When the theme for this year's Eurofurence was announced, I rejoiced. A topic in Ancient Rome! Gladiators, burly men, blood in the sand… However, over time, I noticed I wasn't alone with those thoughts and interests. So I set out to find something about the Roman Empire, I also could take vivid interest in, but cut out the generic gladiator I had in mind. A trip to our local museum and the outdoor excavations of the Roman remains of my home town lead me to the conclusion that it would have to be the fascinating craftsmanship and architectures still standing today, over two thousand years after being built.

As the call for Illustrations for the conbook suggested a picture depicting the achievements of the Roman Empire, I knew exactly that was what I wanted to show. After research on architecture, it was obvious, a lot of the achievements wouldn't have been able without the backing of the military - a road network for instance. In the end, my entry to the conbook depicted exactly that. Like my other conbook-related pictures, this one also raised a bit of cash for the charity.

Ink over pencil coloured with Illustrator