Photos of Amazing Historic Ancient Roman Sites & Art Antiquities. The great historic Sites of the Ancient Roman Empire & Roman Museum Archaeology Antiquities from the great museum of Europe, Turkey and North Africa. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams
Photos of Classical Period Ancient Roman Archaeology Museum Art & Antiquity
Quick Jump To: Roman Art & Artefacts Roman Historic Sites Greco-Roman Sites Museum Collections
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Themed Ancient Roman Museum Antiquity Photo Galleries
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Photos of Ancient Roman Historic Archaeology Sites
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Photos of Individual Museums Classical Ancient Roman Archaeology Collections
INDIVIDUAL MUSEUM ANTIQUITIES ROMAN SCULPTURE & STATUES PHOTO GALLERIES
NDIVIDUAL MUSEUM ANTIQUITIES ROMAN SARCOPHAGUS PHOTO GALLERIES
INDIVIDUAL MUSEUM ANTIQUITIES ROMAN MOSAIC PHOTO GALLERIES
INDIVIDUAL MUSEUM ANTIQUITIES ROMAN FRESCO PHOTO GALLERIES
Quick Jump To: Roman Art & Artefacts Roman Historic Sites Greco-Roman Sites Museum Collections
Photos of Historic Ancient Roman Sites & Art Antiquities
Photos of Roman art, Roman historical places, archaeological sites & Roman art including photos of Roman mosaics, fresco paintings and sculptures.
This Roman photo collection covers the Roman from the foundation of Rome until 1453 when the Eastern Byzantine Roman Empire fell.
Roman Empire
The Romans built one of the greatest Empires the world has ever seen. The Roman Empire stretched all around the Mediterranean into the Middle East, south into Northern Africa and as far North as Hadrian Wall in England and the Rhine and Danube.
The Romans & The Ancient Greeks
The Romans were great fans of the Ancient Greeks. Much of Roman art and architecture is lifted based on Ancient Greeks styles. Many the Roman are facsimile copies of earlier Ancient Greek statues.
The Romans copied earlier Ancient Greek architecture for their monumental and religious buildings. The colosseum uses the three great Greek column styles, Doric, Corinthian and Ionic, to support its three tiered construction.
Roman Art
Recent analysis has indicated that Roman art is a highly creative pastiche relying heavily on Greek models but also encompassing Etruscan, native Italic, and even Egyptian visual culture.
Stylistic eclecticism and practical application are the hallmarks of much Roman art. Roman art came into its own by the 1st century BC. The Romans evolved the new realistic style of the sculpted portrait bust. These busts depicted the sitter warts and all.
Roman Ancestor Worship
An important room in every elite Roman villa was the ancestors room. The Nobility filled them with sculpted busts of their parents, grand parents and great great grandparents. This connection with the past seemed to have been important in helping young Romans define what it was to be Roman as they grew up.
Roman Brand Building
Augustus turned himself into one of the first Brands. He wasn’t interested in realism, he wanted to portray himself as a pious leader. Fearful of being seen as a despot who wanted to be Emperor, Augustus sanctioned statues of himself in the role of priest. These were then made and he ordered them to be displayed all over the Roman Empire. Augustus was never officially Emperor but he described himself as first amongst equals.
After Augustus all Roman Emperors took how they were depicted very seriously. They saw the propaganda value that art could bring them.
Roman Villa Designs
The Roman wealthy built great villas lavishly decorated with mosaic floors and painted walls. For those that could not afford the real thing, trompe l’oeil marble walls were painted with expensive looking lavish painted wall hangings.
Pompeii revealed how ordinary Romans lived. The standard of living for many Romans was good. They enjoyed well designed and built villas and surrounded themselves will art and artefacts. Many had slaves to do the work while the masters of the houses enjoyed playing politics.
Roman Mosaics
The greatest example of Roman mosaic art is in the Villa Romana del Casale in Sicily. The Villa was possibly built by Emperor Maximian as his retirement home. A mud landslide covered the villa in antiquity and the mosaics remained undisturbed until 1929.
The shear scale of the mosaics at Villa Romana del Casale is breathtaking. The floors are covered with some 3,500 square meters with exquisite Roman mosaics.
Roman Engineering
The Romans were great engineers taking what they had learnt from the Ancient Greeks to new heights. The list of Roman engineering achievement’s is vast. They built aqueducts over incredible distances that crossed deep valleys. They built temples with vast domes like the Pantheon in Rome which is still in use today.
Roman Architectural Achievements
Vast Colosseums were built in all major Roman cities to entertain the populous. Along with massive Ancient Greek style theatres and Circus’s for chariot racing, the Romans kept themselves well entertained.
Roman Baths
At the heart of every Roman city was the baths. These were built on a massive scale as can be seen in the Baths of Caraculla or at Hadrian’s Villa.
Hadrian instigated great building programs including the Pantheon and the incredible Hadrians wall in northern England.
Roman Legacy
The list of Roman achievements is almost endless and their legacy has moulded what is Western Civilisation today.