The Circus Maximus

In AD 121, on the anniversary of Rome's founding, Hadrian inaugurated new games and chariot races at the Circus Maximus. A rare aureus commemorates the event, providing an absolute date of 874 years since the founding of Rome.

The coin depicts the Genius of the Circus Maximus holding a chariot wheel while reclining around the three-pointed metae (the turning posts that mark either end of the spina) of the Circus Maximus, accompanied by the accompanying legend: ANN. DCCCLXXIIII NAT. VRB. P. CIR. CON. ann(is) dccclxxiiii nat(ali) urb(is) P(rimum) cir(censes) con(stituti) Year 874 Since the Birth of the City; First Circus Games Established.

The crucible of Roman chariot racing was the Circo Massimo, or Circus Maximus. Chariot racing was fast and dangerous. According to the historian Livy, the inaugural events and wooden seating were instituted by Tarquinius Priscus in the sixth century BC. Julius Caesar gave the Circus Maximus its iconic shape in the first century BC by greatly extending the racing track and seating capacity.

At its largest, the Circus Maximus reached a length of 621 metres and 190 metres in width. It had three tiers of seating, with the lowest, nearest the action, reserved for the elite. It's said the Circus Maximus could accommodate over 100,000 spectators. Located in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills, the arena had many additions over the centuries and major rebuilds. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus called it “one of the most beautiful” structures in Rome.

Races began when the sponsor dropped his napkin and ended seven laps later. A race consisted of 13 turns of the spina, totalling seven laps of the Circus Maximus, run counterclockwise. Those who didn't get maimed or killed and finished in the top three won prizes. Crashes were called naufragia ('shipwreck'). Drivers who became entangled in a crash risked being trampled or dragged along the track by their horses. Most commonly raced were four-horse chariots, known as quadrigae. Drivers (aurigae) wrapped the reins around their waists to steer with weight shifts, holding a knife (falx) to cut themselves free if needed. The two middle horses provided the primary pulling power, while the outer horses were steered.

Life expectancy of the highly paid aurigae was short.

Caracalla. AD 198-217. AV Aureus Rome mint. Struck AD 213. Near EF. Extremely rare with 4 known and an important architectural type. Est $75,000. Sold for $140,000.

Mysteries of the ancient Maltese

At 313 sq km, Malta is one of the world’s smallest and most densely populated countries. The Mediterranean island is also home to the world’s oldest freestanding structures and oldest enduring mysteries.

Inhabited for over 7,000 years, Malta has been settled by Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, the Muslim Emirate of Sicily, and Crusaders under the Holy Roman Empire.

The island people constructed elaborate sites, such as the Ġgantija temple complex, and their buildings are among the earliest free-standing buildings known. There is no skeletal evidence of violent death and no fortifications. Instead the society appears to have survived through cooperation and sharing. But, after 1,500 years, they were gone.

Malta’s megaliths are older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. These supersized temples date to between 5500 and 2500 BC. Soil erosion and climate conditions worsened, as evidenced by the different types of pollen in the soil, the diminishing number of tree remains and the human bones wracked with dietary deficiencies.

In the final centuries, between 2600 BC and 2400 BC, half of those dying were children.

A catastrophic climate event around 2350 BC was the final blow.

Marble head found in dig Dionysus

The white marble head unearthed during excavations at the Roman Forum on 24 May 2019 is believed to represent a male deity, most likely Dionysus. Initially it was thought that the head - with its feminine features and thick, wavy hairstyle - represented a female goddess. A band around its head decorated with a "typically Dionysian flower, the corymb, and ivy", proves it to be Dionysus. The slightly larger-than-life head has been dated from the first century BC to the fifth century AD. He is better known as Bacchus to the Romans.

Dionysus is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking and wine, of fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre in ancient Greek religion and myth.

Rare Roman horse race mosaic

Scenes from a chariot race are depicted in a rare Roman mosaic excavated in rural Cyprus in 2017. Dating from the 4th Century AD, it is in Akaki, a village not far from Nicosia. Only a handful of similar mosaics - showing a hippodrome race - have been found at ancient Roman sites. The ornate 26-metre-long (85ft) mosaic was probably part of a wealthy man's villa.

A Roman hippodrome (circus) was a long, open-air stadium built for chariot and horse racing, social events, and imperial ceremonies. The oblong arenas featured a straight start/finish line, curved turning ends (metae), and a central dividing barrier (spina).

Colossus of Nero

The Colossus of Nero was a 30-to-37-meter bronze statue in Rome created by Zenodorus. Commissioned by Nero to stand in the porch of his Domus Aurea, it originally depicted Nero as the sun god Sol. (Helios) Later emperors removed the likeness of Nero. The statue was moved to a spot outside the Flavian Amphitheatre, which became known, by its proximity to the Colossus, as the Colosseum. Nero, Rome mint, (AD 65-66).

The last mention of the Colossus is in a manuscript from the late 4th century AD. The statue disappeared afterwards, likely destroyed and melted down after the sack of Rome. Today, the only remains are some concrete blocks that made up the foundation of its marble pedestal.

See ---- Nero's Domus Aurea

Bronze battering rams from First Punic War

In 2021 bronze battering rams — each weighing 450lbs — were recovered from Roman wrecks that sunk off the coast of Sicily in 241 BC. Originally attached to the bows of warships, the rams were used against the Carthaginian fleet during the Battle of the Aegates that ended the First Punic War. Fought in the waters around Sicily and North Africa, conflict between the Phoenicians and the Romans lasted 23 years. The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between the Phoenicians of Carthage and Rome in the early third century BC.

Romans sunk 50 Carthaginian vessels and captured 70 more at the cost of 30 of their own ships and damage to 50 more. It's thought the fleets of both sides originally numbered some 200 vessels. Carthaginian rams had inscriptions to the god Baal on them were less well made than the Roman rams. Roman rams have an inscription by an inspector to verify that they met standards.

The Battle of the Aegates was fought off the western coast of the island of Sicily on 10 March 241 BC. It was the final naval battle between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republic during the First Punic War. A unique bronze helmet discovered by marine archaeologists off the Sicilian coast are dated to the sea battle. The helmet is a Montefortino, a Celtic style-helmet that was worn across Europe, also  known as a "Roman helmet".

Diving to 120m, archaeologists examined an area of about 5 sq km, littered with the relics of the decisive battle. Bronze helmets, amphora, weapons and ancient battle rams cast in bronze, were salvaged from the seabed.

The first Punic War, with the largest naval battles of antiquity, would drag on for more than 20 years. The battle of Egadi, in 241 BC was a turning point: the Carthaginians were defeated and forced to abandon Sicily. Rome also won Corsica and Sardinia.

Reconstruction of a Hellenic trireme

Artifacts continue to be pulled from the seafloor, offering clues to the battle. 11 of 19 rams found are Roman, but this can be explained by the fact the Carthaginians captured Roman ships in a previous battle.

The many Montefortino helmets may have belonged to mercenaries from Gaul and Iberia, who fought for Carthage and were known to sometimes wear them.

Treasure trove of Sarmatian jewellery unearthed in Russia

In 2015 a trove of ancient jewellery was found in the grave of a woman dating to the first century AD. She was a Sarmatian - a group of people who worshipped fire and whose unmatched skills in warfare was seen as the inspiration for the Amazons of Greek mythology. Sarmatian women were feared as much as much as men. The discovery of the intact burial mound in Russia was described as 'priceless' by archaeologists.

Sarmatian cataphracts during Dacian Wars as depicted on Trajan's Column.

The Sarmatians were nomadic people who migrated from central Asia to the Ural mountains between the 6th and 4th century BC. They were fierce warriors who fought on horseback. Their archery skills were famed throughout the ancient world. As well as gold and silver jewellery, experts found more than 100 iron arrowheads in the grave, as well as a horse harness.

The noblewoman's grave and treasures are in a group of at least 29 burial mounds that came to light during the construction of an airport serving Rostov-on-Don. Next to her skull were gold earrings.

Gold vial

A 'hiding place' in the grave contained a collection of knives and an unfinished sword with brooches on its handle.

Items in the burial were dated from the first century BC to the first century AD. At her feet there were fragments of a bronze bucket with the image of the Gorgon's head.

A Sarmatian diadem, found at the Khokhlach kurgan, 1st century AD.

Roman silver coin hoard in Turkey

Augustus. Silver Denarius (4.02 g), 27 BC-AD 14. Rome, 16 BC. L. Mescinius Rufus, moneyer.

In 2021 a hoard of 651 ancient silver Roman coins was discovered inside a jug in the ancient city of Aizanoi. Hidden beneath three terracotta plates, the collection features 439 standard Roman silver denarii and 212 Greek cistophoric silver coins from Pergamon, dating to the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC to 14 AD). The hoard included coins of Julius Caesar, his assassin Brutus, and Mark Antony. Researchers guess the coins were brought to Aizanoi by a high-ranking Roman army officer. Most coins were minted in Southern Italy.

Aizanoi is famous for its well-preserved Aizanoi Temple of Zeus.