#MosaicMonday - Mosaic of the Judgment of Paris from Antioch (Antakya, Turkey), dated AD 115-150. This panel decorated a dining room floor, redesigned after a devastating earthquake. Inspired by Hellenistic painting, the artist used opus vermiculatum to create a vivid stone-and-glass “painting.”

#AncientSiteSunday - Zeugma, founded around 300 BC by Seleucus I Nicator, grew into a thriving Roman city on the Euphrates. Famous for its luxurious villas, frescoes, and mosaics, it reached its peak in the 2nd century AD. Many of its mosaics are on display at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep.

#ArtefactSunday - These two quite wonderful gilded-bronze peacocks, symbols of eternal life, originally decorated the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome (Castel Sant'Angelo). They are believed to have stood outside the mausoleum, along the bronze fence surrounding the monument. New Wing, Vatican Museums.

Happy first day of summer! ☀ These Roman mosaic roundels depict personifications of #summer (Latin aestas, Greek ΘΕΡΟΣ).

Four years ago today, I had my first dig at Vindolanda! ⛏ I dug there again in 2023 and at Magna in 2024, and I can't wait to dig at Magna again in 9 days. followinghadrian.com/2022/08/21/d... followinghadrian.com/2023/07/22/d...

#AmphitheatreSaturday - The Amphitheatre of Capua, built in the late 1st century AD, was the second largest after Rome’s Colosseum. Restored under Hadrian and inaugurated by Antoninus Pius in AD 155, it had a decorated façade and a hypogeum for gladiators, animals, and machinery.

#TheatreFriday - The Theatre of Kibyra in Lycia, built on a slope and seating about 8,000, dates to the Hellenistic period. The upper cavea and two-storey stage were added in the 2nd century AD. Traces of wooden posts for a velarium to shield spectators remain on the cavea.

#PortraitThursday - This remarkable silver bust portrays the Roman emperor Lucius Verus (r. AD 161–169). Crafted from a sheet of silver using the repoussé technique, it preserves a strikingly realistic image of the emperor. Found crushed near Marengo in northwestern Italy, it was restored in 1936.

#HadrianFactTuesday - Did you know that Hadrian’s Wall may already have been under construction when Hadrian arrived in Britannia in AD 122? The emperor's orders were likely issued months earlier. By the time Hadrian reached Britain to inspect the frontier, work on the Wall may already have begun.

#MosaicMonday - Mosaic of Aion, the god of eternity, and Tellus, the earth goddess, from a Roman villa in Sentinum (Italy), ca. AD 200–250. Aion stands within a celestial sphere with zodiac signs, while Tellus is at his feet with four children, possibly personifying the seasons. Glyptothek, Munich.

#ArtefactSunday - The Parabiago Plate, found near Milan from the late 4th century AD, is a masterpiece of late Roman silverwork. This decorated dish depicts Cybele and Attis in a lion-drawn chariot, amid personifications of the sun, moon, earth, sea, time, and seasons. Archaeological Museum, Milan.

#RomanSiteSaturday - The Barbegal Aqueduct and Mills in southern France, built in the 2nd century AD, used water from two aqueducts to power 16 water wheels, creating the greatest concentration of mechanical power in antiquity. The mills likely supplied much of the flour for nearby Arelate (Arles).

#AmphitheatreSaturday - The semi-amphitheatre of Andesina (Grand, France), built around AD 80, is a large Gallic arena. Carved into a hillside and 149 metres long, it could seat about 17,000 spectators. It was part of a pilgrimage complex dedicated to Apollo Grannus, a Celtic-Roman healing god.

#TheatreFriday - The Theatre of Thugga is a top Roman theatre in North Africa, part of the UNESCO site of Dougga in Tunisia. It was completed around AD 168-169 and was funded by Publius Marcius Quadratus, a member of a wealthy family. Quite modest in size, it could seat 3,500 people

June AD 123 – Hadrian returns to the East and inspects the frontiers of northern Syria and Cappadocia. followinghadrian.com/2023/06/06/j...

June AD 123 – Hadrian returns to the East and inspects the frontiers of northern Syria and Cappadocia (#Hadrian1900) FOLLOWING HADRIAN

After spending the winter of AD 122/3 in Tarraco (see here), Hadrian left Spain and set sail for Antioch and the Euphrates frontier, probably reaching his destination in June 123. According to a dr…

followinghadrian.com

#PortraitThursday - “The Beauty of Palmyra”, a funerary bust from Palmyra (AD 190–210) that depicts a woman with an elaborate jewelled headdress, necklaces, and decorated garments, showcasing Palmyrene portraiture. Traces of paint reveal its vivid colours. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

#ReliefWednesday - Relief frieze of the 2nd-century AD Parthian Monument commemorates the Roman victory over the Parthian Empire, featuring Lucius Verus on Helios' chariot, driven by Nike. Ephesos Museum, Vienna, Austria.

#WorldOceanDay - Two Roman altars dedicated to Neptune and Oceanus by the Sixth Legion Victrix Pia Fidelis, showing symbols associated with each deity. The altars are thought to have formed part of a shrine on the Pons Aelius bridge (Newcastle), which the legion helped build around AD 120/2.

For #WorldOceanDay, four Roman mosaics depicting the marine god Oceanus. Oceanus, the eldest Titan and son of Uranus and Gaia, personified the freshwater river Oceanus, believed to encircle the earth and be the source of all gods and creatures.

#AmphitheatreSaturday - The Amphitheatre of Salona in Croatia, built in the late 2nd century AD, is a major Roman arena that seated up to 18,000. It features vaulted chambers and shrines to Nemesis beneath. The site later became linked to Christian martyrdom during Diocletian's persecutions.

#RomanSiteSaturday - The Temple of Antenociticus at Condercum (Benwell) is an unusual late 2nd-century AD religious site on Hadrian’s Wall, dedicated to the Celtic god Antenociticus, worshipped only there. Excavations revealed his sandstone head and altars dedicated by Roman officers.

#TheatreFriday - The Roman Theatre in Phaselis, Lycia (Turkey), built in the 2nd century AD on Hellenistic Greek foundations, is located on a hill's western slope overlooking the central avenue. It seats about 1,500–2,000 spectators and is smaller than major Lycian theatres like Myra or Patara.

#PortraitThursday - This half-life-sized bronze head, believed to depict Marcus Aurelius and featuring bright blue glass-inlaid eyes, was discovered in a field in Northamptonshire in 1976. Several features suggest it was not made in Rome but in Britain or northern Gaul. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

The Berlanga Cup: Examining a new addition to the Hadrian’s Wall ‘souvenir’ vessels. the-past.com/feature/the-...

The Berlanga Cup: Examining a new addition to the Hadrian’s Wall ‘souvenir’ vessels | The Past

Over the last 300 years, a handful of enamelled bronze vessels, most of which are thought to depict Hadrian’s Wall and in some cases are inscribed with the ...

the-past.com

#TempleTuesday — The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina in the Roman Forum was built by Antoninus Pius in AD 141 in memory of his wife, Faustina, and later dedicated to both after his death. Its six cipollino marble columns still dominate the Forum, and its conversion into a church helped preserve it.

#MosaicMonday — The Madaba Map, created in the 6th century AD, is the oldest surviving mosaic map of the Holy Land. Discovered in Madaba (Jordan), it depicts cities, rivers, and biblical sites, including a remarkably detailed representation of Byzantine Jerusalem.

#ArtefactSunday - The Amiens Patera, discovered in Amiens, France, in 1949, is one of the most remarkable souvenirs of Hadrian’s Wall. Like the famous Rudge Cup, this bronze vessel bears a list of forts along the Wall, including Mais, Aballava, Uxelodunum, Camboglanna, Banna, and Aesica.

#RomanSiteSaturday - The Triumphal Arch of Anazarbus in Cilicia (Türkiye), built in the 3rd century AD for Septimus Severus, is one of the most impressive Roman gateways in the eastern Mediterranean. It marked the city’s entrance and signified its prosperity under Roman rule.

#AmphitheatreSaturday - The amphitheatre of Eleutheropolis (Israel) was built in the 2nd century AD by the Roman army and later modified under the Severan emperors. It held 3,500 spectators for gladiatorial contests & beast hunts. It ceased functioning after severe damage from the AD 363 earthquake.

#FrescoFriday - Fresco with garland of fruits, leaves and sacrificial bull's head (bucranium). From the exedra of the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, dated 40–30 BC.