Visuals of the Ancients

All 📸 photos by me. | Telling history through art. Different angles of ancient & some medieval ruins & pieces. | Creator of The Cobra Effect Podcast.

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

1/ By the 1st century AD, approx. 800k inhabitants lived in the "Eternal City." The imperial grain dole went to 200k of them every month. This was a logistical nightmare for the port city of Ostia.

The solution? The Harbour of Claudius.

A feast to the eyes, 🧵 of 📸 below!

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

@mclo_Bridger 🫡🤝🤝

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

1/5 Carved three and a half millennia ago from a piece of black steatite, this bull-head rhyton is today one of the symbols of the Minoan civilization. It's an image replicated in books and souvenirs everywhere.

Let's see this marvel of ancient art in 8 close-up📸.

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

@GalanoGabo Indeed! One of my favorite ancient pieces ever.

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

@mclo_Bridger Given the design of this rhyton, my guess is that it poured the liquid (wine, oil, milk, etc.) as it entered the top of its head.

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

@HistoriaJack Indeed, we do!

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

5/5 In addition to black steatite, aka soapstone, the eyes are inlaid with rock crystal painted in black, white, and red on its back flat surface. The rim is red jasper. The right eye below is the original! The snout is made of white seashell.

📸 by me. Like and Share for more!

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

4/5 A rhyton was a ritual vessel for pouring liquids (libation) during sacred ceremonies. The drawing shows the inlet hole at the top behind the horns, and the outlet at the bottom of the muzzle.

The back of this piece is flat for lying on a surface, and it's 10 in (26cm) high.

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

Some close-ups from posts from the last couple of months. My dream is to flood this app with more of these to bring you closer to ancient history and beauty, away from the bitterness of the news cycle. Follow for more if you agree!

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

@HistoriaJack Excellent photos mate!

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

@sineiudicio Indeed!

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

It may resemble a typical piece of ancient Indian art, but this statuette found in Pompeii reveals a world more interconnected than we typically think of.

Let’s talk in this peculiar 🧵about ancient trade between Rome and India, religious iconography, and Pliny the Elder!

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

First 📸 by me. Our piece is currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, specifically in the Gabinetto Segreto.

End. If you enjoyed this post, please share and follow for more content like this. Cheers!

[Visuals of the Ancients @visualsancients]

The “Pompeii Lakshmi” was buried in Pompeii in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted. In a stroke of (bad) luck, Pliny the Elder also lost his life that same day in Stabiae, not that far from the “Pompeii Lakshmi.”