BATTLE SCENE FROM THE GREAT TRAJANIC FRIEZE, 114-120 CE. ARCH OF CONSTANTINE This triumphal arch is a triumph of spolia, consisting as it does of many pieces of relief work from the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Marcus Aurelius, intelligently chosen by Constantine in 315-316 to reflect a reassuring programme of pacification and an end to civil war. Four large panels from a Hadrianic relief 30 m long and 3 m high, of which this is one, were reused. This relief is known as the Great Trajanic Frieze, though its original location is unknown. It is often said to have come from Trajan's Forum, though that was intact until at least the reign of Theodoric, two centuries after the arch was built. This scene shows a mêlée between Roman cavalry and infantry and Dacians who are falling or already on the ground. In the background are three trumpeters blowing the curved horns called buccinæ, and the whole scene resembles the front of the Great Ludovisi Sarcophagus, from 250-260 CE.
#ReliefWednesday takes us to the #Arch of #Constantine in #Rome, where a piece of the so-called Great Trajanic #Frieze, probably from the reign of #Hadrian, shows a battle scene from the #Dacian wars which may have influenced the sculptor of the Great #Ludovisi #sarcophagus. #AncientBluesky 🏺
