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Photograph by Robert Clark
Valkhof Museum, Nijmegen, Netherlands; Photographed at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery Trust, Carlisle, U.K.An iron mask, sheathed in bronze and silver and discovered in the Netherlands, was attached to a cavalry soldier’s helmet by a hinge and worn on parade—and perhaps into battle.
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AMMAN, JORDAN
Imposing architecture and art followed Roman armies to the farthest flung corners of the empire. The curled fingers were part of a statue that may have stood over 40 feet tall at the Temple of Hercules, in Amman, Jordan, around A.D. 160. Romans knew the city as Philadelphia. -
HADRIAN’S WALL, ENGLAND
Barbarians would have stared up at this section, which runs along a cliff near the northern town of Once Brewed. In its heyday, the wall was 14 feet high and stretched 73 miles, from coast to coast. A deep ditch reinforced parts of it. Today a walking trail runs alongside it. -
BECHELN, GERMANY
Only a few stone foundations remain from the more than 800 watchtowers built by Roman soldiers along 342 miles of the frontier linking the Rhine and Danube Rivers. -
Photograph by George Steinmetz
TIMGAD, ALGERIA
Rome imposed its sense of order all across the empire. The town of Thamugadi was laid out on a grid-style plan and included a market (at center), ceremonial gates, more than a dozen bath complexes, a library, and a theater that could seat 3,500. -
Photograph by Robert Clark
Mainz State Museum. General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Rhineland-Palatinate, GermanyRoman soldiers went into battle with a shield, a spear to throw at close range, and a short sword for stabbing or slashing, as shown on this pedestal found in Mainz, Germany.
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Photograph by Robert Clark
State Archaeological Service, Koblenz Bureau, on view at Koblenz State Museum, Ehrenbreitstein Fortress; General Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Rhineland-Palatinate, GermanyThis dragon’s head would have been carried into battle on a pole, with a fabric body attached. Otherwise, the dragon would be kept in the central building of a frontier fort.
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Millions of slaves captured from conquered provinces or from beyond the edge of the empire kept Rome’s economy rolling. Germans, like the chained men depicted on this pedestal found in Mainz, were prized for their strength and endurance.
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QASR BSHIR, JORDAN
Built around A.D. 300, this cavalry outpost on the edge of the desert is one of the world’s best preserved Roman forts. With between 70 and 160 horsemen, the fort kept Arab nomads from attacking caravans carrying frankincense and myrrh. -
JARASH, JORDAN
A Roman Legion impersonator has donned his armor for a tourist event held in the remains of the hippodrome—an arena for chariot racing—in the Jordanian city of Jarash, which was once ruled by Romans. Former Jordanian soldiers and police officers play the parts of soldiers and gladiators. -
Photograph by Robert Clark
Artifact from Vindolanda Charitable Trust, Bardon Mill, U.K.Broken in two pieces, this fragment of a hand-painted glass vessel was found near Hadrian’s Wall. The glass has been attributed to workshops in Germany, evidence of widespread trade.
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Photograph by Robert Clark
Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Upon Tyne and Great North Museum: Hancock, U.K.Not much bigger than a coffee cup, a vessel shaped like an African man’s head was found at England’s South Shields, once a supply base for soldiers along Hadrian’s Wall. Hungry soldiers made the frontier a magnet for merchants, who may have imported this glass, likely from Syria or Egypt.
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Photograph by George Steinmetz
TIMGAD, ALGERIA
This triumphal arch awed visitors to the city of Thamugadi, founded by the emperor Trajan around A.D. 100 as a civilian settlement near the fort of Lambaesis. The grooves left by wagon and chariot wheels can still be seen in the stone road. -
TRIER, GERMANY
The Porta Nigra, or “black gate,” still dominates Trier, Germany. A hundred feet tall, it was built in the second century as part of four miles of walls. Trier was a major city in the late Roman Empire, even serving as a regional capital under several emperors. -
CORBRIDGE, ENGLAND
First a fort, Corbridge later became a civilian settlement that helped supply soldiers stationed on Hadrian’s Wall. Today the remnants of Rome’s glory are a playground for local lad Angus Buchanan, eight.
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