Trajan's Column in Rome Trajan's Column in Rome
The history, archaeology and iconography of the monument
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Images of Trajan in Situ (SE)

Representations of Trajan on the southeast side of Trajan’s Column in Rome.

 

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Scenes 3/III-4/IV: The last of the Roman ships to be loaded with barrels is docked on the left side of the image (Scene 3/III). In the center (Scene 4/IV), Danuvius, the personification of the River Danube, rises from the riverbed and sees a group of Roman soldiers moving through a gateway. Although the frieze is damaged at the bottom, it is possible to make out the river god's thumb: part of a divine hand that once steadied the Roman ships.From the Column in situ. Comparable to Cichorius Pls. 6/VI and 7/VII. RBU2013.2023. Scene 24/XXIV: Detail of the standard-bearers at the beginning (left side) of the scene. Cast now in the Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome. Compare Cichorius Pl. XVIII (Scene 24); cast no. 55 and Coarelli Pl. 22. Ref: RBU 2011.6978 Scene 48/XLVIII: An officer, flanked by auxiliaries and against a backdrop of standards, leads Roman soldiers across a pontoon bridge. The legion is "clearly identifiable as the I Minervia from the image of a ram, held by the imaginifer who leads the formation" (Rossi 1971: 156). Cf. Settis 1988: 330 ("I Minervia pia fidelis, proveniente dalla Germania"). From cast 122, now in the Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome. Compare Cichorius Pl. XXXV, scene 48 and Coarelli Pl. 50. RBU2011.7101. Composite image of Scenes 87/LXXXVII-89/LXXXIX: Soldiers, led by Trajan who is framed by standards (Cast 230), all wearing traveling clothes, depart from the coast (note the ship in the background of cast 229). The rocky outcrop on the left (229) may indicate the shore of Dalmatia (Coarelli 2000: 46). The entourage passes by a walled city (background, casts 232-233). A second procession appears to start at the right side of the walled city (Cichorius Scene 89). At the head of a group of horsemen a mounted Trajan moves swiftly to the right. From casts 229 - 235, now in the Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome. Compare Cichorius Pls. LXIV-LXV scenes 87-89 and Coarelli Pls. 102-104. RBU2011.8104-composite. Scene 127/CXXVII (detail): Close view of a soldier carrying a heavy block on his shoulder. In reality, stone blocks would be too heavy to carry in this manner. Richmond (1935) would argue that such scenes show sod, and not stone being carried. However it may be that the artist was not overly concerned with depicting a "realistic" event. The blocks look like heavy blocks of ashlar masonry. From cast 343, now in the Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome. Compare Cichorius Pl. XCV, scene 127, and Coarelli Pl. 155. Ref: RBU2011.8248-1. Stereographic anaglyph of the casts of the sculpted drums from the Column of Trajan in Rome (Museo della Civiltà Romana). Museo della Civiltà Romana, EUR, Rome. RBU2012.1000106-a A new model in the Museo della Civiltà Romana restores Trajan's forum based on the most recent excavations in central Rome that have taken place since the year 2000. In the foreground, the open plaza of the forum dominates this view. The Basilica Ulpia, with its two exedrae, closes off the northwest side of the forum complex. Behind the Basilica the top of the Column of Trajan is visible. Ref: RBU2012.0142 On the Column of Trajan, from left to right (profile top and side/three-quarter view bottom). 1. (Left, top and bottom): Trajan's first sacrifice in front of a Roman camp (Scene 8). Compare Cichorius Pl. X and Coarelli Pl. 8. 2. (Middle, top and bottom): Trajan sacrifices before a group of Romans and Dacians (Scene 91). Compare Cichorius Pl. LXVI and Coarelli Pl. 106. 3. (Right, top and bottom): Trajan makes an inaugural sacrifice in front of the bridge built over the Danube (Scene 99). Compare Cichorius Pl. LXXII and Coarelli Pl. 118. Images from casts in the Museo della Civiltà Romana. (Photos by Ulrich; Image Grid by Z. Mei). Detail of one of the winged victories on the southeast side of the pedestal supporting the Column of Trajan. RBU2013.3785 Scene 32: Dacians attack a Roman Fort; Scene 33(partially shown): Romans depart from a riverside. Compare Cichorius Plate XXXV. From the original publication of 1865; Ref: F-D-32-33.

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