Lego fun, Vol.2: The Porta Nigra

Well, at least the Porta Nigra got preserved that way. Who knows, otherwise it might have served as a quarry ... It was Napoleon Bonaparte, by the way, who had the "later additions" removed.

Christian

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Awesome

 

Not sure whether there is an ancient coin that features the Porta Nigra. I do not collect ancients but out of curiosity searched a little ... Now what do you prefer - an authentic medieval piece, or a supposedly ancient counterfeit/fantasy?

Here (second coin) is a denar issued by archbishop Poppo von Babenberg. (And this is a similar one, but with fewer recognizable details.) This denar apparently shows Saint Simeon with two towers, and that is probably the Porta Nigra. Why? See here.

And then there is that "coin" from the times of Galerius Maximianus, or rather not. Here is an article (German) from 1923 that shows and explains it. This is a plaster copy of a gold, or gilded, piece with the Porta Nigra that a dealer in Trier in 1904 found to be a counterfeit. The original is lost ...

In any case, having been an important Roman city sure has its pluses. You may know that in 1993 a hoard of gold coins was found in Trier during the construction of a parking garage. More than 2,500 coins, total weight almost 20 kilos ...

Christian

 

I love Legos

Sent from my C6740N using Tapatalk

 

These are some of them :

 

I don't know which amazes me more---The Lego Porta Nigra or the hoard of gold coins posted above....WOW!!!

 

does this come as a set ? how much $ ???

 

I wish. I had to order the bricks one by one

 

how do you do that ? and what is the cost ?

 

I order them mostly at www.bricklink.com , you can get any of the 10.000+ different Lego parts ever produced there in new or used form. Prices depend on demand and supply, usually in the range of a few cents per piece (some rare items can be rather expensive, for example a Roman Legionary will cost you at least 15 USD).
The Porta Nigra cost me around 200 USD, but I have since demolished it and incorporated it´s parts into my much larger Theatre of Marcellus (
Lego fun, Vol.5: The Theatre of Marcellus finally finished ! )

 

Wow! Cool.

 

Yesterday many German newspapers had an article about the Porta Nigra. Why? We finally know when the construction of the gate began - in spring 170, according to the results of dendrochronological research. Scientists decided to dig in the ground near the gate (where an old branch of the Mosel river used to be) and, six meters below the present surface, found pieces of wood used for the construction.

Building the Porta Nigra probably took a year or two (keep in mind that it was never "really" completed, and that it was primarily a "prestige" gate), building the entire Roman city wall, a little more than 6 km long, took a little longer.

Christian