This column from Rome, Italy was erected in AD 13 and the original column is marble.

From Wiki:

The original column in Rome is some 30m high and included an internal spiral staircase which led to a platform at the top. The cast is of the huge pedestal and the entire column, but excludes the viewing platform. The original statue on the top was lost in antiquity. The pedestal is covered in illustrations of booty from the Dacian Wars and the column is covered in a detailed frieze illustrating the conquest of Dacia by the Roman emperor Trajan.

The frieze spirals around the column and is in narrative form something like a comic strip. There were in fact two wars against Dacia, the first (AD 101-102) is illustrated in the lower portion of the column, and the second (AD 105-106) in the upper portion. The dividing point on the column is marked by a personification of Victory writing on a shield and this is approximately the point at which the cast of the column is divided.

To the left of the photo is the upper portion and to the right the lower portion.  The best view of them was from the 1st floor because they are far too tall to appreciate from below.

Trajan's Pillar

6 Comments CherryPie on Mar 16th 2010

6 Responses to “The V&A – Trajan’s Column”

  1. Ginnie says:

    Can you imagine the amount of time and effort it took to create that masterpiece, CP! I was trying to find out how long it took to make?

  2. jameshigham says:

    Those are the sorts of things which put life in perspective.

  3. Claudia says:

    Very impressing!