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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.
Map showing a total of 11,655 settlements that were founded or managed by the ancient Romans. The map was made by Harvard University as part of the DARMC PROJECT project. The settlements are grouped into three categories: a certain city location (square); probable location (circle); or possible location (semicircle).
A beautifully preserved Roman helmet from the 3rd century CE. The helmet of Weisenau belonged to the soldier Julius Mansuetus, who engraved his name on the nape of his neck. In addition to the name, there are pictures of mice and loaves of bread on the helmet. The helmet also had cheek pads, which, however, have not survived to our times.
A beautiful Roman vessel made of colourless glass has been preserved. The object is 27.5 cm high and dates back to the 3rd century CE. The artifact was found in Cologne, Germany.
The performances in the Roman Arena were terrifying that the victims led to death resorted to any way to take your own life sooner. Seneca the Younger describes the case of a German who – under the pretext of having a bowel movement in a void – put a stick in his throat to cleanse feces.
The custom of vomiting (by skilfully manipulating a feather or a slave’s finger) during Roman feasts, although mentioned in various sources, almost always applies to only a few Roman emperors (Vitellius, Claudius, Nero; the latter helped himself with enemas); the other thing is that we know less about the figures of the lower class – few of them have their own biographies.
Commisatio was the last part of the Roman feast (cena). At that time, the revelers consumed large amounts of wine, which was accompanied (similar to the Greek symposium) by discussions and reflections.
Roman barrel-shaped tombstone. The tombstone commemorates a certain Lucius Julius Polybius, who lived 72 years, and the inscription on the object reads “sit tibi terra levis”, that is, “let the earth rest lightly”. Naturally, the shape of the tombstone suggests that the deceased was probably related to the production or trade of wine.
Roman patricians ate in reclining positions, settling on sofas. The sofas encircled the main table on three sides, with food and drink delivered by slaves to individual guests. The name of the Roman dining room – triclinium – comes from three beds (Greek: treis kline).
Once upon a time, an envoy from Laodicea came to Rome. He was to ask Julius Caesar himself for freedom for his country. Before that, however, he met Cicero. He was supposed to say to him:
