Saturday, May 4, 2024

18.04.24: keeping dry and cool

Image #1:

Found at Housesteads Roman fort in England, this stone relief depicts three deities wearing the cucūllus a hood attached to a cloak, to protect them from the rain and cold weather. The cloak itself may be a birrus Britannicus, a woollen cloak made in Britannia and exported throughout the Empire.

Image #2:

This is a contemporary image of the amphitheatre at Pompeii which, like the Colosseum in Rome, could support a large awning known as a vēlārium (visible at the top of the picture). This covered the seating area and protected spectators from the sun. The fresco actually shows a riot in progress at the amphitheatre although the hot weather wasn’t the cause of it.


 


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