Arev describes an ancient, final battle between Surak and those who espoused violence; those "who marched beneath the raptor's wings." As is later discovered in the original series, the Romulans are descended from Vulcans who fled their homeworld at some time in the past. The symbol of the raptor is the emblem of the Romulan Empire and is used as a decorative theme on their spacecraft. This statement by Arev is the first time in any of the television series or movies that the precise origin of the Romulans is revealed, that is, those who were defeated by the forces of Surak.
According to the DVD commentary, digital cloning was used to duplicate and fill the cargo bay with the coffins. Only six actual props were built for the closeup shots.
From the start of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001), many fans had complained about the Vulcans being portrayed differently from their counterparts in Star Trek (1966) (i.e much more emotional, arrogant and unreliable). The three episodes The Forge (2004), Awakening (2004) and Kir'Shara (2004), collectively known as the Vulcan Renaissance arc, finally responded to that criticism by providing an in-universe explanation and reconciliation of those differences.
The character of T'Pau is the same as the Vulcan priestess featuring in Amok Time (1967). Kara Zediker had not yet been cast as T'Pau when 'The Forge' was filmed, so her picture was later edited into the shot of the computer screen.
T'Pol refers to the Vulcan inner eyelid, which provides protection from overly bright light. In the original series, Spock is temporarily blinded by extremely bright light used to destroy the parasites in Operation -- Annihilate! (1967), yet his sight is restored when his protective inner eyelids finally retract.