🏛️ c. 45 BC | Roman Graffiti | Rome’s Social Media What you’re seeing: A narrow Roman street, mid-day sun on a plaster wall covered in scratches and doodles. The camera settles on one message carved into the surface: “CAESAR AMMAT CLEOPATRAM,” a gossiping love note in street Latin. What is Roman graffiti? Romans carved everything into their walls: love notes, election slogans, insults, menus, prices, even bad poetry. From early Republic to Empire, this kind of graffiti shows up in Rome, Pompeii, and across the Mediterranean, turning blank walls into a public comment section. Who wrote this stuff? Not just elites. Shopkeepers, slaves, soldiers, lovers, teenagers, anyone with a nail or stylus and a few moments alone with a wall. The spelling mistake (AMMAT instead of AMAT) is exactly what you’d expect from everyday speakers, not polished authors. Why it happened: Walls were free, public, and permanent. If you wanted to flirt, complain, praise a gladiator, or trash a politician, carv...