Curiosities of ancient Rome (Unknown facts)

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Unknown Facts are curiosities revealing little-known, surprising, or rarely discussed information from the world of ancient Rome and antiquity. This category includes unusual details, curiosities, and facts that offer a less obvious perspective on the Roman Empire.

Battle of Aquae Sextiae – great victory of Romans

The Battle of Aquae Sextiae in southern Gaul, fought in 102 BCE, was one of the most important military victories in the history of the Roman Republic. This engagement ended the immediate threat from the…Więcej

Old women in Rome

Roman writers and the upper Roman classes in general, despite their privileged position, were afraid to go too far in criticizing women, as it could cost them a lot (women were treated with some respect,…Więcej

First dentures

From about 700 BCE the Etruscans, people who lived in Etruria (today’s Umbria and Tuscany in Italy), were the first able to create dentures and artificial teeth. The teeth were either from another person or…Więcej

What did Vesuvius look like in ancient times?

View of Vesuvius through the gate at Palestra Samnitica, in Pompeii. What is worth emphasizing, the mountain was not as visible as it is now. The inhabitants of Pompeii and the Herculaneum painted frescoes with…Więcej

Roman glass

The glass was not an invention of the Romans. In many ancient lands, efforts were made to find light-transmitting material that could be used to cover window openings, previously covered with wooden blinds. Various materials…Więcej

Woman – sophist?

Sophists were concerned with making speeches that moved crowds, although they often concerned fictional situations or events from the past. It wasn’t necessarily what the rhetorian said, but how he says it. Speaking skills were…Więcej

Tax exemption decree and Cleopatra VII’s signature?

Is there any document or work whose author was Cleopatra VII preserved to our times? According to later Arab sources, the last queen of Egypt, apart from her beauty, was also distinguished by intelligence and…Więcej

Nero – organist

When Ctesibius, a 3rd century BCE Alexandrian mathematician, was constructing his hydraulis, the first water organ in history, certainly no one predicted him great successes. The instrument, intended as a syringa with a mechanical blast,…Więcej

Xylospongium – Roman progenitor of toilet paper

Xylospongium was used by the Romans to clean the anus, the Americans made it a device for cleaning the toilet. Xylospongium or tersorium, also known as a sponge on a stick, was a hygienic device…Więcej

Summa rudis – referee of gladiatorial fights

In the arena between the gladiatorial fighters there was a referee (summa rudis) who supervised the fight and could stop it if any of the gladiators were seriously injured or used illegal “plays”, to encourage…Więcej

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