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.