𝔍𝔦𝔪 ℭ𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔤

One of the largest surviving Roman mosaic floors discovered during the construction of a hotel in Antakya, Turkey. The warping effect was caused by earthquakes and gives it the impression of a giant rippled blanket. [Image: courtesy of the Museum Hotel Antakya]

Roman armour found at the Teutoburg massacre site 9AD, probably stood as a trophy over the ruined legions. "On the open ground were whitening bones of men, as they had fled, or stood their ground, strewn everywhere or piled in heaps."

Roman swords recently found in a dead sea cave, probably hidden by Jewish rebels 1,900 years ago. Just look at the tip of that spatha!

A 5thC BC corinthian helmet with the skull of a warrior inside supposedly found at the Battlefield of Marathon, Greece. The 192 Athenians killed in the battle were cremated, so there's a chance it belonged to one of the 11 Plataean allies who also fell during the fight in 490BC.

A 4thC BC bronze Illyrian type helmet recently discovered during excavations of a warrior's tomb in Croatia. Originally highly polished and decorated with a large crest fitted on top, the Illyrian type was a popular design for many centuries. Replica by Res-bellica.

Wheel ruts worn into the streets of Pompeii by the passage of thousands of carts over many years. Some streets barely wide enough for a single cart suggest the ancient city probably had some kind of one way system.

Rome's Atlantis, the sunken city of Baia on the Gulf of Naples, Italy. Due to volcanic activity over the centuries the beautiful mosaic floors, sculptures and villas now sit meters below the surface of the Mediterranean sea. Image credit [Edoardo Ruspantini]

A beautiful 6thC AD baptismal font recovered from the ruins of a basilica in Demna, Tunisia. Richly decorated with some of the most fantastic surviving mosaic work, the fragile font was rescued and now sits as a centre piece in the Bardo national museum, Tunis.

An impressive collection of ancient Greek Corinthian helmets stored at the archaeological museum of Olympia, enough to outfit a small phalanx.

The incredible Vaspasianus Titus tunnel, a 1.4km long Roman engineering marvel built under orders of emperor Vaspasian to divert flood waters away from the city of Seleuceia Pieria, Turkey. Cut through solid rock by Roman legions and slaves it took over 50years to complete.

A 4thC BC bronze Thracian helmet discovered by chance in 1997 at the village of Pletena, Bulgaria. Decorated with silver bands and eyebrows with bearded patterns on the cheekpieces and a large Phrygian style crest. Now in the national history museum, Sofia.

This 5/4thC BC Etruscan panoply is one of the finest examples to survive from the ancient world. The beautiful Italo-Chalcidian type helmet has unique hinged cheekpieces that enclosed the face and were made to closely follow the contours of the warrior's cheekbones and jawline.

A surviving Roman camp along with other earthworks built by the legions during the siege of Masada in 73AD. The preservation is due to its high rocky location in the Judaean desert where it has remained for almost 2000 years with gateways, roads, and tent spaces still visible.