Rome Jubilee Digs Uncover Artifacts

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A publication of the Archaeological Institute of America


Rome Jubilee Digs Uncover Artifacts	January 11, 2000
by Roberto Bartoloni

Excavations near the Temple of Peace, left, [LARGER IMAGE] yielded a bronze head of the philosopher Chrysippos, right, [LARGER IMAGE] and a fragment of a marble map of Rome. (Courtesy Roberto Bartoloni)

A philosopher's head, a mosaic depicting a hunting scene, a fragment of a map of ancient Rome, a column base depicting the life of Hercules; excavations associated with Rome's Jubilee celebrations (see "Rome 2000," January/February 2000) are yielding a bounty of antiquities. The philosopher's head, that of the third-century B.C. stoic Chrysippos, and the map fragment, which depicts the eastern corner of the Forum of Augustus, were recovered by the Archaeological Superintendency of the Municipality of Rome in the area of the Templum Pacis (Temple of Peace). Silvana Rizzo, director of the excavations, says the head most likely dates to the first century A.D. and might have been part of a display of the busts of philosophers within the temple. Chrysippos' stoicism had many adherents among the Empire's well-to-do. Rizzo suspects that the map fragment, etched on a marble slab that was possibly later rejected for imperfections, pre-dates a well-known map of the city created by order of Septimius Severus (A.D. 193-211) since it does not include a tower built during the Flavian dynasty (A.D. 69-96). If this is so, the fragment could represent the results of a topographic survey conducted by order of Augustus.

Map fragment, left, [LARGER IMAGE] shows area of Forum of Augustus, right. [LARGER IMAGE] (Courtesy Roberto Bartoloni)

Meanwhile, Giovanni Caruso, also of Rome's Archaeological Superintendency, has uncovered a mosaic with vivid hunting scenes in the same area of Trajan's Baths where a fresco depicting an ancient city was recovered two years ago (see "Ancient Cityscape," May/June 1998). The mosaic, composed of limestone and basalt tesserae, covered the floor of a 45-by-27 foot room in the central part of the baths. The part that remains visible depicts a wounded lion, a large beast, perhaps a tiger, biting a man's leg; and a bear or wild boar. Also shown is a man clothed in a hunter's garb, which includes a long-sleeved tunic and a cloak fastened on his shoulders with two circular buckles. Above his head is the inscription "Cupido," which the excavators have interpreted as his name. Cupido's hair style and the way his nose is represented as an upside down seven have led Caruso to ascribe the mosaics to the time of the construction of the baths under the rule of Trajan (A.D. 98-117).

Mosaic with hunting scene found at Trajan's Baths
[LARGER IMAGE, left] [LARGER IMAGE, right] (Courtesy Roberto Bartoloni)

Finally, a remarkably well-preserved marble column base depicting the life of Hercules on its four sides has come to light in a paved area behind the stage of the ancient Theater of Marcellus between the Tiber and the western slope of the Capitoline Hill. The base was found within a medival structure and remains only slightly displaced from its original position on a marble step. The base first shows Hercules as a baby strangling snakes; the second side as an adult posing next to Zeus, his father, and Telephus, his son; the third and fourth faces, as yet not fully recovered, show a seated woman and Hercules surrounded by the vault of heaven.

Carved marble column base shows the infant Hercules killing snakes, left, [LARGER IMAGE] and Hercules with his son Telephus and a doe, right. [LARGER IMAGE] (Courtesy Roberto Bartoloni)