The average life expectancy for a Roman was 25 years.
In the Roman empire as a whole, men vastly outnumbered women. There were an estimated 131 men for every 100 women in Rome. The disparity was even greater elsewhere and greater still among the elite.
Roman hairstyles were determined according to class, age, and marital status. Aristocrats indulged themselves in public baths and lengthy rituals of adornment.
Roman diners ate reclining and crowned with flowers. Before eating they changed their clothes putting on a woollen tunic provided for this purpose.
The Romans used many materials to build their dwellings - clay bricks, glass, granite, lava, marble, stucco, and wood.
The workers of Rome were crowded into apartment buildings made partly of wood. They were easily damaged by earthquakes and fires. These multi-story apartment blocks were called insulae.
Almost every house in Rome had a chamber called the atrium which was open to the sky.
Rainwater falling through the open roof was collected in a large tank below for household use.
The Romans developed a heating device called the hypocaust. Pipes carrying hot air from large ovens ran underneath the floors and warmed them.
A Roman villa was a country house built for the upper class, while a domus was a wealthy family's house in a town.
The Roman basilica was a large public building where business or legal matters could be transacted. They were normally where the magistrates held court, and used for other official ceremonies, having many of the functions of the modern town hall.
The Romans, in building their massive structures, used fired bricks, often decorated with colored glazes. Their pottery included a red earthenware known as Samian ware and a black pottery known as Etruscan ware.
The Romans probably pioneered the use of ceramic bathtubs, drain pipes, and similar useful articles.
Roman music was heavily influenced by Greek culture and used the same instrumentation and orchestration.
Instead of notes placed in higher or lower registers on staves to indicate pitch, the Romans used letters to indicate individual notes with a sign above each to tell the musician how long it should be held.
Most instruments, including the flute, the lute and the lyre were preceded by Greek or Egyptian versions, but in keeping with their reputation for innovation, the Romans also used organs, whose sound was produced by bellows, panpipes and the kithara, which was similar to the lyre.
An operatic style of singing co-existed alongside Roman choral music, and became well-known throughout the Mediterranean.
The Romans made great use of the horse, and vehicles carrying freight or passengers clattered over the streets of Rome.
By 45 BC, all vehicles had been banned from within Rome, and in other cities they were allowed only at night. Presumably the reason for this ban was because the vehicles endangered pedestrians and caused traffic jams.
Sources Daily Mail, Comptons Encyclopedia
In the Roman empire as a whole, men vastly outnumbered women. There were an estimated 131 men for every 100 women in Rome. The disparity was even greater elsewhere and greater still among the elite.
FASHION
Roman hairstyles were determined according to class, age, and marital status. Aristocrats indulged themselves in public baths and lengthy rituals of adornment.
 |
| Roman Baths Source johnwhye |
BUILDINGS
The Romans used many materials to build their dwellings - clay bricks, glass, granite, lava, marble, stucco, and wood.
The workers of Rome were crowded into apartment buildings made partly of wood. They were easily damaged by earthquakes and fires. These multi-story apartment blocks were called insulae.
 |
| Insula in Ostia Antica |
Almost every house in Rome had a chamber called the atrium which was open to the sky.
Rainwater falling through the open roof was collected in a large tank below for household use.
The Romans developed a heating device called the hypocaust. Pipes carrying hot air from large ovens ran underneath the floors and warmed them.
 |
| A hypocaust-heated room with mosaics |
A Roman villa was a country house built for the upper class, while a domus was a wealthy family's house in a town.
The Roman basilica was a large public building where business or legal matters could be transacted. They were normally where the magistrates held court, and used for other official ceremonies, having many of the functions of the modern town hall.
The Romans, in building their massive structures, used fired bricks, often decorated with colored glazes. Their pottery included a red earthenware known as Samian ware and a black pottery known as Etruscan ware.
The Romans probably pioneered the use of ceramic bathtubs, drain pipes, and similar useful articles.
MUSIC
Roman music was heavily influenced by Greek culture and used the same instrumentation and orchestration.
Instead of notes placed in higher or lower registers on staves to indicate pitch, the Romans used letters to indicate individual notes with a sign above each to tell the musician how long it should be held.
Most instruments, including the flute, the lute and the lyre were preceded by Greek or Egyptian versions, but in keeping with their reputation for innovation, the Romans also used organs, whose sound was produced by bellows, panpipes and the kithara, which was similar to the lyre.
An operatic style of singing co-existed alongside Roman choral music, and became well-known throughout the Mediterranean.
TRANSPORT
The Romans made great use of the horse, and vehicles carrying freight or passengers clattered over the streets of Rome.
 |
| Roman carriage (reconstruction) |
By 45 BC, all vehicles had been banned from within Rome, and in other cities they were allowed only at night. Presumably the reason for this ban was because the vehicles endangered pedestrians and caused traffic jams.
Sources Daily Mail, Comptons Encyclopedia
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