If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
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 head of Hercules. The marble object is probably dated to the 2nd century CE and was discovered in Rome. According to researchers, the damage on the right side of the face indicates that the sculpture depicted a hero with his right hand raised and in the left he was holding his favorite weapon – a club. The artifact is located in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen (Denmark).
Preserved Roman tablet confirming that a “full-grown North African girl in the best condition” was sold to the sailor Titus Memmius Montanus for 625 denarii, about two and a half times the basic annual salary of a marine.
Scene from Trajan’s Column showing the testudo (“turtle”) formation during battle. The object is located in the National Museum of Romanian History in Bucharest.
An uncovered sword made of wood, which was probably the toy of a young Roman who pretended to be a legionary. The object dates back to the 1st-4th century CE; discovered in London (England). The artifact is in the British Museum.
Marble sculpture showing a sitting large dog, the so-called molossus. It is a Roman copy of an original made of bronze in Greece. Dogs of this breed were mainly defensive and guarding, but they were also used in amphitheater arenas and during hunting.
I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by discovering the continuity of the fate of the city and its individual parts. From the perspective of a short human existence, the evolution of urban space – its reconstructions, transformations and changes in functions – seems almost imperceptible. Sometimes it is only when we return to a place after many years that we say “what has changed here!” But when you look at the city from the perspective of hundreds of years, the changes the city is undergoing are much more visible.
Roman marble relief showing captured weapons: armor, shields, swords, battle axe, quiver of arrows, ram’s head. The object dates back to the 1st-2nd century CE. The artifact is in the British Museum and was discovered in Rome.
Roman tombstone showing Marcus Favonius Facilis of the 20th Legion. The stone used to create the tombstone was imported from France, and the man’s memorial site was commissioned by Mark’s freed slaves. Marcus Favonius Facilis was a young centurion and was depicted with a cloak and the famous rod (vitis), which was a sign of function and an instrument of punishment.
Roman tombstone showing the standard-bearer Genialis Clusiodi, who acted as an imaginifer. His task was to carry a banner with an image of the emperor – probably Claudius or Nero. The man holds a scroll in his other hand. The object dates back to the mid-1st century CE; the artifact is in the Landesmuseum Mainz (West Germany).
Roman tombstone of a certain Terentianus, a soldier who lived in the 1st century CE. The object was discovered in Mainz-Weisenau in western Germany. The artifact is on display at the Landesmuseum Mainz.
