Category: Archaeology

Head of Julia (Yep … *That* Julia) Found

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 2 Comments

The APA folks posted this one on their facebook page last night (tip o’ the pileus accruing), but I was hoping there’d be some English coverage by this a.m.. Alas, there isn’t any (yet), so here’s the story of a genuinely remarkable find of some sculputural remains which are tentatively being identified as Julia at Fiumicino, as told by La Repubblica:

Il volto è leggermente inclinato verso sinistra ad evocare una posa aristocratica, il profilo è delicato con la linea perfetta del naso. Gli occhi hanno le palpebre a rilievo e le orecchie mostrano ancora piccoli fori per gli orecchini in metallo, forse oro o argento. Ma è la raffinata acconciatura a confermare l’origine imperiale della testa (nella foto) ritratto in marmo, databile all’età augustea, rinvenuta pochi giorni fa a Fiumicino, in località Aranova, in una monumentale villa romana riaffiorata a dicembre durante i lavori di scavo preventivi per un progetto edilizio.

Potrebbe essere Giulia maggiore, figlia di Augusto, l’unica naturale avuta dalla prima moglie Scribonia. Ne è quasi sicura la Soprintendente per l’Etruria meridionale, Alfonsina Russo Tagliente, che ora sta studiando nei laboratori di restauro del Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia il reperto scoperto dalla sua equipe di archeologi diretta da Daniela Rizzo. “Lo stile dell’acconciatura richiama modelli di personaggi illustri della famiglia GiulioClaudia – racconta la Russo Tagliente – Sulla fronte due ciocche scendono in grandi onde morbide lungo le tempie, mentre sulla nuca i capelli appaiono in bande lisce divise da una riga in mezzo e raccolte in fitte trecce racchiuse in una crocchia bassa. Inoltre, una tenia, ossia un nastro a doppio giro intrecciato ai capelli, si annoda sul capo con un effetto diadema”.

La testa, a grandezza naturale, era nascosta in una zolla di terra, ritrovata in un grande ambiente della villa che fungeva da magazzino di conservazione per il cibo. Della villa, infatti, databile tra I sec. a. C. e II d. C., è stata individuata tutta la “pars rustica”, ossia gli ambienti domestici e di servizio. “La villa, che si doveva articolare a terrazze sulla collina, era monumentale – racconta l’archeologa Daniela Rizzo – i muri d’età repubblica hanno, infatti, poderosi blocchi di opera quadrata. E’ la prima testimonianza di una residenza imperiale sul litorale”. La scoperta sarà presentata in anteprima domani, a Villa Giulia, nel corso della tavola rotonda “I traffici illeciti e il patrimonio ritrovato: risultati e prospettive” promossa dalla Soprintendenza a conclusione della mostra “I predatori dell’Arte”.

The source also has a nice slideshow of images … the identification is based, apparently, on the hairstyle which is definitely Julio Claudian. The article says “early” Julio-Claudian but I’m not sure how they can be so specific at this point, other than having a desire to get some press attention. If you want a quick English summary that’s better than mine and which has all the photos in one place, check out Dorothy King’s coverage (New Head of Julia Found).

Statue of Hermes (?) from Patara

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

From Hurriyet:

A bronze Hermes statue from the Roman era, which has been unearthed during excavations in the ancient city of Patara in the southern province of Antalya’s Kaş district and restored at the Antalya Museum, was yesterday introduced to Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay.

The head of the excavations, Professor Havva İşkan Işık, said the four-meter long head statue was unique in Turkey and the world, saying, “we have never found such a stature before.”

Işık said the statue was estimated to date back to the period of Emperor Constantine. “This is a work from the late period, which makes it more special,” he said.

Following the uncovering of the statue, it was observed that the statue looked like the modern day people of the region.

… the original article has (for a change) a very nice photo of the clearly-restored piece. It actually looks like it’s a ‘herm’ of Apollo rather than a statue of Hermes, per se, but maybe it’s a ‘herm of Hermes’? That said, we haven’t heard from Patara in ages … poking around our archives:

Tegulae and Teratoma Burial from Spain

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

On the periphery of our period of purview, but darned interesting is a story from LiveScience … here’s a bit in medias res:

[…] Archaeologists found the woman buried in a necropolis near Lleida in the Catalonia region of Spain. They only found a few artefacts buried with her: tiles known as tegulae that had been put over her body to form a gabled roof.

“Tegulae graves were the most common Roman burials. She was not an important or rich person. She had a low socio-economic status,” Armentano explained.

The researchers note in their paper that while it’s possible the woman never experienced symptoms, it’s also possible that, despite the tumor being benign, it ultimately killed her.

“This ovarian teratoma could have been the cause of this woman’s death, because sometimes the development of teratomas results in displacement and functional disturbances of adjacent organs,” the researchers write. They note that infection, hemolytic anemia and pregnancy complications can also occur with an ovarian teratoma, events that could also have caused the woman’s death.

The tumor would not have changed her outward appearance, and researchers can’t tell for certain what affect it had on her, Armentano explained.

“We suppose that, at least during a long part of her life, she was completely unaware of this tumor. Depending on the eventual complications, she could have suffered, but there” is no evidence of this, writes Armentano. “She could have died because of many other causes!”

Despite that uncertainty, historical records do indicate that this woman lived in a time period of great change. King’s College London Professor Peter Heather notes in his book “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (Oxford University Press, 2006) that, by A.D. 411, Spain had been divided between groups known as the Vandals, Suevi and Alans. […]

via:

The original article has a number of photos … there’s also a slideshow of additional photos which, curiously, doesn’t seem to be linked to from the original article.

Roman Wall in Canakkale

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

From Hurriyet:

A landslide that recently occurred in the northwestern province of Çanakkale’s Erenköy district has unearthed a Roman wall dating back to 1,800 years ago.

Heavy rainfall caused a landslide around a viaduct in the district. The historic remains that emerged after the landslide were first spotted next to the Çanakkale-İzmir highway by Professor Doğan Perinçek, a member of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University’s Geology and Engineering Department. Perinçek informed archaeologist Candan Kozanlı about the situation and further examinations revealed that it was part of a supporting wall from the Roman era.

“We found out that the wall was from the Roman era because the ancient city of Ophrynion is behind this road. There is also an old Roman bridge inside a creek in this area. We think that this bridge and wall are structures from that time. The wall is a very good example of engineering in that era,” Perinçek told members of the press.

via: Çanakkale landslide reveals Roman wall (Hurriyet)

A decent photo accompanies the article … standard Roman wall, but what was it attached to?