Two Great Exhibitions in Rome

The Via Labicana Augustus, Palazzo Massimo Museum, Rome.

Readers, if you are headed to Rome before February 4, be sure to check out these remarkable temporary exhibitions being offered in Rome.

The first exhibition is a fabulous exhibition of the Emperor Augustus at the Scuderie del Quirinale (site here in English, and a map here), which runs through 9 Feb. 2014. Next year, as you all know, marks the 2000 anniversary of Augustus' death, and this exhibition does the first emperor justice. Featuring the famous marble copy of the clupeus virtutis ("Shield of Valor"), the togate statue of Augustus from the Palazzo Massimo, the Prima Porta Statue, the bronze equestrian statue as well as the bronze bust from Meroe—oh, and another 200 precious items—this exhibition is a must see. At 12 Euros, this is a must see.

The second is an exhibition on Cleopatra at the Chiostro del Bramante in the Campus Martius, not too far south of the Mausoleum of Hadrian and just to the west of the northern curve of the Piazza Navona, which runs until 2 February 2014. Site here. One of the featured items is a rare portrait of the young Cleopatra, ca. 51 BC, when she assumed the throne. The entrance fee is a little pricy at 13 Euro, but really worthwhile. While you're there, get the fiocchetti at Osteria dell'Anima (between Piazza Navona and the Chiostro), which are simply to die for.

Weekly Tidbits

Italian archaeologists excavating in Hierapolis (where the famous "Gates of Hell" are supposedly located) have found a 1.5 meter high statue of Cerberus—adding more weight to this as the location of Plutonium as described in Strabo and others.

The renovations of the Hall of the Philosophers in the Capitoline Museum is completed, a project that was made possible by financial support from (of all places) Azerbaijan, a country with strong economic ties with Italy. The mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino, hinted at the possibility that Azerbaijan will continue to support renovation to the ancient city, in particular the Imperial Fora. Here is an article in Italian (note slide show).

Another Sixth Century BC Temple!

Excavators yesterday unveiled at a conference at the Palazzo Massimo (a great museum) the findings of a sixth century BC temple that extended along the Quirinal Hill. Measuring 25 x 35 meters (with a cella just over 7.5 meters), the temple is about the size of the temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum. Found under the main geologic office in Rome, the temple was only excavated over the past decade (since 2004). Many buildings in modern Rome are built over the ancient city, and recently archaeologists have plunged beneath the surface to examine subterranean Rome. In particular, the Domus Romane under the Palazzo Valentini (worth a visit when in Rome, but get tickets) is a spectacular exhibition—though they did not find traces of the temple of Hadrian which is supposed to be located in the area. Take a look at all the plans of the Imperial Fora and you'll see it listed there though we have no indication that it is actually there. An article about the new temple (in Italian) can be found here.

Weekly Tidbits

Since I've been super busy these past two weeks, I'll try to provide as many updates here as possible.

Rome: In addition to the above find, construction workers near the Largo del Nazareno (where there is the seat of the Pd, the Democratic Party) have found some remarkable Roman buildings, including a near room with beautiful opus sectile (cut marble). They have a facebook page with the best photos I can find on the web. I can definitely make out two semi-circular plunge pools that suggest to me part of a bath complex. A not terribly helpful video, but one that will give you a sense of the whole, can be found here on Ilmessaggero.it. A detailed article in Italian is here. Unfortunately, it looks like the Palazzo de La Rinascente will rise over these finds, so we should consider these emergency excavations.

Will the Circus Maximus project ever get finished? The project to open up the eastern curve of the site remains was supposed to be finished earlier this year, and people are starting to wonder why there doesn't seem to be any urgency to get it done. The construction site remains remarkably unsightly, and we hope that it won't be long. Excavators in February 2011 had noted that they found a secret area connected to the Ludus Magnus (a practice arena to the east of the Colosseum, part of which is still in good shape and can be seen today. An article expressing some unhappiness with the delay (in Italian) can be seen here.

The Tomb of the Hanging Aryballos, the one recently found in the Doganaccia cemetery in Tarquinia, has unveiled some neat bronze and silver jewelry, and archaeologists are trying to reconstruct the lives of the buried from the remnants of the tomb. Article in Italian here.

Southern Italy: Paestum, the great ancient site with three magnificent Greek temples and a clear Roman Forum, is crying foul. It seems that in the most recent bill passed in parliament (August 8), under the direction of the Cultural Minister Massimo Bray, did not include Paestum (and Velia) in the distribution of funds for protecting the site and encouraging tourism. Paestum, a site worth visiting, also has a fabulous museum with the famous "Tomb of the Diver," but it also sports a fantastic set of Metopes from a nearby temple, great Greek vases, and a series of Lucanian tomb paintings that show gladiators (or warriors) fighting. Go see it!

Gaza Strip: Yes, the Gaza Strip. Read here the story of a fisherman who found a bronze statue of Apollo and was subsequently arrested by Hamas agents, who confiscated the piece and are now trying to sell it (Islamic law forbids reproduction of the human figure in art). A major US museum is one of the suitors, and some compare this statue's importance to that of the Riace Bronzes (unrealistically, by the way). Experts in the antiquities trade estimate the statue will go for 20-40 million dollars.

Roman Skulls in London

Source: guardian.co.uk.

As in Rome, work on a new railway line in London has produced interesting finds. Workers digging near Liverpool Street Station (along the Walbrook river bed) stumbled upon blackened Roman skulls that, archaeologists conjecture, may have been the result of the bloody uprising of Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, in 61 AD. Other skeletal remains have been found along the river bed, where Boudicca's soldiers would have tossed the decapitated remains of their victims. An article from the UK newspaper, the Guardian, can be found here. Excavations along the Walbrook river bed has already resulted in a number of important finds, including a horde of Roman shoes, some 250 of them. An article from the Guardian in April gives an overview.

The Romans are Coming! Hide the Good Stuff!

Source: www.repubblica.it (see link below)

Two rare female bronze statues dating to the fifth and fourth centuries BC have been found in Graviscae, the port town of Tarquinia and an important center for trade in the Mediterranean. On the heels of the discovery of a completely intact tomb in the Doganaccia area in Tarquinia, archaeologists have announced this new find. An Italian article is here, with English summary here. A short slideshow can be found here. The dig is being conducted by the University of Perugia in conjunction with the Soprintendenza of Archaeological Heritage in Southern Etruria.

Found in the temple of Demeter, the objects were likely hidden there in advance of the Romans in 281 BC. Graviscae was destroyed during that campaign, and in 181 BC the Romans founded a colony on the same site. Also found in the sanctuary was a bronze incense burner (thymiaterion) and an ivory pyxis (round container) with a carved Siren. The bronze statues of female divinities are rare; we have perhaps a dozen or so other examples.

A Graveyard in Pompeii...

"Dinner at Trimalchio's" by Petronius (part of the Satyricon) is a must read. Set in the Bay of Naples, this tale about a wealthy but uncultured freedman who hosts a ridiculously lavish dinner party (Great Gatsby anyone?) offers great insight into the anxieties and cultural tensions of the first century AD. It also provides us with an interesting comparandum for the archaeological remains found in Pompeii and Herculaneum. For instance, the scene where the narrator is frightened by a wall painting of a fierce dog in the front hallway of Trimalchio's house reminds us of the famous "Cave Canem" mosaic in front of the House of the Tragic poet.

Source: Wikipedia Commons

At the dinner, one of the freedmen, Niceros, tells one of the neatest ghost (well, werewolf) stories ever told. I paraphrase it, trying to keep some of the drama:

"I was in love with the master's girl, Melissa, and we became pretty tight. But wouldn't you know it, her partner died out in the country and she went out there to mourn. I couldn't handle being away from her, so when the master went out to Capua to do this and that, I persuaded a soldier staying at our inn to join me on a venture out to the fifth milestone. The soldier was a buff one, strong as hell. So we leave the gates and enter the graveyard while the full moon shines above us. My companion heads off to take a piss among the tombs. I say a few spells to ward off the evil spirits and start counting the tombs. 

"Then I turned around, you know, and what did I see? The soldier had taken his clothes off and was pissing a ring around them. Then he became a wolf. Scared me shitless. He howled and then ran off into the woods. So I go up to his clothes, but they'd turned to stone! So I drew my sword and started hacking at every shadow around me. I bolted out of there and headed to my lady's house. 

"When I got there, lo and behold things were in a bit of chaos. Melissa says, 'I wish you'd gotten here earlier! A wolf got into our folds and killed everything in sight! But he didn't get away scot free. One of the slaves drove a spear through his neck.' Well, I wasn't gonna sleep that night, no siree. So as soon as the sun broke through I hustled back to the inn. When I passed by the tombs, the clothes were gone, nothing but blood. When I reached the inn, there was the soldier, in bed, near death, with a wound in his neck. Right then I knew he was one of those werewolf types."

This story is informative in a number of ways. First, it shows that tombs line the roads going out of town. It also shows that most people feel a bit of superstitious fear when traveling along these tombs. And it tells us that werewolves are nothing new.

Well, this week's big story is that one of the graveyards (or necropoleis, "cities of the dead") outside of Pompeii's Stabian Gate (bottom of map above) may be put up for auction and may fall into the hands of a private citizen. An 82 year old woman, Antonietta Nunziata, has taken legal action to auction off a parcel of her land on which two Roman tombs were recently excavated. Her complaint is as follows: a few years ago, the authorities at Pompeii claimed that the property containing the necropolis was subject to eminent domain and began the process of compensating her for the property. But the Soprintendenza has only paid 2/3 of the over 150,000 Euros it owes her, and on 11 July, the Tar (Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale) della Campania, ruled that the Soprintendenza had not completed the full process of appropriating the land and returned ownership back to Sig.ra. Nunziata, who is now contemplating putting the land up for auction because under the protection of antiquities laws, she is responsible for their upkeep. It has been reported that Sotheby's has been contacted.

An article about this legal battle can be found (in Italian) here and here. For an English summary, see here.

For a short introduction on the excavation on the Stabian Gate and the tombs outside, see this website from University of Cincinnati. For a picture of the tombs leading out of the Stabian Gate, see here.

Weekly Tidbit

An investigation prompted by illegal dumping of asbestos and other prohibited materials in Pompeii found that no case of asbestosis was caused by it. For the original report of the dumping (which included manslaughter, etc.), see this Italian article.

The Colosseum is now significantly covered in scaffolding. Visitors beware!

The Guardia di Finanza has discovered near Foggia a necropolis from the 10th-9th c. BC that contains numerous bronze implements. Again, the discovery is based on information gained from bootleggers and tomb robbers.

Major Etruscan Tomb Found

A slab that sealed the 2600-year-old tomb was untouched when archaeologists removed it.

Archaeologists have just unearthed a new tomb in Tarquinia. I noted this in the last post under "weekly tidbits," but because of the magnitude of the find (near the Royal Tombs) I thought I would highlight it and provide another (English) slideshow here.

Dating the Eruptions of Vesuvius and Thera

New technological tools (and new ways of thinking) now allow archaeologists and other researchers to discover things unimaginable just a few years ago.

If you look up the date of the eruption of Vesuvius, you will almost invariably find "Aug. 24–25" 79 AD. This is the traditional span of two days that most people accept, based on the dates provided for us by the eyewitness account of one Pliny the Younger. Pliny's story is a good one in and of itself. He decided to finish his homework rather than accompany his uncle (Pliny the Elder) in his fateful quest to investigate the natural disaster and to save the lives of others in the area. His account, written in letter form to the historian Tacitus, is remarkably vivid and gripping, and Pliny—unusual for him—offers up a date of the event.

New research, however, has essentially proven that the traditional date is mistaken. Dolia (large terracotta vessels) from the courtyard at the Villa Regina at Boscoreale were found to have contained wine and were sealed. Because of the location, it is likely that these dolia were not long-term storage, but had just been filled—an indication of a date in late autumn, after the harvest. Also, a coin found in 1974 but only studied in 2006 has raised more doubts; a denarius found in the House of the Gold Bracelet contains a title of the new emperor Titus, who took office on 23 June, 79 AD, that could only have been issued after the traditional date of the eruption. On it, there is the titulature "IMP XV" ("Hailed Triumphant General for the 15th time") which places the date after September of that year. The coin, however, is that it is hard to read and the identification is far from certain. Another point is that those who died in the eruption were wearing clothes more suitable for the late autumn months. Finally, a new, awesomely scientific article on the seasonal direction of trade winds suggests that if the eruption occurred between April and September, the direction of the ash would have gone north, and not south as in fact happened.

A good overview of the dating issue can be found in the following scholarly articles (thanks to Dora Vennarucci for suggesting the second two):

• G. Rolandi, A. Paone, M. Di Lascio, and G. Stefani, ‘The 79 AD Eruption of Somma: The Relationship Between the Date of the Eruption and the Southeast Tephra Dispersion,’ Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 169 (2007).
• Borgongino, M., Stefani, G., 2001. Intorno alla data dell'eruzione del 79 d.c. Rivista di Studi Pompeiani XII-XIII, 177-215.
• Stefani, G., 2006. La vera data dell'eruzione. Archeo. Attualita del passato XXII: 10-13.

Of course, Italian scholars have risen to defend Pliny and the traditional date. A study (summary here in English) of the contents of a jug full of remains of garum (a delicious fish-sauce much loved by the Romans) concludes that the fish that went into the sauce were most abundant in June-August. Because the state of the "boops boops" (the fish used) was in a pre-macerated phase, it is likely that the fish had just been jarred. But since the rate of decomposition has not been confirmed, this study is not entirely convincing. Paleobotanists also suggest that the pollens in Pompeii were typical of summer months.

This is an interesting case of how scholars of antiquity date events. One of the problems is that we are frequently bewitched by written texts that we are afraid to challenge them. In the case of Pliny's date above, when one looks at the manuscript tradition, one is immediately struck by the differences in the manuscripts (three other dates are found, all in different months). The items that are most likely to be corrupted in ancient texts (which, remember, were copied by hand until the invention of the Gutenberg printing press in the 15th century), in fact, are numbers and dates. We can in fact point to another place where Pliny's account is erroneous or corrupted. In a letter reporting the death of the daughter of one Fundanus (5.16), he gives her age as "almost fourteen," but we have an inscription (ILS 1030) that reports her age as 12 years, 11 months, and 7 days.

Now, researchers have apparently discovered a way to tell in which season the massive eruption of Thera (ancient Santorini) took place—the mighty bean weevil. Archaeologists studying the remains of sweet peas stored in an ancient jar discovered the insects and theorized—quite reasonably—that the window for this particular infestation was between June and early August. Radiocarbon dating also strengthened the traditional date of the eruption (around 1600 BC), which contributed greatly to the end of the Minoan Culture, offering a range from 1744–1538 BC (radiocarbon dating cannot be more precise).  Click here for a summary article from National Geographic, based on a more scientific treatment in the June edition of the journal Naturwissenschaften. For an excellent, rather short narrative on the eruption and the archaeological site of Akrotiri on Crete, see this Dartmouth website. For a smattering of wall paintings from Akrotiri, click here. The mighty eruption and the destruction of Thera has been claimed to be the origin of Plato's myth of Atlantis. Looking at this NASA view of the caldera formed by the explosive eruption, one can see why; what you see is the rim of the ancient volcanic cone.

Weekly Tidbits:

The Guardia di Finanza, investigating the activities of tombaroli (tomb robbers) in Lanuvio (ancient Lanuvium), stumbled upon a previously unknown archaeological site, where they found buildings in opus reticulatum, terracotta votive, glazed ware and coin. Here is an Italian article with footage of the find.

6th–5th century BC Etruscan tombs were found near Norchia of the "Casetta" type—long, connected rows of square tombs (rather than round, separate tombs).

In Tarquinia, an Etruscan tomb has been found entirely intact. See here for pictures.

Here's a blast from the past. I stumbled onto this NY Times article from 1899 discussing Giacomo Boni's excavations in the Forum. Neat stuff.

Pompeii Sustainable Preservation Project

Mount Vesuvius from Stabiae

The Classics program at UNH (where I work) has a close relationship with the Sustainability Institute, the mission of which is to create sustainable institutions that preserve important cultural traditions while ensuring that these traditions can continue through resource management, broadly conceived. The Sustainability Institute at UNH has the distinction of acknowledging the importance of the Humanities in this process. What, after all, are we sustaining but human culture and what we believe in? I have always been fascinated with the difficulties conducting the study of the past while not affecting the lives of those living today. How can we negotiate the twin aims of preserving the past and ensuring our continued thriving in the future?

Speaking of Sustainability, this past week it was announced that a consortium of German scholars and engineers are coming to the rescue of Pompeii's crumbling infrastructure, well, at least in part. The Technische Universität München (Munich) is teaming up with Fraunhofer di Stoccarda (the leading applied-research institute in Germany) and ICCROM (International Centre for the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), to create the Pompeii Sustainable Preservation Project, a ten-year initiative to create a sustainable archaeological park. Part of the motivation comes from the recent big news of building and wall collapses, but the leader of the restoration section of Fraunhofer, Ralf Kilian, noted that ten years earlier he already felt that Pompeii's ruins were in bad shape. One of the principal goals of the PPSP (I feel like I'm whispering something secret when I write that acronym) is to create a major center for studying how to preserve an ancient site; further collaboration in this area comes from a group of universities from all over Europe (Oxford, Lmu Munich, DAI, Università Pisa). They are bringing with them an influx of 10 million Euros.

The twin goals of this project—to conserve Pompeii's buildings and to improve conservation methods through research—are to be applauded. In a blog in July I noted that Pompeii would do well to look to its sister town Herculaneum as a model for preserving the past. The initial phase of the PPSP will focus on a single insula (city block). Of primary importance will be improving drainage; lack thereof was the major cause of the fall of the Schola Armaturarum in November 2010. Work starts summer 2014. In 2015, a summer field school for conservation work is envisioned, one that can hold up to 510 students.

The project, however, does come as a sort of slap in the face of the Italian ministry of culture. Massimo Bray, the minister of Mibac, rearticulated Italy's commitment to preserving its own heritage, but, as one article put it, the Germans' capacity to get things done would cast in high relief the vast delays normally seen in Italian bureaucracies.

Read a little more here (in English) and here (in Italian).

Weekly Tidbits

Pompeii Online: Soon you won't have to leave your couch to visit Pompeii and the other sites covered in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. Click this website, which has cool plans, pictures, and other items of interest. Only trouble? So far, it's only in Italian. Let's hope the English section is up and running soon.

If you're going to Rome in September, you should know that there are protests over the pedestrianization of the Via dei Fori Imperiali scheduled for 12–14 September. Article (in Italian) here.

A farmer plowing his fields came across several tombs in the area near Caserta (Piana di Monte Verna) and found a bowl made of impasto ware that dates to the Bronze Age. Archaeologists over the next days will be working to figure out the exact context of these finds. This Italian article gives an overview.

A site that you—and many scholars—have never heard of

The ancient site of Gabii sits some 11 miles to the east of the city of Rome, on the 12th milestone of the ancient Via Praenestina, and located just south of the old Lago di Castiglione, which was filled in to make arable land. In this undeveloped space, lying underneath the ground, is a city—well, town—that could revolutionize how we envision early Italian culture and architecture.

Gabii was an city in Latium that, while Rome was but a whelp, was rather wealthy and powerful by ancient standards. If Roman legends can be believed, Romulus (the founder of Rome) and Remus, were educated here, the Romans and Gabii fought in the period of the Tarquins (the last kings of Rome, see below), and forged a treaty soon after on equal terms. Some Roman customs were said to have originated from here, such as the famous cinctus Gabinus, a fancy way to wear the toga during sacrifice and other important cultural events. In 2009, Italian archaeologists found what appears to be a sixth century house that contained ornamental decoration and wall paintings. In a move typical for Italian archaeologists, they declared that they "found the home of the Tarquins," where Sextus Tarquinius was killed by the citizens of Gabii when the kings were forced out of power in Rome (article in English and Italian). No one doubts the importance of this find—we only have a handful of elaborate buildings from the sixth century—but to claim it belonged specifically to Etruscan kings is simply poppycock. I realize that the title "Wealthy Sixth Century Latian House Found" won't get as many readers as "House of the Tarquins Found," but there is danger to overstating the evidence. See also the story about "Alexander's" tomb below in "Tidbits."

This year's excavations were a great success, and the most important discovery is a monumental building, with large rooms and a grand staircase, that covers the area of half a football field. The building dates to around 300 BC, and the monumental aspect of this building complex is unusual for this time period. Conventional wisdom has it that the Romans of the middle Republic were not terribly interested in conspicuous buildings—that would have to wait until the Romans started encountering Greeks in southern Italy and Greece. We'll have to wait for further excavations (see below) and the written report by the archaeologists. Here is a NYTimes article that gives an overview of the monumental find.

Gabii is the center for one of the most intensive American excavations currently going on in Italy, the Gabii Project. If you ever want to get a sense of what a modern archaeological dig requires in terms of manpower and specialists in a variety of fields, go see the project website.There are many great things about the Gabii Project, which is run out of the University of Michigan. First, it is a field school, so budding archaeologists are given the opportunity to sharpen their skills and learn to use the most up to date technological tools that are available. Second, there is a big social media presence on Facebook, and they keep a blog about the ongoing excavations. Their season ended August 5. Originally, their first campaign was set to expire in 2013, but their website now announces that they have extended it to 2014. This is great news.

Weekly Tidbits:

The number of visitors to the Forum and Colosseum during Ferragosto rose 13% over last year. The reason why is not entirely clear, but one wonders if making the archaeological zone a pedestrian-only area had something to do with it.

Mark your calendars for years hence (August 2017)! This is when the University of Catania's experiment to reproduce wine based on ancient grape varietals will, ahem, bear fruit.

They found Alexander the Great's tomb. Oh, wait, let's not jump the gun. Back in October they announced this archaeological find (see here) but ascribed this fourth c. BC tomb to Roxane, Alexander's wife. But over the past few days "news" sources have picked up an run with the idea that this monumental structure is Alexander's tomb...though all sources indicate he was buried in Egypt. Here is a sensible article with excellent pictures, though it still has "Alexander" in the title.

Ferragosto, a very old Holiday?

The middle of August is here, and the Italians have made their way on their annual extended vacations. Unemployment (which they call "Underemployment" to make it sound better) is up to 30% for young people, and Italians are celebrating at restaurants 20% less than in years past. On the flip side, the Italian vinters are forecasting an excellent wine season, a silver lining amidst general worry. Another positive? Visitors to museums during Ferragosto (see below) is up 14.3%. August is the month of "the red sun," when the meteorological forecasts are typically 30 degrees centigrade (in the 90s) and most shops are closed for the holidays. Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to go to Rome or Naples in August. Go visit a resort the north (Lake Como, anyone?) where it is less hot and you'll find all the services you want.

August 15 is the official date of the holiday Ferragosto, which you will read in every online story about the holiday goes back all the way to 18 BC, when the emperor Augustus declared a period of relaxation from the 15th of August up to the Vinalia (festival of the wine harvest) and the Consualia (festival of the grain harvest and storage) on the 19th and 21st respectively. I can in fact find no evidence for such a  holiday (the word for it, feriae, never occurs in the ancient calendars on August 15, though there are feriae on other dates), and while Ferragosto is clearly derives from the phrase, it cannot be said to be a continuous "holiday" from ancient Rome. August 15th corresponds to the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and the name was probably created in the early Christian period as Christians co-opted aspects of pagan festivals into their own festivals. However that may be, enjoy your vacation! The Romans certainly used August as a period to get out of town. Any why not? With some 1 million souls living in a tight urban area, I would want to get out as well.

The mayor of Rome has concluded that the period of Ferragosto in Rome is a good time to eliminate all traffic from the archaeological center for a four day period. A protest by local merchants is still on for September.

Weekly Tidbits:

On Aug. 10 there was announced the discovery of a Roman shipwreck off the shores of Liguria. The ship is from the second century BC and will add to our knowledge of early Roman shipping. Pictures here. A good English article here.

Archaeologists have uncovered an amphitheater in Genzano (near Lanuvium) on the estate of an Antonine Villa south of Rome, one that could hold 1300 people (compared to, say, 45 thousand at the Colosseum. One of the leaders of the team (Deborah Chatr Aryamontri, professor at Montclair State) speculates that this was the private "mini-Colosseum" of Commodus, the gladiator-loving emperor (180–192 AD), son of Marcus Aurelius, one played by Joachim Phoenix in Gladiator. The evidence? The arena was decorated in polychromatic marbles from all over the Roman Empire, one that indicates great wealth on the part of the owner, and the always entertaining but not always accurate Life of Commodus Historia Augusta records that Commodus was wont to retreat to such a private amphitheater. Note that I said the archaeologists speculated on the association. However, some English speaking news organizations decided to embellish the story. See here. A more sober article in English here. By the way, if you have weeks to spare next summer, go to this website later this year to see if you can join the team digging at this site.

Delayed Post

Dear Readers, the post for this week will arrive one day late, on Monday, rather that Sunday. Hoping the last days of summer (foreshadowing) are treating you well!

Public vs. Private Rome

Colosseum

Theater of Marcellus

Wednesday was quite a day for two ancient monuments, the Colosseum and the Theater of Marcellus. These two buildings have a connection in the past, even though the Theater of Marcellus predates the Colosseum by some fifty years. If you look at the above, you'll see that the architectural features of the Colosseum were based on that of the Theater of Marcellus, especially in the arcades—look at the columns closely and you'll see that both have Doric columns on the bottom level, Ionic columns on the next, and ornate Corinthian columns on the third level. Both use a local limestone, called travertine, for their exterior decoration.

But this week both have been involved in the critical issue of whether Italy should look to private companies to fund the upkeep of their national treasures.

Wed., July 31, 2013 was the date that the former mayor and his council set to grant contracts to private companies to "provide services" for the archaeological park consisting of the Theater of Marcellus, the Temple of Apollo Sosius, and the Porticus Octavia. I have had a hard time interpreting what "services" meant, but it is clear from the articles (in Italian; I've yet to see one in English) that the Italian government was looking for ways to increase resources to keep up their archaeological heritage—not least because the financial situation in Italy is dire at best (see July 14 post). The moratorium, which is to last 120 days, is meant to give the council a chance to reassess the best way to preserve and promote this site, which is rather forlorn. It could use some sprucing up, but it remains the question how the Italian government will go about doing so.

Also, cleaning and renovation on the Colosseum is set to go. I realize that I reported that work had already begun, but, well, this is Italy after all, and Codacons, a consumer watchdog group, filed a final appeal to stop the shoe magnate della Valle from financing the project. It was rejected, and without any further avenues of appeal, the work is set to commence. As part of the deal, della Valle has exclusive rights to use the Colosseum in his advertising, and conversely to put his shoe company's logo on tickets to the Colosseum. I'll say this: since Valle's announcement of his willingness to refurbish the Colosseum was made in August 2010, he has gotten three years' worth of free press. Hard to ask for more.

Well, yesterday was an even bigger day for Rome. Following Mayor Marino's plan, the Via dei Fori Imperiali from the Via Cavour to the Colosseum yesterday became pedestrian only, making one giant archaeological park in the middle of downtown Rome. Merchants in the vicinity are not happy—the traffic will be hellish—but for lovers of Roman archaeology will be pleased that Marino's plan is also to increase archaeological excavations there. A well-known classics professor, Luciano Canfora, has likened Marino to Nero (reigned 54–68 AD), who famously carved out a giant section of downtown Rome for his personal villa, the infamous Golden House. A good overview of the reorganization of the Via dei Fori Imperiali—including the first announcement by Marino of his "grand plan" (to have all of the Via dei Fori Imperiali pedestrian—can be found here, in this article in the Herald Tribune.

Weekly Tidbits:

An update on the excavations in Ostia antica (see post on July 21). An article on Roma.Repubblica.it gives new (and better) pictures of the 4th c. AD domus. They also described the new 1st c. mausoleum, as round and revetted in travertine, but another article with pictures clearly shows that the mausoleum is hexagonal.

The Terme Boxer (or Boxer at Rest) is now back in the Palazzo Massimo Museum after a stint in NYC. It's a fabulous Hellenistic sculpture that, frankly, is worth a trip to Rome all by itself. Here is a picture from Wikipedia Commons. Note the straps around his hands (not gloves like today!), and ask yourself, "what is he looking at?"

Laser cleaning technology is catching on. I reported last week that the frescos at the Villa of the Mysteries were being cleaned this way. Now, a report was just published that Diocletian's imperial palace at Split is also being cleaned in this fashion.

The "Are You Serious Files"

On Tuesday, police raided the home of former Cabinet Minister (under the Berlusconi government), Claudio Scajola, who was under investigation for illegal financing, among other things. What did they find? Illegal Roman amphorae.

A New Sixth Century BC Temple?

Good morning, readers:

Today's post will be a rather short one—I'm currently finishing up an article on a subject rather far away from ancient Roman archaeology and preservations.

This past week a joint excavation on the archaeological site beside (and under) the church of Sant'Omobono, conducted by a team from the Universities of Calabria and Michigan, brought to light a sixth century BC temple, the podium of which was made out of square blocks of stone (opus quadratum). The announcement made by Roma.Repubblica.it made it sound as if this were a sensational new find, but in fact, we've known about this temple for quite a while. Soundings made of the area in the 40s discovered its existence, and subsequent excavations in the 50s and 60s reached the podium level—but those trenches were backfilled. The modern archaeological team that reached the temple again had to conquer a rather difficult challenge: the archaic temple now lies just beneath the water table!

The temples of Sant'Omobono (number 6)
at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. Picture by author
from his own copy of Roma Urbs Imperatorum Aetate

One of the controversies surrounding the temple is its date. Scholarly consensus, based on stratigraphy, pottery, and architectural decoration, places it in the mid to late 6th c. BC, about the same time as the construction of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus ("Jupiter Best and Greatest") on the Capitoline Hill, the biggest archaic temple of its type in Rome. If this dating is correct, we have further evidence of stone temple building (the columns, however, would have been wooden at this time) in the period ascribed to the last two kings of Rome (traditionally 578–509 BC). This period seems to have been an era of flourishing both in Rome and elsewhere, which was followed by a sharp decline in the fifth century. But there seems to have been an even earlier phase of the archaic temple that may well be early 6th c. BC.

The Temples of Mater Matuta
and Fortuna (A & B), with the archaic
temple (C). From Wikipedia Commons

Ancient sources inform us that the temples to Mater Matuta and Fortuna were built in the reign of Servius Tullius, but the temple remains that are visible from the street (A and B to the right) are from a later phase, the late third century BC after a fire destroyed the area in 213 BC. These later temples, however, probably follow the footprint of those built in the time of Camillus (4th c. BC). Note that the U-shaped altars face east, as traditional, even though the temples face south. The archaic temple also was richly adorned with terracotta decoration and statuary, which can be seen in the Capitoline Museum—see in particular the statue of Hercules and Minerva, which will remind Etruscophiles of the Apollo of Veii.

Apollo of Veii (Portonaccio Temple)

Statue of Hercules and Minerva from the Archaic temple at Sant'Omobono

 The site is incredibly complicated, not least because the earliest excavations were done in a rather scattershot fashion. For a full history of work on the site see the excellent work of N. Terrenato et al. here.

Daily Tidbit: 

Here is a good article on a classical temple excavated in Maryport, "the most north western temple in the Roman world."

Pompeii Update (Special Edition)

Special Wednesday Edition:

A UNESCO official's criticism of the lack of a realistic and aggressive plan to fix the numerous problems at Pompeii, in addition to the most recent collapse of a wall (see Aug. 14 post), has paid off, it seems. Massimo Bray, minister of Italy's cultural and artistic heritage, has made a series of announcements that have reassured UNESCO that the authorities in charge of the most important ancient site are taking the proper steps to use the considerable monies being invested by the European Union. By December, half of the EU's injection—nearly 50 million Euros—will be allocated. UNESCO made a show of support an backed off its implicit threat that it might take Pompeii off its prestigious list of World Heritage Sites.

Most crucially for tourists, Bray has announced that ten more houses (domus) will be opened to the public in the coming weeks, a welcome development made possible by additional personnel on site. For years Pompeii has suffered from a lack of qualified personnel and guards. Now, one hopes, Pompeii will return to its former glory, when some 50 domus were open to visitors. I haven't had a chance to find out which houses are to be opened, but I did note that last month, the Casa degli Amorini Dorati has already reopened to the public. If anyone can help me discover which of the houses will be reopened, I'd appreciate it! A more detailed article can be found in Italian here.

Daily Tidbit: 

Archaeologists excavating at Monasterace in Reggio Calabria have uncovered the largest Hellenic mosaic in Magna Graecia. The previous link is in Italian (and has a good picture). An English summary can be found here.

"That belongs in a Museum!" Tomb Raiders and Artifacts

Arch of Trajan in Benevento

Most everyone my age remembers the famous quote from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, "That belongs in a museum!" But the attempts to steal and sell archaeological items on the black market is as old as archaeology itself (well, much older when judging from the beginning of scientific archaeology). Last Friday (July 12), the Guardia di Finanza announced the seizure of 400 archaeological artifacts in Benevento (a delightful city to visit, incidentally), with an estimated black market value of 2 million Euros. The items had been collected from all over Italy and come from different time periods. Of particular interest were 4th century BC red-glaze vases from tombs in southern Italy, as well as a hut urn, bucchero ware, and Corinthian vases from Etruscan sites. One tombarolo (tomb-raider) was arrested.

The Carabinieri announce the seizure of objects

Is there any cooler word in any language than tombarolo? And yet, over the past three years we have seen a significant rise in clandestine sales of ancient artifacts. The day before the events in Benevento, a major operation by the Carabinieri in Bari and Naples arrested 21 tombaroli in Puglia and recovered hundreds of objects (548 to be exact), worth somewhere around 100,000 Euros. Here is an article from LaRepubblica.Bari, with excellent pictures of the seized effects. The methods used were the old spillone method (essentially, sticking a giant pin in the ground to search for open tombs) underground, metal detectors, and even ground-penetrating radar. Another more detailed report (in Italian) can be found here. 

My own personal favorite story about tombaroli is the events of January 11, 2011, when the Guardia di Finanza arrested two grave robbers in Ostia (the port of Rome) who were preparing to smuggle a rare statue of Caligula to Switzerland. The authorities demanded that the tombaroli shows them the find spot of the statue, and they led the GdF to the area of Lake Nemi, where the emperor was known to have had a villa and two enormous pleasure barges that floated blissfully on the lake between 37–41 AD, when he was emperor. Now, the statue has been cleaned and restored and is now to be housed in the infrequently visited (only some 6,500 a year) Museo delle Navi (Museum of the Ships) along the shore of the lake. Along with this rare statue, a number of other objects found in the vicinity of Nemi are part of the exhibition, as are a large number of items that were previously found in the area but had languished in storehouses of the Palazzo Massimo in Rome. The more fabulous bronze elements of the ships still remain in the museum at Rome.

Why so few visitors to the Museo delle Navi? Well, it was built in the 1930s to house those two pleasure barges that were finally recovered from the bottom of Lake Nemi. Under Mussolini's direction, archaeologists and conservators drained the lake, carefully protected the fragile wood, and moved the ships to the hangar-sized space built especially for them. There they remained until May 1944, when retreating Germans (the Italians had signed a peace treaty with the Allies in Sept. 1943) burned the ships. Now, all that remains are a few isolated pieces and small models of the ships. Hopefully, the new Caligula exhibition will bring more visitors to this museum. Plus, the area around Lake Nemi is beautiful and worth a half day visit (and make sure you have lunch overlooking the lake!).

Meanwhile, just a few weeks ago, the Carabinieri arrested five men charged with possession of thousands of stolen objects in Perugia. Of particular note are 23 Etruscan funeral urns from the 3rd-2nd century BC that belonged to a single family, the Canci. These urns depicted a great number of scenes from Greek myth, and some of the other objects were gold plated. Authorities were able to determine the point of origin of the urns, a single underground tomb, which was discovered by private construction workers—who saw a chance to profit. There are countless Etruscan tombs underground that have yet to be excavated. By Italian law, private individuals who unearth antiquities must surrender them to the state. But with so much money at stake—and given the disastrous Italian economy—I'm not surprised that few will actually follow the law. For an English version of the story, click here (with 4 pictures); for a more detailed Italian article, click here (with 9 excellent pictures).

For those who are interested in the shady antiquities collecting in general can see Paul Barford's excellent and thorough blog here. He also has a discussion of the tombaroli arrested in Puglia. Want a fun book to read on "stolen" antiquities? Go read Sharon Waxman's Loot. It's journalistic-y but an easy and informative read.

Weekly Tidbits:

In an archaeological dig run by the Archaeological Institute of America in Ostia Antica, excavations just outside of the archaeological park discovered a late Republican tomb and a 4th c. AD house with beautiful marble opus sectile (geometrically cut). See this article with pictures (pics 7 and 8 have the opus sectile).

The frescos at the Villa of the Mysteries are getting cleaned using laser technology, which is costly but non-damaging to the original frescos. The pictures on the website are pretty stunning.

The restoration of the Colosseum, funded by Diego della Valle, is set to begin immediately. The first operation is to clean the exterior. The building will be covered in scaffolding ten arches at a time until it is completed.

By accident I came across this short report of the research done on the materials found in the sewer beneath Herculaneum, but it reminded me of the successes that Herculaneum has enjoyed over the past ten years or so. The sewers that were preserved in the eruption of Vesuvius allow us to get a sense of the diet of people who lived in the area (more diverse than one might think). An outstanding, detailed, and accessible article (with full-color photos) can be found on the Herculaneum Conservation Project website. The HCP was established by a partnership between the local Soprintendenza and the Packard Humanities Institute—the same as that which brought the PHI Latin database to light—in 2001. This joint initiative, joined by the Bristish School at Rome in 2004, offers a blueprint how to maintain an ancient site while allowing for extremely important research to be conducted. Authorities in Pompeii should take note—80% of the buildings at risk in Herculaneum have been restored, and most buildings are completely open to the public. This YouTube video gives a good sense of the difference that the HCP has made (Italian subtitles, but side-by-side before and after pictures start at just after the three minute mark).

If you happen to find yourself in Bari in the near future (why not?), go see the new archaeological park that just opened. It's free for the time being.

Upheaval in Downtown Rome

Good morning, everyone. This is the maiden voyage of my new blog, and I welcome you all. I'm looking forward to the adventure with all of you. This is a work in progress, and I'm hopeful to have all the bells and whistles up in the sidebar to the right shortly!

It was announced yesterday by the Italian newspaper LaRepubblica that because of a meeting of the Flp (Federazione Lavoratori Pubblici, essentially a giant union of public workers) many Roman archaeological sites—including the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatine—will be closed to tourists today (July 14, 2013) from 5–7 pm and next Sunday (July 21, 2013) from 9–12. This comes on the heels of two strikes in June that closed the Colosseum for several hours as workers protested lack of pay. The same newspaper also released a report this week that suggested that the financial crisis in Italy is hitting ancient monuments and museums especially hard. I culled a few facts from that article:

The Mibac (Ministero per i beni artistici e culturali) reports a further decline in resources, 24% less than in 2008; more specifically, the funds for maintaining Italy's enormous amount of public works have dropped precipitously, from 276 million Euros to 115 million Euros—a reduction of 58% over the past year. Even more disturbing is that the monies reserved for cases of emergency went down over 10 million Euros in a single year. Finally, the amount designated for ordinary programs of public works

came in at 47.6 million Euros, down from 70.5 in 2012 and (shockingly) down from 201 million in 2004. In other words, we can expect further closures, protests, and degradation of ancient sites.

Even in cases where we have private funds, Roman bureaucracy often causes inordinate delays. Take, for instance, the 25 million Euros promised by a private individual, the shoe magnate Diego della Valle, back in August 2010 to renovate the Colosseum, have not yet been put into action because of holdups caused by protests and bureaucracy. The new mayor, Ignazio Marino, elected in June, has promised this week that "within ten days the restoration project will get underway." We'll see about that—he's up to his armpits in backlash since he's announced that the Via dei Fori Imperiali will become pedestrian only. Those of you familiar with the city will know that this is a major route through the center of town and that the closure will cause great headaches. Poor Via Labicana.

View of dirty Colosseum (my picture)

Meanwhile, in Pompeii, the UNESCO folks are back, demanding that the administrators of Pompeii act on their earlier report, else be removed from the list of UNESCO heritage sites. In 2011, after the collapse of the so-called  "House of the Gladiator" (Schola Armaturarum) the UN branch that oversees world heritage sites, visited the site and composed a full-scale report on the status of Pompeii—despite its technical nature, it's very readable. UNESCO gave the folks at Pompeii until January of this year to come up with a plan to shore up at-risk buildings and renovate many of the areas that have fallen into disrepair. And just yesterday, there was yet another collapse of a portion of the wall of the so-called Odeon, or "Small Theater." Fortunately, no one was struck by falling stone, and the damage was rather light, but the timing could not have been more fortuitous—perhaps the administration of Pompeii can get its act together to put a realistic and beneficial plan in motion. A fine English summary of the current call for action can be found here.

Side view of the Odeon in Pompeii (LaRepubblicaNapoli)

Weekly tidbits:

Emergency excavations on the Via Appia at the third mile (near the Villa of Maxentius) unearthed a substantial stretch of the original road, showing ruts where carriages and other vehicles bore into the considerably large basalt stones.

Excavations at Piazzale Ostiense (near the Pyramid of Cestius, which is also undergoing restoration to clean the smog-stained surface) unearthed a surprising find: a millstone of the Pompeian type. This find is not entirely surprising, given that the area was the location for off-loading grain transported up from Ostia by boat.

For those of you who saw the poorly titled "Pompeii: Life and Death in a Roman Town" (the whole show was about skeletons found in Oplontis—but that's show biz), where the bombshell was announced that two of the skeletons showed signs of congenital syphilis, here is a good scientific article on the whole debate on pre-Columbian syphilis.