Mosaics found in Zeugma: Beware!

Thalia, the Muse of Comedy, in a mosaic discovered in Zeugma. Image from  eu.Greekreporter.com.

A fabulous series of mosaics have been uncovered in recent excavations in the Greek city of Zeugma, including a large floor-mosaic of the nine Muses, the Greek goddesses of song and inspiration. Pictures, as well as a short article in English, can be found here. But reader beware! One of the pictures presented here (which has been reposted and retweeted endlessly) was part of an earlier campaign (early 2000s). More on this below, but first a bit about the Greco-Roman city of Zeugma.

Zeugma in SE Turkey, ancient Asia (Minor). Image from https://www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv.

Zeugma, founded around 300 BC by Selecus Nicator I, one of Alexander the Great's generals, was a thriving ancient city that featured the only bridge ("zeugma" means "bridge") across the Euphrates in antiquity. In Roman times it became a major center for trade as well as the standing location of two Roman legions. It was sacked by a Sassanid incursion in the mid 3rd century AD, and it was essentially abandoned until the 20th century. Today, most of it has been flooded by the reservoir that was formed by the Birecik dam, which is located only some 500 meters downstream from the ancient city. A good (and short) article on the dam and its consequences can be found here. A longer article from Archaeology magazine outlines the history of the site and some of new excavations there.

This Greek city had a number of houses that featured lovely mosaics—some of the most beautiful in the world. Zeugma, in fact, became the darling of the archaeological world when the dammed waters began to rise about 4 inches a day in 2000 and started threatening the fabulously ornate mosaics. Emergency archaeological excavations and preservation were put into action to save the mosaics and transfer them to a safe location where they could be conserved. Those of you who are interested in the conservation of mosaics may wish to view this (25-minute) video about the conservation of the Zeugma mosaics carried out in 2000–2004. Really interesting stuff. The recent excavations have focused on the upper city that remains above the water line. These mosaics, unlike those found in the earlier emergency campaign, have been preserved in situ for visitors to see.

Now, back to the misinformation in the "new discoveries." The eu.greekreporter article (link again here) correctly reports the discovery of a beautiful mosaic of the Muses (picture above), but the picture of the second new find (of Oceanus and Tethys) is not accurate! The picture given (shown below) is a picture of the Ocean/Tethys mosaic that was saved during the emergency excavations. There was a mosaic of Oceanus and Tethys found in the recent excavations, but it is not the one shown in the article.

Mosaic said to be found in recent excavations at Zeugma. This is, however, the mosaic found earlier and now housed in the Gaziantep museum.

This is the new mosaic that has recently been unearthed in Zeugma and preserved in situ:

New mosaic of Oceanus and Tethys in Zeugma: view from above

An up-close view:

Tethys (center) and Ocean (right) in new mosaic.

Note that the two figures have switched sides, but some elements remain similar (like the dragon-like sea-creature that sits in between them, as well as other sea motifs). The similarities in subjects and motifs suggest either a workshop with multiple artisans, or a competitive market with multiple companies offering similar but distinctive mosaics. In any case, one must be quite aware that misinformation is the norm in an informational system is nearly a hermetically sealed loop of reused material. In any case, go here for a trustworthy source (source of second image above). For a pretty ludicrous article about the criticism that the mayor received for walking on the mosaics in high heels, click here.

New Archaeological Areas

Image from ansa.it (link below)

Pompeii continues to be victimized by a great number of issues. Friday November 6th saw the second day of closures for union meetings. For three hours (8–11 am) visitors numbering over a thousand were forced to wait for the gates to open. In essence, this is a "sciopero" ("protest"), although not an announced one; the guards at Pompeii, upset over hours and the new "pathways" that the administrators of the site want, have called two such union assemblies over the past three days.

The "Caos" (as Italian newspapers are calling it) surrounding Pompeii could not come at a worse time. UNESCO started a five-day inspection Saturday, 9 November. The UN education and scientific organization is looking into the Grand Pompeii Project. Meanwhile, archaeologists have recently uncovered some unfired clay pots near the Herculanean Gate (map, pictures), and the opening of several new houses have lured more visitors to the site. Labor issues threaten to offset the great progress being made in Pompeii.

New Things to See in Rome

The 2000th anniversary of the emperor Augustus' death has been a boon to tourists who want to see new things in Rome. 

In the Roman Forum, visitors can now visit down the ancient Vicus Iugarius ("Yokemakers Street"). 

Last month the Soprintendenza in Rome announced a new archaeological route along the Via Latina, where there are some fabulous tombs. Here is an article (in Italian) with good pictures. Click here for the website of the Soprintendenza, which is in Italian, but have opening times and ticket prices in English.

A report on the early Christian tombs at the Parco dei Ravennati next to Ostia Antica can be found here.

Greek Stuff

Moving quite south to Sicily, archaeologists from the German Archaeological Institute of Rome and the University of Bonn have discovered the largest industrialized ceramic production area ever found in the ancient world. Found in the valley (of the river Cottone) between the two plateaus of Selinunte, a Greek colony founded in the 7th c. BC and home to several spectacular Greek Doric temples, this ceramic quarter occupied an area some 1250 meters square and contained eighty kilns; the material remains from this area date from the fifth century BC. The archaeologists hypothesize that the largest kiln was used in the production of terracotta roof tiles, while the smaller kilns were used to make vases and smaller votive offerings. The workshop was destroyed in the sack of Selinunte in 409 BC by the Carthaginians. Article here (in Italian, but with three pictures), and an English summary here. 

The talk of the archaeological world is the Amphipolis tomb. I've nothing to add, but here is a website that's been documenting the discoveries, which are simply spectacular.

Colosseum Arena Floor

Gentle Readers,

This is my first post in nearly 8 months, and it's been prompted by a lecture I'm giving Friday at the Hamilton-Wenham Public Library (MA). I'm reprising a lecture on "Rome and Pompeii: (The Politics of) Discovering and Conserving the Past," which I've been fortunate enough to give on five occasions now. The purpose of the talk is to highlight the difficulties of preserving the past in Italy—and at what purpose the preservation is aimed. Normally I focus on the Colosseum, the shining symbol of "Romanness," and Pompeii, where preserving the massive archaeological site has presented major problems, many exacerbated by the deep-seated corruption at the local level.

This week we've had a new development in work on the Colosseum. Currently being refurbished with a generous but controversial grant (20 million Euros) by Diego della Valle, the President and CEO of Tod, a major corporation that sells shoes and other leather accessories, the Flavian Amphitheater (as it was called in antiquity) has become the subject of another controversy, this time sparked by a tweet sent by the Cultural Minister Dario Francheschini. This past Sunday he suggested that the full arena of the Colosseum be restored, concealing the hypogeum, the "underground" network of passages and cells used to hold animals and gladiators, replete with trap-doors and pulleys to allow them to emerge suddenly to heighten the performance. This idea was first put forward by an archaeologist, Daniele Manacorda, in the journal Archeo, but Minister Francheschini put forward this initiative as part of his broader mission to entice visitors to the Eternal City.

So, to put the question out for debate, should the Ministry spend millions of Euros to restore the arena floor in its entirety, especially when Italy is experiencing its third recession in six years?

A bit of background on the arena floor. The English word "arena," in fact, derives from the Latin word "harena," which means "sand." The wooden floor that covered the hypogeum would have been itself covered in a layer of sand, which was employed to absorb the blood that was shed during all sorts of games that took place there, including the two most popular, beast-hunts and gladiatorial combat. My colleague at UNH, who is an expert on Roman games, would want me to remind all of you that death was an acceptable but not inevitable outcome of gladiatorial combat, and our evidence suggests that it was actually a rather uncommon occurrence—not least because of the economic absurdity of investing in the training of a gladiator only to lose the commodity after spending a great deal of money on him (or, rarely, her).

Currently, there is only a portion of the arena floor that has been reconstructed to give visitors a sense of what the arena floor would look like:

Colosseum with partial restoration of arena floor. Photo from  www.travelnwisecom

The arena floor that you see in the picture above was reconstructed between 2000–2004 at the Flavian level, which represents its earlier phase. The Colosseum was begun by the emperor Vespasian (Flavius Vespasianus, thus the family name "Flavian," ruled 69–79 AD) after successfully completing his Jewish campaign, and was finished by his sons Titus (79–81 AD) and Domitian (81–96 AD). The reconstruction of even this level was only conducted after a series of archaeological studies over a four year period (a good overview of the process, with good photos, can be seen here).

What is the purpose of restoring the whole? First, it would offer "tours more suggestive of its original underground atmosphere," which is to say that it would offer a more authentic view of the arena in its original setting. The hypogeum would be hidden from view, as it would have been to the original audience. Second, having a complete arena would allow the modern Colosseum to be used for modern performances. An ungenerous reading of this would be that the Ministry sees the Colosseum as an even bigger potential cash cow. In addition to the receipts for over five million visitors (at 12 Euro a pop, we're talking about 60 million Euro a year), the Ministry can eek out even more money with presumably high-priced tickets for special events. There is, of course, a precedent for using ancient monuments as theatrical settings. In Rome itself, the spectacular Baths of Caracalla are used for operatic performances, and other amphitheaters, such as the one in Alba Fucens, are consistently used for plays and musical performances. A quick overview of the issue can be found here in the English version of ANSA.it, with a good picture of the Colosseum's interior from the early part of the 20th century, before the hypogeum was excavated.

What would become of the hypogeum? Currently, it is possible to visit the hypogeum by a special request, but the fact is that you only get to step a few feet into the area. This is quite different than my experience as a student back in 1991, when we were able to get a special permesso to walk throughout the whole hypogeum. It's quite an experience. It is unclear whether visitors would have greater access to the hypogeum if the plan to restore the whole arena floor goes through. If you want to walk through a hypogeum, I suggest a trip down south, either to the amphitheater in Capua or in Pozzuoli, where visitors have complete access to the amphitheater both above and below.

Underneath the amphitheater in Pozzuoli. The light is coming through grates in the arena floor. This picture was taken by a friend of mine at Washington University in St. Louis.

Amphitheater at Capua Vetere (photo 1977); today the channels have been covered so that visitors can walk on the arena floor and in the hypogeum. Photo taken from touritaly.org.

In other news, the Domus Aurea, Nero's massive villa built in the heart of Rome, reopened on Nov. 1. The Esquiline Wing of the villa, which features a room with a proto-dome but has been subject to subsidence and water infiltration (i.e. a threat of collapse), was closed in 2005 but is now open to visitors, thanks to one of the first examples of crowdfunded financing to restore and preserve ancient monuments. The hope of the Ministry is to open up more of the Domus Aurea than ever and to shore up the areas already excavated. The projected cost is 31 million Euros.

Also, to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of Augustus' death in 14 AD, the (so-called) houses of Augustus (well, a new part) and of Livia have been opened on the Palatine. It has been announced that Livia's house will only be open until 15 Feb., so make sure you visit it if you happen to be going soon!