Roman officer gold ring
Golden ring of the Roman officer Legio V Macedonica – dated at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd century CE.
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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.
Skull of defeated gladiator
Preserved gladiator skull with visible traces of a trident hit. This weapon was used by the retiarus – a lightly armoured warrior who also had a net that he threw at his opponent to restrain him. Most often, his rival was murmillo – a heavily armoured infantryman who had a helmet and a large shield.
Marshal Józef Piłsudski about his historical interests
Marshal Józef Piłsudski about his historical interests: “The books describing the existence of the classical nations – the Greeks and Romans made the greatest impression on me. Probably because they were filled with details of the struggles for the Homeland and descriptions of heroic deeds. Besides, I was in love with Napoleon and everything that happened. I was concerned about this hero, it touched me with emotion and ignited my imagination”1.
Pork in Imperium Romanum
Pork is a very tasty meat – probably everyone who eats it will agree with this. Many of us probably cannot imagine that at least once a week there would be no pork chop or bacon for breakfast at least once a week.
Where did “Abracadabra” come from?
The word “abracadabra ” first appears in Liber Medicinalis (known as De Medicina Praecepta Saluberrima), a medical book written in verse in Latin. It is believed that the author could have been Quintus Serenus Sammonicus, a court scholar of Emperor Septimius Severus (ruled 193-211 CE) and Caracalla (209-217 CE). In chapter 51 the author recommends that people suffering from malaria wear an amulet containing the said word in the form of a triangle:
Scipionyx
In 1981, Italian amateur palaeontologist Giovanni Todesco discovered the remains of a new species of dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period. Initially, he decided that the fossil of a small theropod he found must have been the remains of some bird. After watching the film adaptation of Jurassic park in 1993, he came to the conclusion that it might be the remains of a dinosaur.
Roman dolabra
In most studies, the equipment of Roman legionary is discussed in terms of armament, and less attention is paid to items that facilitated everyday life in camps and forts or those that were useful in the art of survival. An extremely important element of the professional equipment of a Roman legionary was the so-called dolabra.
Roman folding knives
A knife is one of the oldest tools known to man. The invention of the Palaeolithic era helped to survive and later facilitated the life of the human species in conditions of settled existence. What about folding knives? Folders and pocket knives are used today, inter alia, in gardening, rescue, military, and tourism… The exchange could be long.
Many diseases among poor
More than 90% of the population of Roman Empire came from the rural poor and it was barely making ends meet. The Roman historian Titus Livius mentions a centurion who in the 2nd century BCE. After inheriting a provincial house and one iugerum (about two-thirds of an acre) of land, he had to feed his wife and eight children.
