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Gareth Harney

Feb 19 • 9 tweets • 4 min read

1) Ancient fake news? Newly photographed denarius showing an event that almost certainly never took place. This coin struck at the beginning of Hadrian's reign shows Trajan adopting Hadrian, thus making him his successor, clasping hands and exchanging the necessary documentation.

2) If the message wasn’t clear enough to viewers, the scene is emblazoned with the self-explanatory declaration “ADOPTIO”. That this unique coin was required at all shows Hadrian clearly felt the need to publicly tackle simmering conspiracy theories around his accession..

3) Murky details surrounding Trajan’s death in Selinus and documents signed by Trajan’s widow Plotina rather than the emperor himself caused rumours to spread. A close attendant of Trajan’s, Phaedimus, also died a few days after his master, adding to conspiratorial suspicions..

4) The 41-year-old Hadrian had become a close favourite of Trajan’s wife, Plotina - some theorised that together they had withheld news of Trajan’s death while adoption papers were forged or backdated. Still, it seems Hadrian was the clear and logical choice of successor.

5) With our denarius does Hadrian "protest too much?" or is he getting ahead of gossip peddled by a sceptical senate, testing their new leader amid a backdrop of unpopular but necessary withdrawals of all his predecessor’s recent territorial gains in Mesopotamia..

6) Despite being minted in a time of great stability and relative peace, the coin reveals an underlying anxiety about the very nature of imperial power and the exact manner in which it could be gifted to a successor, a problem the Romans were never to solve fully.

7) To learn more about the controversial accession of Hadrian in August 117 AD, you can read blog posts on the event here: harneycoins.com/post/adoptio-t…

8) and here: followinghadrian.com/2017/08/08/8th…

9) And if you enjoy (possible) Murder-Mysteries, see my thread on the death of Trajan's attendant, Marcus Ulpius Phaedimus, here:

https://twitter.com/OptimoPrincipi/status/1292463044010835969?s=20&t=v9zBkqOpkElscyvYh4jmXQ

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Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

Feb 18

The brutal birth of Rome in high-definition! New shot of this spectacular denarius struck in 89 BC - showing the legendary Rape of the Sabines where Romulus and his men, wanting to populate their newly founded city, abducted women of the neighbouring Sabine tribe for their wives.

In a remarkable depiction, two of Romulus’ soldiers can be seen, each carrying off a Sabine woman in their grasp; the women struggle and strike out against their abductors, their flowing robes adding movement and urgency to the scene.

Little is known of the moneyer Lucius Titurius Sabinus but his family clearly traced its descent from the Sabines and perhaps from King Tatius himself. He would have been a quaestor or military tribune prior to his stint as moneyer in 89 BC, likely serving in the Social War.

Read 9 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

Feb 17

This denarius was minted in 49 BC as Caesar crossed the Rubicon. Struck under the moneyer Manius Acilius Glabrio, we see Valetudo leaning on a column and holding a snake. Valetudo was the Roman equivalent of Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health and hygiene..

Glabrio was the stepson of Pompey the Great, raised in his house after Pompey married his mother Amelia Scaura. This coin was likely in support of Pompey, the idea being that he and the optimates were fighting to preserve the health (Salus) of the Republic as Caesar approached..

With Pompey's retreat, Caesar took control of Rome in 49 BC and seized large quantities of gold and silver from the state treasury in the Temple of Saturn - part of which may have been this newly minted issue by Glabrio.

Read 4 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

Feb 7

Roman agate intaglio with a remarkable depiction of Trajan's hexagonal harbour. Constructed in 103 AD, the hexagonal basin covered an area of almost 100 acres. Visible on the intaglio are covered porticoes, square warehouses and a temple with arched pediment and statue inside.

Trajan's hexagonal harbour is still visible today near the runways of Rome's Fiumicino airport, as a reed-filled lake known as 'Lago Traiano' - it now lies almost 3km from the sea.

An ancient Roman wonder visible from space!

Read 4 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

Jan 9

1) A fantastical Roman 'monster' story and marvellous example of an ancient urban myth - to be taken with a generous pinch of salt for sure but all the more entertaining for it..

The bustling ancient port of Puteoli. Vessels from around the empire jostle to offload their cargo..

2) In the harbourside home of an Iberian merchant, confusion reigns. Workers stand perplexed among the smashed remnants of ceramic amphora vessels. Yet again, a large amount of their valuable cargo: prime pickled fish imported from southern Hispania, has vanished overnight..

3) Sifting through the broken pottery fragments and remains of the pickled produce, the men argue about who could be responsible for the night raids. Rivals in the import trade? A criminal gang? No attempt has been made upon the doors. Windows, roof and walls, all are undamaged..

Read 16 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

Dec 29, 2021

1) A beautiful Roman marble statue thought to depict Claudia Antonia, daughter and oldest surviving child of the emperor Claudius. The statue is one of an imperial group depicting Julio-Claudian family members that were displayed at the Domus Romana in ancient Melite (Malta)..

2) Claudia Antonia was born in 30 AD, the only child from Claudius' short-lived second marriage to Aelia Paetina. She was raised in a palace of intrigue with her father now remarried to Messalina and her cousin Caligula on the throne. When she was around 10 years old..

3) ..Caligula was assassinated and her father was thrust into power as the new emperor. Before long she was married in quick succession to two nobleman; the first a descendant and namesake of Pompey the Great who was soon executed, the second a descendant of the dictator Sulla..

Read 4 tweets

Gareth Harney

@OptimoPrincipi

Dec 12, 2021

1) The remains of this 35-year-old man from the 1st-2nd century tell a pitiful tale of disability in the ancient world, yet also serve as a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit. When his skeleton was found near Ostia in 2008, experts were astounded to see..

2) ..the unfortunate man suffered from a completely fused jaw (emporomandibular joint ankylosis), perhaps from trauma in childhood but most likely a congenital condition which made it impossible for him to open his mouth through his life. Incredibly, a closer look reveals that..

3) ..several of his front teeth have been removed and a hole drilled through his mouth to allow feeding, likely only eating liquid food his entire life. Nevertheless, bone analysis has shown his diet was rich and well-balanced. Other skeletal damage shows he worked in..

Read 6 tweets

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