Category: Pliny the Elder
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Cloaca Maxima: The Greatest Drain
Built in Rome two thousand years ago, this underground sewer, a vaulted tunnel called Cloaca Maxima (meaning “the greatest drain”) was constructed from massive blocks of volcanic rock and limestone, and, along with concrete, aqueducts, ampitheatres and an amazing network of almost straight roads linking distant provinces to the capital, it is another testament to…
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Pliny the Elder: Eyewitness to the fury of Vesuvius
A Plinian eruption is the name given to any volcanic eruption of the ferocity of the one which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii in 79AD, and which subsequently cost Pliny his life. He, his sister and nephew (Pliny the Younger) were living in a villa in Misenum, across the Bay of Naples from Mount Vesuvius at…
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A Walk With The Dead
In ancient Rome, especially during the Republic, it was of great importance to show the fame and greatness of one’s ancestors, which served to strengthen the family’s standing in society, and serve as a prompt to its younger members that they must strive for a similar renown. One way of expressing the distinguished ancestral line…
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