Category: Archaeology

Statue of Augustus

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 7 Comments

I’m pretty sure we’ll hear more about this in the coming days, but just in case we don’t … from the Local:

Archaeologists in have discovered fragments of a 2,000-year-old bronze Roman equestrian statue of Emperor Augustus in a stream near Giessen, the Hessian state science ministry has announced.

“There has never been a find of such quality and preservation in Germany,” a statement from the ministry said, adding that it was a “sensational” discovery.

On August 12, archaeologists pulled the gold-gilded, life-sized head of a horse and a shoe of the emperor – who ruled the Roman Empire between 23 BC and 14 AD – from a stream in what was once the Roman outpost Germania Magna. Experts there have uncovered several bits of the statue among some 20,000 artefacts uncovered at the site in recent years.

Scientists from the University of Jena believe it may have been destroyed by Roman soldiers retreating after the legendary Varusschlacht, or the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 AD, when Germanic tribes ambushed and wiped out three Roman legions. As the remaining Roman troops retreated after the devastating defeat, they destroyed most of what they could not take with them.

“Due to the location of the find, there is a unique possibility to date the statue to a few exact years and establish a connection to the events surrounding the Varusschlacht 2,000 years ago,” the statement said.

The ministry plans to make an official presentation of the find on August 27.

I’m not sure if the gilded hoof shown on this page is from this find or not …

UPDATE (08/26/09): I’ve had this nagging question for the past few hours … why is this connected with the Varus thing? Are we to believe that Roman armies marched around with large equestrian statues while on campaign? Or am I missing something?

UPDATE II (a few minutes later): The Wikipedia article on Waldgrimes suggests an incipient major settlement had started there and never finished (photos at Livius.org); presumably because of Varus. I wonder if this statue might not have been tossed in the river by the victorious Germans rather than retreating Roman armies …

Colossal Statue of Apollo from Hierapolis!

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ 1 Comment
Corriere della Sera photo
Corriere della Sera photo

I’ve been sitting on this one all day waiting for some English source to pick it up, but none seems to be forthcoming (Today’s Zaman … where are you?) … the Italian press is reporting the discovery of fragments of what appears to be a statue of Apollo which would make a statue some four metres high! All of the reports are very brief, e.g., this concluding bit from Corriere della Sera (click the reference link for more photos):

I due frammenti permettono di ricostruire una statua colossale in marmo di più di 4 metri di altezza. La figura è seduta su un trono e indossa una tunica mirabilmente drappeggiata con un effetto di trasparenza che lascia intravedere la possente muscolatura. La statua colossale di Hierapolis – spiega D’Andria – rappresenta con grande probabilità Apollo, seduto in trono, che regge con il braccio sinistro la cetra e si può riferire al culto reso al dio nel vicino tempio costruito sotto l’imperatore Tiberio. Il ritrovamento – sottolinea l’esperto – assume un valore eccezionale per la qualità stilistica, per la particolarità dell’immagine di culto e per la rarità di queste opere – meno di una decina – in Asia Minore».

Periodico Italiano draws parallels with a similar statue from Claros:

“Le statue colossali erano diffuse nell’antichità – spiega d’Andria – le più famose tra quelle conservate sono state ritrovate nel Santuario di Claros, uno dei più famosi oracoli del mondo antico. Alte più di 7 metri, rappresentano Apollo seduto in trono, affiancato dalla sorella Artemide e dalla madre Latona, mentre una replica della stessa statua di Apollo, alta 3 metri, è stata ritrovata di recente a Sagalassos, non lontano da Antalya.”

As mentioned above, Claros was a major oracular centre in antiquity …

Roman-era Thracian Tomb from Krushare

~ David Meadows ~ rogueclassicist ~ Leave a comment

Some interesting finds from a Roman-era Thracian tomb … the first report (August 16) from Novinite:

Bulgarian archeologists have found a unique golden wreath in an unnamed mound near the South-East village of Krushare, Sliven District.

This has been announced Sunday by the archeologist Diana Dimitrova, who was wife of the late great Bulgarian archeologist, Georgi Kitov.

Until that moment, numerous objects have been found in the mound – a bronze candlestick, a glass rhyton, a huge bronze amphora, a golden bracelet, other golden objects, and glass vessels with some kind of liquid in them.

The excavations continue and more find are expected to come up.

Dimitrova’s team is taking part in the excavations Archeology Summer “Sliven 2009”, which began on June 9.

In the initial plans of the team, there were 3-4 mounds marked. In is the third year in a row that the Sliven Municipality financially supports the “TEMP” expedition. This was Georgi Kitov’s expedition.

His goal was to prove that the Valley of the Thracian Kings lies to the big branch of the Tundzha river next to the city of Sliven.

A couple of days later, another report added (inter alia) that a leather purse containing some coins had been found. Here’s an image of the bronze candlestick in situ:

From Novinite.com
From Novinite.com

Samian Ware from Impington

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From the BBC:

Archaeological excavations at the site of a former plant nursery, set to be developed for housing, have found evidence of Iron Age and Roman use.

The dig at the former Unwins Nursery at Impington, Cambridgeshire, found occupation dating from about 100BC with evidence of an Iron Age roundhouse.

The site was developed in Roman times with a series of ditches and pottery found is from the 2nd and 3rd Century.

The finds include high status Samian pottery imported from Gaul.

Some of the Samian pottery has the potter’s stamp still visible, enabling archaeologists to find the actual individual who made the vessel about 1,800 years ago in France.

‘Unexpected finds’

Also a deposit of more than 40 oyster shells intermingled with pottery has been recorded in a pit close to the existing road.

This may represent a ritual or votive offering to the gods or ancestors.

Site director with Oxford Archaeology East Chris Thatcher said: “We did not expect to find such important Iron Age and Roman remains here at Impington.

“We can now see the origins of the village going back over 2,000 years.”

The planned redevelopment of the site will see the building of 35 houses.

Temple of Apollo on Geronisos

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Brief item from Bloomberg:

Archaeologists in Cyprus found evidence that an island off the Mediterranean country’s south- west coast was the site of a temple for worshiping Apollo, the ancient Greek god of light, prophecy, music and healing.

Excavations led by New York University on Geronisos unearthed fragments of pithoi, or storage vessels probably used to hold olive oil, that could be repaired to stand to a height of 1.20 meters, among the largest storage containers ever found on Cyprus, according to a statement today on the Web site of the Cypriot Interior Ministry’s Public Information Office.

The vessel fragments, which date from the 1st century B.C., were found in what appears to be a storeroom or pantry facility, probably servicing a complex of previously found dining rooms, the statement said.

The digs also unearthed a sculptured lion’s head that “would have been plastered and painted as a fitting adornment for a monumental structure, possibly a temple,” according to the statement.

Previous digs on the island showed that Geronisos was an ancient religious tourist center for worshiping Apollo, son of the king of the Greek gods, Zeus, and the nymph, Leto.

“The discovery of this storage facility represents an important breakthrough in our understanding of the experience of ancient pilgrims on Geronisos,” the Cyprus Department of Antiquities said in the statement, “and the ritual dining that seems to have taken place within the complex of rooms in the central south sector of the island.”

NYU has been digging at Geronisos for a while … some previous results are on the web from 2004 and 2006.