If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
The world of the ancient Romans was rich in extraordinary, and sometimes even surprising, facts. We draw our knowledge of Roman daily life, customs, and mentality primarily from works left by ancient writers and historians. It is thanks to them that we discover information that is astonishing today – sometimes even hard to believe. Below are some interesting facts that reveal a lesser-known and less obvious side of the Roman world.
I encourage you to submit your own suggestions and to report any corrections or inaccuracies.
Fragment of a Roman fresco showing Iphigenia, priestess of Artemis, with her assistants. The object dates back to the 1st century CE and was discovered in Lucius Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii. The artifact is located in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
When you walk around Rome, do you wonder what is hidden under your feet? Aren’t you curious how much of the ancient capital of the Empire has been preserved in its medieval Renaissance and Baroque walls?
Roman cities were carefully planned, built on a grid of streets intersecting at right angles. The Romans borrowed this idea from the Greeks. Streets divided the city into quarters, just like in some modern cities, such as New York. A wall was built around the city to mark its border. Roman cities were bustling, populous and full of large, magnificent buildings. In the 1st century BCE Rome had over a million inhabitants.
Did you know that in ancient Rome, the most sought-after cosmetic was… the sweat of gladiators? Rich ladies, in jars containing the sweat of warriors, searched for charm believing it to be the secret to eternal youth and attractiveness.
Roman dragon head, made of bronze. The object dates back to the 2nd-3rd century CE; discovered in Niederbieber (Germany). The artifact decorated the banner of the Roman cavalry and was carried by a draconarius.
An aerial photo showing the Roman road in Jordan – Via Nova Traiana. The road was built during the reign of Emperor Trajan (reigned 98-117 CE) in the province of Arabia Petraea and stretched from the city of Aqaba (present-day Jordan) to Bostra (present-day Syria).
Roman bust of Hadrian, the emperor who ruled the Roman Empire in 117-138 CE. The object is located in The British Museum in London; discovered in Tivoli (Italy).
The skeleton of a soldier from Herculaneum who died in 79 CE as a result of the eruption of Vesuvius. According to researchers, the man was over 35 years old at the time of his death and was probably a soldier who served at a seaside base. He was 172 cm, so he met the minimum height requirements for recruits in the Roman army.
Preserved Roman chain mail found in the barracks of Fort Arbeia at Hadrian’s Walls in Britain (Tyne and Wear). The armor certainly belonged to a soldier of the 5th cohort of the Gauls, an auxilia unit that had been brought from present-day France.
Two faces do not have good associations with us today. Especially in Polish, “two-facedness” comes dangerously close to “two-facedness” – a very disliked human trait. The old Roman god with two faces even has a dark place in popular culture – one of the criminal organizations that fill the James Bond spy universe was called Janus (“Goldeneye” 1995). A certain Batman antagonist also refers to Janus.
