Civitas Online

Shown here is a Roman floor mosaic from one of Verulamium’s greatest houses: a testament to the wealth of the town. This huge house was 60 metres long, with about 50 rooms over 2 floors, and dates from around 180 AD. There were many similar large masonry houses built in the town at this time, after many of Verulamium’s earlier wooden buildings had been destroyed in a catastrophic fire. This preserved mosaic is located in present-day St Albans, England, and can be viewed free of charge.

Examples of Roman keys.

Key Handle in the Form of a Horse’s Head. 2nd–3rd century, copper alloy. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: 06.176.24.

A selection of keys at the Roman fort of Vindolanda near Hadrian’s Wall, courtesy of the Vindolanda Museum, photo taken by Michael Kooiman.

Two Roman key handles, 1st–7th century, copper alloy. Both courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: 06.176.21 & 06.176.22.

Two Roman keys discovered during excavations at Cambourne in Cambridgeshire. Courtesy of Wessex Archaeology: 1 & 2.

POMPEIAN RED

Pompeian red became a popular shade to paint the trendiest of 18th Century European dining rooms.

Named after the famous (and then brand new) excavation at Pompeii, Italy, the color came into popularity after it was seen in frescos inside excavated homes.

However, this red is actually a dehydrated form of yellow ocher. That is to say, these frescos were most likely yellow during their creation, and only after extreme heat application (perhaps from a volcanic eruption) did the yellow become the ever-so-popular “Pompeian red.” Check out The Brilliant History of Color in Art for more.

Gold funerary wreath, 1st–2nd century A.D., Roman

Glass portrait of a woman 

19.1cm high (7 1/2 inch.) 

Roman, Imperial Period, 1st - 2nd century AD. 

A few examples of Roman glass at the MET.

The garland bowl shown in the first image is, in my opinion, one of the finest example of Roman glass preserved for us today. Dating to the reign of Augustus in the first century, it has by some miracle remained essentially intact, except for a small chip to the rim and some weathering on the exterior. It is made up of four separate slices of translucent glass: blue, yellow, purple, and colourless. As you can see, each segment was then decorated with a small strip of millefiori glass which depict a garland hanging from an opaque white cord. It is extremely rare indeed that large sections of glass from antiquity were made up of different coloured glass. As the MET notes: it is also the only example that combines the technique with millefiori decoration. As such it represents the peak of the glass worker’s skill at producing cast vessels.

The two-handled bottle second shown is early Imperial, dating to the 1st century AD. The jug in the shape of a bunch of grapes is late Imperial, dating to about the 3rd century AD.

Details from the Roman Arch of Constantine, dedicated in AD 312. This triumphal arch is situated between the Palatine Hill and Colosseum in Rome, and was built by the Senate to commemorate the victory of Constantine the Great in the Battle of Milvian Bridge.

Glass Perfume Bottle

1st Century AD

Early Imperial Roman

Necklace with pendants

3rd Century AD

Late Imperial Roman

The first columbarium slab marked the tomb of Futius Hyacintus who was an instructor in a gladiatorial school. It reads: C(aius) Futius / Hyacintus / doct(or) (h)opl(omachorum) // Futia C(ai) l(iberta) / Philura / fecit, meaning “Gaius Futius Hyacintus, Instructor of the Oplomachi [lies here]. Futia Philura, freedwoman of Gaius, made this.”

He appears to have trained the Oplomachi, a specific type of gladiator. Not much is known about the equipment of these fighters, but they may have been similar to the Samnite type. Samnites fought with a sword, and were protected by a rectangular shield, greaves, and a helmet. The tomb was set up by a freedwomen of his, by the name of Futia Philura.

The second slab marked the burial niche of a Gaius Futius Philargyrus. It reads: C(aius) Futius C(ai) l(ibertus) / Philargyrus / doc(tor) vel(itum),  meaning “Gaius Futius Philargyrus, freedman of Gaius, Instructor of the Velites”.

It was found together with the inscription for Gaius Futius Hyacintus. Both men share the Name Futius, which may indicate that they were freedmen of the same man. It was customary that freedman adopted the nomen gentile of their former master. Like Gaius Futius Hyacintus, this man was also a trainer. The term Velites can apply to a type of soldier or gladiator, but the find context suggests that he trained gladiators.

1st century AD, found in Rome, near Porta Salaria.

Lead Ingot

AD 76

Romano British

Made in Wales, found in Staffordshire

Set of musical instruments (flute, horn, sistrum, symbols)

1st-2nd Century AD

Roman

Fragment of a Mosaic Pavement

1st Century AD

Roman

Albumen prints dating to about 1860 taken in Rome, the first photo is of the Temple of Concord, and the second, the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine. These photos are taken by the Bisson brothers, Auguste-Rosalie (1826-1900) and Louis-Auguste (1814-1876), renowned French photographers of their time.