Roman Soldiers Felling Trees and Building Ramparts, Trajan's Column, 1722

This is an original antique copper engraving, uncolored, a double page folding plate from Montfaucon's Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. It shows Roman soldiers at work in four numbered scenes. Across the top, soldiers in segmented armor swing axes at trees, shoulder heavy logs and build up a rampart of timbers and stacked log ends, with a standard behind them at the right. A small panel at the left shows men cutting trees, one of them up in the branches, while others carry logs away; a second small panel below shows soldiers raising a wall of squared blocks. The broad lower scene shows soldiers building walls, carrying baskets of earth, stones and timber, a stream at their feet and two helmets set on top of upright shields at the right, while men stand behind the wall, one with a round shield.

Three captions read "Trajan Pillar": under the upper band, under the pair of small panels at the lower left and under the large lower scene. "Trajan Pillar" refers to Trajan's Column in Rome. The figures carry the numbers 1 to 4. The sheet is lettered "Page 63" at top right, "Voll. IV" at foot left and "Plate 13" at foot right.

Bernard de Montfaucon (1655 to 1741) was a French Benedictine monk and scholar. His L'Antiquité expliquée et représentée en figures appeared in Paris in 1719, and this English translation by David Humphreys, Antiquity Explained, and Represented in Sculptures, was printed in London by J. Tonson and J. Watts in 1722. Volume four deals with war, and this plate belongs to its account of the Roman army in the field, its camps and its works. Montfaucon drew together figures copied from ancient monuments and engraved the name of each source beside its figure.

The wide format and the busy working figures make it a good choice for a long wall or a study.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.