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Abigail Graham

@abby_fecit

Apr 25, 2023 • 6 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X

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#EpigraphyTuesday It's my birthday, so here is one of my favourite inscriptions, still in situ, leading onto Tiber Island: the Pons Fabricius (62 BCE). The oldest bridge in Rome is 62m x 5.5m with 2 arches 24m wide in lovely travertine; built to last! #Roman #Archaeology 1/5
📷Me

The bridge, beautifully drawn by Piranesi (1756) was reworked by consuls after a flood (21 BCE) (Dio 53.33.5). A central chamber with a stone prow let high waters to pass: illustrating the innovative technology behind Rome's majestic architecture 2/5
📷metmuseum.org/art/collection…

Texts on both sides (CIL 6. 1305) read: L(ucius) Fabricius, son of Gaius, curator of roads, oversaw & approved it." Smaller texts, carved in situ = repairs: Marcus Lepidus, son of Marcus & Marcus Lollius, son of Quintus, consuls (21 BCE), approved by decree of the Senate." 3/5

Piranesi also captures something modern viewers rarely see: Tiber Island, which housed a sanctuary of Aesculapius, was decorated so that it looked like a giant stone ship, floating in the Tiber; Fabricius' bridge was like a gangplank... 4/5

There is so much to love about this monument: the majesty of the building, the structural innovation, the way spelling & arrangement of writing varies. The fact that we still trek over it today. Did it inspire others? For example, this #Roman bridge in Pollença (Mallorca)? 5/5

Want to know more about the bridge, the carving of the letters, etc. + more images? Check out the EDR entry:
edr-edr.it/edr_programmi/…
and the Lacus Curtius entry
penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazet…

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More from @abby_fecit

Abigail Graham

@abby_fecit

Jun 6, 2023

#EpigraphyTuesday A hole new world. For many visitors, a trip to the Roman Forum often begins with a spectacular monument (15.4 X 13.5m): the Arch of Titus. It's beautifully inscribed: you can still see the holes where bronze letters were embedded to sparkle in the Sun.🧵1/7
📷Me

The marble text (CIL 6.945; EDR103961):
"The Senate & People of Rome (dedicated this) to Divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of Divine Vespasianus"
Whether or not you could read, the lettering, spacing & centred margins are exquisitely executed, illustrating control &order.2/7

The experience of walking through the arch is a fascinating reversal of the transient triumphal procession. As you pass through, you are surrounded by triumphal images: Nike flies above, soldiers carry spoils towards an arch; the space shapes you.
📷Me; Carole Raddato. 3/7

Read 7 tweets

Abigail Graham

@abby_fecit

Mar 21, 2023

@VindolandaTrust

#EpigraphyTuesday Spring has Sprung!🌷 This delicately punched piece of copper alloy, 8cm (ca. the width of a credit card) shows how #Roman soldiers on Hadrian's wall measured the passing seasons.
But what is it? 🧵1/4
🏛️📷 @VindolandaTrust

@VindolandaTrust

@VindolandaTrust @DocCrom @roamintheempire @AncientRomeLive @TheClassicalCo Answer: We're not entirely sure. It was probably part of a larger ring (ca. 35cm in total), which roughly labelled the days (K), weeks (N), mid-month (Id) & the equinox (Ae). Some suggest that it was a clock, others a calendar... 2/4

📷Labels added.
cambridge.org/core/journals/…

@VindolandaTrust

@VindolandaTrust @DocCrom @roamintheempire @AncientRomeLive @TheClassicalCo Found in a granary, it could have helped to time night watches, but the precious timepiece was likely in the principia (headquarters), used as a celestial calendar (horologium) or an anaphoric clock. This image of control was also in Rome: showing the same equinox (in Greek) 3/4.

Read 5 tweets

Abigail Graham

@abby_fecit

Nov 12, 2020

#MuseumsUnlocked Day 107: Rome/Architecture. The Pantheon: How did this beautifully preserved mix of concrete, bronze & precious materials from across the globe come together as one of the world's most magnificent buildings? It began with Marcus Agrippa...1/5
#Roman #Archaeology

In his 3rd consulship (27 BCE), in an effort to unite a divided nation, Agrippa honoured 'all the gods'. Pliny ( Elder) describes Syracusan bronze (NH. 34), Cleopatra's pearls became Venus' earrings (NH. 9). Jupiter did not approve: ⚡️& 🔥 struck! Only his facade survived... 2/5

In a tale told by brickstamps, Domitian then Trajan/ Hadrian rebuilt: grey granite columns raised the pediment, a dome w/ a stunning 'oculus' still bathes a rainbow of coloured marble in heavenly light: a round table for the gods. How was this achieved with Roman concrete? 3/5