Roman Empire

A lighthouse and an erupting volcano Wellcome V0049620

Volcanoes Quiz

In which year did the eruption of Mount Vesuvius bury Pompeii and Herculaneum under ash and mud?

Opposite Marble head of the god Apollo (Kassel type) found during excavations for the construction of the Opera House on the Viminal Hill in Rome. Roman copy of a mid 5th century BC original attributed to Phidias.

Museo Barracco: a head for sculpture

Having brought together ancient Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian artefacts to create a museum of comparative sculpture, Baron Giovanni Barracco gave his collection of antiquities to the city of Rome in 1902. Now housed in a 16th-century palace in the Italian capital, the little-known Museo Barracco showcases ancient artistry and the activities of collectors, both at the turn of the century and in ancient Rome. Dalu Jones is our guide.

Senhouse Museum Maryport UK 38453379875

This week: Maryport

It was a ploughman's chance discovery that led to one the greatest Roman finds of the Victorian age – described by John Collingwood Bruce, the 19th-century historian of Hadrian's Wall, as a 'sudden acquisition of treasure' such as had never before been seen in the region.

Opposite More than any other Roman arch, the Arch of Constantine has served as the model for later versions, though it is itself modelled on the Arch of Septimius Severus and consists almost entirely of decorative elements recycled from earlier monuments. This arch commemorates the decisive Battle of the Milvian Bridge (AD 312) at which Constantine defeated Maxentius to become sole emperor.

The triumphal arch: exploring the legacy of a Roman monument

Dismissed by one distinguished architectural writer as a regrettable example of Roman pomposity, ‘typical of the rather pretentious magnificence of the [Roman] Empire’, the ‘triumphal arch’ (more correctly the ‘honorary arch’) has proved to be surprisingly enduring, with a history that extends from the Roman period to the present day. Chris Catling reviews a new book by Peter Howell tracing the history of the arch through its many manifestations.

Apollonia Map 1958

This week: Submerged cities

According to Plato, it was a fabulously wealthy island – larger than Asia Minor and Ancient Libya combined, and situated just beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Its powerful princes conquered much of the eastern Mediterranean, subjecting whole populations to slavery, until an alliance led by the Athenians staged a fightback, managing finally to liberate the occupied lands.

The House of the Harpist

A remarkable group of luxurious wall paintings has been discovered at a rich Roman residence called the House of the Harpist in Arles, southern France. The house was discovered beneath an 18th-century glassworks factory in the Trinquetaille district, on the…

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Current World Archaeology 111

• Palmyra: what sculpture is revealing about life in a desert city
• Secrets of Ancient Greek technology
• How DNA is solving archaeological mysteries
• Inca Empire: maintaining Central Andean suspension bridges
• Climate change at Butrint
• Verulamium, Britain’s third-largest Roman city
• Norway: secrets of the ice

Right Head of Emperor Antoninus Pius (r. AD 138 161). Marble from Göktepe (Turkey), c.AD 138 140.

Off with their heads! The emperors of Chiragan

One of the finest collections of Roman emperors is to be found far from Rome in the Musée Saint-Raymond in Toulouse. But where did they come from, and how did such a magnificent gathering of Roman emperors come to lose their heads? The late Roman Empire was a time of growing religious intolerance. In the East, a Christian mob destroyed the Serapeum temple at Alexandria: did a similar outburst of violence take place in south-western France? Andrew Selkirk investigates.

RIGHT The god Mercury holding his half brother, the god Bacchus, as a child. This statue was in the Antiquarium of Cosimo I at Palazzo Pitti in 1576 and later, in 1597, in the Galleria degli Uffizi. After it was restored in 1758, it was moved to the Garden of Boboli, where it remained until recently. Marble, 2nd century AD.

Children of the Roman Empire

A new exhibition in Florence examines what life was like for the young sons and daughters of gods, emperors, and ordinary mortals in ancient Rome. Dalu Jones explores what the ancient art on view reveals about attitudes towards children.

City walls

This week: Butrint

With sea levels predicted to rise by as much as +2.0m by 2100, a recent UN study found many of the Mediterranean's greatest archaeological sites to be at serious risk of damage or loss. This week on The Past, we look in detail at how one site – the magical Graeco-Roman city of Butrint in Albania – is planning to confront the challenges posed by our fast-changing environment.

ABOVE The religious heart of Palmyra was the Sanctuary of Bel (TOP), while a fine colonnaded street led through the centre of the city (BOTTOM). Both are seen here in 2008, before elements of the ancient city were destroyed in 2015.

Facing the Palmyrenes: exploring life and death in a desert city

What can an extraordinary group of sculptures commemorating the dead reveal about ancient life in Palmyra? Thousands of ancient inhabitants’ portraits once graced lavish family tombs in cemeteries just beyond the desert city. Studying this artistry can reveal much about wealth, power, family, and even the balance between local tradition and outside influences in a major trading hub, as Eva Mortensen and Rubina Raja reveal.

Palmyra1

This week: Palmyra

Halfway between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, the Syrian desert city of Palmyra was once known as the 'Venice of the sands' – a name which reflected not only the magnificence of its architecture but also its importance as a trading centre for the camel caravans which for many centuries carried the riches of East and West along this stretch of the Silk Road.

Herbert Schmalz Zenobia

Palmyra Quiz

An oasis city surrounded by Syrian desert, Palmyra was an important stop on which trade route?

Cage cup

What is it? This cage cup, or vas diatretum, dates to the 4th century AD. The intricate, colourless glass bowl is 12.6cm tall and 15cm in diameter and has a flared rim. A Latin inscription in the central part of…

Raimondi Domitian DG1971456

This week: Domitian

Few figures in history have seen their reputation rise and fall quite like Domitian (AD 51-96). The third and final ruler of the dynasty founded in AD 69 by his father Vespasian, he became one of the longest-serving emperors, praised during his 15-year reign as a living god, but later remembered as corrupt, murderous and deeply depraved.

Domitian

Domitian: dominus et deus

Are bad Roman emperors really that different from good Roman emperors? Nathalie de Haan and Eric M Moormann look at the case of Domitian, an accomplished military man and prolific builder who emulated Augustus but was reviled as a new Nero.