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 1/I and 2/II: On the northwest side of the Column on the lowest spiral we see sentries and watchtowers on the left, then the loading up of boats along the riverbank. This is the main axis of the Column from the entrance to the forum complex on the north side. The opposite (SE) side of the Column faces the Basilica Ulpia and carries the dedicatory inscription on the pedestal. Above we see a scene of sacrifice (suovetaurilia) and the portent of the man falling from his horse (Scene 9/IX). From the Column in situ. RBU2013.7804. Scene 25/XXV (detail): Close view of Trajan. Taken from modern scaffolding. RBU1982-248. 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. Scenes 80/LXXX-83/LXXXIII: Composite Image. Trajan and his men cross from Italy onto the western coast of the Balkan Peninsula. On casts 212-213 Trajan's fleet is greeted with a sacrifice that takes place in front of an altar. The emperor is welcomed in front of an open-air portico that encloses a temple. The harbor scene continues across casts 217-218, and the emperor is excorted from town in the profectio of casts 219-220. Cichorius's scene divisions here have been called into question; much of what we see appears to belong to a continuous event that took place upon his landing on the Dalmation coast, perhaps at Zara (although a number of different locales have been proposed). From casts 212-221, now in the Museo della Civiltà Romana, Rome. Compare Cichorius Pls. LIX-LXII scenes 80-83 and Coarelli Pls. 94-97. RBU2011.7235-composite. From the bottom of the image (Spiral 20, northwest side): Dacians kneel before the emperor in Scene 130. In the next scene a line of Romans crosses a pile bridge. Above, in Spiral 21, valuable loot is loaded on mules (Scene 138) and Dacians assemble and move out in Scenes 139 and 140.From the Column in situ. RBU 2013.3832. Parallel Stereograph of Scene CXLV: The suicide of Decebalus. RBU2012.1000125-p View of the Column of Trajan (center) from the Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo), Rome. The telephoto view compresses the surrounding topographical features. RBU2013.3989 On the Column of Trajan, from left to right (profile top and side/three-quarter view bottom). 1. (Left, top and bottom): Trajan on horseback leads the calvary (Scene 90). Compare Cichorius Pl. LXV and Coarelli Pl. 104. 2. (Middle, top and bottom): Trajan rides towards a Dacian fort (Scene 97). Compare Cichorius Pl. LXXI and Coarelli Pl. 116. 3. (Right, top and bottom): Trajan on horseback is greeted at a city wall (Scene 102). Compare Cichorius Pl. LXXV and Coarelli Pl. 122. Images from casts in the Museo della Civiltà Romana. (Photos by Ulrich; Image Grid by Z. Mei). View from modern street level of the entrance side (southeast) of the pedestal of the Column of Trajan. In the foreground are the gray granite columns of the Basilica Ulpia. RBU2011.00868 Scene 66 (detail): Detail of a log-built bunker wall covered with leaves, perhaps for camoflage or to suppress enemy attack by fire. Compare to Cichorius Plate XLVII. From the original publication of 1865; Ref: F-D-66c.

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