BUDAPEST, Hungary — The exhibition “Once We Were Like You” at Budapest’s Aquincum Museum offers a rare glimpse into the lives of everyday Romans through hyperrealistic facial reconstructions of individuals from the ancient city of Aquincum, located along the Danube frontier.
Runnning until October 31, the display combines DNA analysis, anthropology, and archaeological findings to render lifelike portrayals of over a dozen skulls discovered in the once-thriving Roman settlement, revealing not just appearances but the stories and fates of its inhabitants.
Visitors encounter detailed models of Roman-era individuals, each meticulously crafted to reflect genetic markers such as skin tone, eye color, and traits like freckles. Skull analysis further uncovered attributes like age, health issues, and injuries, such as the case of a laborer named Respectus, who sustained facial trauma during a tavern altercation after a physically demanding career as a plasterer and stone worker.
Co-curator Loránt Vass emphasizes the exhibition’s mission to humanize history by addressing fundamental questions about ancient life: Who were these people? What did they look like? What struggles shaped their existence?
Emese Gábor, who handcrafted six silicon-replica models adorned with realistic hair, jewelry, and clothing, highlights the tactile, immersive experience these reconstructions provide compared to digital alternatives. “Seeing them in person, from all angles, brings an immediacy that technology alone cannot capture,” she notes.
DNA studies also revealed the diverse ethnic backgrounds of Aquincum’s residents, including individuals from Italy, Scotland, Syria, and nomadic Sarmatian tribes, alongside Celtic populations predating Roman rule. Most skeletons showed signs of chronic inflammation and malnutrition, indicative of lower-middle-class lives marked by hard labor and economic hardship.
Curators assigned plausible historical identities and narratives to each figure, drawing on skeletal evidence and artifact analysis. Péter Vámos explains, “While names are lost to time, we strive to honor their humanity by weaving together every clue science provides about their lived experiences.”
The project seeks to bridge past and present, underscoring the shared human conditions that transcend millennia. “They faced the same challenges—work, relationships, survival—as we do today,” Vass remarks. “Despite different eras, people remain fundamentally human.”
