ANCIENT FOUNTAIN HID STATUE OF ROMAN EMPEROR TRAJAN FOR CENTURIES
So what’s old is suddenly new again. Well, at least to us! But ancient Rome continues to peek from under all that followed. So this time, it’s a statue of the Roman emperor, Trajan. He ruled from 98 to 117 AD. Archeologists have been working in the Turkish city of Laodicea and it has been rewarding. This time, the find was hidden under an ancient water fountain. Trajan is the Roman emperor who was responsible for leading Rome into its largest geographical size ever. So how old was this statue? 1,906 years old. So that’s pretty damn old.
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ARCHEOLOGISTS HAD TO PIECE HUNDREDS OF PIECES TOGETHER FOR 10 FOOT MONUMENT
But what we see above is not what the archeologists found. All they found were hundreds of pieces that were clustered together. So they had some work to do piecing it all together. But clearly, the effort was worth the time and effort to us all. The statue was pretty large, considering. Put back together, it stands just under 10 feet tall. That’s just a couple feet shorter than Michelangelo’s David at the Academia in Florence, Italy. Trajan’s statue shows him wearing his full military regalia. So that includes decorated body armor and a sort of kilt. But let’s not forget the vanquished enemy soldier, bound and cowering behind the emperor.
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EMPEROR TRAJAN LED ROMAN EMPIRE TO IT’S GREATEST SIZE EVER
Trajan, for his part, stands with his right arm in the air, looking dominant. Sure, that’s pretty standard fair for the Romans. But no one has seen this statue for centuries on end. But Trajan was a dominating figure. He expanded the Roman empire to encompass most of Europe, today’s Iraq, North Africa and much of the Middle East to boot. Yes, that is an Italian pun. Sue me. Trajan was also responsible for major public works, including aqueducts, bridges and harbors. As we all know, those things help make everyone money. So why was this in pieces? An earthquake destroyed much of the city, including the statue, back in 60 AD.
