Trajan`s Column. pdf

Trajan’s Column
Roma
Originally, the statue
was of Trajan. This
was replaced by one
of St. Peter in
Christian times
Plan showing internal
staircase and dimension
in Roman feet, Imperial
feet and metres; note
ancient ground level
Trajan’s Forum with column centre left
Excavated
Column
base with
door to
crypt and
staircase
Frieze starting
at the base
with
personified
River Danube
- the boundary
between Dacia
(modern
Romania) and
the Roman
Empire
Trajan
himself
appears in
many of the
scenes:
addressing
troops,
speaking
with officers
He stands out by his dominance in the scene higher than others, gesturing to others or by
being apart from the action
In the upper scene we
see ships being used to
transport troops across
the Danube to begin the
assault
In the lower scene,
Trajan (prominent) is
watching developments
Note Dacian prisoners at
foot
Standard Roman
military drills:
soldiers helping
wounded while
maintaining
formation
Note Legion’s
standard in top left:
SPQR would be
engraved on sign and
badges represented
campaigns fought
Note the Dacian
warriors pushed
aside by the
tortoise - their
round shields and
beards in contrast
to the Romans
Again, superior Roman military training shown
here as the feared ‘testudo’ or tortoise which
allowed soldiers to advance in formation while
completely armoured against attack
Romans used cavalry as well, those these
were often auxiliary troops recruited from
the Empire’s provinces and were less
heavily armed for manoeuvrability
The column’s reliefs also show normal army life through day to
day activities. Here soldiers are building fortifications while
Trajan (bottom left) watches on with his officers
A reconstruction
showing the
column between
the two libraries
which allowed the
reliefs to be
viewed as a
narrative