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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.
Qasr Bashir in Jordan is the well-preserved ruin of a Roman fort built during the reign of Diocletian (284-305 CE). During this time, the Romans constructed smaller but better fortified strongholds than before.
“Béziers Antique” is the reproduction of the city of Béziers (south of France) as it was in Roman times, highlighting the techniques and methods used during Antiquity. Starting in 2028 for at least 30 years, workers and craftsmen will be working on this huge construction site open to the public. Various trades and crafts will be showcased during the visit. Activities, shows, and demonstrations will be offered throughout the year.
The ruins of Horrea Piperataria – former storehouses used to store valuable spices from Asia and Egypt, such as pepper, cardamom and anise – are located in the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo in Rome. These buildings also housed incense, which played a crucial role in religious ceremonies and medicinal practices.
Roman thermae in Bath, England, known as Thermae Aquae Sulis, was an important center of social life in ancient times. It was created around 60 CE, around natural thermal springs that the Romans considered sacred, dedicating them to the goddess Sulis Minerva. Interestingly, the water flowing from these springs has a constant temperature of around 46°C and comes from rain that penetrated the geological layers even 10,000 years ago. Today the baths are one of the best-preserved Roman buildings in Britain and attract tourists from all over the world.
Preserved remains of a nymphaeum or spring that was located near the Roman bath. The discovery was made in 1891. The object is located in the NT The Weir Garden in Swainshill (West of England).
Aquis Querquennis is a Roman military camp located in northwestern Spain, in Galicia, on the Limia River. It is one of the most important archaeological sites of the region, providing fascinating information about Roman expansion into the Iberian Peninsula and the lives of Roman legionaries in the province of Gallaecia.
Porta Portuensis was one of the monumental gates in the defensive walls of ancient Rome, built during the times of Emperor Aurelian in the 3rd century CE. The gate was located in the western part of the city, near today’s Trastevere, and led to the Roman Port, one of the main trading centers of antiquity, located at the mouth of the Tiber River. The gate was rebuilt in 403 CE, during the reign of Honorius.
Domus Transitoria is a very mysterious palace, about which much less is known than about other residences of Roman emperors. Other palaces of the Caesars: Domus Augustea, Domus Tiberiana, Domus Augustana, and Domus Flavia, Domus Severiana and even Domus Aurea) can still be admired on Palatine Hill or extensive ruins nearby. Meanwhile, surprisingly little is known about Nero’s first palace. Suetonius writes in the Lives of the Caesars that Nero built it to connect various residences inherited from his ancestors on the Palatine, Velia, Oppius and Esquiline. But this palace was destroyed during the great fire of Rome in 64 CE. Nero did not rebuild it, and on its ruins, he soon built Domus Aurea.
The insula was built at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries CE and was later rebuilt many times. It is located at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, from Via del Teatro di Marcello, and is perfectly visible to everyone heading from Piazza Venezia towards the monumental stairs leading to Piazza dell Campidoglio. Today, only three floors of the tenement house protrude above the street level – the second and third floors, as well as a small part of the fourth floor. The ground floor and first floor are located in a deep excavation and can only be seen by leaning over the railing (be careful!). Unfortunately, only the second and third floors can be visited. The rest are closed and even with a reservation it is impossible to see them.
Colosseum is such an overwhelmingly monumental monument that few people pass by it and pay attention to other remains of the ancient Roman world that are located nearby. Today’s post will be devoted to one of them – modest, but extremely interesting ruins, which almost everyone passes by with complete indifference. You will find them on the north side of the square where the Colosseum stands. These are strange, evenly-spaced brick structures placed along the sidewalk at the foot of Oppio Hill.
