History Revived: A Tour of Ancient Rome

Welcome to History Revived. The year is 100 A.D. and you are standing at the center of the civilized world. Welcome to Ancient Rome! Salve! Welcome to my home. This is the central heart of our domus, the atrium. Here we gather, welcome guests and even conduct business. This is our impluvium, which collects rainwater from the opening above, the compluvium, ensuring we have fresh water close at hand. Here we have the tablinium, where my husband would typically handle important affairs. It's also a place where we display our family ancestors' imaginers to honor our linearity. No home is complete without a kitchen. It's not as grand as the rest of the house, but it's essential for preparing our meals. Let's not forget the lararium, where we honor our household gods and ancestors. And here are the cubicula, the small bedrooms for our slaves who help maintain the household. This is the main cubiculum, my private bedroom. Here I manage the affairs of household and retire on our comfortable lectus bed. Finally, you see a truly modern Roman innovation, the forica, our communal latrine, with running water below and our cleansing tersoria sponges. This is our peristyle garden, a place of tranquility and beauty. And this is our triclinium, where we host lavish dinner parties. Dining is a significant social event in Rome, where we relax and enjoy delicious food and stimulating conversations. Thanks for visiting my domus. As I step out onto this busy street, I leave the sanctuary of my family for the wider republic, but my heart is secure within these walls. Rome is not all marble and gold. The sabura is loud, crowded and dangerous, where thousands of families are stacked five stories high. A single spark could take this entire block, yet whole families live their lives in these cramped, smoke-filled rooms. So what do you do for work? Right now I'm a grape presser for a wealthy vineyard. And here are their public latrines. The sun-ripened grapes are perfect this season. We are well on our way to a fine new vintage. The Acadutes, Roman engineering at its peak. This precise flow from distant mountains sustains a city of a million people every single day. We demand bread, but we crave spectacular. Within these walls, the crowd finds blood, and the state confirms its power over life and death. No citizen is truly Roman without a daily visit to the Thermae. We relax, debate and wash away the dust of the city. Down here in the sweltering heat of the Hippocaste are the underground furnaces required to heat the luxurious baths above. Welcome to the Maxellium. Here, goods from across the empire are bartered from Spain to Syria. There's Egyptian wheat, Gallic wine and spices from beyond Arabia. Welcome to Trajan's Colon and Market. Here we are in the Circus Maximus, where riders become legends. This is the Forum. Within these temples and public squares, laws are made, justice is argued and the destiny of the Republic is decided. Here on the stone docks of Ostia, you realise that the very heart meat of the empire relies on the endless flow of grain arriving from Egypt. Behind me is the Roman Senate. Let's take a peek. And this is the massive Aula Regia, the throne room. Here is the emperor's private courtyard, an oasis of calm contrasting with the busy city outside. Hidden beneath the streets, this colossal sewer is the unseen marvel keeping Rome alive. Standing in the flickering torchlight of this underground sanctuary, the hypnotic chanting and heavy incense reveal a deeply mysterious side of Roman devotion. You can hear the chaos of the taberna well before you even step inside. You learn more about the real Rome in here than in the Senate! Even a Roman brothel rams with the same ruthless efficiency as the rest of the empire. And so, you have seen my home, my streets and my city. This is Rome. Eternal, concreditory and truly the centre of the world.