be admired in the Archaeological Park.
Gladiator who refused freedom
In fact, unlike duplicated myths, gladiators did not always fight until they died, and gladiator schools rarely allowed death and life duels because of the very high costs of training such a warrior. Many gladiators managed to win freedom by winning many fights, then the gladiators could receive rudis (received after at least three years of combat), a wooden sword that symbolized the end of life as a gladiator and starting a new one as a free man. However, as it turns out, not everyone chose this freedom and some of them stood in the arena again.
Propaganda image of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
A beautiful image of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus made of carnelian. The item had a propaganda function and is dated to the 2nd century CE.
