The Base of the Column of Trajan in Rome, July 2012

Depicted in low relief, the weapons and armor of the conquered Dacians are portrayed on the pedestal frieze in wonderful detail. On the cornice, swags of oak leaves tied with fluttering ribbons are held at the corners in the talons of eagles, two of which survive. Inside the square base, which was accessed by bronze doors, a vestibule leads to a landing and stairs on the right and, on the other side, behind another set of doors, to the sepulcher that held the ashes of Trajan in a golden urn (Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus, XIII.11; Eutropius VIII.5) and later his wife, Plotina.

Text from: penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/imperia...