Mattia D'Acri

As part of the new cycle of archaeological research promoted by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in the Sanctuary and Temple of Venus (VIII.1.3), a team from Mount Allison University and the University of Missouri undertook a second and third season of fieldwork in the summers of 2018 and 2019. This report presents the stratigraphic data collected from trenches excavated within the cella, in the open court E of the temple, and in the E wing of the triporticus that surrounded it. The results have allowed us to further define the spatial organization of the area prior to the construction of the monumental sanctuary, first uncovered in 2017, revealing more remains of Samniteera buildings that occupied elongated city blocks which were for-mally developed during the 2nd century BCE and repurposed in the early 1st century BCE, possibly for commercial functions. Based on finds from the obliteration sequence of these features and the surviving architectural decoration, the erection of the temple and triporticus can be securely dated to the late 1st century BCE, thus undermining previous reconstructions that vari-ously assigned the first building phase to the Late Samnite, Sullan or Caesarian periods.

Since 2007, the Gabii Project (hereafter GPR) has been investigating the site of ancient Gabii, a Latin city some 18 km east of Rome along the Via Prenestina (fig. 1). The project, begun by the University of Michigan and the Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Roma (SS-ABAP-RM), has operated with the main goal of examining the urban development of a major city in ancient central Italy. The GPR excavation area occupies a one-hectare tract of land on the downslope of the now extinct volcanic crater of Castiglione, in a sector of the ancient city (fig. 2). It is subdivided into ten main areas of excavation, Areas A through J, which correspond roughly to city blocks in an orthogonal layout (fig. 3). Ongoing excavations since 2009 have brought to light several phases in the development of the city from the Iron Age through the Late Antique period.

The ancient city of Gabii-an Italian polity of the first millennium BC and a peer to early Rome-has often been presented as an example of urban decline, a counterpoint to Rome's rise from a collection of hilltop huts to a Mediterranean hegemon. Here the authors draw on the results from recent excavations at Gabii that challenge such simplistic models of urban history. Diachronic evidence documenting activity at the site over the course of 1400 years highlights shifting values and rhythms materialised in the maintenance, transformation and abandonment of different urban components. This complex picture of adaptation and resilience provides a model of ancient urbanism that calls into question outdated narratives of urban success and failure.

The ancient city of Gabii—an Italian polity of the first millennium BC and a peer to early Rome—has often been presented as an example of urban decline, a counterpoint to Rome's rise from a collection of hilltop huts to a Mediterranean hegemon. Here the authors draw on the results from recent excavations at Gabii that challenge such simplistic models of urban history. Diachronic evidence documenting activity at the site over the course of 1400 years highlights shifting values and rhythms materialised in the maintenance, transformation and abandonment of different urban components. This complex picture of adaptation and resilience provides a model of ancient urbanism that calls into question outdated narratives of urban success and failure.

This paper presents the results of the 2012-2015 seasons of excavation in an area of the site known as Area D. This area preserves the remains of the earliest phases of the settlement, which date to the Iron Age and Archaic periods. The main feature that dominates the area is a residential compound, made up of a central habitation unit along with hearths and productive spaces. The compound has a long history of occupation dating from the eighth to sixth centuries B. C. E.,
during which time the overall appearance and layout gradually changed from a collection of small huts and bounded features to a sizeable stone-built complex.

In dieci anni di scavi e ricerche all’interno del Parco Archeologico di Gabii (2009–2018) il Gabii Project ha raccolto un insieme di dati fondamentali per la datazione dell’impianto regolare della città, rivelato da prospezioni geofisiche condotte in precedenza (2007–2008) su larga parte dell’area all’interno delle mura, lungo le pendici meridionali del cratere di Castiglione. L’impianto è caratterizzato da una serie di isolati di forma stretta ed allungata disposti a ventaglio su un asse stradale principale che si adatta alla morfologia del cratere. Da questa arteria, che nella sua fase più antica corrisponde probabilmente alla Via Gabina citata dale fonti letterarie, si dipartono strade laterali ad intervalli regolari, ad eccezione di un diverticolo che esce dalle mura a SE in direzione di Praeneste, messo in luce negli anni ’90 dalla SSABAP di Roma, ed interpretabile come tratto urbano della Via Prenestina. Le indagini stratigrafiche hanno dimostrato che, nella loro configurazione originaria, inquadrabile alla fine del V secolo a.C., le strade erano costituite da semplici tagliate ricavate nel banco tufaceo, al di sopra delle quali sono documentati continui rifacimenti databili tra il III ed il I secolo a.C. La tipologia più frequente è quella delle viae glareatae, superfici stradali formate da livelli compatti di ghiaia, ciottoli e frammenti ceramici. In alcuni casi sono attestati tratti lastricati in basoli di lava (affioramenti del materiale sono noti in prossimità della città), la cui costruzione può forse essere messa in relazione con le responsabilità di manutenzione assegnate ai proprietari di case che si affacciavano sulle strade. Tre delle quattro strade laterali indagate dal Gabii Project vennero definitivamente abbandonate già alla fine del I secolo a.C., come risultato della contrazione dell’abitato, mentre Via Gabina e Via Prenestina, di cui si conservano i lastricati di età imperiale, furono mantenute fino ad almeno il V secolo d.C. (periodo in cui si possono datare i battuti più recenti rinvenuti al di sopra del basolato della Via Gabina). Nel complesso, i dati ottenuti consentono di arricchire notevolmente il quadro delle conoscenze sulle dinamiche insediative di Gabii in età repubblicana. In particolare, la sequenza stratigrafica relativa alla fondazione dell’impianto urbanistico ortogonale, che sostituì un abitato organizzato in precedenza per nuclei distinti, invita a riflettere sulla relazione tra la forma della città e l’espansione romana nel Latium Vetus nel V secolo a.C.

In 510 BC, the city of Sybaris, an ancient Achaean colony founded in 720/710 BC, was destroyed by the city of Kroton by diverting the river Crathis, according to Strabo. Some seven decades later, in 444 BC, the same site saw the foundation of the Panhellenic colony of Thurii, situated just above the remains of the ancient settlement. While the centuries preceding the destruction of Sybaris and following the foundation of Thurii are widely documented both archaeologically and historically, research on the period between
these two cities has been based almost entirely on historical and numismatic sources, without serious reference to the regional archaeological data. During this seventy-year period, contrary to the prevailing hypothesis, life in Sybaris and its territory
continued, as testified by archaeological evidence from the city and its chora. This paper focuses on this particular historical period, drawing on that evidence, especially ceramics and related contexts, and provides an initial interpretation of the data in their regional context, re-establishing a forgotten connection between
the Achaean colony and its Panhellenic successor.

A new international collaboration, also known as the Venus Pompeiana Project, has been forged between the Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Mount Allison University, and the University of Missouri to resume the study of the imposing triporticus with axial temple dedicated to the patron goddess of the Roman colony. The main objective of the new endeavor is to bring the existing excavation archives to publication by integrating the reanalysis of legacy data with targeted excavations. Specifically, we aim to reach firmer conclusions on the chronology and nature of the occupation at the site, focusing particularly on the horizon that predates the construction of the first monumental sanctuary.

After a pilot season in 2017, a full-scale excavation was launched in 2018 thanks to generous funding provided by the AIA Cotsen Excavation Grant. Our research design called for the reopening of old trenches previously excavated in the temple court (Trenches IIS and IIN), which had already revealed a sample of the complete sequence of occupation of the open area east of the podium, including direct stratigraphic relationship between its various floors and the foundations of the east colonnade of the sanctuary, and for which part of the original archival data was also available. We resurveyed standing features and exposed stratigraphic sections employing both traditional total station and rich data capture in the form of photogrammetric (image based) modeling, while reanalyzing the existing descriptive record of each unit. Furthermore, we continued the investigations below the levels reached by the previous excavators. The relevant ceramic materials and coins were retrieved from the Soprintendenza storage in order to be restudied, thus complementing the old data with the new finds. In addition, new trenches (Trenches A and B), were opened under the east portico to better define the layout
and clarify the function of architectural features that had been exposed below the monumental phase. The construction sequence of the podium and ancillary structures was also documented, laying the groundwork for future conservation work.

The initial results contribute significantly to the broader debate about the urban development of the so-called Altstadt of Pompeii and the Samnite-to-Roman transition at the site. Most notably, we identified a N–S street running across the entire extent of the east court. The street, which most likely branched off from Via Marina, was certainly in use through the second century B.C.E., separating two distinct city blocks occupied by structures. This layout was completely obliterated in order to make room for the triporticus and temple, for which we confirm the post-80 B.C.E. date, thus demonstrating the impact of the Roman conquest on the religious landscape of Pompeii.

Cari amici, sono felice di informarvi che dopo alcuni anni di blocco forzato riprendono finalmente le pubblicazioni di “Religio”, la collana di studi del Museo delle Religioni. È attualmente in corso di stampa, infatti, il volume “Il Cibo e il Sacro. Tradizioni e Simbologie”, a cura mia e delle colleghe Elena Santilli e Alessandra Turchetti. In basso, potete trovare l’indice e i dati relativi.
Quanti tra voi siano interessati al libro, possono approfittare dell’offerta di lancio valida fino al 15 ottobre, ottenendo così un forte sconto sul prezzo di copertina. Tutte le informazioni in merito possono essere trovate sul sito dell’editore, le Edizioni Quasar, a questo link: https://edizioniquasar.it/products/il-cibo-e-il-sacro-tradizioni-e-simbologie
Colgo l’occasione per anticiparvi che una prima presentazione del volume si terrà nell’ambito delle attività previste per il convegno “Atena e Minerva. Tra Iconografia e Letteratura” (Velletri, 23-25 ottobre 2020). Maggiori informazioni verranno fornite più avanti su questa mailing list contestualmente al programma del convegno.

A presto

Introduzione
Igor Baglioni, Il cibo e il sacro. Orientamenti per il lettore

Il Cibo e il Sacro. Tradizioni e Simbologie nel Vicino Oriente Antico
Licia Romano, Banchetto e simposio nella ritualità della Mesopotamia Protodinastica
Francesco Bianchi, La spettanza del sacerdote nei sacrifici della Bibbia tra tradizione e storia

Il Cibo e il Sacro. Tradizioni e Simbologie nell’Antica Grecia
Giuseppina Paola Viscardi, Mangiatori di pane. Il cibo come marcatore dell’identità civica da Omero a Platone
Giulia Pedrucci, L’utilizzo del latte nella religione greca
Rita Sassu, La commensalità rituale nel santuario greco. Alcune osservazioni sul significato sociale del sacrificio cruento
Fernando Notario, Irreligious food? Food and religious contestation in Classical Antiquity. The case of the Diogenes of Sinope

Il Cibo e il Sacro. Tradizioni e Simbologie nell’Impero Romano
Alessio Quaglia, Tra Tellus, Cerere e Saturno: il farro, le Feriae Sementivae e il ciclo cerealicolo di dicembre
Mattia D’Acri - Luca De Luca, Una pietanza per le divinità nel Lazio arcaico? Il caso delle focacce votive in terracotta
Maria Cristina Vincenti - Alberto Silvestri, Il sacrificio del maialino nel culto di Demetra e Kore. Il caso delle offerte nel santuario delle due dee in Valle Ariccia
Javier Salido Domínguez, Il Cibo e il Sacro nell’Occidente romano. Tra epigrafia e archeologia
Amor López Jimeno - Francesca Murano, Magia e incantesimi. Le esecrazioni alimentari negli antichi testi defissori
Arduino Maiuri, Epulones Iovis parasitos (Aug., Civ. VI 7). Istituzione, storia e declino di un collegio minore romano
Francesca Tasca, I Fibioniti: un banchetto eucaristico gnostico? La testimonianza di Epifanio di Salamina

Il Cibo e il Sacro. Tradizioni e Simbologie nel Medioevo e nell’Età Moderna
Carla Del Zotto, La “società del bollito” e il cinghiale Sæhrímnir. Banchetto rituale e cibo degli dèi in epoca vichinga
Francesco D’Angelo, “La birra è un uomo diverso”. Leggi, usanze e credenze sul consumo di birra nella Scandinavia medievale
Angelo D’Ambrosio, “Per quanto piace a Dio”. Alimentazione e regimi penitenziali nelle clausure femminili dei secoli XVII-XVIII

Il Cibo e il Sacro. Tradizioni e Simbologie nell’Età Contemporanea
Sara Cuzzolin, “Cresci pane, come Gesù crebbe nella culla”. Pane e ritualità domestica a Matera
Elisa Gosso, Making “soutisso”: tradizione locale, identificazione religiosa e dinamiche migratorie del cibo nella storia valdese
Carmelo Russo, Il cibo e la festa nelle diaspore. Roma e Tunisi a confronto
Walter Venditto, Migranti del Punjab nell’Alto Casertano. Discorsi sul cibo e rappresentazione dell’alterità
Alessandra Turchetti, Nutrimento, scambio e alleanza tra visibile e invisibile. La funzione simbolica del cibo nelle pratiche rituali degli Gnawa (Marocco)
Marco Menicocci, Il cibo dell’apocalisse. I codici alimentari rovesciati della Hot Dance dei Crow.

Excavations carried out at the Latin city of Gabii between 2012 and 2018 have contributed new data to a number of debates around the emergence, lived experience, maintenance, decline, and resilience of cities. Gabii’s urban trajectories demonstrate both seemingly familiar forms of urbanism and, on closer study, many locally circumscribed elements. Specifically, the Gabii Project excavations have uncovered an early Iron Age (8th–5th centuries b.c.) hut complex that has provided evidence for architecture, funerary rites, and quotidian activities during the initial polynuclear settlement at urbanizing Gabii. A unique monumental complex constructed in the 3rd century b.c. has been identified and is interpreted as a public structure potentially used for ritual activities; the study of this complex raises questions about the creation and reception of markers of civic identity. Excavation data has further characterized the reorganizations that took place during the first centuries a.d., when Gabii’s settled area contracted. Rather than unidirectional decline, evidence for industrial activities increases, and elite investments in the city persist, especially in the mixed-use elite domestic and agricultural complex. These results provide detailed evidence for how ancient cities developed and transformed in the face of shifting local and regional conditions, especially smaller urban centers (Gabii) at the periphery of mega-urban centers (Rome).

The ancient city of Gabii-an Italian polity of the first millennium BC and a peer to early Rome-has often been presented as an example of urban decline, a counterpoint to Rome's rise from a collection of hilltop huts to a Mediterranean hegemon. Here the authors draw on the results from recent excavations at Gabii that challenge such simplistic models of urban history. Diachronic evidence documenting activity at the site over the course of 1400 years highlights shifting values and rhythms materialised in the maintenance, transformation and abandonment of different urban components. This complex picture of adaptation and resilience provides a model of ancient urbanism that calls into question outdated narratives of urban success and failure.