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.

Traffic jams in ancient Rome

In ancient Rome, as today, there were traffic jams, which the authorities tried to remedy in various ways. The streets of Rome were crowded with both pedestrians and sledges. The Eternal City was problematic in…Więcej

Caritas Romana

Caritas Romana (“Roman Charity”) is the story of a woman named Pero, secretly breastfeeding her father Cimon after he was condemned to death by starvation. After the discovery of the daughter’s dedication (pietas) Cimon was…Więcej

Vespasian was a good emperor

Emperor Vespasian was known for his intelligence, sympathetic manner, and commanding skills. In the case of natural disasters, he supported poorer senators or equites. Generally, he was generous towards writers and rhetorics, who were paid…Więcej

Salt – expensive commodity in Roman times

Salt in Roman times was an extremely valuable commodity, mainly due to the fact that it was used for food preservation. This, in turn, encouraged the Roman authorities to impose large taxes on salt or…Więcej

Promiscuous Romans

The ancient Romans might have been less promiscuous than the Greeks, what does not mean that in the public sphere they did not allow themselves to make sexual comments. For example, in Pompeii, graffiti made…Więcej

Hair coloring in Roman world

Almost every Roman lady dyed her hair. Some have oxidized and lightened, others have darkened. For example, for dark hair, the prescription was taken over from the Egyptians, for whom black color on the head…Więcej

Spectacles in Colosseum

The Flavian Amphitheater was an amazing construction for ancient times. The engineers took care of every detail to such an extent that they even anticipated the possibility of spreading a special canvas roof that was…Więcej

Performances of wild animals in Roman arenas

The performances of wild animals in the Roman arenas certainly aroused excitement in the viewers. Roman politicians were able to get support from the crowds by bringing huge amounts of animals, which then offered entertainment…Więcej

Tabularium – Roman archive

Tabularium was a Roman state, military, temple, city archive, etc., in which the most important documents and legal acts were stored and legal acts written on tablets, rolls of papyrus and parchment. Such an archive…Więcej

Which Brutus?

According to some sources, Caesar, seeing among the conspirators Brutus, was to exclaim, “You too, child?”. Was it really so, we are not sure. However, even if in fact it was so, we are not…Więcej

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