1) The tomb of Cossinia, who served as a Vestal Virgin in Rome for a remarkable 66 years during the 3rd century AD. Incredibly, the remains of Cossinia were discovered intact under the monument with a startling object placed alongside her...
2) Resting against her cheek when she was buried was this beautifully formed, articulated ivory doll with miniature necklace, bracelets and anklets of gold. Whereas most Roman girls would dedicate their childhood dolls to goddesses like Diana and Venus when coming of age...
3) Cossinia appears to have kept her doll throughout her life - its hairstyle similar to that of Julia Domna, Severan empress and dowager from 193-217 AD. It has been suggested Cossinia was buried with her childhood doll as a symbol of her lifelong Vestal chastity and innocence.
4) Vestal Virgins were the inviolable priestesses of Vesta, tending the sacred fire of the goddess in Rome. They were selected as young girls and usually swore a 30-year vow of service and chastity; Cossinia's 66 years of service suggests she chose to never leave the sisterhood.
5) Cossinia's tomb was fortuitously discovered in 1929, in outstanding condition, after it was revealed by a small landslide after rainfall. The tomb sits on the bank of the Aniene River just a quarter of a mile from Tivoli's famous Temple of Vesta.
6) Cossinia appears to have been a member of a prominent family from Tivoli (ancient Tibur); her tomb dedicated by a Lucius Cossinius Electus describes how she was a "dutiful servant of Vesta for 66 years" and was "carried to this resting place by the hands of citizens."
7) While Cossinia's doll is displayed in Rome's Palazzo Massimo, her bones remain preserved within her tomb. The monument was recently restored and was rededicated, quite wonderfully, in a ceremony with modern "Vestal Virgins". Pictures from @kgoransson1 [END]

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Gareth Harney

Gareth Harney Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @OptimoPrincipi

28 Nov
1) In the mid 2nd century AD, two brothers stood on the bank of the newly constructed Foss Dyke canal near Roman Lincoln. Bruccius and Caratius Colasunus had together invested in a fine dedication to one of the gods, perhaps in fulfillment of a vow they had once made or hoping..
2) ..the god might watch over a coming venture. For their offering the Colasuni brothers had paid the substantial sum of 100 sesterces (25 silver denarii or 1 gold aureus) to the metalworker Celatus, for the creation of an impressive bronze statuette of Mars, the god of war...
3) Celatus had also decided to buy-in to the Colasuni brothers' dedication by donating the value of the raw bronze (12 sesterces) for free. His statuette of Mars shows the muscular god stood on a plinth, wearing nothing but a large helmet with high plume.
Read 8 tweets
21 Nov
1/3) The grimy mixture of olive oil, sweat and dirt scraped from the bodies of top athletes and gladiators, a mixture known as "strigimentum", was sometimes collected by officials in charge of the gymnasia and sold to the public at huge prices..
2/3) ...The gunky concoction scraped from the bodies of athletes was believed to be a medical panacea; curing inflammation, soothing aching joints, speeding recovery from injury, stimulating menstrual flow and relieving all types of aches and pains...
3/3) ...But you had to make sure you purchased the correct gladiator gloop: scrapings taken from a bather were best for dispersing fluids and soothing your inflamed anus. Sweaty scrapings from a wrestler were best for joint pain applied as a warm compress. Obvious really!
Read 5 tweets
20 Nov
New coin: Roman silver denarius of Trajan minted around 107-108 AD, celebrating the victorious culmination of his Dacian Wars. The near mint state denarius depicts a Roman trophaeum; a victory trophy in the form of a tree stump decorated with captured enemy armour and weaponry.
The trophaeum began as an improvised victory trophy quickly erected on the battlefield but soon became a widely recognised symbol of military victory, recreated in marble and incorporated into triumphal monuments; seen for example on the Arch of Marcus Aurelius in Tripoli, Libya.
Most trophaea consisted of a simple tree stump decorated and anthropomorphised with enemy arms; usually a cuirass and helmet, with shields either side. Enemy captives are often shown sat beneath the trophy in defeat, perhaps imitating an authentic post-battle tradition of display
Read 6 tweets
14 Nov
1) May 6th, 319 AD. A normal spring day across Roman Britain. Little do the inhabitants of Britannia's towns and cities know they are about to witness one of nature's most awesome cosmic events. At around 2:15pm as we know it, the quality of the afternoon light begins to change..
2) The bright afternoon sky begins to darken. The spring birdsong falls silent. The hustle and bustle of the busy marketplaces draws to a standstill. To the sheer disbelief of people across most of Roman Britain over the next hour, the sun is slowly wiped from the sky..
3) Totality hits around 3:25pm as the sun is completely concealed, leaving nothing but a fiery halo high in the sky. Moving west to east across Aquae Sulis, Glevum, Corinium, Verulamium and Londinium, darkness descends over Roman Britain for a spellbinding 3 minutes..
Read 10 tweets
13 Nov
The new LEGO Colosseum set! The largest official LEGO set ever made with 9036 pieces. Where are you going to display yours!? (Released Nov 27, £449.99 / $549.99) #roman #history #architecture
Clearer images of the scale of the set.
Meet the designer, a trained architect who now designs LEGO sets - dream job!
Read 4 tweets
26 Oct
1/4) In 75 BC, a band of pirates captured a young Roman nobleman who was on his way to study in Rhodes. From the start the 25-year-old Julius Caesar refused to behave like a captive. When the pirates told him that they had set his ransom at the sum of 20 talents of silver...
2/4) ..he laughed at them for not knowing who it was they had captured and demanded they raise his ransom to 50 talents! Settling in to wait for the ransom to arrive, Caesar bossed the pirates around, made them listen to his speeches and shushed them whenever he wanted to sleep..
3/4) ..always addressing the pirates as if he were their commander and they were his subordinates. In the 38 days it took for the ransom to arrive, Caesar would often tell his captors that after his release he would return and crucify them all - at which they would merely laugh..
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!