Back 2 - that Roman exhibition

 Wednesday saw Anna off to the V&A and me to the British museum with a plan for her to meet me at the BM after our respective exhibition going.

I was there particularly to see the exhibition on life in the Roman Army. It was even better than I had hoped for. Now the pictures-

I find late Roman paintings like this fascinating and recalled the beautiful examples l had seen at the Flinders Petrie museum in London on a previous trip.

This was the item I was awaiting with excitement, the shield from Dura Europos . It certainly was the star item for me. I have seen pictures of it so often in books and it was terrific at last to see in the flesh, wood.

A shield boss showing great workmanship.

Armour and and articulated sleeve armour, adding to the  Legionary’s  protection.

The enigmatic, exotic crocodile armour. Ritual or practical use, no one is certain. I for one like to imagine it used as armour by some soldiers of the time…

Mounted archer carving. A lovely piece of carving, so animated.

Horse armour from Dura Europos. Again great to see in real life. I recall pictures in books showing a photo of the armour being put on a live horse to show how it sat on one. Another iconic piece.

Close up of the previous piece showing the scales.

That shield again , kept drawing me back…

Proof that Roman Auxiliaries used mobile phones, adds a new meaning to signalling in the Roman army.

Moving memorial to a woman featuring a child with pet.

An illustration of the person whose story we had followed throughout the expedition through his letters. This was painted on the temporary walls and one of a number of such illustrations.

Finally a document granting citizenship found in Pompei. Another evocative and moving item. 

Terrific exhibition, don’t miss it if you get a chance. Finally something I was unable to get to but might interest others-

P.s finding it increasingly difficult to leave comments on blogs , including my own! I really miss leaving commenting on other blog and enthusing about posts.