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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.
The largest known worked blocks of stone were found near Baalbek (in Lebanon). It is about the so-called trilitons, i.e. three boulders from the vicinity of the sanctuary from the period of Roman rule in this area. They were supposed to weigh 800 tons each, although it is estimated that the largest weighed over 1,000 tons. They formed the basis for the Temple of Jupiter (the Great Temple), which was completed in the 1st century CE.
The skeleton of a woman was discovered in a marble sarcophagus, which dates back to the 3rd century CE. Interestingly, the hair and eyebrows of a woman who probably died at the age of 50-60 are still preserved. The discovery took place in 1962 in Roman Thessalonica, and the woman came from a high social class. The object is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.
As Seneca the Younger once said: “Wherever the Roman conquers, there he dwells”1. The conquests of the Roman Republic resulted, to a large extent, mainly from the need to acquire land and increase crops.
The skin of Octavian Augustus was said to have many birthmarks; Suetonius even claims that they were arranged on the back and belly in the constellation of Ursa Major. In addition, Emperor August was terrified of storms and lightning.
Roman fresco showing the island of the Laestrygonian giants-cannibals when Odysseus arrives. Interestingly, the Greeks identified this mythical place with either Sicily or Formia in Latium. The object was discovered in a domus on what is now the Roman road Via Cavour; now in the Vatican Museums in Rome. Dated to the 1st century BCE.
Greco-Roman “voodoo doll” pierced with 13 needles. Found in Egypt, it dates back to the 2nd century CE. It was in a vase along with a lead tablet with a spell on it.
In Roman times, it was very expensive and a lot of effort to put up a naval fleet. If the governor of the province received an order from the senate or decided that it was necessary to build, equip ships and train new crews, the entire financial burden naturally went to the cities of the province and their population.
Living at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, Apollodoros of Damascus was one of the most famous architects of antiquity. He worked for Emperor Trajan, for whom he was extremely useful, e.g. during the so-called Dacian Wars – designed a bridge that was thrown over the Danube to enable the Roman legions to cross the river. In addition, he designed the Trajan’s Forum, the emperor’s triumphal arches in Benevento and Ancona, perhaps he participated in the creation of one of the wonders of ancient architecture – Pantheon1.
