Gold necklace with agate and carnelian, Georgia, 18th-17th century BC

Amethyst carving of Queen Arsinoe II set in a gold mount, Ptolemaic Egypt, 3rd century BC

Gold swivel ring with rock crystal frog intaglio, Greek, 6th-5th century BC

Gold necklace with amethyst, garnets, and glass stones, Georgia, 2nd - 3rd century AD

Gold pendant with Daedalus and Icarus, Etruscan, 5th century BC

Banded agate intaglio depicting Herakles killing a serpent, set in a gold swivel ring, Etruscan, 400-375 BC

خاتم ذهب يماني يصور امرأة تمسك غصن في يد وطائر في اليد الأخرى، حوالي القرن الثالث م

Augustus of Prima Porta (1st Century) and the reconstruction of its original colors.

Emma Zahonero and Jesús Mendiola, from the MV Arte Fine Arts and Restoration Workshop, have been in charge of restoring the colors to the Augustus of Prima Porta sculpture, in a laborious process that has lasted exactly three months, without counting the time dedicated to the research and documentation The amazing reconstruction was done in 2014, due to the 2000th anniversary of the first Roman Emperor’s death. The statue of Augustus of Prima Porta is therefore probably the most accurate polychrome recreation of those that have been made to date based on scientific and archaeological investigations. The Augustus of Prima Porta is a statue of Caesar Augustus that was discovered on April 20, 1863 in the Prima Porta villa, belonging to Livia, Augustus’s wife, on the outskirts of Rome.

This is what 5th century Romans looked like:

I think the problem is that pop culture has this theme park version of history that treats time periods like distinct worlds with no fluidity between them. In Roman Times, people dressed like this vs Medieval Times when people dressed like that. But that is obviously not how time works. The end of the Western Roman Empire led directly into and overlapped with the Middle Ages, and the aesthetics we associate with medieval Europe were already long established.

On a related note, the "barbarians" didn't dress like you think they did either. Less of this:

More of this:

(Art by Angus McBride)

Again, the end of the Western Roman Empire was the beginning of medieval Europe, and it already looked like it.

The notable exception was the Franks, who apparently really did dress like that:

What they really looked like...

~ Lion ring.

Culture: Etruscan

Date: early 5th century B.C.

~ Glass cameo of Herophilus.

Culture: Roman

Period: Early Imperial Period

Date: ca. A.D. 20