The Cape of Sounion with its famous temple dedicated to the god Poseidon is one of the most beautiful natural areas of Attica and one of the most impressive archaeological sites in Greece. In ancient times it was called Sounias Akra (edge) and was connected with the legends of Athens and the Aegean. Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, allegedly jumped off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. It is also referred to as a sacred place in the Homeric epics. The site was chosen for its direct relationship with the sea, since this was the last piece of land seen by ships departing from Athens and the first on returning from their voyage.

Temple of Poseidon, built around 444 – 440 BC, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

The site of Sounion was inhabited since prehistoric times. From the 8th century BC however, the cult of Poseidon and Athena started to develop but the sanctuaries were destroyed in 480 BC by Persian troops during Xerxes I’s invasion of Greece. In the mid-5th century BC, by order of Pericles, the Temple of Poseidon was rebuilt, the ruins of which now dominate the cape’s summit with its 16 standing columns partly restored.

Temple of Poseidon, part of the south colonnade with foundations of the earlier poros temple dating from the Archaic Period, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

In a maritime country like Greece, the god of the sea was bound to occupy a high position in the divine hierarchy. His implacable wrath, manifested in the form of storms, was greatly feared by all mariners. In an age without mechanical power, storms very frequently resulted in shipwrecks and drownings. The sanctuary of Poseidon, therefore, was a venue where mariners, and also entire cities or states, could propitiate Poseidon, by making animal sacrifice, or leaving gifts.

Temple of Poseidon, part of the south colonnade with foundations of the earlier poros temple dating from the Archaic Period, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

The sacred precinct (temenos) of Poseidon was entered through a monumental gateway of poros and marble, to the north of the temple, the propylaea. Beyond, along the north side of the temenos, runs a stoa, some 40 m. long by 9 m. wide, divided into two aisles by an internal colonnade of six columns. A second smaller stoa occupied the west side of the precinct. The stoas served as accommodation for visitors to the sanctuary.

The propylaea, a monumental gateway of poros and marble, to the north of the temple, through which the sacred precinct of Poseidon was entered, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

The north stoa, 40 m. long by 9 m. wide, divided into two aisles by an internal colonnade of six smooth columns, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

The temple of Poseidon is a Doric peripteral temple with six columns on the narrow sides and thirteen on the long ones, made of locally quarried white marble. At the centre of the temple colonnade would have been the hall of worship (naos), a windowless rectangular room, similar to the partly intact hall at the Temple of Hephaistos in Athens (which is considered to be the work by the same architect). It would have housed a colossal bronze statue of Poseidon.

The temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, north side colonnade, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

The temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion from the northeast, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

A sculptured frieze originally lined the four sides of the area in front of the pronaos. It depicted the Battle of the Centaurs, the Battle of the Gods and Giants, and the deeds of Theseus. However, like on the temple of Hephaistos in Athens, there was no frieze decoration on the metopes. The relief friezes have suffered considerably from climatic conditions and exposure to the elements. The best preserved are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Laurion.

The temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion from the north, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

The decline of Sounion began at the end of the Hellenistic period. By Roman times the two temples had already been deserted. Pausanias describes the monuments in the 2nd century AD, confusing the temple of Poseidon with the temple of Athena which may indicate the abandonment of the area.

The temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion from the north, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

Archaeological excavation of the site in 1906 uncovered numerous artefacts and inscriptions. Fragments of 17 early archaic kouroi were found in a deep pit east of the Temple of Poseidon. The statues were probably damaged by the Persians at the time they destroyed the earlier temple. Since they were sacred dedications, they could not be entirely discarded, and thus they were deposited in the pit to make way for newer, undamaged dedications. The best preserved of these statues is a 7th century BC marble kouros statue  known as the Sounion Kouros now on exhibit in the Athens National Archaeological Museum.

Statue of a Kouros, from the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Sounion, ca. 600 BC
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
© Carole Raddato

In the 19th century, Sounion was a popular destination for tourists, many of whom have engraved their names on the ruins of the temple of Poseidon. The most famous signature is that of the Romantic poet George Lord Byron.

Temple of Poseidon, 19th century Graffiti on the left pillar, Cape Sounion, Greece
© Carole Raddato

“Place me on Sunium’s marbled steep,
Where nothing, save the waves and I,
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep;
There, swanlike, let me sing and die:
A land of slaves shall ne’er be mine–
Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!”

The Isles of Greece by Lord Byron (1788-1824)

Temple of Poseidon, built around 444 – 440 BC, Cape Sounion
© Carole Raddato

Sources: The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites – Wikipedia

“Off all the temples in the Peloponnese this one could be considered second only to the temple at Tegea for its proportions and the beauty of its stone”. Pausanias, “Description of Greece”, Book VIII, 41, 8

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae, South-east side
© Carole Raddato

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios (‘Apollo the Helper’) was built in a quiet and isolated site, high on a rocky ridge of Mount Kotylion (1,131 metres) at Bassae in south-west Arcadia. The mountain is scored with ravines (bassai or bessai in ancient Greek), which gave the place the name “Bassae”.

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae, East colonnade
© Carole Raddato

The Greek historian Pausanias wrote, in the second century AD, that the name ‘Helper’ was given to Apollo by citizens of nearby Phigaleia, as thanks for their deliverance from the plague of 429-427 BC. He also wrote that the temple was designed by Iktinos, who had been responsible for the Parthenon.

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae, east colonnade
© Carole Raddato

The temple is covered by a tent at the moment while the structure is made more secure. The severe weather conditions in this exposed location have caused some damage to the temple. The design of the canopy incorporates slopes and pitches which prevent the accumulation of large quantities of snow.

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae covered by a tent
© Carole Raddato

Archaeological researches have determined that the site was in continuous use since the archaic period, the existing temple being the last of four on the site. The classical temple is thought to have been built between 430 BC and 400 BC. It is made of local grey limestone, while parts of the roof, the capitals in the cella and the sculptured decoration are made of marble. Like several other temples of Arcadia, the temple is aligned north-south, instead of the usual east-west, probably due to some local tradition or to the limited space available on the steep slopes of the mountain.

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae, Opisthodomos and west colonnade
© Carole Raddato

The Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae, Proanos
© Carole Raddato

The temple is unique as it combines elements of the three architectural orders of antiquity (Doric, Ionic and Corinthian). Doric columns form the peristyle while Ionic columns support the porch and Corinthian columns feature in the interior. The Corinthian capital is the earliest example of the order found to date. The temple has six columns on the short side and fifteen on the long sides, instead of the period’s usual ratio 6 x 13. That feature gives the temple its characteristic elongated shape.

Cut-out section showing the position if the architectural and sculptural components of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae, British Museum

A great part of the Temple’s building material now lies on the modern terraces built specifically for the purpose to the west and southwest of the monument. In the 1980′s, a major effect was made to collect, systematically order, and protect the architectural elements. Thousands of building blocks and architectural fragments were moved to selected areas, where they were identified, numbered, and arrange according to type.

The scattered architectural elements of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae
© Carole Raddato

A Doric frieze of undecorated metopes and triglyphs ran along the outer facades. Only the inner metopes of the short sides were decorated: those on the proanos may have depicted the return of Apollo the Hyperboreans and those on the opisthomodos represented the rape of the daughters of the Messenian king Leukippos by the Dioskouroi but this is not certain.

The Bassai sculptures, male figure wearing a chiton and an alopekis (Thracian cap), holding a kithara, may be identified as Apollo or Orpheus, fragment of the north metope from the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae (Arcadia), British Museum

The most eminent decorative feature of the temple is the continuous Ionic frieze that run around the interior of the cella. On the south and south east sides of the frieze are arranged a series of slabs showing the battle fought by Herakles and the Greeks against the Amazons, the mythical race of warrior-women.

The Bassai sculptures, marble block from the frieze of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae (Greece), Greeks fight Amazons, about 420-400 BC, British Museum

The Bassai sculptures, marble block from the frieze of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae (Greece), Greeks fight Amazons, about 420-400 BC, British Museum

The north and west sides of the frieze show the fight between the Lapiths, Greek inhabitants of Thessaly, and the Centaurs, mythical beasts, part man, part horse. The Centaurs had drunk too much wine at the wedding of the Lapith King Perithoos and tried to carry off theirs host’s womenfolk.

The Bassai sculptures, marble block from the frieze of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae (Greece), Lapiths fight Centaurs, about 420-400 BC, British Museum

The Bassai sculptures, marble block from the frieze of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae (Greece), Lapiths fight Centaurs, about 420-400 BC, British Museum

The frieze was removed by Charles Robert Cockerell and taken to the British Museum in 1815. They are still to be seen in the British Museum’s Gallery 16, near the Elgin Marbles.

Further pictures of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios can be viewed from my image collection on Flickr.

Sources: Bassae Sculpture British Museum,Wikipedia, Hellenic Ministry of Culture: Bassae

Built in the 1840s in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg, the Pompeiianum (called Pompejanum in German) is an idealized reconstruction of a Roman house based on excavations in Pompeii. It is picturesquely located high on a terrace ridge overlooking the River Main. Now a unique tourist attraction, the building is a testimony to the enthusiasm for Antiquities in the 19th century.

Pompejanum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

The Pompeiianum was built between 1840 and 1850 by order of Kaiser Ludwig I of Bavaria who had been inspired by the excavations in Pompeii. It was loosely modelled on the House of the Diosuri (Casa dei Dioscuri) in Pompeii. The Kaiser chose to built the Villa in Aschaffenburg because of its mild, sunny climate and its attractive position. The Pompeiianum was never intended to be a royal residence. It was a place where art lovers could study antiquity and see how life was like in a Roman house.

Pompejanum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Pompejanum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Visitors stepping into the Pompeiianum find themselves transported back 2000 years into the world of a Roman patrician.

The Atrium, Pompejanum. Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Detail of wall painting in the 4th Pompeian style of the atrium, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

The Atrium, Pompejanum. Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

The rooms in the house are situated around the central atrium, an open inner courtyard which acted as the reception and living area. Cubicula (bedrooms) are arranged around all four sides of the atrium providing the perfect setting for original works of Roman art. Since 1994, Roman artefacts from the State Antiquities Collection and the Glyptothek in Munich are now on display inside the rooms of the Pompeiianum.

As a philhellene, Ludwig I patronized the arts and commissioned many neoclassical buildings, especially in Munich. He was also a frenetic collector. Through his agents, he managed to acquire such pieces as the Medusa Rondanini, the Barberini Faun, and the figures from the Aphaea temple on Aegina. The Glyptothek, which he commissioned, houses his collection of Greek and Roman sculptures.

Frament of Fresco from the theatre at Herculaneum, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Drunken Satyr statue, Pompejanum. Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

The splendid decoration of the interior and the mosaic floors were copied or adapted from ancient models.

Pompejanum, the Sacrarium, a place where sacred objects were kept, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Directly behind the atrium, opposite the entrance, is a room open on two sides (though both sides could be closed with curtains or folding doors in Roman times), the tablinum.

The Tablinium facing the Atrium, decorated in the 4th Pompeii style, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

The tablinum was the office in a Roman house, the master of the house (paterfamilias) centre for business, where he would receive his clients. It often had an attractive mosaic floor and wall paintings.

Painting from the Tablinum, Minerva preventing Achilles from killing Agamemnon, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Decorated coffered ceilings in the Tablinum, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

The Roman domus was typically designed so that anyone standing in the vestibule could see straight through the atrium and tablinum to the colonnaded garden in the back of the house (peristylium). This has clearly been recreated in the villa.

The Atrium, Tablinum and Peristylium, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Instead of surrounding their houses with large lawns and gardens, the Romans created their gardens inside their domus. The peristylium was an open courtyard within the house; the columns surrounding the garden supported a shady roofed portico whose inner walls were often embellished with elaborate wall paintings.

The back part of the house is centred around the peristylium much as the front centred on the atrium. Surrounding the peristyle in the Pompeiianum are the summer triclinium, the winter tricinium.

Winter triclinium with wall painting, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

A triclinium is a formal dining room. It was named after the three couches (klinai, known as lectus triclinaris) typically found in this room. Each klinē was wide enough to accommodate three diners who reclined on their left side on cushions while some household slaves served multiple courses, and others entertained guests with music, song, or dance.

Summer triclinium with wall painting, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Dining rooms, like other rooms in Roman houses, often had beautifully painted walls and mosaic floors like the ones reproduced at the Pompeiianum.

Mosaic floor inside the summer triclinium, Pompeiianum, idealized replica of a Roman villa, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

In addition to the triclinia, surrounding the peristylium, are the culina (kitchen) and a single latrine. Wealthy matronae did not prepare meals; that was the job of their household slaves. The kitchen is complete with replica utensils and cooking wares. Baking was done in ovens, whose tops were used to keep dishes warm. Embers from the oven could be placed below metal braziers for a form of “stove-top” cooking as seen in this reconstructed kitchen.

The Culina, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

The Culina, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Antique Roman glass, bronze vessels and Terra sigillata ware are among several authentic items on display too.

Beside the kitchen is a tiny room, no bigger than a cupboard, but one which often intrigues visitors most. It’s a Roman latrine. Single latrine in the house were located in or next to the kitchen. This was a typical arrangement which enabled the latrine to be used for the disposal of kitchen waste.

Reconstruction of a single latrine next to the culina (kitchen), Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Upstairs are more cubicula (bedrooms) where several display cases have been installed, displaying ancient household objects, medical and cosmetic utensils, jewellery, children’s toys and oil lamps.

Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

In World War II, the Pompeiianum was heavily damaged by Allied area bombing but it was totally reconstructed and restored. It opened to the public for the first time in 1994.

In March 1995 the restoration of five rooms on the upper floor began and these new rooms have been open to visitors since July 2002. The ancient works of art exhibited on a permanent basis originate for the most part from the State Collections of Antiquities and the Glyptothek in Munich, which co-oversee the Pompeiianum as a branch museum. Since 2009 the Collections of Antiquities and the Glyptothek have also presented special exhibitions that change every year. The exhibition “The Immortals – The Greek Gods” is currently being shown until October 2014.

The exhibition room, Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

Cave canem mosaic (beware of the dog), Pompeiianum, Aschaffenburg, Germany
© Carole Raddato

The Pompeiianum enables visitors to get a vivid impression of what a Roman villa looked like and how life was lived in the domus. It is open daily except Mondays 9:00 to 18.00 from April 2 to October 12.

This week marks the bimillennial anniversary of the death of the first Roman emperor, Augustus. He died on 19th August AD 14 at the age of 75 after a 41-year reign, the longest in Roman history.

Augustus left his mark on Rome and western civilisation like few others. He vastly expanded the Roman Empire, established a period of relative peace known as the “Pax Romana” (or “Pax Augusta”), a period of immense architectural and artistic achievement whose effects were felt far beyond the capital. His legacy is perhaps best represented in the abundance of statues that were erected throughout the empire during and after his reign.

Augustus of Prima Porta, discovered in the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta
© Carole Raddato

Portraits of Augustus were used as symbols of his political propaganda. Abandoning the realistic style of the Republican period, his portraits always showed him as an idealized young man. This would set the standards for imperial portraiture used by Roman emperors over the next three centuries.

The Roman historian Suetonius (The Lives of the Caesars , Book II, “Augustus”) describes Augustus as

“remarkably handsome and of very graceful gait. His teeth were small, few, and decayed; his hair, yellowish and rather curly; his eyebrows met above the nose; he had ears of moderate size, a nose projecting a little at the top and then bending slightly inward, and a complexion intermediate between dark and fair.”

Suetonius also mentions that Augustus cared so little about his personal appearance and particularly his hair, that sometimes he would have two or three barbers working on it together to save time. However most of the portraits of Augustus idealize him dramatically, and he does not age over the length of his reign.

More than 200 images of Augustus survive, more than of any other emperor. The longevity of his reign, his popularity during his lifetime, his deification after his death, and the tendency of following emperors to be identified with him (including Hadrian) are factors that guaranteed an abundance of portraits of this man.

In addition to the famous statue of Augustus from Prima Porta (a larger-than-life, idealized statue of him in military dress – image above), here is a selection of 12 of Octavian-Augustus finest surviving portraits:

1. Bust of Octavian

Bust of Octavian, probably created ca. BC 31 after his victory at the Battle of Actium
Rome, Musei Capitolini
© Carole Raddato

2. Head of Octavian

Head of Octavian, dating to the Triumvirate at the time of the Battle of Philippi (BC 42), the oldest portrait known
Museo Archeologico Statale di Spoleto
© Carole Raddato

3. Equestrian statue of Augustus

Bronze torso from an equestrian statue of Augustus dating from the end of the 1st century BC
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
© Carole Raddato

4. Bronze head of Augustus

Bronze head from an over-life-sized statue of Augustus, found in the ancient Nubian site of Meroë in Sudan, BC 27 – 25
British Museum
© Carole Raddato

5. Augustus as Pontifex Maximus

Augustus as Pontifex Maximus, late Augustan period
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome
© Carole Raddato

6. Veiled head of Augustus

Veiled head of Augustus, end of 1st century BC
Ancona, Museo Archeologico Nazionale delle Marche
© Carole Raddato

7. Cameo of Augustus

Cameo portrait of Augustus, about AD 14-20
British Museum
© Carole Raddato

8. Bust of August wearing the Corona Civica

Bust of Augustus wearing the Corona Civica, ca. BC 29
Rome, Musei Capitolini
© Carole Raddato

9. Statue of Augustus from Arles

Marble statue of Augustus, found in the Roman theatre in 1750
Arles, Musée de l’Arles et de la Provence antiques
© Carole Raddato

10. Augustus Bevilacqua

The so called “Augustus Bevilacqua”, bust of the emperor Augustus wearing the Corona Civica
Munich, Glyptothek
© Carole Raddato

11. Bust of August wearing the Corona Civica

Bust of August wearing the oak crown discovered on the site of the Roman villa of Chiragan, BC 19-18
Toulouse, Musée Saint-Raymond
© Carole Raddato

12. Posthumous portrait of Augustus

Posthumous portrait of Augustus, discovered in Saintes (France), ca. AD 40
Musée archéologique de Saintes
© Carole Raddato

Augustus was an important role model for Hadrian. He had a portrait of the first Princeps on his signet ring and kept a small bronze bust of him among the images of the household gods (Lares) in his bedroom. In restoring Augustan buildings at his own expense in Rome and in the provinces – ie. the temple of Augustus at Tarragona- Hadrian was able to revive the memory of Augustus and associate himself with that name. (Souce: Anthony R Birley, Hadrian: The Restless Emperor)

He wished to be seen as the new Augustus. The imperial coinage of Hadrian drastically abbreviates Hadrian’s titulare. Instead of the usual “Imp. Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Aug.”, he would soon be presented simply as “Hadrianus Augustus”.

Antoninus Pius, who was perhaps motivated by a desire to be publicly associated with the first emperor, restored the Temple of Divus Augustus built to commemorate the deified first Augustus. The restored temple was shown on coins which depict it with an octostyle design with Corinthian capitals and two statues – presumably of Augustus and Livia – in the cella. The pediment displayed a relief featuring Augustus and was topped by a quadriga.

Temple of Divus Augustus on a coin of Antonius Pius issued circa AD 158

Many more portraits of the Emperor Augustus can be viewed from my image collection on Flickr.

On a recent trip to Italy, I visited the Archaeological Area of Minturnae, a little-known but impressive archaeological site along the Appian Way.

Minturnae was originally an Auruncian city (of which no archaeological traces have been found), one of the three towns of the Aurunci which allied themselves with the Samnites and made war against Rome in 314 BC. After being defeated by Rome the city suffered severe repression and was burned to the ground. The Romans settled in the area and built a castrum along the river Liris after realising the strategic and commercial importance of its close location to the sea.

The military settlement grew into a Roman colony in 296 BC and became an important trading port of the Mediterranean as well as a fortified commercial centre along the Appian Way.

A stretch of the Appian Way passing through the ancient city ( decumanus maximus) and the reconstructed monumental colonnade, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

In the 1st century BC Minturnae was a flourishing city provided with a Capitolium (temple dedicated to the triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva), a forum and a theatre. During the Imperial era a new forum was built, surrounded by public buildings such as a Basilica, thermal baths, an amphitheatre and a macellum (market).

Today there are still significant Roman remains scattered on both sides of the Appian Way.

Plan of the Archaeological Area of Minturnae
http://www.agerminturnae.org/

On one side of the ancient road one finds the ancient theatre, the Republican forum, the Capitolium and the temple of Augustus.

The Republican forum and the Roman theatre, built in the late Republican era or at the beginning of the Empire, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

The Roman theatre, built in the late Republican era or at the beginning of the Empire, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

The theatre, built during the reign of Augustus, had a capacity of 4,500.  It underwent several restorations and reconstructions, the latest of which is thought to date to the 4th century AD. Statues from the scaenae frons have been recovered including one of Augustus and another of Livia. They are on display in the Antiquarium inside the theatre.

The Roman theatre, view on the temples and Republican & Imperial forums, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

The podium of the Temple of Augustus, built at the beginning of the Imperial age right alongside the Capitolium, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

The ruins of the Capitolium (temple dedicated to the triad Jupiter, Juno and Minerva)
© Carole Raddato

The Capitolium was an Etrusco-Italic type temple with three separate cella which was built soon after BC 191. It is located in the southern part of the Republican Forum and borders the Via Appia.

The Republican forum, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

On the other side of the Appian Way were the macellum (market), behind which was a large bathing complex, and the tabernae (room shops). Recent excavations have also revealed the Imperial forum which includes the Basilica, the Curia and the public latrines.

The macellum (market) and the tabernae dating to the Hadrianic period (117-138), Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

The macellum was the emporium of the city where local and imported food poured into the nearby port. The building dates from the Hadrianic period with subsequent intervention during the Antonine era.

The macellum dating to the Hadrianic period (117-138) and the reconstructed monumental colonnade, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

The bath complex developped behind the macellum. The examination of the building techniques let archaeologists think that the thermae may have been built during the reign of Hadrian. We can clearly see the caldarium and the tepidarium as well as the natatio (swimming pool) divided into two baths.

The tepidarium, the warm bathroom of the baths complex heated by a hypocaust (underfloor heating system), Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

The natatio (swimming pool) of the bath complex, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

Black & white mosaic in the caldarium of the thermae depicting cupids pressing grapes, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

Opposite the Republican forum lays the Imperial forum. It is a big square paved in Coreno stone. On the eastern side of the forum stood the most representative buildings of the public life of the settlement: the Curia and the Basilica. The Basilica was built during the reign of Hadrian.

The ruins of the Hadrianic Basilica of the Imperial forum, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

The latrines, located in the Imperial forum, Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

A remarkable exhibition of archaeological materials, stone inscriptions and statues can also be seen in the Museum inside the ancient theatre.

Just outside the archaeological site, visitors can marvel at the 150 majestic arches of the very fine aqueduct. It was built between the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire in opus reticulatum. The aqueduct entered the city at the west gate bringing water from the Monti Aurunci 11 km away.

Aqueduct near Minturnae
© Carole Raddato

3D reconstructions of the buildings of Minturnae done by the Istituto Tecnico Statale Costruzioni, Ambiente e Territorio Geometri di Formia can be seen online (website).

Further images of Minturnae can be viewed from my image collection on Flickr.

Following my visit to Minturnae (see previous post here), I continued my journey north along the Appian Way to reach Terracina, a picturesque town on the Tyrrhenian coast situated approximately half-way between Rome and Naples.

Legend has it that Odysseus sailed here on his travels and surrendered to Circe’s enchantment. Circe is said to have lived on Mount Circeo, a promontory stretching-out into the sea best visible from Mounte San’t Angelo above the town of Terracina. Nowadays the area is called the Riviera of Ulysses.

Mount Circeo as seen from Terracina, Italy
Wikipedia

After occupation by the Ausoni, Terracina was taken over by the Etruscans, followed by the Volsci in the 5th century BC who called it Anxur (the name of Jupiter as a youth -Iuppiter Anxur or Anxurus- god of the city) and made it a fortress against the Romans. In 329 BC, however, the city became Roman under the name of Colonia Anxurnas. It was later renamed Tarracina (a name probably derived from its Etruscan origin). A few years later, the Via Appia joining Rome with Capua was built, climbing to Tarracina on its way South.

Like Minturnae, Tarracina experienced a long phase of intense building from the time of Sulla (c. 138 BC – 78 BC) to Trajan (ruled AD 98-117) and Antoninus Pius (ruled AD 138-161). Much of the acropolis development dates to the time of Sulla, including the Forum Aemilianum. It was  named after Aulus Aemilius, a local wealthy man who ordered its construction.

Forum Aemilianum (Piazza del Municipio), Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The present Piazza del Municipio lays over the ancient forum. Its pavement is well preserved and it is still possible to see the inscription ” A. Aemilius A. F. Stravi(t)” in letters which were once filled in with bronze (Aulus Aemilius paved this – CIL 10.6306).

Forum Aemilianum (Piazza del Municipio), Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

At the north end of the forum, the 11th century cathedral (consecrated to San Cesareo in 1074) is built upon the site of a temple identifiable as the Temple of Rome and Augustus whose column drums were reused in the building.

The Cathedral of Terracina built upon the site of a Roman temple, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

Side wall of the cathedral with a column from the Temple of Rome and Augustus still visible, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

A fine stretch of the Via Appia, which served as decumanus, is still preserved on the north side of the forum.

Forum Aemilianum, stretch of the Via Appia, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The access to the forum was preceded by a quadrifrons (four-sided) arch, which served as entrance to the forum. One side of the arch was discovered inside a destroyed medieval building under which lays a well-preserved stretch of the ancient Via Appia.

Remaining side of the quadrifrons (four-sided) arch under which lay a well-preserved stretch of the ancient Via Appia, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

On the orders of Trajan, the Via Appia was brought down to sea level by cutting through the cliff along the coast. The Via Appia used to cross the hill at the back of the promontory by a steep ascent and descent. An attempt was made in 184 BC to get round it but it was probably not until early in Trajan’s time that a cut made in the Pisco Montano finally solved the problem (see image here). The depth of the cut is indicated by marks on the vertical wall at intervals of 10 Roman feet; the lowest mark, about 1 m above the present road, is CXX, corresponding to 36 meters.

It was probably following the road cut that some of the most important buildings of the imperial period were erected in the lower town by the harbour (amphitheatre, baths, etc.). However little is now visible, and its site is mainly occupied by a new quarter built by Pope Pius VI. Little remains of the ancient harbour constructed by Antoninus Pius and the area has been largely silted up.

Massive remains of another temple identified as the Capitolium (since it has a triple nave) lie next to Piazza del Municipio. Built іn opus reticulatum ca. 50-40 BC, the temple wаs dedicated tо the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno аnd Minerva). The temple was discovered by chance; in fact the site was brought to light only after the World War II bombings.

The Capitolium dating back to ca. 50-40 BC, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

Restored between 1946 and 1948, the Capitolium still preserves its high podium, part of the access stairs, a column in Tuscan-Doric style as well as the remarkable remains of the walls of the three cellas in two-coloured opus reticulatum.

Remaining column in Tuscan-Doric style Capitolium, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The cellas the of the Capitolium dating back to ca. 50-40 BC, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

Opus Reticulatum on the cellas of the Capitolium dating back to ca. 50-40 BC, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The cellas are 9.25 m long each and half as wide. Underneath a door leads to the favissae, the rooms where the votive offerings were kept.

The podium of the Capitolium with the door leading to the favissae, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

Another important public edifice was the theatre. It had a splendid natural background, the Tyrrhenian Sea and the sight of Mount Circeo.

The area of the Roman Theatre built during the 1st century BC, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The ruins of the Roman Theatre built during the 1st century BC, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

A statue of the Greek playwright Sophocles (the so-called Lateran Sophocles) was found amongst the ruins of the theatre. The statue was displayed in the Lateran Museum in Rome before being transferred to its present location in the Museo Gregoriano-Profano in the Vatican.

The Sanctuary of Jupiter Anxur is perhaps Terracina’s most famous historical site. It dates back to the fourth century BC, though much of the development belongs to the first century BC at the time of the Roman general Sulla. Built on Mount Saint Angelo (known as Mons Neptunius in the Roman era), about 270 metres above sea level, the complex is large and spectacularly sited, dominating the shoreline and sea. From here one can admire the extraordinary panorama, which to one side gives onto Mount Circeo, on the other, onto the Fondi Plain.

View of the Fondi plain from the Sanctuary of Jupiter Anxur, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The best view of this sanctuary is from the sea or from the beach. If you are fortunate enough to be floating on a boat somewhere near Terracina, you will see, from a distance, the great substructures of the Sanctuary of Jupiter Anxur (see image here).

The sanctuary was surrounded by a defensive wall and nine round towers built to keep the Via Appia under control and as well as to keep Sulla from advancing onto Rome during the wars between Marius and Sulla.

Defensive wall, the so-called Temple of Jupiter Anxur
© Carole Raddato

The temple has long been assumed to have been dedicated to Jupiter Anxur (Jupiter the young) who was the city’s protector, although recent studies and discoveries of votive objects attribute it to Venus.

The most impressive remains are those of the underground passageway, the cryptoporticus, resting on twelve massive arches in opus incertum on the south and west sides.

The 12 pillared arches of the cryptoporticus of the so-called Sanctuary of Jupiter Anxur, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The 12 pillared arches of the cryptoporticus of the so-called Sanctuary of Jupiter Anxur, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The sanctuary was built on a number of terraces. Above the cryptoporticus stood the place of worship, the principal temple, as well as the favissa (votive deposit) and the rock of the Oracle.

The ruins of the podium of the so-called Temple of Jupiter Anxur, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

Only the high podium of the temple remains. The temple was reached by a flight of steps at the center. The cella was almost square while its outer walls carried six engaged Corinthian half-columns; a deep porch with six columns along the front and four down the sides (see reconstruction below).

Reconstruction of the main temple and the rock of the Oracle of the so-called Sanctuary of Jupiter Anxur

The rock of the Oracle of the so-called Temple of Jupiter Anxur, Terracina, Italy
© Carole Raddato

The upper terrace with its U-shaped ambulatory (see reconstruction below) was used for military purposes. The area was kept under control by a contingent of 80 soldiers led by a centurion. The soldiers stationed here had a separate life from the sanctuary but a small temple in antis was built for their religious needs.

Reconstruction of the so-called Sanctuary of Jupiter Anxur

Further images of Terracina can be viewed from my image collection on Flickr.

Sources: Wikipedia, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, The Appian Way: From Its Foundation to the Middle Ages, edited by Ivana della Portella

“Pontem perpetui mansurum in saecula mundi” (I have built a bridge which will last forever) – Caius Julius Lacer, builder of the Alcántara Bridge

Ancient Roman bridges represent one of the greatest wonders of the Ancient World. They are an exceptional feat of Roman construction and I hold a certain fascination for these impressive ancient structures. Naturally I always look for traces of Roman bridges while travelling. It was in Portugal that I really got excited about these engineering marvels. The country is indeed filled with perfectly preserved Roman bridges (see post here).

Last Summer I travelled to Provence in France and was asked by Ancient History Encyclopedia to write a piece on the 10 must-see ancient sites in Provence. Here I want to talk about the Roman bridges in this southern region of France where many have survived the centuries. Some are still in use today, some 2,000 years after they were built.

≈ The Pont Flavien

The Pont Flavien, with its surviving triumphal arches at each end, is one of the most beautiful surviving Roman bridges outside Italy.

The Pont Flavien, Saint-Chamas
© Carole Raddato

The Pont Flavien stands near the modern town of Saint-Chamas and consists of a single arch spanning the Toulourde River on the Via Julia Augusta. The name “Flavien” refers to a local Roman-Gaul aristocrat called Lucius Donnius Flavius, and an inscription on the bridge itself states that it was built at his instigation. In translation, it means:

Lucius Donnius, son of Caius, Flavos, flamen [priest] of Rome and Augustus, has ordained in his will that [this monument] be built under the direction of Cauis Donnius Vena and Caius Attius Rufius.

As the inscription indicates, the bridge was constructed at Flavos’ instigation following his death. It was completed around 12 BC. The bridge measured 21.4 metres long by 6.2 metres while the arches are at either end each stood 7 metres high.

The Pont Flavien, Saint-Chamas
© Carole Raddato

Following excavations, one can see the remnants of the Roman road with ruts worn by chariots and carts. The bridge was heavily used until fairly recently but it is now reserved for pedestrian use only.

The Pont Flavien, Saint-Chamas
© Carole Raddato

The Pont Flavien has been subjected to repetitive damages. In the 18^th century, the western arch collapsed destroying the Roman lions on top of the pediment (the only surviving original lion is on the right-hand side of the eastern arch). Then the same arch was damaged by a German tank during the Second World War and finally collapsed when it was hit by an American truck. It was rebuilt in 1949 and some years later.

The Pont Flavien, Saint-Chamas
© Carole Raddato

≈ The Pont Julien

The Pont Julien, owning its name to the nearby city of Julia Apta (modern-day Apt), whose territory it was built upon, is a beautiful three-arched bridge spanning the Calavon River. Today, it is close to the town of Bonnieux.

The Pont Julien, Bonnieux
© Carole Raddato

It was originally built in 3 BC on the Via Domitia, an important Roman road that connected Italy and Spain through the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. (Gallia Narbonensis encompassed Roussillon, Languedoc, and Provence in southern France). The stone bridge replaced an older bridge built of wood and stone. It was probably destroyed by the torrential  waters of the river. Only a few blocks at the base at the based of the piles remain from that period as well as some gashes in the rock.

The Pont Julien, Bonnieux
© Carole Raddato

With its three large arches (16.2 metres for the central arch, one of the biggest preserved from Gaul) its piles with holes and its roadway higher above the water, the new bridge provided a better drainage and a safer passage. The Pont Julien is perfectly preserved and remained in use until a neighboring bridge was built in 2005. However, it is now reserved for pedestrians and cyclists only.

The Pont Julien, Bonnieux
© Carole Raddato

≈ The Pont romain de Viviers

The Pont romain de Viviers crosses the Escoutay River on the right bank of the Rhône near the town of Viviers in Ardèche. It was built in the 2nd or 3rd century AD on the road that linked the ancient city of Vivarium to Alba Helviorum (modern-day Alba-la-Romaine). The city of Viviers takes its name from its Latin name “vivarium”, meaning “fishpond”. This name was given to the Roman town because of the abundance of fish cruising the waterways around it.

Pont romain de Viviers
© Carole Raddato

With its eleven spans, the Viviers bridge is approximately 108 meters long and 4.50 meters wide. Deeply damaged by severe flooding it has been repeatedly repaired or partly rebuilt. Repairs are attested from the 16th century to the 20th century.

Pont romain de Viviers
© Carole Raddato

≈ The Pont Tibère

The Pont Tibère (Tiberius Bridge) is a Roman bridge crossing the Vidourle river in Sommières in the Gard department. It was built under the reign of Tiberius on the Via Luteva linking Nemausus (Nîmes) to Tolosa (Toulouse).

The Pont Tibère, Sommières
© Carole Raddato

It initially consisted of 17 arches, of which only 7 are now visible. It had a total length of 190 meters. During the Middle Ages, numerous arches were absorbed into the city’s structure. Today they serve as cellars.

The Pont Tibère, Sommières
© Carole Raddato

≈ The Pont Ambroix

The Pont Ambroix or Pont d’Ambrussum was a 1st-century BC Roman bridge which was part of the Via Domitia. The Ambroix Bridge is unquestionably the most spectacular ruin of Ambrussum, a Gallo-Roman archaeological site which has revealed an exceptional collection of buildings from the Gallic and Roman periods.

The Pont Ambroix, Ambrussum
© Carole Raddato

The Pont Ambroix is an impressive work of engineering, which allowed the Via Domitia to cross the Vidourle River. It is thought to have had 11 arches and to have been over 175 meters in length. Unfortunately, the ravages of time and the numerous floods took out all but one arch. Two had stood as recently as 81 years ago — which are reflected in Gustave Courbet’s famous 1857 painting of the bridge — but a violent flood in 1933 left only one arch standing.

The Pont Ambroix, Ambrussum
© Carole Raddato

≈ The Pont romain de Vaison-la-Romaine

One of the best examples of Roman bridge-building skill is still standing to this day in Vaison-la-Romaine. The Roman bridge — built in the first century BC — spans the Ouvèze River, linking the lower part of the city to the upper medieval part of town. The bridge is unique due to its semicircular 17 meters arch. The bridge has been in continuous use since it was built and has already survived a direct bomb hit in World War II, as well as an attempt by the Germans to blow it up. It has also survived a devastating flood, which caused great damage on September 22, 1992.

Roman bridge of Vasio Vocontiorum, Vaison-la-Romaine
© Carole Raddato

Related posts:

10 Must-See Ancient Sites in Provence, France (written for Ancient History Encyclopedia)

Looking for Roman bridges in Lusitania (Portugal)

A magnificent bronze statue of Hadrian, now on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, was found by chance by an American tourist in Tel Shalem (Beth Shean Valley, Israel) on 25th July 1975 while searching for ancient coins with a metal detector. Tel Shalem was once occupied by a detachment of the Sixth Roman Legion (Legio VI Ferrata). The 50 fragments of this statue were found in a building which stood at the center of the camp, perhaps in the principia (the headquarters tent or building).

Bronze statue of Hadrian, found at the Camp of the Sixth Roman Legion in Tel Shalem, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
© Carole Raddato

This remarkable statue was apparently used for the ritual worship of the emperor. Evidence suggests that it may have been erected in AD 132-133 to commemorate Hadrian’s personal involvement in suppressing the Bar Kokhba revolt or that it may have been set up in AD 135 to celebrate the conclusion of Hadrian’s reorganisation of Judaea into a new province named Syria-Palestina.

The statue probably portrays Hadrian in the pose of the supreme military commander greeting his troops (adlocutio) or as a conqueror stepping on a defeated enemy (a head of a youth was found next to the statue), though it’s far from certain that the head and the cuirass originally belong together.  Nevertheless, the Jerusalem bust is one of the finest bronze portraits to survive from antiquity. Only a few of this type of statues have been preserved in bronze, most of the surviving ones were made of marble. Hence the importance of this statue, which is further enhanced by its high quality of execution.

The head, cast in one piece and found intact, is one of the finest extant portraits of the emperor and is of a type popular in the provinces; the Rollockenfrisur type. Probably cast in an imperial workshop in Rome, Greece or in Asia Minor, the statue features the standardized likeness of the emperor, down to the unique shape of his earlobe, a symptom of the heart disease that eventually caused his death.

Bronze statue of Hadrian, found at the Camp of the Sixth Roman Legion in Tel Shalem, detail of the head, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
© Carole Raddato

The cuirass is decorated with an enigmatic depiction of six nude warriors. It has been suggested that the scene depicts a duel between Aeneas, wearing a Phrygian cap, and Turnus, the king of the Rutuli. The scene may be seen as an allegory of the triumph of Hadrian over the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Bronze statue of Hadrian, found at the Camp of the Sixth Roman Legion in Tel Shalem, detail of breastplate depicting a mythological battle, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
© Carole Raddato

As is very common with cuirassed statue decoration, the torso wears a cingulum, a military belt wrapped around the waist and tied at the front in a elaborate knot (also commonly referred to as the Hercules’ knot). A paladumentum, or military cloak, falls over his shoulders.

Bronze statue of Hadrian, detail of the military belt (cingulum), found at the Camp of the Sixth Roman Legion in Tel Shalem, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
© Carole Raddato

About a year and a half after the discovery of the statue, a monumental inscription dedicated to Hadrian was discovered near the camp. The inscription had been part of a triumphal arch built in AD 136 in honour of the emperor. My next blog post will be about this arch, the largest ever found in Israel.

Sources:

• G. Foerster, A Cuirassed Statue of Hadrian, IMN 16 (1980) 107-110* G. Foerster, A Cuirassed Bronze Statue of Hadrian, Atiqot (English Version) 17 (1985), pp. 139-157
• RA Gergel, The Tel Shalem Hadrian Reconsidered , American Journal of Archaeology , Vol. 95, No. 2. (Apr., 1991), pp. 231-251
• The Israel Museum, Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2005 (museum link)

Bronze statue of Hadrian, found at the Camp of the Sixth Roman Legion in Tel Shalem, 117–138 AD, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
© Carole Raddato

With thousands of archaeological sites, Jerusalem is one of the most excavated cities on the planet and to walk its streets is to walk through thousand years of history. This ancient city has been fought over more than any other place. It has been conquered, destroyed and rebuilt many times and Hadrian played a significant role in Jerusalem’s physical development.

In AD 130, on his grand tour of the eastern part of the Roman Empire, Hadrian visited the devastated city of Jerusalem , accompanied by his young lover Antinous. He established a new city on the site of the old one which was left in ruins after the First Roman-Jewish War of 66–73.

The new city was to be named Colonia Aelia Capitolina.

Aelia is derived from the emperor’s family name (Aelius, from the gens Aelia), and Capitolina refers to the cult of the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno and Minerva).

Drawing of the reverse of a coin from Colonia Aelia Capitolina.
The reverse depicts Hadrian as founder ploughing with bull and cow the sulcus primigenius (aboriginal furrow) that established the colony’s pomerium (sacred boundary). The vexillum, or military standard, in the background represents the veteran status of the colony’s new inhabitants. The legend, COL[ONIA] AEL[IA] KAPIT[OLINA] COND[ITA], translates “The founding of Colonia Aelia Capitolina”.

The urban layout of Aelia Capitolina was that of a typical Roman town; an orthogonal plan with a square grid of streets set at right angles. It was a military colony, a traditional and official settlement of veterans of the Tenth Fretensis Legion which had been in Jerusalem since the First Jewish Revolt and probably other Roman troops.

The colony was established just north of the camp of the 10th Legion. Its major buildings were the Porta Neapolitana in the north (now the Damascus Gate), a Temple of Aphrodite, two forums and, according to Roman historian Cassio Dio, a Temple of Jupiter built on the site of the former Jewish temple, the Temple Mount.

” At Jerusalem Hadrian founded a city in place of the one which had been razed to the ground, naming it Aelia Capitolina, and on the site of the temple of the god he raised a new temple to Jupiter. This brought on a war of no slight importance nor of brief duration, for the Jews deemed it intolerable that foreign races should be settled in their city and foreign religious rites planted there.”

– Cassius Dio, Roman History, 69.12.

Reconstruction drawing showing known monuments of Aelia Capitolina
(the Eastern Cardo & Temple of Asclepius are missing) – Ritmeyer Archaeological Design

The 7th century Christian Chronicum Paschale lists several other buildings in Aelia Capitolina; two public baths, a theatre, a nymphaeum of four porticoes (perhaps the Pool of Siloam), a triple celled building (the Capitolium?), a monumental gate of twelve entrances (a circus?), and a quadrangular esplanade. However none of these buildings have been archaeologically located.

The Cardos

On the basis of Jerusalem’s depiction on the 6th century AD Madaba map (mosaic depicting the layout of Jerusalem, discovered in a Byzantine church in Madaba, Jordan), it is usually assumed that from the Damascus Gate in the north of the city (Porta Neapolitana) ran two wide colonnaded streets, the Western and Eastern cardos (Cardo Maximus & Lower Cardo). The Cardo Maximus is shown in the center of the mosaic with a pillared colonnade on both sides running south to the camp. Another smaller eastern street was connecting the north gate to the south part of the city, passing between the temple mount and the upper city and reaching the Dung Gate. It is indicated by a single line of columns crossing the top side of Jerusalem.

Reproduction of the 6th century AD map of Aelia Capitolina

Paved and lined with columns, the Cardo Maximus was the main road that ran through the Roman and Byzantine city and also served as the center for the local economy.

Artist’s reconstruction of life in a Western Cardo of Jerusalem during the Aelia Capitolina period

Major sections of this 1900-year-old street have been excavated and are reused in today’s Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. The entire roadway was originally 22 meter wide (40 feet) while the road itself was 5 meter wide (16 feet) with colonnaded and covered passageways on both sides to protect pedestrians from traffic and the heat of the sun. Shops lined the colonnades in its southwestern section.

Reconstructed southern section of the Cardo Maximus of Aelia Capitolina
© Carole Raddato

Reconstructed section of the Cardo Maximus of Aelia Capitolina
© Carole Raddato

The excavation of the Western Cardo by Professor Nahman Avigad of the Hebrew University began in 1975 and lasted two years. A 200 m long section of the cardo was exposed 4 meter below the present street level.  Today visitors can get a good idea of how the cardo looked like just beyond the entrance to the Jewish Quarter where two sections of the main street have been reconstructed. While some of the column bases were found in situ, most of the architectural features were reused in later structures that lined the cardo.

Reconstructed southern section of the Cardo Maximus of Aelia Capitolina with the wooden roof planks
© Carole Raddato

However the Hadrianic Western Cardo did not stretch this far south until centuries later. This portion dates to the time of Emperor Justinian. During the 6th century AD the city became an important Christian center with a rapidly growing population. The southern section was built to link the cardo to the two main churches of Byzantine Jerusalem, the Holy Sepulcher and the Nea Church.

Artist’s reconstruction of life in a Eastern Cardo of Jerusalem during the Aelia Capitolina period

Recent archaeological excavations in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City have exposed several sections of the Eastern Cardo. Beneath the level of the Western Wall Plaza, at a depth of 5–6 meters, archeologists discovered the remains of a wide paved and colonnaded street, complete with shops on each side (much like the Western Cardo).  An Hadrianic date for the construction of the cardo was determined based on the finds discovered just beneath the paving stones. On the basis of these finds, archaeologists now suggest that the Roman city was planned and its main thoroughfares paved in the early years of Hadrian’s reign, about a decade before his visit to the East. (Source)

Excavation site in the Western Wall plaza where the remains of the Eastern Cardo was discovered
“Cotell2″ by Zivya – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons -

The Northern Gate, Porta Neapolitana

Underneath the Damascus Gate (built in the 16th century AD under the rule of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent), remains of a gate dating to the time of Hadrian have been discovered and excavated. This gate features on the Madaba Map, which shows an open square with a column inside the gate.

Reproduction of the Madaba Map showing the Northern Gate of Aelia Capitolina, the broad plaza and the column supporting the statue of Hadrian

This impressive Hadrianic gateway, built with Herodian stones, consisted of a large arched passageway – situated beneath the opening of today’s Damascus Gate – flanked by two smaller, lower arches. It was protected on both sides by two guard towers. However, by the time the Madaba Map was made, the side passageways were blocked and only the central one was still in use. In front of the gate was a broad plaza, in the center of which stood a column supporting a statue of Hadrian at its top. Only the eastern entrance of the gate with its flanking tower has survived which can be seen below the modern raised walkway entering the Damascus Gate. The Roman gate of Aelia Capitolina has been restored and opened to the public; upon descending below the bridge leading to the Ottoman Damascus Gate, one can enter once again through this early gate into the city.

The eastern arch of the Northern Gate of Aelia Capitolina beneath the Damascus Gate, built in 135 AD
© Carole Raddato

One stone, just above the lintel of the arch, bears a battered Latin inscription with the city’s name under Roman rule, Aelia Capitolina. The end of the inscription reads, “.. by the decree of the decurions of Aelia Capitolina.”  The corridor beyond the surviving arch leads to the interior of the eastern gate tower. The tower has been preserved in its full height (12 meters) and only its ceiling is a later addition.

Inside the Hadrianic gate, a paved open area corresponding to the oval plaza we see on the Madaba Map is still preserved, from which the two main streets led down to two forums. A similar circular space is preserved at Gerasa (modern Jerash in Jordan), one of the Decapolis cities which, like Jerusalem, was rebuilt by Hadrian.

Paved open area preserved under the Damascus Gate
© Carole Raddato

Roman soldiers’ game carved into the pavement under the Damascus Gate
© Carole Raddato

The original staircase that leads to the top of the tower is preserved to its original form and leads today to the Wall Walk.

The Damascus Gate built over the remains of the Hadrianic gate
© Carole Raddato

The Triumphal Arch

Built in the style of a triumphal arch, the so-called Ecce Homo Arch, located near to the eastern end of the Via Dolorosa, is the central span of what was originally a triple-arched gateway. It was similar in purpose to the Arch of Titus in Rome commemorating the AD 70 victory over the Jews.

The Ecce Homo arch, a triple-arched gateway, built by Hadrian, as an entrance to the eastern Forum of Aelia Capitolina
© Carole Raddato

The central arch was flanked by two smaller arches, one of which can still be seen inside the Ecce Homo Church. The second small arch was incorporated in the 16th century into a Uzbek dervishes monastery on the other side of the Via Dolorosa street, but this was later demolished, taking the arch with it.

The so-called Ecce Homo arch, a triple-arched gateway, built by Hadrian as the entrance to the eastern Forum of Aelia Capitolina
© Carole Raddato

Traditionally, the arch was said to have been part of the gate of Herod’s Antonia Fortress, which itself was alleged to be the location of Jesus’ trial by Pontius Pilate. However, since the late 1970’s, archaeologists have established that the arch was a triple-arched gateway built by Hadrian. It served as the eastern entrance of the Forum of Aelia Capitolina located to the west of the main north-south cardo.

The Ecce Homo arch, a triple-arched gateway, built by Hadrian, as an entrance to the eastern Forum of Aelia Capitolina
© Carole Raddato

The Forum

Hadrian established two forums in Aelia Capitolina, one north of the Temple Mount and the other on the western side of the city. Both were large, open, paved spaces surrounded by temples and public buildings. Only the northern forum has been located with certainty. At the start of the 20th century, the French religious-archaeologist Father Louis-Hugues Vincent discovered a large expanse of ancient pavement immediately beneath the Convent of the Sisters of Zion. He declared that it was the “lithostrotos” of John’s gospel (the location of Pontius Pilate’s judgment of Jesus). Archaeology has proven conclusively that the pavement was associated to the arch and was part of the Hadrianic forum.

The flagstone pavement of Hadrian’s forum, thought to have been the “lithostrotos” of of John’s gospel
© Carole Raddato

The site of the forum had previously been a large open-air pool of water called the Struthion Pool. It was built in 1st century BC next to the Antonia Fortress, a military barracks built around BC 19 by Herod the Great. The Herodian pool was laying in the path of the northern decumanus, so Hadrian added arch vaulting to enable the pavement to be placed over it. Beneath the paving is a large cuboid cistern which gathered the rainwater from guttering on the Forum buildings.

The paving of Hadrian’s forum, thought to have been the “lithostrotos” of of John’s gospel
© Carole Raddato

The Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus on Temple Mount

At the excavation site in the Western Wall plaza, archeologists also uncovered two small streets that ran perpendicularly and led east from the cardo toward the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. This discovery may indicate that, during the early 2nd century AD, the Temple Mount area had something important standing in the place where the destroyed Second Temple once stood. Some scholars have proposed that there was once a temple – to Jupiter Capitolinus or some other Roman deity or combination of deities – that was built at the site of the Second Temple after Jerusalem had been transformed into a pagan city. In addition to Dio Cassius, other written sources implied that such was the case, but little archaeological evidence had ever been recovered to confirm or support this claim until the discoveries of these two small streets.

In AD 333, the “Bordeaux Pilgrim” mentioned that he saw two statues of Hadrian near the temple mount and that there was a building over the place of the Jewish Temple.

“There are two statues of Hadrian, and not far from the statues there is a perforated stone, to which the Jews come every year and anoint it, bewail themselves with groans, rend their garments, and so depart.”

– The Bordeaux Pilgrim, Itinerary 7a

However it has been thought that the pilgrim may have mistaken the statue of Antoninus Pius with that of Hadrian. This can be revealed by an inscription which today appears upside-down on the wall above the Double Gate located on the southern Temple Mount Wall. This inscription,  reused by later Islamic builders, could have been engraved upon the pedestal of Antoninus Pius’ equestrian statue.

Upside down inscription is from the Roman statue of Emperor Antoninus Pius that the Bordeaux Pilgrim recorded seeing when he was on the Temple Mount in 333 AD
© Carole Raddato

Shown rightside-up, the inscription reads:

The Antoninus Pius inscripion shown rightside-up
© Carole Raddato

“To Titus Aelius Hadrianus
Antoninus Augustus Pius
The father of the fatherland, pontifex, augur
Decreed by the Decurions”

Double Gate located on the southern Temple Mount Wall
© Carole Raddato

In AD 398, Saint Jerome‘s commentary on Matthew mentioned that an equestrian statue of the Emperor Hadrian was still standing directly over the site of the Holy of the Holies, then consecrated to Jupiter Capitolinus.

“So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation: or to the statue of the mounted Hadrian, which stands to this very day on the site of the Holy of Holies.“

– Jerome, Commentaries on Isaiah 2.8: Matthew 24.15

Therefore it is reasonable to assume that there was an equestrian statue on the Temple Mount. These statues were probably destroyed by the Byzantine Christians after AD 333, the Jews in AD 614 or the Muslims in AD 638. This reused block (spolia) is the only part of the two statues found so far.

If a temple of Jupiter Capitolinus existed on Temple Mount, it is probable that the new sacred precinct had similar enclosures to that of the Temple of Jupiter that Hadrian built at Heliopolis (Baalbek). It is a theory put forth by the Tel Aviv architect Tuvia Sagiv, who has noted the striking similarity in both design and scale between the temple complex of Jupiter in Baalbek and the present arrangement of Islamic buildings on Temple Mount.

The standard pattern for such temples, as seen in the image above, was an entry through a propylon and an octagonal portico, a plaza with an altar, and the temple proper. Sagiv argues that when the architecture of the temple complex of Jupiter in Baalbek is overlaid on the Temple Mount, it matches the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock exactly (see the overlaid image here).

If Tuvia Sagiv is correct, then the Dome of the Rock is not the actual site of the Jewish temple. He suggests the Dome of the Rock was built upon the remains of the temple built by Hadrian (read more here).

The Temple of Asclepius & Serapis

In digs conducted in 1964 near the Church of Saint Anne, archaeologists discovered the remains of Hadrian’s Temple of Asclepius – the god of healing – and Serapis. Between 150 BC and 70 AD, a popular healing center developed on the site of the Pool of Bethesda, the water reservoirs that supplied water to the temple mount in the 3rd century AD. A water cistern, baths and grottoes were arranged for medicinal or religious purposes. In the mid 1st century AD, Herod Agrippa built a popular healing center, the asclepeion.

Excavations at the Pool of Bethesda showing the ruins of the Temple of Serapis with a column from an early Christian church (next to St Anne’s Church)
© Carole Raddato

When Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as Aelia Capitolina, he expanded the asclepeion into a large temple to Asclepius and Serapis. Several votive offerings were discovered at the site of the temple including a small edicule with snake – the symbol of Asclepius – and wheat ears, a statuette representing a woman getting ready for bathing as well as a Roman coin minted in Aelia Capitolina figuring the god Serapis.

Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Laureate head of Antoninus Pius right / Draped bust of Serapis right, wearing modius

Marcus Aurelius, with Commodus. AD 161-180. Confronted busts of Marcus and Commodus, each laureate, draped, and cuirassed / Draped bust of Serapis right, wearing modius.

In the Byzantine era, the asclepeion was converted into a church.

Ruins of the Temple of Serapis with a column from an early Christian church (next to St Anne Church)
© Carole Raddato

The Temple of Aphrodite

At the junction of the Cardo Maximus with the Decumanus of Aelia, Hadrian’s architects laid out a vast forum (which is now the location of the Muristan). A sacred precinct was built adjacent to this forum in the area now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the purported tomb of Jesus and Calvary itself. According to Eusebius, Hadrian built a temple dedicated to the Roman goddess Venus in order to bury the cave in which Jesus had been buried.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre built over the Hadrianic Temple of Aphrodite
© Jorge Láscar

The sources give conflicting reports but it seems the honoured god of the pagan sanctuary was Hadrian’s own family deity Aphrodite, a goddess also sacred to the occupying 10th legion: the emblem on its Vexillum standard was the Taurus, the zodiacal sign for April, the time of year when the legend was founded and auspicious to Aphrodite. The Hadrianic temple was  completely destroyed by the Emperor Constantine the Great 180 years later. He ordered that the temple be replaced by a church.

The Hadrianic temple was surrounded by a temenos (a sanctified area, marked by a protective wall) with a main entrance on the Cardo Maximus. In the 1970s, in the Chapel of Saint Vartan deep beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, archaeologists discovered part of the original ground level and the protective walls of Hadrian’s temple enclosure (see image here). One of these walls has a stone etched with a merchant ship and an inscription “DOMINE IVIMVS” which translates “Lord, we shall go” (see image here). It is estimated that this stone dates from before the completion of the Byzantine church. It seems to indicate that the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was regarded as the authentic Golgotha even when a pagan temple stood there.

Coins minted in Aelia Capitolina

City coins were issued from the time of Hadrian to that of Valerianus (260) but are especially plentiful from the times of Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, Eleagabalus, and Trajan Decius. The 206 coin types depict the many gods worshiped in Aelia Capitolina: Serapis, Tyche, Dionysus, the Dioscuri, Roma, Ares, Nemesis are all to be found in addition to the Capitoline triad.

Antoninus Pius. AD 138-161. Laureate, draped, and cuirassed bust right / The Dioscuri standing facing, each holding spear.

Aelia was a quiet provincial city but great events such the imperial visit of Septimius Severus in 201 also took place. It was commemorated by an inscription discovered near the Western Wall. On this occasion the colony received the honorary title “Commodiana Pia Felix”, appearing for the first time on the coins of Geta.

Elagabalus coin bearing the new name of the city Aelia Capitolina Commodiana Pia Felix COL AEL CAP COM P F on the reverse with bust of Serapis wearing modius

Epigraphic evidence

As recently as two weeks ago, on Wednesday 22nd October (the day I arrived in Jerusalem), a rare find of historical significance was unveiled and displayed to the public by the Israel Antiquities Authority: large slab of limestone engraved with an official Latin inscription dedicated to Hadrian.

Photo of the Latin inscription set against the Rockefeller Museum, seat of the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem
© Carole Raddato

The fragmented stone, roughly a meter wide, with Latin text inscribed in six lines, might have been part of a monumental arch dedicated Hadrian in 130 in honor of his imperial visit. Researchers believe this is among the most important Latin inscriptions ever discovered in Jerusalem and may shed light on the timeline of Jerusalem’s reconstruction.

Latin inscription dedicated to Hadrian found in Jerusalem, it was incorporated in secondary use around the opening of a deep cistern
© Carole Raddato

Their analysis revealed that this inscription is the right half of an inscription discovered nearby in the late 19th century by the French archaeologist Charles Clermont-Ganneau. The two slabs are currently on display in the courtyard of Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Museum.

Two fragments of the imperial inscription dedicated to Hadrian, on display in the courtyard of Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Museum, Jerusalem
© Carole Raddato

Putting the slabs together, the complete inscription reads:

 ”To the Imperator Caesar Traianus Hadrianus Augustus, son of the deified Traianus Parthicus, grandson of the deified Nerva, high priest, invested with the tribunician power for the 14th time, consul for the third time, father of the country [dedicated by] the 10th legion Fretensis (second hand) Antoniniana”

The new part of the inscription provides confirmation that the Tenth Legion was in Jerusalem during the period between the two revolts, the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70 and the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Tile fragment with a stamp of the Tenth Legion, “LG X F”, and its symbol, a wild boar and a battleship, found in Jerusalem, 1st-2nd century AD, Israel Museum
© Carole Raddato

The inscription may also help researchers to understand the historical factors that led to the Bar Kokhba revolt. Did the construction of Aelia Capitolina and the building of a pagan temple on the site of the Jewish Temple Mount lead to the revolt? Or did these two events were putative measures Hadrian took against Jerusalem in the aftermath of the revolt?

During the reign of Constantine the Great, in the fourth century AD, Jerusalem became an important Christian city. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built on the site of the Temple of Aphrodite and the Basilica of Holy Zion at the south of the Western Hill.
Two and a half centuries later, Justinian built the massive Nea Church and extended the Roman Cardo further south. The Temple Mount was left in ruins.

Reconstruction drawing of Byzantine Aelia Capitolina – Ritmeyer Archaeological Design

Sources:

• The Archaeology of the Holy Land: From the Destruction of Solomon’s Temple by Jodi Magness (Cambridge University Press 2012)
• Keys to Jerusalem: Collected Essays By Jerome Murphy-O’Connor (Oxford Univ Pr 2012)
  
• The Foundation of Aelia Capitolina in Light of New Excavations along the Eastern Cardo by Shlomit Wekshler-Bdolah, Israel Antiquities Authority (2014 Israel Exploration Society)
• The location of the Temple on the Temple Mount based on the Aqueduct and rock levels at Mount Moriah in Jerusalem by Tuvia Sagiv (2008) (Read online)
• A Rare 2,000 Year Old Commemorative Inscription Dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian was Uncovered in Jerusalem (october 2014) published by the Israel Antiquities Authority
• The Coinage of Aelia Capitolina, Ancient Numismatic Mythology
• Archaeological researches in Palestine during the years 1873-1874 by Charles Clermont-Ganneau Vol. 1 (Published 1896 by Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund in London) (Read online)

Here I am in front of the Latin inscription dedicated to Hadrian reveiled in Jerusalem on Wednesday 22th October 2014
© Carole Raddato

An over life-size Parian marble statue of Antinous restored as Ganymede can be admired at the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight on the Wirral (near Liverpool, UK).

Antinous, c. AD 130-138, restored c. 1795 as Ganymede, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
© Carole Raddato

Rediscovered in the late 18^th century during a revival of interest for the Classical World, the statue of Antinous was purchased in Italy in 1796 by Thomas Hope, a Dutch and British art collector, on his extensive Grand Tour through Europe, Egypt and Turkey. Thomas Hope shipped it to England to his London residence on Duchess Street where it was displayed between 1804 and 1849 alongside many other classical antique sculptures. After Hope’s death in 1831, the statue was moved to the family’s country residence in Surrey where it stood until the beginning of the 20th century. The statue was eventually bought at an auction in 1917 by the philanthropist and famous soap manufacturer Lord Leverhulme, who founded and built the Lady Lever Art Gallery.

‘The Statue Gallery’, Duchess Street, Plate 1, ‘Household Furniture & Interior Decoration’, by Thomas Hope, London, 1807. NAL Pressmark 57.Q.1

Prior to its transfer to England, the Antinous statue had been restored in Rome by the Papal sculptor Giovanni Pierantoni (who also restored the Braschi Antinous) between 1794 and 1796 and was said to had been found in Roma Vecchia (“Old Rome”). The statue was in fragmentary condition when it arrived in Pierantoni’s workshop; the lower left leg and the lower parts of both arms were missing. Pierantoni restored the missing limbs and added the cup in the right hand and the jug in the left, turning the figure into Ganymede, a young Trojan prince who was carried off to Olympus by Zeus to be his lover and cup-bearer of the gods. Both Antinous and Ganymede are legendary for their beauty and their roles as younger partners in a homoerotic relationship.

Antinous, c. AD 130-138, restored c. 1795 as Ganymede, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
© Carole Raddato

Antinous, c. AD 130-138, restored c. 1795 as Ganymede, detail of the added jug, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
© Carole Raddato

In the 18th century, it was common practice to add iconographical attributes to newly discovered ancient sculptures, as was allegorical portraiture (a living person depicted as a Greco-Roman god/goddess or other mythological figure) in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Antinous himself had been represented in many different divine and mythological guises such as Dionysus, Osiris, Apollo or as Silvanus.

Antinous, c. AD 130-138, restored c. 1795 as Ganymede, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
© Carole Raddato

Antinous, c. AD 130-138, restored c. 1795 as Ganymede, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
© Carole Raddato

Antinous, c. AD 130-138, restored c. 1795 as Ganymede, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
© Carole Raddato

Around 100 portraits have been identified as Antinous, more than of any other figure from antiquity apart from Augustus and Hadrian himself. Images of Antinous were everywhere; on cameos, oil-lamps and bowls as well as colossal statues, busts and reliefs, while more than 30 provincial cities issued coinage stamped with his name and image. Nearly 2000 years later, Antinous’ beauty can still be admired in most classical collection of antiquities throughout the world.

The Lady Lever Gallery, Port Sunlight
© Carole Raddato

Antinous, c. AD 130-138, restored c. 1795 as Ganymede, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight
© Carole Raddato

Sources and references:

• The myth of return: restoration as reception in eighteenth-century Rome by Jessica Hughes (pdf)
  
• Sculpting Antinous by Bryan E. Burns (pdf)

Last weekend I travelled to Toulouse to visit the fabulous exhibition on Roman frescoes being held at the Musée Saint-Raymond. The exhibition entitled ‘L’Empire de la couleur – De Pompéi au sud des Gaules’ (which translates as ‘Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul’) opened last November and runs through March 2015.

‘Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul’ exhibition poster

The majority of Roman frescoes were found in Campania, in the region around the Bay of Naples. It is there that Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, burying much of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and nearby villas. The ash, lapilli, and mud that seeped into the houses acted as a preservative for wall paintings, but also for many households and decorative objects, as well as organic materials. Most of the paintings were detached from the houses of Pompeii and the surrounding area between the mid-eighteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. They represent an exceptional insight into the development of Roman painting from the Late Republic to the Empire.

This major exhibition, for the first time in France, is showcasing 79 works of art including fragments of painted walls from Italy and Southern Gaul, some of which were exceptionally lifted or restored for the occasion. Thanks to exceptional loans from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, the Musée du Louvre and the museum of Saint-Romain-en-Gal (Rhône) among others, the exhibition aims to show the evolution of Roman painting in Southern Gaul by bringing them face to face with Italians “models”, particularly from the perspective of assimilation and interpretation of the four Pompeian styles.

Overview of the exhibition ‘Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul’, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
© Carole Raddato

Elaborate wall frescoes provided elite Roman citizens with an opportunity for conspicuous displays of affluence and social status. Roman paintings were often done in the fresco technique as was described by Vitruvius (De Architectura) and Pliny The Elder (Naturalis Historia). First, a layer of rough coating was applied on the support, a mortar composed of hydrated lime and coarse sand. A second layer consisting of hydrated lime and well-filtered fine sand was added and finally a third layer made of pigments and pure water was applied in several coatings with a brush to give a smoother finish. Colours were added when the surface was still wet.

The exhibition opens with the work of two restorers, Aude Aussilloux and Maud Mulliez, who worked for seven months to recreate a mural fresco decoration using the same techniques that would have been used in ancient times. They made ​​their own brushes and tools and used non-synthetic pigments. 

Replica of wall fresco from Vienna, recreated by two restorers using the same techniques used in ancient times
‘Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul’, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
© Carole Raddato

You can watch a video of the restorers at work here. It’s really impressive!

The two panels are two sections of a wall that decorated the peristylum (peristyle, inner courtyard surrounded by columns) of a Roman domus in Vienna. The images below show the original fresco fragments, on display at the Musée gallo-romain de Saint-Romain-en-Gal (Rhône, France).

The four “Pompeian” styles of painted wall decoration which appear throughout Italy and the Roman world were identified by August Mau, a prominent German art historian and archaeologist, in the late nineteenth century. This division was based on fundamental differences in the way the artist treated the wall and painted space. The first two styles began in the Republican period, and were outgrowths of Greek wall paintings, while the Third and Fourth styles are found in imperial times. This piece features a selection of several paintings from the exhibition for each of the Pompeian styles.

The First Pompeian Style

The first Pompeian style, or “Incrustation Style” (ca. 200–60 BC), consisted mainly of imitations of colored marble. Plaster was molded and painted to look like blocks or panels of colored stones. The First Style originated in the Hellenistic world in the late fourth century BC and was used in Roman homes in the last two centuries of the Republic. There is almost nothing left of the masterpieces of Greek painting but one painted wall panel dating to the 2nd century BC was found in the so-called House of the Plaster, in the Macedonian’s capital of Pella. In Pompeii, significant examples of this fist Pompeian style are found in the House of Sallust and in the House of the Faun.

The first style is hardly present in Gaul. This is not surprising since this old style gave way to a more fashionable and stylish type of frescoes. Only a few stucco fragments have been found at Île Sainte-Marguerite near Cannes which can be seen at the exhibition.

Fresco fragment from Sainte-Marguerite of the first Pompeian Style
‘Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul’, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Musée de la Castre, Cannes

The Second Pompeian Style

The Second Pompeian style, or “Architectural Style”, began in Rome in the early years of the first century and was first seen in Pompeii shortly after 80 BC. This period saw a focus on architectural features and trompe-l’oeil compositions. The Second Pompeian style developed out of the First Style but the whole scheme changed in that three-dimensional objects, principally architectural features, were painted realistically rather than modeled in plaster. Some of the most famous examples of frescoes in the Second Style come from the villas at Boscoreale near Pompeii and particularly from the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor. Four panels from this lavish villa are exceptionally reunited in this exhibition, together with a model of the villa and computer reconstructions. They provide a great setting for these various frescoes which are now sitting in eight different museums throughout Europe and the US.

Wall panels from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, 40–30 BC
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
© Carole Raddato

Detail of fresco wall painting with garland of fruits and leaves, from the exedra of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, 40–30 BC
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France
© Carole Raddato

Detail of fresco wall painting with garland of fruits, leaves and sacrificial bull’s head (bucrania), from the exedra of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, 40–30 BC
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Musée de Picardie, Amiens, France
© Carole Raddato

Computer reconstruction of the Villa at Boscoreale undertaken for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. View of room C, the entry to the villa, facing south into the entry courtyard.
© James Stanton-Abbott

Fresco depicting a winged genius holding a patera (sacrificial dish), from the north wall of the peristyle of Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale, 40–30 BC
Empire of colour. From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Louvre, Paris
© Carole Raddato

Alongside the frescoes from Boscoreale, the exhibition brings a number of fresco panels from a sumptuous Gallo-Roman domus which has been excavated on the plateau of La Sioutat, near the village of Roquelaure (Gers). The domus goes back at least to the time of Augustus and has produced polychrome frescoes in a the Second Pompeian Style. These have been restored and are on loan from the Musée des Jacobins of Auch.

Fresco depicting Bacchus, discovered at the Villa de Roquelaure, dating to around 20 BC
Empire of colour- From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Musée des Jacobins d’Auch
© Carole Raddato

Fresco in Second Pompeian style with decoration of architectural type on a red background, discovered at the Villa de Roquelaure, dating to around 20 BC
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Musée des Jacobins d’Auch
© Carole Raddato

The Third Pompeian Style

The Third Style, or “Ornate Style,”, which coincided with Augustus’ reign, came about in the early 1st century AD and was popular until about 50 AD. Instead of trying to create the illusion of the wall as a window that opened onto a landscape, the Third Style favored ornate and colorful decoration painted on monochrome backgrounds. It often presented great finesse in execution and was typically noted as simplistically elegant. The wall was frequently divided into three to five vertical zones by narrow, spindly columns and decorated with painted foliage, candelabra, birds, animals, and figurines. The Third Style also saw the introduction of Egyptian themes and imagery, including scenes  of the Nile as well as Egyptian deities and motifs.

Well-known examples from this era include a series of beautifully intricate paintings from the Boscotrecase villa built by Agrippa, friend of Emperor Augustus and husband of his daughter Julia. The exhibition brings one panel from the so-called Black Room at Boscotrecase.

Fragment of fresco in the Third Pompeian Style, from the “Black Room” of the Imperial Villa at Boscotrecase, last decade of 1st century BC
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from National Archaeological Museum of Naples
© Carole Raddato

The Third style was introduced early in Southern Gaul, probably on the occasion of Augustus’ visit to Lugdunum (Lyon) between 16 and 13 BC. Wall panels from this style have been discovered in Perigueux, Aix-en-Provence and Perpignan. The decors became more sober and tended to produce decoration without depth set in monochrome backgrounds.

Reproduction of a wall from a domus in Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence)
© R. Nunes Pedroso et A.-S. Leclerc

Fresco fragment in the Third Pompeian Style with trompe-l’oeil architetural composition, from the Oppidum of Ruscino in Perpignan
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Ruscino (Château-Roussillon, Pyrénées-Orientales)
© Carole Raddato

Fresco fragment in the Third Pompeian Style with omphalos, from the Oppidum of Ruscino in Perpignan, Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Ruscino (Château-Roussillon, Pyrénées-Orientales)
© Carole Raddato

The Fourth Pompeian Style

The Fourth Pompeian Style, or “Intricate Style”, saw a resurgence in architectural scenes, although without the illusionary depth that characterized the second style. It became popular in the mid-first century AD and was seen in Pompeii until the city’s destruction in 79 AD. It also incorporated central panel pictures with mythological episodes, landscapes, scenes of daily life and still life images which appear in numerous paintings in the exhibition. Some of the best examples of Fourth Style painting come from the House of the Vettii which can also be visited in Pompeii and Herculaneum today.

Fresco in the Fourth Pompeian Style with portraits set in medallions with blue background, from the exedra of the House of the Mosaic Atrium, 50-79 AD
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from National Archaeological Museum of Naples
© Carole Raddato

Fresco in the Fourth Pompeian Style depicting Mars and Venus with on a blue background, from Herculaneum, 50-79 AD
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from National Archaeological Museum of Naples
© Carole Raddato

Fresco fragment depicting Urania, from the House of Julia Felix in Pompeii, 62-79 AD
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Louvre, Paris
© Carole Raddato

Fresco in the Fourth Pompeian Style depicting the personification of the Sarnus river with two Nymphs, from a wall in the House of the Vestals at Pompeii, 50-79 AD
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Louvre, Paris
© Carole Raddato

Still life fresco in the Fourth Pompeian Style depicting three hanging birds, from Pompeii, 50-79 AD
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from National Archaeological Museum of Naples
© Carole Raddato

Fresco in the Fourth Pompeian Syle from Pompeii or Herculaneum, 62-79 AD
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Louvre, Paris
© Carole Raddato

Outside Pompeii and Herculaneum, the Fourth Style was used in Roman Wall Painting until the first years after 100 AD. The most important post-Pompeian wall painting evidence for the Fourth Style comes from Ostia Antica and Ephesus, where the trend carried on into Late Antiquity.

Painting in Gaul during the Flavian period was an original provincial creation. With the exception of Narbonne, no Gallic site has produced examples of Fourth Pompeian Style frescoes. Instead, the wall paintings created in Gaul from the second-half of the first century are developments of the third style and regional schools rapidly developed. The exhibition brings numerous fresco fragments which show these developments.

Fresco fragment with cantharus from Vienna (Vienne), 2nd half of 1st century AD
Empire of colour – From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Gallo-Roman Museum of Saint-Romain-en-Gal
© Carole Raddato

One of the fresco panels exhibited from Orange depicts a candelabra and two swans. The swans, the birds of Apollo, patron god of Augustus, may symbolize Augustus’s victory over Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Swans also appears as decorations on public imperial monuments erected at this time, such as the monumental Altar of Peace (Ara Pacis) in Rome.

Fresco fragment in the Third Pompeian Style with candelabra and two swans, from the cubiculum of the Roman Domus in Arausio (Orange), 2nd half of 1st century AD
Empire of colour. From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Museum of Art and History of Orange
© Carole Raddato

Another fresco fragment from Aix-en-Provence (Aquae Sextiae) depicts a candelabra holding a tragic theatre mask.

Fresco fragment in the Third Pompeian Sytle with candelabra on blue background and theatre mask, from a domus in Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence), ca. 50-70 AD
Empire of colour. From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Mairie d’Aix-en-Provence, Archéologie
© Carole Raddato

Post Pompeian Paintings

Mau’s categorization goes as far as Pompeii. But what about Roman painting after 79 AD? The Romans did continue to paint their homes and monumental architecture and the artists of this era adapted some of the earlier styles. During this time we see a development in ceiling and vault paintings as they became more luxurious. Ornamental motifs became richer in color and had more detail.

Fresco fragment depicting a feline on the edge of a cornice, from Nemausus (Nimes), 2nd century AD
Empire of colour. From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Nîmes Archaeology Museum
© Carole Raddato

Fresco fragment with a gladiatorial scene (munus gladiatorium), from the Forum of Vesunna (Périgueux), 2nd century AD
Empire of colour. From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Vesunna Gallo-Roman Museum, Périgueux
© Carole Raddato

Fresco depicting a menead carrying a thyrsus, from a ceiling of a domus in Colonia Narbo Martius (Narbonne), end of 1st century AD
Empire of colour. From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Narbonne Archaeological Museum
© Carole Raddato

Fresco fragment with vegetal motifs on write background, from the Gallo-Roman Villa Grassi in Aquae Sextiae (Aix-en-Provence), 2nd century AD
Empire of colour. From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Mairie d’Aix-en-Provence, Archéologie
© Carole Raddato

Fresco fragment with mask and Tympanum (tambourine) on red background, from Narbonne, 2nd century AD
Empire of colour. From Pompeii to Southern Gaul, Musée Saint-Raymond Toulouse
On loan from Narbonne Archaeological Museum
© Carole Raddato

Exhibition catalogue

The museum Saint-Raymond has produced a wonderful and richly illustrated exhibition catalogue (in French). You can order it online here.

The museum is among the best and richest archaeological museums in France. One can discover the Roman town of Tolosa, the sculptures of the villa Chiragan and the remains of a necropolis from late antiquity. Its collection, spread over three floors, gives a fascinating glimpse of the history of Toulouse and its area. The museum houses a great gallery of marble statues. Since the first excavation of the villa of Chiragan, in 1826, dozens of Roman marble portraits were unearthed. Today they form one of the most important collections in Europe and the second in France, after the Louvre’s collection.

MSR, Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse
© Carole Raddato

MSR, Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse
© Carole Raddato

FURTHER INFORMATION
Opening hours: The museum is open every day from 10am till 6pm.
Admission rates: 4 € fee (permanent collection) / 8 € fee (with exhibition).
Free for students, teachers at the Fine Arts School of Toulouse, and youth under 18 years of age.
A guidebook is available in three languages : french, english, spanish.
Address: 1 ter place Saint-Sernin 31000 Toulouse

Website / Twitter / Facebook

MSR, Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse
© Carole Raddato

Anyone with an interest in Roman Britain should have St Albans on top of their list of places to visit. I myself visited St Albans twice and enjoyed it on both occasions. A short train ride north of London, St Albans is a must-see site. There are a few remains of the Roman town still visible (Verulamium), such as parts of the city walls, a hypocaust in situ under a mosaic floor, but the most spectacular are the remains of the Roman theatre.

In its heyday Verulamium was the third largest city in Roman Britain. The city was founded on the ancient Celtic site of Verlamion (meaning ‘settlement above the marsh’), a late Iron Age settlement and major center of the Catuvellauni tribe. After the Roman invasion of 43 AD, the city was renamed Verulamium and became one of the largest and most prosperous towns in the province of Britannia. In around AD 50, Verulamium was granted the rank of municipium, meaning its citizens had “Latin Rights”. It grew to a significant town, and as such was a prime target during the revolt of Boudicca in 61 AD. Verulamium was sacked and burnt to the ground on her orders but the Romans crushed the revolt and Verulamium recovered quickly.

Verulamium about 300 AD showing large town houses surrounded by gardens
(Artist impression of Verulamium by John Pearson)

By 140 AD the town had doubled in size, covering 100 acres, and featured a Forum with a basilica, public baths, temples, many prosperous private townhouses  and a theatre. Despite two fires, one in 155 AD and the other around 250 AD, Verulamium continued to grow and remained a central Roman town for the next four hundred years until the end of the Roman occupation.

Today the site of Verulamium sits in a beautiful public park. Archaeological excavations were undertaken in the park during the 1930s during which the 1800-year-old hypocaust and its covering mosaic floor were discovered. Further large-scale excavations uncovered the theatre, a corner of the basilica nearby and some of the best preserved wall paintings from Roman Britain. On the outskirts of the park is the Verulamium Museum which contains hundreds of archaeological objects relating to everyday Roman life. Today these artefacts from Verulamium form one of the finest collections from Roman Britain.

The Roman Theatre

The Roman Theatre of Verulamium, built in about 140 AD, is unique. Although several towns in Britain are known to have had theatres, this is the only one visible today. It was discovered in 1869 on the site of the original Watling Street that run from Londinium (London) to Deva Victrix (Chester) and was fully excavated in the 1930s.

The Roman Theatre of Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The Roman Theatre of Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The theatre was built close to the site of an earlier water shrine and was linked to two temples dedicated to Romano-British gods: one stood immediately behind the theatre and the other on the opposite side of the river a short distance outside the town. Today the remains of these temples lie buried.

The theatre could accommodate several thousands spectators on simple wooden benches and had an almost circular orchestra in front of the stage where town magistrates and local dignitaries were seated (see illustration) . By 160 AD-180, the theatre was radically altered with the stage enlarged.

Reconstruction drawing of the Roman Theatre at Verulamium in about 180 AD, St Albans (Alan Sorrell)

Religious processions and entertainments like wrestling, bullfights, sword fights and gladiatorial contests occasionally took place in the theatre. Plays by Latin and Greek authors were also performed at religious festivals as well as pantomīmae (pantomime shows). Its fine acoustics were perfectly suited to musical and dramatic performances.

The Roman Theatre of Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The Roman Theatre of Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The theatre was lined with shops with storage spaces behind the main shop area and even sleeping quarters. A covered walkway  along the street provided shelter for customers and goods for sales. When the shops were excavated in the 1950’s, broken crucibles and waste metal showed that most of the shops had been occupied by blacksmiths and bronze workers.

Shops near the theatre, a carpenter shop, bronze workers shop and wine shop, Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

Around 170 AD a large townhouse was built behind the shops part of which can still be seen. The house had a hypocaust and an underground shrine.

2nd century AD Roman house (Domus) with hypocaust and underground shrine, Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The Hypocaust and Mosaic

During the 1930s excavations, archaeologists uncovered a 1800 year old underfloor heating system, or hypocaust, which ran under an intricate mosaic floor. By 150 AD it was the custom for aristocrat’s houses to have at least one or two rooms heated by hypocausts and  fine mosaic floors. This floor is thought to have been part of the reception rooms of a large town house built around 180 AD. Part of the west wing of the house is preserved in situ and is on public view in the Verulamium Park.

Mosaic with floral panels, around 180 AD, Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The mosaic is of great size and contains around 200,000 tesserae. The floor is composed of a central section with 16 square panels, each containing a circular roundel with a geometric design. The borders are bands of single and double interlaces and strips of wide and thin dark and light material.

Mosaic with floral panels, around 180 AD, Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

Mosaic with floral panels, around 180 AD, Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The hypocaust was stocked from a small room outside the main house, and the stockehole of its furnace is visible below a glass floor panel. Heat passed through flues beneath the mosaic, one has collapse and can be seen.

The exposed hypocaust under the mosaic, Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The city walls and gateway

A rather long section of the city walls of Verulamium can still be seen today. The walls were constructed around 270 AD and were over 3m thick at foundation level and over 2m high. They were built as a complete circuit round Verulamium with a total length of 3.4 km (2.25 miles) and enclosing an area of 82 ha (203 acres). This made Verulamium the third largest walled city in Roman Britain behind Corinium (Cirencester) and Londinium (London).

The city walls of Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The city walls of Verulamium, St Albans © Carole Raddato

The city walls of Verulamium, St Albans © Carole Raddato

Large gateways controlled the four main entrances to the town of Verulamium. The best preserved is the London Gate on the south side of the town. All four main gates were massive structures with double carriageways and narrow passageways for pedestrians.

Reconstruction drawing of the London Gate, Verulamium, St Albans
(P.M. Andrews)

Surviving foundations of the London Gate, Verulamium, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The Verulamium Museum

Located in Verulamium park, the Verulamium Museum was established following the 1930s excavations carried out by Mortimer Wheeler and his wife Tessa Wheeler.

The Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

Wandering around the rooms, one can learn how the ancient town was built, how the inhabitants of the city made a living and also how their dead were buried.

The Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

This award-winning museum houses an outstanding collection of Roman mosaic floors, some of the best Roman wall paintings to have survived in Britain and a vast collection of small finds, from the most humble to the magnificent. A range of rooms from various houses have also been recreated giving the visitor an opportunity to discover the life and times of a major Roman city.

The mosaics

The remains of more the forty mosaics have been found at Verulamium, some of them being the finest ever found in Britain.

The Oceanus Mosaic, 160-190 AD, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The Shell Mosaic, dated to c. AD 150, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The Dahlia Mosaic with flower motif, 175-200 AD, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The Lion and Stag Mosaic, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The wall paintings

Surviving painting frescoes are rare in Britain and the Verulamium Museum is exceptional in having several well-preserved wall paintings. Most designs imitate marble veneers, columns and cornices, giving an impression of wealth and luxury.

Wall painting with imitation columns and panelling, ca. 150 AD, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

Reconstructed painted plaster wall dating to about 180 AD, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

Reconstructed painted plaster walls dating to about 180 AD, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

Wall painting with a candelabrum, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The Basilica inscription

Despite the long settlement history of Verulamium, there remains little evidence of the Roman occupancy period in the form of stone inscriptions. However eight small fragments (RIB222 to RIB229) of a dedicatory inscription from the Basilica were found under a school playground in the 1950’s. The inscription has been reconstructed as a large dedication slab (approx. 4.3m x 1.0m).

The reconstructed Basilica inscription, dated to 79 or 81 AD, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

The inscription written in a shortened form of Latin is likely to have read:

“For the Emperor Titus Caesar Vespasianus Augustus, son of the Divine Vespasian, ‘High Priest’, granted the tribunician powers nine times, hailed Imperator in the field fifteen times, consul seven times, designated consul for an eighth term, censor, ‘Father of the Fatherland’, and to Caesar Domitianus, son of the Divine Vespasian, consul six times, designated consul for a seventh term, ‘Prince of Youth’, and to all the priestly brotherhoods, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, legate of the emperor with pro-praetorian power, adorned the Verulamium basilica.”

The inscription is notable because it mentions Gnaeus Julius Agricola, the Roman governor of Britain from AD 77-84, who is otherwise known from a biography written by his son-in-law Tacitus.

Other museum’s highlights

An outstanding statuette, the so-called ‘Verulamium Venus’, is among one of the most famous finds at Verulamium. The bronze figurine probably once held central place in a household shrine. Venus stands holding a golden apple said to have been won in a beauty contest with the goddesses Juno and Minerva (though it may possibly represent the goddess of the Underworld Persephone holding a pomegranate). The statuette is one of the finest to have survived from Roman Britain.

The so-called “Verulamium Venus”, a bronze statuette of Venus holding an apple in her left hand or Persephone holding a pomegranate, 2nd century AD, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

Many beautiful pieces of Roman glass have survived intact at Verulamium because they were included in burials and thus protected from the shifts in earth movement which usually breaks fragile things like glass. In 1813 a fine glass jug was found inside a stone coffin at Kingsbury just outside the Roman walls.

The Kingsbury Jug, Verulamium Museum, St Albans
© Carole Raddato

A visit to St Albans will give you a good chance to see some of the most impressive Roman remains and artefacts from Britain.

Map of St Albans:

Map of St Albans

St Albans tourist information: http://www.enjoystalbans.com/

Nestled in the middle of the Iglesiente mountains in the southwestern part of Sardinia, the ruins of the Punic-Roman Temple of Antas offer visitors a truly majestic sight. After lying abandoned for centuries, the temple was discovered in 1838 and extensively restored in 1967. Most impressively, the original Ionic columns were excavated and re-erected. The present visible structure dates to the 3rd century AD on a floor-plan from the Augustan age.

Temple of Antas, Sardinia
© Carole Raddato

The area, rich in silver, lead and iron, was originally a Nuragic necropolis in use in the early Iron Age (9th-8th century BC) and identified probably as a sanctuary. The god worshipped here was Babai, the main male divinity of the Nuragic civilization. Attracted by its metal deposits, the Carthaginians colonised the area at the end of the 5th century BC and built a temple in honour of the Punic deity Sid Addir, god of warriors and hunters, who personified the indigenous god worshipped in the nearby Nuragic sanctuary. Its construction was divided into two phases: the more archaic dates back to 500 BC when the place of worship was made up of just a simple rectangular cella (sacred enclosure) where a rock served as a sacred altar. Later in approximately 300 BC occurred a series of transformations. The area has produced numerous fragments of Punic sculptures and a large number of dedicatory inscriptions. Some remains of the Punic temple can be seen in front of the temple, which were covered in roman times by a broad staircase.

Temple of Antas, Sardinia
In front of the temple are the excavated structures belonging to the Punic phase of the temple
© Carole Raddato

Temple of Antas, Sardinia
In front of the temple are the excavated structures belonging to the Punic phase of the temple
© Carole Raddato

The Roman temple was built exactly on the site of its Punic predecessor and the Romans in their turn identified the Punic deity as Sardus Pater. Both Sallust and Pausanias record that Sardus was the son of Hercules who migrated out of the land of Libya to settle on the island of Sardinia which he called after himself. Under the Roman emperors the cult of Sardus was encouraged because in Rome there was a temple dedicated to Hercules on the Forum Boarium which made a strong connection between Sardus and Rome.

Temple of Antas, Sardinia
© Carole Raddato

The temple was built on a podium accessible by a wide flight of steps on the front side consisting of various levels. On the fourth stood the altar in which, according to Roman rituals, the sacrifices were made. The podium is 20 m long and is divided into three parts; the proanos, cella and adyton.

A drawing of the Temple of Antas showing how it might have looked

The proanos has four Ionic columns (tetrastyle) upholding the main beam that contains the famous Latin inscription: Imp(eratori) [Caes(ari) M.] Aurelio Antonino. Aug(usto) P(io) F(elici) temp[(lum) d]ei [Sa]rdi Patris Bab[i/vetustate c]on[lapsum] (?) [—] A[—] restitue[ndum] cur[avit] Q (?) Co[el]lius (or Co[cce]ius) Proculus.

The Latin inscription in honor of Caracalla, Temple of Antas, Sardinia
© Carole Raddato

The inscription reveals that the temple was restored under the emperor Caracalla and dedicated to the god Sardus Pater Babi, the forefather of the Sards, by a man called Proculus. This dates the restoration phase to around 215 AD, but the Roman version of the temple could have been built as early as 27 BC under Augustus.

The columns of the proanos had a height of approximately 8 meters and were built of local limestone with attic bases. They were surmounted by Ionic capitals.

The proanos of the Temple of Antas, Sardinia
© Carole Raddato

The proanos of the Temple of Antas, Sardinia
© Carole Raddato

The cella, the central hall of the temple, had large pillars leaning against the perimeter walls supported by roof beams. Its floor was covered with a black and white mosaic of which only part has survived. Only the priests could access the cella. At the back of the temple was the adyton. It was divided into two rooms, each with their own entrance and in front of their doorway two square water basins on the floor which contained holy water for purification ceremonies (ablution). This feature was uncommon for Roman temples and is further evidence of Romans borrowing Punic religious beliefs. One of the rooms housed the bronze statue of the Punic god Sardus Pater of which only a finger of one hand was found.

The east side of the Temple of Antas, Sardinia
© Carole Raddato

At approximately 1 km from the temple are located the Roman quarries from which limestone boulders were extracted and used for the construction of the sanctuary. The work was carried out with hammer and chisel, while the transport was probably made by carts pulled by oxen. The line cuts which were followed to extract the limestone blocks are still visible.

Roman quarry near the Temple of Antas, Sardinia
© Carole Raddato

Roman quarry near the Temple of Antas, Sardinia
© Carole Raddato

The temple’s isolated position in a fertile valley makes it an enchanted place to visit and offers visitors a great natural scenery. It is one of the most impressive and interesting archaeological remains on the island.

For further info visit the official website & Tharros.info.

—-

Opening times:
– ​​from July to September every day from 9.30 to 19.30 
– from April to May and October from 9.30 to 17.30 
– June from 9.30 to 18.30 
– from November to March from 9.30 to 16.30 except Monday 

The temple of Antas and the surrounding valley
© Carole Raddato

“THIS ONE CITY I HAVE TAKEN FOR MY OWN OUT OF ALL ASIA”

Octavian, from a Letter of Octavian to Stephanus (governor of Laodicea) concerning Aphrodisias, c. 38 BC

Mosaic depicting Aphrodite, from the east Bouleuterion, 2nd century AD, Aphrodisias Museum, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The beautiful ancient Greek city of Aphrodisias, still partly excavated, is one of the most important archaeological sites of the late Hellenistic and Roman period in Turkey. The city was located in Caria in Asia Minor, on a plateau 600 meters above sea level. Today it lies near Geyre village, some 80 kilometers west of Denizli. The city was founded in the 2nd century BC on the site of a rural sanctuary of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. It was named after Aphrodite who had her unique cult image, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias, and who became the city’s patron goddess.

In the 1st century BC Aphrodisias came under the protection of Augustus, following the return to the city of Zoilos, an Aphrodisian who had been made a free man by the Roman emperor. Zoilos had become a very wealthy man when he returned to Aphrodisas in 40 BC and this initiated a period of prosperity and growth. He was responsible for the planning of much of the civic centres of Aphrodisias and of many of its early monumental projects. The ruins that remain today reflect this period of wealth which lasted until the 6th century. They include a Temple of Aphrodite, a theatre, a large Agora with its associated Bouleuterion (council house), a bath complex and a stadium.

Plan of Aphrodisias

A nearby marble quarry provided the ancient city with a supply of high-quality white and blue marble and a school of sculptors flourished in Aphrodisias and rose to prominence under Hadrian. Aphrodisian signatures have been found on sculptures in Italy and Greece, notably on the Centaurs discovered at Hadrian’s Villa.

Hadrian AE28 Diassarion of Caria, Aphrodisias. AV K LI TPAIN ADPIANOC CE, laureate and cuirassed bust right, seen from front, slight drapery on left shoulder / AFRODEICIEWN, cult state of Aphrodite of Aphrodisias standing facing within tetrastyle shrine with arched central bay; ornate roofline.

Hadrian visited Aphrodisias on one of his journeys to the Greek East. The city’s council had baths constructed as a memorial of his visit. They were constructed on the Roman model, with a series of parallel vaulted halls. Directly in front of the entrance on the north side was a marble pool ornamented with statues and with large pillars at the corners.

The pool of the tetrastyle court with columns at its corners and surrounding statues of the Hadrianic Baths, Aphrosidias
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The pool of the tetrastyle court with columns at its corners and surrounding statues of the Hadrianic Baths, Aphrosidias
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The pool of the tetrastyle court with columns at its corners and surrounding statues of the Hadrianic Baths, Aphrosidias
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The parallel vaulted rooms were, in order, the apodyterium (changing room), the frigidarium (cold baths), the tepidarium (warm baths) and the calidarium (hot baths). The lower walls of these halls, which are still standing, were built out of huge limestone blocks and faced with marble. The vaults, which no longer survive, were made out of mortared rubble, plastered on the underside. The floors were lined with marble.

The Hadrianic Baths, Aphrodisias
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The pool of the tetrastyle court with columns at its corners and surrounding statues of the Hadrianic Baths, Aphrosidias
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The Hadrianic Baths, Aphrodisias
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The Hadrianic Baths, Aphrodisias
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The first excavations on the Hadrianic Baths were undertaken in the year 1904 by the French engineer, amateur archeologist and collector Paul Gaudin. A portion of the works unearthed in the course of this excavation were moved to the Istanbul Archaeology Museum, while some were removed from the country without permission. A marble torso, part of the Old Fisherman’s statue which was discovered there, was sold to Berlin’s Pergamon Museum by Gaudin’s heirs (while the head was discovered only in 1989 and remains in Aphrodisias). Today, the Old Fisherman’s torso is on display in the Altes Museum, Berlin.

The Aphrodisias old fisherman, dating between 150 and 250 AD, the head is a plaster cast of the original, discovered at Aphrodisias in 1989, Altes Museum, Berlin
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The baths were richly decorated with sculptures, including mythological statues depicting Trojan themes around the pool, architectural decoration of the highest quality in the palaestra and in the front portico.

The pilaster friezes of the palaestra which are distinctive works of the Aphrodisias school of sculpture, Aphrodisias
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The bath complex was carefully maintained throughout antiquity and was still functioning in the 6th century AD when it continued to attract wealthy sponsorship for its redecoration. The complex was both a bathing facility and a museum of marble statuary.

Nude hero, Achilles?, from the Hadrianic Baths, 2nd century AD, Aphrodisias Museum
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The Achilles and Penthesilea statue group from the tetrastyle court of the Hadrianic Baths, 1st-2nd century AD, Aphrodisias Museum
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The statue group (image above) depicts the hero Achilles supporting the Amazon queen whom he has fatally wounded and fallen in love with. The stab wound under her right breast was carefully carved and painted.

Heroic male torso wearing a chlamys, 2nd century AD, Aphrodisias Museum
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

Priestess wearing a star-decorated crown, found in the Hadrianic Baths, 2nd-3rd century AD, Aphrodisias Museum
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

Head of a Satyr playing the double flute, found in the Hadrianic Baths, late 2nd or 3rd century AD, Aphrodisias Museum
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The long-lived Hadrianic Baths provide an unparalleled opportunity to examine the evolution of statuary decoration in imperial bath complexes over time.

Statue of a Governor wearing the chlamys (cloak) with two children, found in the Hadrianic Baths, 5th century AD, Aphrodisias Museum
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

A  major  conservation  project  in  the  Hadrianic  Baths begun  in  2010 under the auspices of New York University and the Institute of Fine Arts. Work has been focused mainly in the rooms with hypocausts and walls were restored. Sadly a large part of the baths was fenced when I visited the site last month and all the vaulted rooms were inaccessible. The images below show some of the rooms of the bath complex after conservation in 2013 (source).

APHRODISIAS 2013
New York University – A report on the archaeological field season

Sources: IFA Excavations at Aphrodisias / Aphrodisias School of Archaeology – University of Oxford / Aphrodisias 2013 – A report on the archaeological field season (pdf)

The Temple of Hadrian at Ephesus is regarded one of the most famous monuments of the ancient city of Ephesus. It lies on the south side of Curates Street, one of Ephesus’ main arteries connecting the Gate of Hercules with the Library of Celsus.

The Temple of Hadrian on Curetes Street, Ephesus, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The remains of the Temple were unearthed in 1956 during excavations carried out by the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAI). Due to its excellent state of preservation and cultural and historical importance it was rebuilt with original building elements in 1957/1958. There were also some supplementation with modern building material so as to reproduce the building’s precise appearance more fully. In 2012 the Austrian Archaeological Institute began an extensive conservation project with the support of the J. M. Kaplan Fund. The project was completed in September 2014. All the photos included in this post were taken in April 2015 after the conservation was finished.

The Temple of Hadrian on Curetes Street, Ephesus, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

According to an inscription engraved on the archivolt of the entablature, the small temple-like structure was dedicated to Artemis Ephesia, Emperor Hadrian and to the demos of Ephesus, by the asiarch Poplius Vedius Antoninus Sabinus of Ephesus.

The entablature with inscription decorated with the crowning bust of the goddess Tyche, and behind the cella’s tympanon
Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The building is a tetrastyle (4 columns) prostyle (only columns are along the front side) temple of modest dimensions and has rich architectural and sculptural decorations. Two Corinthian columns and two pillars on the edges support the entablature with a curved Syrian type pediment decorated with floral patterns and bearing a relief of Tyche, the goddess of victory. The Goddess is wearing a crown depicting the walls and towers of the city.

The curved arch decorated with floral patterns and bearing a relief of Tyche, the goddess of victory
Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

Behind the arch is the pronaos, the inner area of the temple’s portico. It has a door opening crowned by a typanum, a semi-circular relief depicting a female figure (probably Medusa) among acanthus leaves and scrolls.

The tympanum, a semi-circular relief over the entrance door depicting a female figure among acanthus leaves and scrolls
Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The door leads to the cella, the interior of the monument. The cella measured 7.50m in width and 5m in length and was roofed by a barrel vault.

The door opening leading to the cella, Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The pronaos is decorated with a frieze consisting of four marble slabs depicting the foundation of the city of Ephesus by the Athenian prince Androclus. The frieze is not Hadrianic as it was not sculptured at the same time as the Temple. It was probably added to the monument from an unknown building during a restoration in the 4th century AD. The frieze on the Temple is a copy, the original is on display in the Ephesus Museum.

Original frieze slabs from the Temple of Hadrian depicting the foundation of Ephesus, 4th century AD
Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The first slab depicts five figures: from left to right; a male possibly representing Zeus, a Nymph representing the Hypelaios spring, a warrior and Androclus on horseback attacking a wild boar. Beneath the figure of the animal is a fallen warrior. The foundation myth of Ephesus states that Androclus, the son of Athenian king Codrus, consulted the oracle of Apollo in Delphi, who prophesied that fish and a wild boar would lead him to the site where he would found a new city. After landing on the coast of Ionia near the later harbour of Ephesus, the Greek colonists – in search for a new location for his people to protect them from the Dorian invasion – cooked some fish. One of them leaped out of the brazier scattering coals and set fire to the nearby bushes, from which a boar ran out. Androclus slew the boar and established the city where the animal fell.

Original frieze slab from the Temple of Hadrian depicting the foundation of Ephesus, 4th century AD
Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The second frieze shows a Roman Emperor making a sacrifice in front of an altar decorated with garlands. The Emperor wears a military tunic and paludamentum (a military robe), and is crowned by a Nike. On the right of the altar is a male figure, possibly Theseus, and next to him Heracles while four Amazons are fleeing from him. The Amazons, according to myth, took refuge in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus from both Heracles and Dionysus.

Original frieze slab from the Temple of Hadrian depicting a sacrifice in front of an altar following a military victory, 4th century AD
Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The third frieze depicts three female figures which have been identified as Amazons fleeing from Dionysus. Dionysus is represented embracing a Satyr in the centre of the relief with Pan holding a thyrsus on his right. Next to him a figure sits on an elephant and a dancing Maenad is holding a cymbal.

Original frieze slab from the Temple of Hadrian depicting Amazons, Pan, Dionysos, Satyrs and a Menead, 4th century AD
Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

The fourth frieze portrays various divinities: from left to right; Dea Roma, Selene (Moon), Helios (Sun), Apollo, Artemis, Heracles, Dionysus, Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares and Athena. In the middle of the frieze is Androclus and his dog.

Original frieze slab from the Temple of Hadrian portraying various divinities and Androclus and his dog, 4th century AD
Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

During the imperial period, the image of the city founder could be seen throughout the city. Androclus was also represented in various statuary forms while the boar appeared on coins minted in Ephesus. A statue from the Fountain of Trajan shows him standing with his dog.

Statue of Androclus depicted with his dog as a hunter, 2nd century AD, from the Fountain of Trajan
Ephesus Museum, Selçuk, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

Another statue was discovered in 1927 in the Vedius Baths and Gymnasium complex at Ephesus by the Austrian team who was excavating the site. The statue was dated to ca. 150 AD. It is thought to represent Antinous as Androclus. A fragment of a dog’s paw grasping a stiff hair from a boar was found next to the statue. This indicates that Androclus was shown boar hunting.

Antinous portrayed as the hero Androclus, mythical founder and first king of Ephesus, ca. 150 AD,
from the Vedius Baths and Gymnasium complex at Ephesus
Izmir Archaeological Museum, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

Long before the frieze was added in the 4th century AD, the Temple had suffered extensive damage following the 262 AD earthquake. It was renovated with several additions and alterations about forty years later, when the pedestals with the statues of the Tetrarchs were added to the facade. The pedestals with inscriptions in front of the temple are the bases for the statues of the emperors Diocletian, Maximian, Constantius I, and Galerius. The originals of the statues have not been found.

The original function of the temple-like structure remains unknown but it was long assumed to have been an official cult temple of the emperor Hadrian because Ephesus received permission to construct such a building. However this interpretation has since been refuted since it hardly seems possible that the Ephesians would have honored Hadrian with such a small temple. After Hadrian’s second or third visit to Ephesus in 129-131 AD, the Emperor granted the city a second “neokorate” (temple warden of the imperial cult – the first neokorate was granted during the reign of Domitian). Between 1984-86, archaeologists uncovered a massive structure in the northwest part of the city which has been attributed to the Olympieion, a temple dedicated to Hadrian Olympios. The Olympieion would therefore be connected to the second neokorate temple but this has also been debated amongst scholars.

Ephesos (AD 117-138) AE 32 – Hadrian
Laureate and draped bust right / Two temples, each containing standing male figure holding scepter, viewed in perspective, vis-à-vis; Π and Δ in pediments.
© 2004-2014 AsiaMinorCoins.com

Hadrian visited Ephesus on at least two occasions during his journeys through the eastern part of the Empire; in August 124 and five years later in 129 (and possibly in 131). The outcome of his visits was several monuments and benefactions. In return the Emperor was granted the honorific title of “founder and savior” by the council (boule) and the Ephesian people (demos).

The Temple of Hadrian on Curetes Street, Ephesus, Turkey
Carole Raddato CC BY-SA

Sources:

* TEMPLE OF HADRIAN – Conservation Project 2012 – 2014 (pdf)

* Dalaveras Andreas , Dawson Maria-Dimitra , “Ephesus (Antiquity),
Temple of Hadrian“, Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor (2005)

* Aristodimou Georgia, “Ephesus (Antiquity), Olympieion”, Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor (2005)

* Erich S. Gruen (ed.), Cultural Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean. Issues & Debates.   Los Angeles:  Getty Research Institute, 2010.

* Bowie, E. 1971. ‘The “Temple of Hadrian” at Ephesus‘

* “Temples of Hadrian, not Zeus” by Barbara Burrell, Dept. of Classics
Univ. of Cincinnati, February, 2003

The Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence is one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. In addition to Renaissance masterpieces including works from Botticelli, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, the Uffizi houses one of the world’s most important collections of ancient Roman and Greek statues. The Medicis’ interest in ancient art started with the founder of the family Cosimo I de’ Medici (1519-1574) and grew over nearly four decades. The antiquities were stored and displayed in several rooms in Palazzo Vecchio and Palazzo Pitti where they could be admired by the visitors to the court. The antiquities were later transferred to the Uffizi.

Most of the ancient statues and busts are displayed on the u-shaped second floor of the museum. The wide corridors are filled with numerous portraits of the members of the different imperial dynasties including those of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty.

• Nerva (ruled 96 – 98 A.D.)

Bust of Emperor Nerva in lorica military cloak and paludamentum, Greek marble, 96 – 98 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Trajan (ruled 98 – 117 A.D.)
  

Statue loricata with the head of Trajan, Greek marble (head), Italic marble (?) (statue), 98 – 108 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Trajan, Greek marble and oxyx, ca. 110 AD, the bust is a modern work
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Bust with the head of Trajan, ca. 105 AD, the head is inserted in a modern bust of red marble
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Ulpia Marciana, beloved elder sister of Trajan
  

Female statue with a portrait of Ulpia Marciana, 110-120 AD, with modern restorations
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence

• Salonina Matidia, niece of Trajan and mother-in-law of Hadrian

Female statue with a portrait of Matidia, 110-120 AD, with modern restorations
Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence

• Hadrian (ruled 117 – 138 A.D.)
  

Bust of Hadrian, 117-121 AD (of the Termini type)
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Antinous, favorite of Hadrian
  

Bust of Antinous, 130-138 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

•  Lucius Aelius Caesar, intended successor of Hadrian

Lucius Aelius Caesar (101–138 AD), intended successor of Hadrian who died prematurely
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Antoninus Pius (ruled 138 – 161 A.D.)

Marble bust with the head of Antoninus Pius, middle of 2nd century AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Empress Faustina the Elder, wife of Antoninus Pius

Bust of Empress Faustina the Elder, wife of Antoninus Pius, circa 141 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Marcus Aurelius (ruled 161 – 180 A.D.)

Young Marcus Aurelius, circa 150 – 160 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Marble bust with the head of Marcus Aurelius, end of 2nd century AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Empress Faustina the Younger, wife of Marcus Aurelius

Bust of Empress Faustina the Younger, wife of Marcus Aurelius
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Lucius Verus (ruled 161 – 169 A.D.)

Modern marble bust with the head of Lucius Verus, 2nd half of 2nd century AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

• Empress Crispina, wife of Commodus

Portrait of Crispina, wife of Commodus, 180 – 187 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

In addition to the members of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty, the Uffizi houses a number of portraits of unknown citizens from the same era. Some of these portraits were incorrectly attributed to members of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty during the Renaissance but the original inscriptions have remained.

•  Private portraiture of unknown citizen from the Nerva-Antonine era

Portrait of Vibia Sabina (wife of Hadrian) with a Flavian hairstyle?, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Portrait of an elderly woman inspired by the iconography of Marciana (sister of Trajan), 98 – 117 AD, Greek marble (head) and red onyx (modern bust)
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Portrait of an unknown young man from the Antonine era (previously thought to be Lucius Verus or Marcus Aurelius)
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Portrait of an unknown young man so-called “Young Hadrian”, 130-140 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Bust with the head of a young man (previously known as Marcus Aurelius), mid 2nd century AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Togated statue with the head of a man, circa 100-200 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Portrait of an unknown woman so-called Lucilla, mid 2nd century AD, Apuan marble
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Private portrait of a citizen of the late Antonine period thought to be Commodus, 160 – 180 AD
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Many more portraits of the Nerva-Antonines dynasty can be viewed from my image collection on Flickr.

Related posts:

• The Nerva-Antonines in Cologne
• The Nerva-Antonines in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome
• The Nerva-Antonines in Copenhagen

Almost two years ago I was asked to contribute to the Ancient History Encyclopedia website. Needless to say I was very honored to join this team of ancient history experts. I have mainly contributed with photographs but I also wrote a few pieces for their et cetera blog that did not appear on my Following Hadrian blog. So if you are unfamiliar with Ancient History Encyclopedia I invite you to follow the links below:

10 Must-See Ancient Sites in Provence, France

10 Hidden Ancient Treasures in Caria, Turkey

Traveling in Israel on a Budget