EOfOS DU MONDEQASSIQUE

QASSICALVIEWS
XXIX - N.5 . 4, 1985
THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY PRESS
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ECHOS DU MONDE ClASSIQUE
ClASSICAL VIEWS
XXIX , n. s.4 , 1985
MA T I ERES/ CONTE NT S
Hector Will iarns . I nvest ig at ion s at Stympha los, 1984
Carol in e & Hector Wi lliams , Excavations on t he
Acropoli s of Mytilene, ~ - - - -
Jo seph and Mar ia Sh aw , B rief Summary of Excav ation at
Kommos : Ninth Seaso n (1984 )
Joh n P. Oleson , Caes area An cient Harbour Excavation
Project: 1984 Season
H. Fracch ia , The T emp a Cor taglia Survey Proj ect
Tvl. Gu altieri, Fourth Cen t ury BC A r chitect ure
Fro m Roc cag l ori osa
D. Eman uele , Stat ure and Archaic Statues
A . D. Booth , Douris
'
Cup an d the Stages of Sc hoo l in g
i n Clas sical Athens
M.O . Jentel, Eros Turbulent
F. E. Winter and A. Christie, The Sy mposi um-Tent of
Ptolemy I I : A New Proposal
C. P. Jones, A Letter to Aphrodisias in Caria
No.2
215
225
235
239
243
257
267
275
281
289
309
A .A . R . Hender son , At r i col a i n Caledon ia:
Sixt h & Sev en t h amp algns
BOOK REVIEWS /COMPTES RENDUS
T he
319
G.W . Bowersock. Roman A r ab ia (J .P. Oleson) 336
Gera ld D. Hart (e d.). Disease in Anc ient Man (M . Skinner) 342
Lee I . Levine, (ed.). Anci ent Synagogues Revealed
(P .G . Mosca) 348
Announcements / Annon ces 350
Books Received / Livres Recu s 353
NOTICE TO CONTRIBUTORS
Anot her ar chaeol ogical i ssue of EMC is planned, for Summer,
1986 . Contributions must be prepared according to the stylesheet of
the Americ an Jour nal of A r chaeolog y (see AJA 82 [1978] 3-10; 84,
[198 0 ] 3-4). Manuscripts that do no t confOriil will be returned for
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cont ri butions should be sent to Professor J. P. Oleson, Dep artment of
Classics , Universi ty of Victoria , Victori a, B . C. V8W 2Y2, by January
1st, 1986. This deadline is neces sar y to en suring t he t imely
appearance of arc haeol og ic al re ports .
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and Humani t ies Research Counci l of Canada
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Newfoundland
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University of Wat erloo
Univers i t y of West ern On ta rio
Uni v er si t y of Wi ndsor
215
INVESTIGAT I ONS AT STY MPHA LOS, 1984
The third seas on of archaeological and geophys ica l invest ig at ions
at the si t e of ancient St ymphal os was car ri ed out f ro m Jul y 3 to
August 5, 1984, by a te am from th e Canadian Arch aeologi cal I nst i t u t e
at Athens with th e co-operation of t he Archaeol og i cal Soc i et y of
Athens.
1
Although th e primary objective of this y ear's work was to
expand further the resistivity survey of the si t e initiated in 1983 we
also prepared a detailed plan of the 13th c. Cistercian abbey church,
discovered another extensive cemet ery with several inscribed
tombstones, and carr-ied out aer ia l photography from a kite over the
site and abbey.
Survey
The excellent results of the 1983 resistivity survey with a Brad-
phys resi stivity meter and Epson HX20 computer encouraged us to
continue, and indeed to expand our mapping of the site with this
new - -for Greece- -technique.
2
We emp loy ed tw o t eams and sets of
instruments and were thus ab l e to cov er a much larger area of the
city even though conditions (surface cov er and extremely dry soil)
slowed the work considerably. At times, for example , it was
necessary to wet both el ect ro d es in or de r to ensure sufficient contact
1For earl ier seas ons see H. Williams, "Stymphalos: A Planned
City of An cient Arcadi a , " EMC 27 n.s.2 ( 1983) 194-205;
"Investigations at Mytilene and -stYmphalos, 1983," EMC 28 n .s .3
I
TT984T6:-
2For a recent di scu ssion of th e method see M. Kelly et aI., "A
microcomputer sy stem for log ging data in geophysi cal su r v ey i ng , II
Archaeometry 26 (1984) 183-1 91 .
216 HECTOR WILLIAMS
for each r ead ing ; as we had again divided the site into 20 m squares
a nd were taking measurements every metre we had to make 800
wet t ing s per sq uare. We also carried out some limited tests with a
proton magnetometer but the relatively poor results obtained after
processing the 12,000 s q ua r e metres surveyed in 1983 led us to
abandon this technique at Stymphalos. 3 This year we employed an
adjustable frame for the Bradphys which allowed th e electrodes to be
se t at 50 cm or 75 cm intervals with concomit an t ra nge down into the
earth. Although the device was somewhat more awkward with the
wider "aperture", we were able to detect deeper remains where all
material closer to t he surface (i.e. withi n 50- 60 cm) had been plowed
out.
Our work concentrated over an extensive area on the ea st side
of the city to the north of the area covered in 1983 , and although the
new area has been much more heavily worked over by th e local
farmers- - it is flooded far less often than parts of the city cl oser to
the lake --we still obtained a g r at ify ing amount of detail (Fig. 1) .
The lines of six roads can be discerned running N- S, with a break at
the 300 m mark occasioned by an E-W avenue where the line jogs W
about 15 m. This unexpected discovery explains the discrepancy
noted in our first report between street Iines in the east an d west
sides of the city. 4 The phenomenon ca n be explained by reference to
such strategic strictures as Arist. Pol. 1330b17-35 :
The arrangement of private houses is regarded as more
pleasant and more useful in ot her re s pect s if it is regularly
laid out and according to the more recent Hippodamean
manner, but for security in war the opposite is better; i , e .
that it be in the old fashioned way , for it makes entry
31 should like to thank Mr. Keith Edwards , graduate student in
Geophysics at t he University of British Columbia, for processing
these data wh ich were gathered in the field by Dr. Stav ros
Papama rinopoulos and Mr. Elias Stavrides using Scintrex
magnetometer .
4Will iams, EMC n.s .2 (1983) 201; and T. Boyd, Appendix t o
Williams , EMC n ~ ( 1984) 186 .
I NVEST IGAT ION AT STYI\WHA LOS , 1984 217
FI GURE 1: STYMPHA LOS:
RESI STIVITY SURVEY OF EAST CENT RA L AR EA, 1984
218 HECTOR WILLIAMS
difficult for foreign troops and finding their way around
di ffic ult for attackers; wherefore it is necessa ry for a city
to partake of both methods ... and not to make the who le
city regular, but only in certain pa rts and place.
Soldiers and art illery mounted on the roofs of houses and buildings at
the end of such blocks (as Phil on of By zantion recommends) would
have an uninterrupted field of fir e at attackers coming up the
st reets.
5
This disposition of s treets is in c lea r accord with the
sophistication of t he fortifications of St ymphalos ; our city was clearly
a worthy home for the famou s military writer of the 4th c. BC,
Aeneas Tacticus, who would have ap proved breaking up a cle ar ru n
through the city for any enemy tha t had made it s way through or
over its walls. Aerial photography ( Plat e 1) a lso clearly shows th e
break in the street line on the east side of the ci ty. The presence
of a number of square or rectangula r anomalies in the printouts ca n
be interpreted as indicat ive of large and small peristyle structures on
the streets. The discovery of Doric el ements plowed up recently in
these fields demonstrates the presence of structures of some
sophistication, and the houses of Olynt hu s come to mind as obv ious
parallels .
6
Another area tested lay just to the north of the central area of
the acropolis, where we found clear t r aces of the continuation of the
regular 36 m module (110 Doric feet ) established in the 1982 season .
Th r ee roads are easily discernible- -one in fact is on line with a roa d
cut right through the rock of the acropol is further south--at about 30
m intervals (Fig . 2) . The darker a rea in t he upper ce ntre is
probably due to a patch of thorny vegetation whose roots drawing up
wat e r to surface levels may have c rea ted artificially high areas of
resistance.
Sit is also poss ible that the E-W avenues may similarly be
interrupted as t he r e seems to be a Iine of wall across the 100 m N
avenue at the 720 m E line.
6Williams, EMC n.5.3 (1984) 179 n.9.
F f ClJRE 2 : STY
AREA NOIrI' 1I oi: , ~ ~ P ~ ~ A L O S SlJRVEY,
LLNI RAJ. AClWPOL[ S
220 HECTOR WILLIAMS
Tests in three ot her scattered ar eas of the city produced no
such good results although the sh adowy presence of roads--much
more durable featu res than walls for resistance--can sometimes be
di s ce r ned . That a major feature can still produce a very prominent
resistivity picture even when much of it ha s been plowed out is
evident from Fig. 3, however: we were trying to trace the mis sing
se ctions of the city wall in its NW sector, and after estimating its line
from the nearest known section ove r 100 m away we were able not
only to trace it for 80 m but also to ident ify a tower (at A) and an
overlap gate (at B) similar to others known elsewhe re on the ci rcuit. 7
Conditions were particularly diffi cult in th is area, with dry soil an d
large clods of ha rd earth th at int e r fe r ed with th e insertion of th e
e lectrodes. Our r es ults he re indicated th at, given time, we shoul d
be able to re cover most of the missing section of the city' s
FIGURE 3:
STYMPHALOS: RESISTIVITY SURVEY OF NW GATE
7
See
Williams , Ibid. 174-5. ~ ' "
INVESTI GA T ION AT ST YMPHALOS, 1984 221
forti fication s. Thei r 3 m wi d t h of cou r se stands up much better to
damage than th e smal ler wall s of hou ses and other bui Idings inside
the city.
I n ot he r areas of t he si te th e r esults of resistivity su r v ey were
less u seful. We attemp t ed , fo r ex amp le , to trace the cloister and
pos sible narthex S and W of t he Frankish church respectively, but
d id not get c l ear res u l ts be cause of the large amount of rock
scattered t h r oug h the soi l , due partly to dumping from the earlier
excavations of Orland os an d Stikas, and partly to the probable
collapse of the or ig i nal wall s i n t o feat u re l ess lumps. I n anot her
experiment we te sted a IOx10 m section of a necropolis just N of the
site with measurements every 50 cm in stead of every metre, but clear
indications of graves, in the form of areas of high resistance, were
absent. Electri cal soundings were carried out against a number of
standing walls in an attempt to determine their depth, a different
application of the technique, the results of which are still being
interpreted.
Our architectural survey thi s seas on concentrated principally on
the Frankish church, and a fuller r eport will be published in a more
appropriate place, but there is still much of interest for the classical
archaeologist in the ancient ar ch i tect u ra l element s that had been
reused by the Cistercians . The qu adripartite main columns in the
nave, fo r example, are mad e up of cut -down Doric columns that
originally were ab ou t a met r e i n dia met er , which implies a temple of
some size nearby. 8 Built in t o th e north wall of the chu r ch are what
may be one- p iece Dori c capi t al s th at have been cut flat down to the
ab acu s al t ho ug h ot he r Dori c ele ments of the right si ze seem to be
entirely mi ssing . A t r igl y ph and metope fri eze block built into a
but tress ag ainst the nort h wall i s from a much smaller structure. We
did attempt a r esi stivity su r vey in t he ope n ar ea about 20 m W of the
8Not e that Dodwell had obse rved column drums three feet in
di ameter near the church in th e early 19th c . (Tour II 433). None of
these at present r emains in th e vicini t y . ---
222 HECTOR WILLIAMS
church whe r e f loor blocks and or thostates break th rough the surface
but got no clear pict ure of what lay be low.
Cemetery
To the three cemeteries located last year from inscribed fu nerary
stelai we ad de d anot her of considerabl e size that runs for at least 500
m to t he east of the modern road through t he village. Four inscribed
s tones we r e recovered , some sti II in fu rrows where they ha d been
rec ently plowed up, while others were in stone piles beside fields.
Encouraging was the absence of sherds, bones, and other finds in
these fields, alt hough the presence of some tile probably means the
plowshares are gett ing close to th e ac tua l interments themselves . The
stelai are generally small (about 75 em in he ight) and simpl e with
letters sometime s rather crudely cut because of the nature of the
coarse limestone used; one at lea st, however, has some pretension to
elegance with a pediment at its top ( Plat es 2 and 3). Inscribed
names include KALLI ERA, AS [ ... ] , SYNETTE, [ .. ] ILEAS,
NEOKRATE IA and several that are too worn to be r eadable.
Perhaps th e most remarkable feature of this new cemetery is its
size and the presence of a number of large foundations in pl aces at
it s perimeter close to t he Iine of the modern road f rom the coa st that
forms t he main street of the present v illage. Th e area will c lea r ly
repay continued observation as agr icult ural activity , intensive in this
zone, wi ll continue t o turn up new mate rial.
Kite Photography
In order to obtain an overview of the city site and the
monastery we carried out several sessions of aerial photography with
a J a lbert 45 aerofoil kite, a s y st em develped by our architect,
Richa rd Anderson . 9 A 35 mm camera wit h a 28 mm wide ang le len s
and motor drive which could be t riggered from the g r ound by a radi o
9R. Anderson, "A Kite Supported Syst em for Remote Aeria l
Photography, II Aerial Archaeolog y 4 (1979) 4-7. A kite was als o
employe d at the Haliei s excavations in the ea r ly 70
ls
(information fro m
Dr . T . Boyd ) .
INVESTI GAT ION AT STYMPHALOS, 1984 223
co ntrol provided a s eri es of vert ical an d ob liq ue views of Stymphal os
from heights up to 1, 000 m. The ad va nt ag es of the system include
economy and portabili ty; the disad vant ag es include dependence on a
stiff breeze, difficulty of control, a nd labour intensive (at least six
persons) operation. Results over the site were excellent a nd lines of
streets and bui Idings st and out clearly in the vertical photographs
even though the parch marks were not as good this year as last for
showing buried remains. As noted above (Plate 1) the staggered line
of streets is visible in the E area of the city from an ob lique
phot og r ap h from the NW.
Other
Two observations of ceramic material at the site and in the
neighborhood are of some importance for its history. A sherd of a
Mycenaean IIIB deep bowl appeared on the acropolis in minor illicit
digging carried out sometimes in the spring, thus adding to the
material noted by Hope Simpson 25 years ago. lOWe have observed
no other Mycenaean material in our three se asons at the site,
however, and it is not cl ear whether we a re dealing with pottery from
settlement s or tomb s. Ce r ta in ly t he re are a number of the latter of
unknown date on the acropoli s, a nd according to local farmers,
salvage ex cavations of ille gally opened g r av es have be en ca r r ied out
by th e Ar ch aeological Se r v ice on th e s it e in th e pa st decad e or so .
Loca ls a lso sh owed us a major si te with ex tens ive cerami cs a nd, it is
s a id, Dori c a rc hitect u ra l re mains nea r t he c ha pe l of Holy Trinity
s ev eral kms W of Stymphalos, a possi b le ca nd ida te for t he earlier s ite
of t he town be fore the 4t h c. resettlement. The s ite would c lear ly
re pay fu r t her in ve st ig a t ion . 11
10See R. Hope Si mps on and O. Dick inson , A G()ze tt eer of Aeg ean
Civ ili za tio n (G6teborg 1979) 84 for t wo LH III s he rds fr om th e
ac ro po lis ; I s houl d like to thank Dr. Hope Simpson for co nfirming my
identi ficat ion of t he new shere! which has been pl aced in the mus eu m
a t Ph en eos.
11Med iev al ce ram ics from the site recovered by an ag r op hy la x
224 HECTOR WILLIAMS
No major field work is planned for Stymphalos in 1985 as we
continue to work on the data gathered since 1982.
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA HECTOR WILLIAMS
Acknowledgements
I should again like to thank Professor George Mylonas and Mr.
John Travlos of the Archaeological Society of Athens for allowing the
CAIA to continue our joint project at Stymphalos, and the
Archaeological Service of the Ministry of Culture and Sciences for
issuing the necessary permits. Once again we are much obliged to
the members of the Nafplion Ephoreia and its local representatives,
the guards from Pheneos, for assist ing us in every way. We also
gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Mr . Charles Parma lee,
Executive Vice President of Denison Mines Ltd ., again arranged the
loan of a theodolite to us. In Athens Dr. Susan Young, then
Assistant Director of the Canadian Archaeological Institute (a nd now
Director), saw the permit through the Ministry in my absence.
Particular thanks are owed to my colleagues in the survey. Mr .
Richard Anderson carried out t he architectu ral and topographical
survey again with the help of Mr. Robert Loader; he also organized
and directed the kite photography. Mr . Carl Heron and Mr. Paul
Spoerry from Bradford University, with th e assistance of Miss Susan
Cronkite (University of British Columbia) and Miss Kristina Karatza
(Kionia), carried out the bulk of the s ur vey . We were also joined for
several weeks by Dr. Richard Jones (British School at Athens) and
Dr. Stavros Papamarinopoulos (University of Patras) whose advice,
assistance and loan of equipment were all ag ain much appreciated.
Final computer processing of the data was carr ied out by Mr. Heron
at Bradford; he also car r ied out suppl eme ntary s u r vey work in
September with t he help of Miss Karatza . Dr . Thomas Boyd,
University of Texas, continued to work as consultant on the town
plan. Dr. Sheila Campbell, Pont ific al Inst itu te of Medieval Studi es at
the University of Toronto, assisted Mr . Anderson on the chu r c h
survey for a week, and Miss Luc ia Nixon , As s ist ant Director of t he
CAIA, also provided some welcome as s is ta nce on th e r esi sti vi ty
survey . Mr . Arnold Aspinall , Di r ecto r of th e School of Archaeologi cal
Sciences, Bradford University, was ag ai n an invaluable source of
advice, assistance and equipment.
are in the Pheneos museum.
225
EXCAVAT IONS ON THE ACROPOLIS OF MYTILENE, 1984
The se con d s eason of a rc haeologi ca l inves ti ga t ion in th e town of
Mytilene (Lesbos) wa s ca r r ied out in May and June of 1984 by the
Canadian Ar chaeological In st itute at Athen s. Although ou r work
included ge neral research in t o various aspec t s of the antiquities of
both town and isl and this report wil l con centrate on the results of a
small excavation we were a llowed t o ca r r y out on the ac r opolis of
Myti len e with in th e wa lls of th e 14t h c. Genoese fortres s th at still
dominates the seaward s ide of t he tow n . Readers of EMC will recall
that in 1983 a s mall te am fr om th e CAIA carried out a s u r vey of
re -used anc ient a rc hitect u re in t he cast le wall s a nd a geophy s ica l
s u r vey of se lec ted a reas insi d e these wall s. 1 In 1984 we were
permitted to exca va t e a 5 x 5 m t est tren ch on one of th e a r eas th at
indicated a r egul ar lin e of bu ri ed r emains; we selected an a rea in the
upper castle jus t N of a ruined 19t h c. mos q ue . A lO x 10m te st
g r id by mag netome t e r ha d ind ica ted traces of a major E- W a no mal y of
some si ze a bo ut a metre bel ow th e su rface.
2
We accor di ng ly laid ou t
an in itia l 2 x 2 m trench to determine f irst t he so u rc e of t he a nomaly
an d second its na t ure; we then e x pa nded the t renc h t o its ma x imum
a llowed d imens ions in order to examine the feat ure a nd s ur ro und ing
area mor e carefu lly .
1See C. Will iams , " He lle n is t ic a nd Roman Bui ld ings in th e
Medieva ls Wall s of Myt ilen e , " Ph oenix 38 (1984) 31-76 and H. Williams ,
"I nves t ig ati on s at Mytil en e a ncrstYITiph a los , 1983 ,11 EMC n. s. 3 (1984)
169- 73 . - -
2The test had been carri ed ou t for u s in 1983 by Dr. St avros
Papamarinopou los wit h a Scintrex proton magnetometer a nd processed
on an Epson HX20 computer with a prog ra mme pr ovi ded by t he
Department of Ar chaeolog ica l Sci en ces. Br adford Univer sity. For t he
226 CAROLI NE s HECTOR WILLiAMS
Excavation soon determined t hat the anomaly had probably been
caused by a stretch of Turkish roadway (kalderimi) lying some 60 em
be low the present surface, whic h itself in part consists of a heavy
packing of stones set in earth (Plate 1). Ove rlying the road in the
NE corner of the trench was a section of terracotta drainpipes
perhaps to be associated with the nearby mosque. To the S of the
roadway and more or less parallel with it were a pair of walls, also
probably Turkish, running across the trench in an E-W direction;
their function and relationship could not be determined in the limited
area exacavated. Overlying muc h of the trench and excavated into
the central area of it was a Turkish garbage dump of the late 18th or
early 19th c . which produced a mass of fine, kitchen and coarse
war es , t wo cannon balls, 72 clay pipes (sixteen with s tamped
inscriptions) and abundant sea shells of various sorts.
The road itself was built in typical Tu r kis h fas hion with large
stones set in earth in an irregular way and including some ancient
e lements like a small Dorie capital upside-down at the edge. That the
road had already suffered some neglect before it was finally buried is
apparent from a washed out area on its S side in the E area of the
trench. It is likely to have been the predecessor to the road t hat at
present leads down through the castle to its lower gate. Removal of
some of the pav ing stones (which were later re placed) and excavation
beneath indicated no special preparation.
For readers of this journal, however, the most interesting
material appeared between the road and the first wall to the S, a
mortar-built structure with some gaps already in it when we exposed
it. Here we were able to isolate a ser ies of eleven strata from
surface to bedrock (an irregular level 1.6-1.8 m down, of which only
a small part was ever exposed). Of these , levels 4-8 were of
particular importance as they contained uncontaminated deposits of
material (except for the Turkish deposi t) going back from th e early
location see H. Williams, op. cit. p.173, Fig.l, #5.
EXCAVA TION ON THE ACROPOLIS OF MYTILENE, 1984 227
1s t c. after Chris t to th e 3r d/2 nd c. BC. The process of deposition
is no t enti r e ly cl ear a nd there a ppea rs to be a real break between
lev el s 6 a nd 7 th at led us to s us pe c t th a t the upper body of material
was brought in duri ng Turkish t imes fr om a n early Roman deposit ,
appa r e nt ly un contami na t ed wi th la t e r mater ial, a s a levelling cou rse
for the roa d wa y, while th e lowe r levels were deposited in ant iq u it y .
The na t ure of t he ear lie r deposits (man y fr agmen t s of te r racotta
figurines, for examp le) s ug gests that in part th ey may be th e r esult
of clea r ing ou t of votive deposits from so me s hrine or sanct ua r y on
th e acropo lis. Th e area involved was small, hard ly mor e th an 1m
wide by 1m deep by 3m in le ng t h. It produced a mass of material,
however, including some 280 fragment s of te r ra cotta figur ine s , 36
lamps, so me glas s, r emains of hund re ds of s he llfis h, and s eve ra l
thous and fr agments of pottery, coa rse a nd f ine. Only two coins were
d is cov ered an d bot h we r e badly cor ro ded b ronze issues t ha t were
illegibl e . Thi s prel imina r y report is int e nd ed to pres ent so me of th e
mor e important or in t ere sting d iscove ri es.
POTTERY
Ap p r ox imat el y 80 conta iners (buc kets) of pottery we r e processed
wit h a cons ide rable variety of classes of vessels represen ted
(a mphorae, cooking pots , ba sins, unguenta r ia, fi ne table wares ,
etc. ) . Whe r e possible vessels were mended to pre se n t the mos t
complete profi Ie possible for final drawing, photog raphy and
cata log uing. Some 280 individual vessels were t reated this way .
Ana ly s is of this material and its con t e xt s indicated three separate
g roups:
A Turkish deposit, probably late 18th or early 19th
c., dumped into a hole cut into earlier strata a nd
probably th e r e sul t of so me sort of c lea n- u p on the
citadel.
b . A deposit full of earl y Roman fin e wares whose
di agnostic sh erds a ll da t e f r om th e late 1s t c. BC to
1st quarter of the 1s t c . AD.
A deposit of pottery data b le primarily to the mid -
Hellenistic period. Diag nostic material includes vessel
types known from bel ow the Great Alt a r a t Pergamon.
228 CAROLIN E & HECTOR WILLIAMS
The Turkish deposit will be full y published in a more
appropriate place and for the moment a br ief description will suffice.
It consists of some 30 vessels (porcela in, painted and lustre-painted
wares and kitchen wares) including bowls , plates and storage jugs.
It also contained a group of 72 clay pipe s (chebouks) of different
shapes, a number of which were stamped with make rs' marks. 3 Little
of such late material has been published from a r chaeolog ica l contexts
and the Mytilene deposit will be of so me interest for historical
archaeology, a field litt le developed yet in t he eastern Mediterranean.
Study of the tableware types in the early Roman deposit
demonstrates that Eastern Sigillata B is t he dominant fabric, almost to
the exclus ion of other wares. App r ox imat ely 260 vessels are
represented among the sherds, contrasting markedly with 10 Eastern
Sigillata A and 5 Eastern Sigillata C s he r ds . The lack of ESA is not
surprising given it s production in N Syria, but t he low count for
ESC, a product of VI Turkey, is suggestive of a terminus ante quem
before Tiberian times when this t ype of pottery is thought to start.
Wes t e r n products are also not very common , with fragments of about
fi fteen vessels, including two with relief decoration (lion head
applique and nude male seated on Ionic capi tal), being identified.
Roman thin-walled cups, a type of pottery t hat has received little
study t o date, are represented by fragments of some 30 vessels.
There are also sherds from five green lead glazed vessels including a
female t orso with dress tied by an Is is knot.
The most interest ing addition to ou r knowl edge of fine tablewares
of the early Roman pe riod is the poss ible identification of a ware made
on the island of Tenedos know n previously only from literary
re ferences in Dio Ch rysostom (42, 504) and Plutarch's Moral ia ( ~
3For a group of such pipes from the Ker amei kos in Athens see
R. Robinson, "Clay Tobacco Pipes From t he Kerameikos, II AthMitt 98
(1983) 265-84 .
EXCAVATION ON THE ACROPOLIS OF MYTILENE, 1984 229
vito aer. al. 2).4 I t is clear from these references that the wa re was
well known in the 1st and 2nd c. aft er Christ and it i s su r p r i si ng
that i t seems to be mentioned i n no work on Roman pottery. The
Plutarch r eference might suggest a r esembl an ce to met al work and the
presence of a large body ( some 85 sh erds) of a ware with a
distinctive f abri c and g los s , often ta k i ng on a silvery brown metallic
sheen , in th e early Roman deposit sugges ts t ha t we may hav e i sol ated
the ware. It is qui t e di sti nct from known eas t er n f i ne wares like
those mentioned abo ve and we have t en t at i v ely ca ll ed it "Tened os
War e
ll
T he island is on ly about 60 km N of Lesb os b ut it has not
been i nv est ig at ed archae ol og ically . 5 We hope th at t h is p r esent ati on
may hel p to identify t he ware on other si t es in the NE Ae g ean and
el sewhere . As will be seen below, lamps wer e also mad e i n th e same
f abri c. Cups, bow l s and dishes, some wi th moul ded deco r at ion (Pl at e
2) , are the principal sha pe s r epresen t ed.
The pottery from th e Hell en i sti c l ev el s was much more l i mi t ed in
quant it y . Mos t heav ily represented (about a hu ndred v essel s )
bl ack- g lazed ware of the E Aegean , wh i c h have t o dat e bee n little
4Dio : 1I0ne might al so say, th er efore, that my speeches hav e
had much t he same fate as t he pottery of Tenedos ; fo r whi le all who
sail t hat way put on board po ttery from there , ye t no one finds i t
easy to get it across in sound cond i ti on; but many crack or smash i t ,
and before they are aware th ey ha v e nothi ng but sherds ."
Plutarch us es ce ra mics to make a point about borrowing:
"Beau tiful Aulis or T enedos will furnish you with po ttery vessels
i nst ead, purer th an si lv er f or they wi ll not smell strongly and
unpleasantly of in t erest. II T here appears t o be an imp l icit compa r i son
with meta l wor k mad e here. Litt le note seems t o hav e been t aken of
Aul is as a sou rce of potter y i n Roman times ei t her .
5For earlier refer ences by travell er s to T en ed os see R.
Chandler, Travel s in Asia Min or , 1764- 1765 , (London 1971, ed . E.
Clay) 21ff. New t on . Trav el s and Discov er i es in t he Le va n t
(London 1865) 271- 4. Ther e is also an i n t eresting acc oun t of Tenedos
linin
however. remains that of Fiehn in RE, VA 494-8 although he doe s not
seem t o have vi sited the The Princeton Encyclopedi a of
Cl assi cal Sites does not men t ion T ened os.
230 CAROLINE & HECTOR WILLIAMS
studied. Ide ntifiably Atti c bl ack- g la zed pottery was much rare r, with
only about twenty s herds appearing . The r e were a lso several sh erds
of imitation West Slope ware wit h para llels f rom Pergamon whic h a lso
provided an ident ical para llel for a moulded erotic s ymplegma f r om a
re lief vessel (P late 3). Fr agments of d r ip- pai nted bowls , pai nted
lagynoi and plates, fish pl ates , and rel ief war es ap peared alon g with
small parts of two bowls with embl emata ( probably male he ads) ins ide .
Earlier periods are represented by two stray f inds . One is a body
sherd from a large Attic red figure vessel, probably of the late 5th
c. BC, preserving part of a draped figure. The ot her is part of the
top and handle of an early Cori nthia n a la bast ron of the late 7t h or
early 6th c. BC, which may be the earli est sherd yet published from
Mytilene town as we do not know if the Myce naean sherds in the
British Museum from Newton's collection ac tually come from the town
itself. 6 More common wares are represented by cooking pots in two
different fabrics, a recurrent type of deep ba sin with a ring foot,
five bases from amphorae, a fairly coarse g r ey burnished ware that
appears to continue the old grey-ware ceramic tradition of the NE
Aegean in Hellenistic times, and a variety of kitchen and coarse
wares.
LAMPS
Thirty-six whole or fragmentary lamps were found in the
excavation, most ly from the stratified deposits. Apart from several
pieces of Attic or late 4th/early 3rd c. BC, local imitat ion lamps of
Howland's Type 25, all were very late Hellenistic or early Roman.
Several were of the well known "Ephesos " type (Plate 4) and in a
dark grey fabric that probably originated on the W coast of Asia
Minor (although not necessarily at Ephesos it se lf) while others were
volute lamps t y pical of the first half of t he 1s t c. AD. 7 As some of
6H. Buchholz, Methymna (Mainz 1975) Plat e 14 d- I.
7H. Williams , Kenchreai , Easte r n Por t of Cor int h . VoI.V. Greek
EXCAVATION ON THE ACROPOLIS OF MYT I LENE, 1984 231
the lat t er came from t he l ev el s appa re n t ly pre- Tiberian (so diagnosed
from the al most comp le te abse nce of Eastern Sigi l lata C) , th e
po ssibil i ty of such lamps bein g p ro duced very ear ly, if not actua l ly
or iginating. in the E Aegean may thus be strengthened. Eq ually of
in t er est was the relatively large num ber of re fl ec to r ha ndle pl at es
from large lamp s fou nd in t he de po sits, some at least i n the fab ric we
hav e tentat iv ely ident i fi ed as coming f ro m T enedos (s ee above) ( Plat e
5). Fra g men ts of one lamp wi t h re lief deco ra t ion sho w a sce ne known
elsewhere of an an i mal t r ai ner. 8 Par t of a t erracot ta lant er n al so
appeared.
GLASS
Only eleven pieces of g lass came ou t of th e trench. At least two
were Turkish and probably p ieces of mosque lamps, but there were
al so fragment s of early Roman pi l lar moulded bowl s and unguentari a.
T ERRACOTTA FIGURINES
About 280 fragment s of t er ra co tta figurines in several different
fabrics came out of th e st ra t ified deposi ts. I t is c lea r th at near l y al l
of t hem ar e Hellenist ic in da te, go i ng perhap s as ear l y as the
mid -third c . BC but d ipping well in to lat e Hellenist ic. Most were in a
very fragment ary cond i t ion and only 42 we r e in v en to r i ed in ou r
preliminary study. They consisted of va r ious disiecta memb ra (a r ms ,
leg s, bases, bod y f ragmen ts , heads, etc .) some of wh ich at lea st
men ded up in to ide nti fi ab le types. Of part icul ar interest fo r their
and Roman T er r acotta Lamps ( Lei den 1981) 7-8 (Ephesos lamps);
T1i"=TbTV'olute l amps ) . Since writing the latter pages I have become
ev en mor e in cl i ned to think that volute lamps with relief decorat ion
developed very early in the E Aeg ean, but so I i ttl e materia l has been
pub lished from the ar ea that it would be premature to do more t han
mak e suggestions no w.
8D. M. Bailey, Catalo
Vo l . I I ( London 1980 )-,.-,.---/fIh,.,."...,- -r----....,..L-.,..........--,------.-.-__..._..,...--.,..-----,.,.--.-
iden tification.
232 CAROLINE & HECTOR WILLIAMS
close connection with terracottas from Troy and Pergamon were
figures of worshippers and hierodoul oi
9
l Plat e 6); the re was a lso a
pa rticu larly fine head of a kerch iefed old woman. 10 The cha r act er of
these terracottas is not incons is t ent with t he po ssibility th at t he
deposits originated in mas ses of voti ves cl eared ou t of some ne a r by
sh r ine on the acropoli s although no particul ar divin ity can be
identified as thei r r ec ipient. At least one bird is represented as we ll
as some hairy limbs that may be from sa t y rs.
METALS
Ancient metals finds were limited t o two unident if iab le b ronze
coins; there was a considerabl e amount of Turkish iron work
(including two cannon balls, one with fuse ) in t he upper level s and
the dump. Most of it consisted of spikes and brackets.
OTHER
A number of fragmentary stone or marble pieces also came out of
the trench, all from the upper levels. Besides seve r al mortarium rim
pieces and mould ings of marble, t he most import ant was t he eg g and
dart moulding from an Ionic capital of Roman date r eused in th e 19th
c. Turkish packing. All levels contained large qu ant it ies of oys t e r
and ot her seafood shells .
Further study of t he above material and more se lecti ve
excavation on the ac r opolis of My t ilene are planned for May and June
9For similar figurines of hie rodouloi E. Topperwien,
Terrakotten von Pergamon (Be r lin lY/b J Plate 37, n.223 a nd
D. , hompson, I roy . , he Te r r acottas of t he He lle nist ic Pe ri od
( Pr ince t on 1963) Plate 16 , n.60. For t he worshippers d .
Topperwein, Plat es 39-44; Thompson , Plat es 21-2 2.
10Illustrat ed in the Bulletin of the Canadian Mediterranean
Ins t it ut e , 4 (1984 ) 7.
EXCAVATION ON THE AC ROPOLI S OF 1984 233
of 1985 , t han ks t o a ge nerous grant from the Social Sciences and
Humani ties Rese arch Counci l of Canad a i n wh at we hope will develop
i n t o a long-term project to recov er as much as possible of the
ar chaeo log y and history of a major but I ittle known ar ea of the
ancient Greek world.
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH CO LUMB I A
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CAROLINE WILLIAMS
HECTOR WILLIAMS
We sho u l d again I ike t o thank t he may or of Mytilene, Mr. Stratis
Pallis, and hi s associ ates for t hei r i nter est in and ass i st an ce with our
project and for providing t ool s an d wheelbarrows. For f i nanc ia l
su p por t we are indebted t o the Social Sci ences and Humanities
Rese arch Counci I of Canad a fo r the tr-avel and I iving expen ses of C .
an d H. Willi ams and to t he Uni versi t y of Ca l gar y for t hose of J .
Humphrey . We sh ould also like t o thank th e Arch aeological Coun c i l of
the Ministry of Culture in Athens f or th e permit to work at Mytilene
and t o the local r ep r esen t at i v es of the Min is try f or thei r co -opera t i on .
Thank s ar e due as well to my t hen - co ll eag ue s at the Canad i an
A r chaeologi cal In stitute at A th en s, Dr. Susan Yo u ng and Ms . Lu cia
Nixon, for seei ng th e pe rm i t t hroug h i n my absence an d for their
help with many ot her detai l s. Our g r eat es t debt i s to our colleag ues
on th e ex cavation f or t heir hard work and support : Dr . J.
Humph r ey , Dep artmen t of Classics , Un i versity of Cal gary , f or
su pe r vi si ng the trenc h and t aking on th e st ud y of t he T u r k is h pipes,
and t o Catherine and Mi ch ael Evamy of Calgary for volunt eering their
ser v i ce s as architect, su r veyor , d ig g er and general helper. Much
valuable assistance was also prov i ded by Ms . Andrea fviet z in washing,
sor t i ng and mending ceramic finds. We also enjoyed visits and advice
from various Canadian scholars including Pr of. M. F. McGregor, Prof.
F.E. Winter, Prof. G. Schau s and Prof. L. Migeotte.
234
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235
BRIEF SUMMARY OF EXCAVATION AT KOMMOS:
NI NTH SEASON (1 984 )
Excav at ion of the Minoan t own and Greek sanc t uar y at Kommos
con t i n ued from June 16 t h r oug h August 20 , 1984 af t er a st udy season
beginning in early May. 1
Wi th the excavati on of t he Middl e and Lat e Mi noan ho u ses on
hill t op and hillside comp le t ed , we were free to con centrate all our
effort s on the sou t h, where the Greek sanct uary had been found
su per i mposed upon monumental Minoan buildings (see Figure 1). The
sanc t uary' s numerou s bu ildi ng s and al ta rs having been largely
i n v est i g at ed i n th e pa st , our goa l i n 1984 was to ex po se most of
Minoan Bu i l di ng T , t he floo r lev el of which l ie s over 3 m bel ow t he
level of t he sanct uar y co u r t. Duri ng p rev ious wo r k we had f ound LM
I Bu i lding T t o ha ve abutted Bui ld ing J on t he west wi t h a lon g
co lonnade fac i ng on to a large cou rt with minimum di mension s of 28. 75
m E- W by 11.60 m N- S. Details of t h is part of T <1I1d i ts phases i n
rc - u se i n LM I - LM "I B C<Hl be fo und in Hesperia 53 (1 984) 251-2 87.
1Sponsored by t he Univer si ty of Toronto and the R.oyal On tar io
Museum, our wor k i s under the auspi ces of t he American School of
Cl assi ca l Studie s CI t At hens wi th th e coo pe r at ion ot the Greek
A r c ha eo loq ica: Ser v i ce . This yea r t he sta f f con si s t ed of n i ne tee n
fu l l - time member s includ ing Pro fe sso rs P. !3et<J ncou r t, J . W. Sh aw
(D i re c t or ) i\LC. Shaw ( Assis tant Direc to r). and J . Wrigh t , as wel l as
P. Ca l laq ha n . Num erous spec ial is ts in ar c hitect ure, co nserva tion ,1Ild
drawing were al so invol v ed . Geor ge Bel adak i s of Pitsidi a was aqa i n
fo re man in char g e o f some 23 workmen; au r ob ser v er from the Greek
A r chacotoqical Service W<l S Mr s. D. Vall ianou . As i n t he pa st, the
Soc ial Science and t he Humanities Research Counc i l of Canada, the
SOvl Co rpora t ion , ce rtai n other corporat ion as we l l as t he two
sp ons or i ng in stitut ion s p r ovi dec financi al support.
236 JOS EPH AND MARIA SHAW
In order to learn mor e ab ou t Bui ld ing T on t he eas t, we set out
a b ro ad J-shaped trenc h (22-2 5- 24- 17 on the figur e) 50 m long and
composed of a series of indivi d ua l units. with the trenc h 's interior
a ngl e an obli q ue one a nd its u pp e r "limb" crossing ove r t he E- W
Minoan ro ad. It extended north into a n a rea whe re. it was lat er
found. a LM house faced so ut h to TiS splendid or t hos tate fa cade , a
large section of which was c lea re d. East of he r e . in a 4 m deep
trench excavated ad join ing the property line. we were most for tunate
to f ind the eastern fa ca de of T, thus gi ving T an E-W dimension.
from Building J. of 55.4 rn, ce rtainly the lon gest straight line of
as h la r wall known from Cr et e . Next to it was a se r ies of LM I-III
r oa d levels. t he earl ie r of slabs. t he later of tam ped earth . On the
north. t he ro ad formed part of a c ros s roads no doubt leading t o
Hagia Triada and Pha is t os .
Of TiS interior, parts of two rooms ( 23. 24) we r e cleared. bu t
bo th the or iginal and lat er LM I cl ay f loor s were la r gel y empty of
small finds. We found SE of he r e a co mb inati on as h la r a nd r ubble
wall (below 22) that pres entl y a ppea r s to be t he sou t h wal l of T .
facing south. Of grea t interest is the gene r al r oom arran gement
here. Originally . rooms border ing t he stoa on t he east a nd t he
orthostate wall on the south ( 21- 23- 24) opened onto a s ing le .
unusually wide ( 3. 88 m) cor r idor . La t er. a s ing le E- W wall restri c t ed
en trance to the northern ro oms ( p r es uma b ly storerooms ) so th at on
the east they could be e nt e r ed only t h r oug h 25 (which t hen a ls o
cont rolled access to 22 via a small c losed roo m). On the wes t a
corridor was approached via a do orway now si tu at ed below a c las s ica l
altar ( a nd thus inacces s ib le to us ). What seems most unusual is that
room 22. a roofed space, was apparently completely open to the court
on the west. wi thout door s or c r os s wa ll , in an unusual a r r a ng ement
not noticed in other Minoan centers.
Interpretation of the "long room" of T should be Iinked to the
discovery of Building P on the south. next to T and separated from
it by only a narrow gap. This north wall of P, over 20 m long. is
pa ralleled by two others on the south. There is no doubt that P is
later t han LM I Building T. being bui lt at least as early as LM IIIA: 1
KOMMOS: NINTH SEASCI\
237
( t he ce ramic eviden ce however, rema in s sca nty fo r i t s f i na l us e). Of
special interest is the method of construction of pIS massi ve wal l ,
which includes a v ar iety of rubbl e and re- used as h lar bloc ks
re i nforced by rectang u la r fr ames of wood for whi ch the c hases are
seen clea rl y on both faces of th e wall s . The method can be paralleled
in certain po st- LM I st r uc t ures at Hag i a Triada, t o the north of
Kommos , an d the p rovi si on of r ei n f or ced wall s wi th sol i d f oundations
( as in P), and wall s set upon th i ck ba ses (as in N to the NW) ,
suggest a ch ange i n att i t ude t oward construction per hap s broug ht
abo ut by collapse, t h ro ug h ear thquake , of earl ie r buildings such as
T.
Seen in th e plan , P i s composed of at least tw o long rooms
without either western entrance or, so fa r, interior c rosswalls . The
rooms wer e 5. 8 m wi d e and a minimum of 22 m lon g with th ick ,
tamped cl ay fl oor s . Carbonized re mains nex t to the wa ll s i n the
in t er i or s suggest th at t h i s building wi th i t s wood en reinfor cemen t s
may hav e b u r ned , al t houg h we do no t know y et ho w late in LM II I
the burning t ook p lace. Not h i ng was fo und upon the tw o re stricted
fl oor are as , ex posed i n 1984, t o sugg est p IS use .
Future ex cavat io n west of P, on the pe bble co u rt , may show that
it, I ike the abandoned T on the north, had a col on nad ed po rtico .
Or , per ha ps , an enc losure wa ll of some ki nd g av e i t a pr ivacy now
lack i ng as it is seen i n pl an, for no w P' s tw o known rooms (a
con ti n ua tion to th e south i s to be ex pec t ed ) are as han g ar-l ike and
open on t he west as t hat of T.
Thi s season's work , de al in g la rgel y wit h ar ch i t ec t u r al r emains,
re v eal ed, f or in stan ce, t hat the ha l f -t imbering an d d eep foundat ion
methods of bui Iding, were i n troduced at Kommos af t er LM I . Al so,
we no w know th at Building N was not, as previously thought, the
on ly mon u men t al LM I II Building at Kommos . A f t er some seaso ns of
ef f or t , moreover, Ti s l i mi t s ha ve bee n defined on at leas t th re e sides
and probably on th e f ou r th ( t he sou t h). While T' s or ig i na l function
continues to rem ain un defined, its pl an sug g est s storage. Along with
Building .J, linked t o it on t he west, next to the Minoan harbor front
238 JOSEPH AND MARI A SHAW
and road leading to Phaistos, T may have bee n con nected with trade.
I t is possible that J-T during LM I may also be parall eled by a similar
working relationship between LM II I Building N on the wes t ( r e- u se
of J) and P to t he SE of i t, al th ough so far t he latt er t wo are
without structural link . P, wi th a p l an t ha t can on ly sug gest a
gathering of goods and materi al (i. e. storage) , coinci des in ti me ,
probably not coinciden t all y , with the maj or ity of forei gn , es peci all y
Cypriot, ceramic i mpor t s at Kommo s, in LM I li A .
Such apparent tendenc ies sh oul d be ex plored more thoroug h l y i n
fu ture d iscussions, not ju st concerning the Kommos site but al so
relationsh i ps wi th neighbouring Phaisto s and Hagia Tr iada. Pha i stos ,
t he Mi noan center d u ring LM I , with an out l y i ng residential are a at
Hag ia T ri ada , decli ned after LM I when Hagi a T r iada as sumed
ascendency wi t h its ne w, monumen ta l buildings . T he subject of t he
r el at i onshi ps bet ween these three neighbouring sites was exami ne d i n
To r on t o d u ri ng the December 1984 conference of t he Archaeological
I nst i t u te of Amer ica. Su bsequent explor at ion at Kommos i t sel f wi ll aim
t o de f i ne the PIN r elat ionsh i p and to determine t he or ig i nal
appear ance duri ng LM I of the site later occu pied by P. For
instance, to wh at extent did re-use there of LM I ash lar blocks
eradicate earl ier buildings in t he i mmediate area?
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO JOS EPH W. AND MARIA C. SHAW
239
CAESAREA ANCIENT HARBOUR EXCAVATION PROJECT
1984 SEASON
From May 21 to June 30, 1984 archaeoloqical excavation was
carried out on land a nd in the sea at Sebastos, the ancient harbour
of Caesarea Maritima, as part of the fifth season of the Caesarea
Ancient Harbour Excavation Pr oject (CAHEP). This project is
administered by the Center for Maritime Studies of the University of
Haifa. Cooperating member institutions are the University of
Victoria, British Columbia, the University of Colorado-Boulder, and
the University of Maryland. The project director is Dr. Avner Raban
( Ha ifa ) ; co-directors are Prof. John Oleson (Victoria). Prof. Robert
Hohlfelder (Colorado), Dr. R. Lindley Vann (Maryland). Funding for
this season's excavations was provided by all four participating
ins t it ut ions , the Baron Rothschild-Caesarea Foundation, Mr. Morris
Hatter, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of
Canada, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National
Geographic Foundation. The s ta ff of fifteen archaeologists,
architects . and technicians was assi sted by over 100 volunteers from
Israel, Canada, the U.S.A., Eng land , Au stralia and Japan.
The city and harbour of Caesarea , named in honor of the
Emperor Augustus, were built on a grand s ca le by Herod the Great,
between 22 and 9 BC. In previous years CAHEP has uncovered
evidence for the design of the main harbour breakwaters and the
techniques used in their construction. In this fifth season the four
co-directors were searching for a n s we r s to specific questions of
design and chronology, in preparation for final publication of the
results.
Several trenches were cut into the mass of the northern
breakwater (Area H) to clarify the design of the inner face (see
Plan, p. 242) . The south breakwater has a quay at this position, but
240 JOHN P. OLESO
no evi d ence for a similar feature could be fou nd on the more compa ct
northern breakw a t er . Rubble fall en fr om th e structure, howeve r ,
had preserved a la r ge depos it of pottery t ha t will y ield important data
on th e ch r onolog y of harbour use , a nd ha s shown the western
Med ite rranean origin of man y of t he ships us ing t he harbou r . A
cache of 60 mid-fourth c. AD b ronze coins re covered wit h th e
pottery.
A series of Iines was laid ac ross t he nort h an d south
breakwaters at sel ected points to a llow t he p roduc tio n of sect ion
d r awings . The da ta r ecove r ed wi ll a llow reconstruction of t he
a rrangement of mate ria ls on the b reakwater s, and their original mas s .
Excavat ion in rubble blocking t he harbour entrance (Ar ea D),
has s hown th at t he channel was more than 25 m wide . Rema in s of t he
quay on the ti p of the sout he r n b r ea kwa t e r suggest t hat the openi ng
may have been as wide as 50 m. Such a dimension would have made
ent r y easier for ships, but also inc re ased the difficulty of closing.
A sound ing at the south face of a ro un d tower (known fr om
previou s yea rs) in the modern harbou r ba sin reach ed bedrock an d a
foundation course 2.6 m bel ow p r esent sea lev e l. The to we r itself ,
which survives to a height of 1.5 rn, r es t s on a thin laye r of mud ,
showing that it was buil t in a protect ed basi n . The design of t he
tower and the cerami c s assoc iat ed with it s ugge s t a da te in t he 2nd
c. BC. It may have been built to guard an inner basin or c losed
harbour of Str-aton's Tower , the sma ll Hellenistic settlement that
preceded Caesarea. At least in the Roman period there was a ch a nne l
adjacent to the south face of the tower th at gave ent r y to a shallow
inner basin now covered by t he land.
This year for t he f ir st ti me CAHEP ca r ri ed out la rg e sca le land
excavations along the eas te r n quay wa ll of t h is in ner bas in (Area I) ,
where a mooring s t one wa s un cov ered in a p r ob e last season.
Adjacent t o the quay , the bas in was 1.5 m deep , bu t t he bedroc k
form ing its floor slopes steeply to t he west, p r ov id ing grea te r de pt h
for ships to manoeuver. At a later da te , when t he sea leve l was
lower, or as a r esult of local te ct oni c action , a pavement of mas s ive
CAESAREA AN CIENT HA RBOU R EXCAVAT IO N 241
st one sla b s was l aid on t he dry basin floor in front of the forme r
qu ay .
T he design of th e sou t h wall in a vaulted room near the quay
suggested t hat i t was part of t he city wall of Straton' s Tower. It
re semb les the wall nea r the round t ower s at the north city ga t e of
Cae sarea, and I in es up wi th the promontory f orming the sou th edge of
the harbour basin . Pr obes mad e t his summer produced Hel lenistic
potter y , but the co ntex t was no t conc l u s i v e . It is at l east possible
that Her od re- used part of th e Hell en i sti c f or t i f i ca t ion in his massive
b uildi ng p rog r amme.
Our exca vation t his summer was complemen t ed by th e work of a
g r ou p of diving ar ch i t ects un d er th e direction of Dr. Vann . This
g roup, u sin g ne w t echniques of measu r ing an d d ra wi ng u nd er water,
prod uced p l ans and reconstruct ions of th e major harbou r features .
In ad d i t i on , th e da ta on harbour-design gathered ov er y ea rs of
exc ava t ion was as sernb led in a ser ies of drawings recreat ing the
appeara nce of t he ha r bou r at d i ffer en t periods of us e.
I n 1985 th ere will be a st ud y season in which the fi na l r eport
volume will be prep ared .
UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA
Sel ected
JOHN PET ER OLESON
R.L. Hohlfel der , J. P. Ol eso n , "Sebast os, The Harbour Comp le x of
Cae sarea Marit ime, I sr ael ." Ocea nograp hy: the Past ( New Yo r k
1980) 765-79 .
L.I. Levine, Roma0 _._<::aesarea (Jerusalem 1975 ) 3-37 .
J.P. Oleson, "The CA HEP 1982 Season of Ex cav at ion " EMC n.s .27
(1983) 159-168.
J.P. Oleson , "A Roman Sh eave Block from t he harbour of Caesarea
Mar i t irna ." I nternational Journal of Arch aeol oC1.l 12 ( 1983)
155 -170.
242 JO HN P. OLESON
J . P. Ole son . R. Hohlfeder , A. Raban , R. L. Vann, liThe
Caesa rea Ancient Harbor Excavation Project: Preliminary Report
on t he 1980-83 Seasons ," J ou r na l of Field Archaeolog y 11 (1984) :
281- 305 .
A. Rab a n an d R. L. Hohl fe lder , "The Ancient Ha rbors of Caesarea
Marit ima, " Ar ch aeology 34:2 ( 1981) 56-60 .
R. L. Van n, "He r od's Harbo r Construction Recovered Underwater, II
Bib lical Ar c haeo logy Rev iew 9 (1983) 10-14.
CAESJ\REA MARITIMA
CAHEP EXCAVATlQ\JS
QOv1POSlTE PI..P N l:tXXJ R...V
2
113
TH E CORTAGLIA SURVEY PROJECT
1
I n Eas te r n Lucan ia, at the periphery of t he zon e of Greek
ex pa ns i on , initiated in the 6th c. BC, int o th e Lu cani an hint er land ,
are a number of small sites , f orti fi ed in th e 4th c. BC, whi ch reflect
early c r ess-cu l t u ra l con tacts and increas i ng Hell eni zati on in the 5th
and 4th c. BC, wh en th e Greek c it ies on the coa st dominated the area
between the Sinni an d Basentell o rivers.
2
These sites are also
imp ortant f or the light which they may shed on the Roman i zation of
the area and on the 3rd c . Be settlement pattern in S I taly .
1T he Tempa Co rtag l ia Survey Project was generously f unded by
a grant ( 410- 83- 0176) from the Social Sci en ces and Human i ties
Research Counci l of Can ada : it i s a pl easure t o ac k nowl ed g e their
support . We are deeply indebt ed t o Dr. A. Bottini, Su perintendent
of A nt i qui ti es for the Province of Basi l ic ata for his co- oper-at ion an d
interest i n our project. I t i s also a p lea su re to t ha n k my co lleag ues
at t he University of Alberta, Prof. R. J . Buck for interest i ng us in
Tempa Cortag l i a and f or con t in ued discussions on the project, and
Prof. M. Gualti eri f or h i s ass istance in th e initial pl anning stages and
for hi s participation on th e su rvey te am. Sp ecial ac k nowl ed g emen t i s
due t o Sig. Attilio Tramonti, A r chaeol og ist in the Office of the
Superintendent of A ntiquities, fo r- t ime generous ly spen t with u s at
Tempa Cortagl ia , Crocci a Cog nat o , Garaguso and 01 iv et o Lucano , an d
to the studen t member s of the survey te arn, AI ison M. Ke ith of t he
University of Michigan, and Robin Talman, Un iver sity of Ca fifor ni a ,
Be rkeley.
20 isc us sion and bibli og r aphy for the ar ea is found in F . G.
LoPo rto , "Civil ta lndigen a e Penetrazione Gr eca Nell a Lucania, II
MonAnt 48 ( 1973) , and mor e r ecently M. L . Gu al andi, C . Pal azzi, and
"La Lu cani a orientele" in Societe Roman a e Produzione
Schi avi st ica (vo!.l) L'l t ClliCl : Econ omiche (Bari
1981)T55--'79 . . - - - - -
244 H. FRACCHIA
Arc haeologically , the 3rd c . BC in a ll of It aly is a sh adowy
per iod , b ut it is par tic ularly obs cure in Magna Graecia .
3
Aft er t he
fall of Ta r ant o to th e Romans in 270 BC it ha s generally been
accept ed that both th e Luca ni a n hinterland and coastal regions , each
densely se ttled in t he preceding period, su ffered a severe popul ation
de c line. Th e area of eastern Luca ni a ( Fig . 1). delineated by the Sinni
r ive r on t he wes t , th e Ba se nt el lo on t he east, t he Ofan t o on t he
north, and the gulf of Ta ranto on the sout h , before the arriva l of
the Romans s u pported a t leas t 64 s ettlements , fort if ied areas or cu lt
places .
4
After th e a r r iva l of t he Roma ns , s uch locat ions di min ish ed
t o t wenty . 5 Before th e mid-t hird c. BC the area of the uppe r
Ca vone/Sa land r e lla r iver valley sus t ained six fortifi ed sites and one
necropo lis : aft e r th e mid -third c. BC , t he area is without traces of
settl ement s .
6
At the so u rce of the Cavone/ Salandrella river, Tempa Cortagl ia,
a bout 45 km SE of Potenza and 4 km E of Accett u r a, is a t ypical
exam ple of s uc h a site .
7
The heavil y wooded h ill of Te mpa Cortaglia
con s is t s of two pe ak s wh ic h , wi t h t he valley be low, form an
3For general rema rks see T . Pott er, The Chang ing Landscape of
Sou t h Et ruria (London 1979) 95-96,101- 2 . For Luca n ia In parti cula r.
L. Qui lici, Siri s - Heraclea Forma It alia e , r eg io II I , vol. 1 ( Rome 1967)
226-9; J. C. Carter ( ed . ), The Territory of Meta po nto 1981-8 2 (Au sti n
1983); A. T r a mon ti , "Nota per la ca rta archeo log lca d l San Mau ro
Fo r te, II Stud i in Onore di Dinu Adamesteanu, ( Ga lati na 1983) 87-95;
J . P. Morel , "F ou illes a Coz zo Pr es epe, pr es de Me t a pont e" Me lRome 82
( 1970/ 1) 115-11 6; H. Fracch ia, M. Gua ltie r i , F. de Poli gn ac , "11
territorio di Roccaglor iosa in Luc ania" Mef Rorne 95 ( 1983/ 1) 345- 80; M.
Gualt ie r i, "Exc av atio ns at EMC n.s.3 (19 84)
187-2 02, esp. 198-9; (above, n. 2) 15'6=8.
4Gualandi et al. (above, n.2) 156-8, esp. Plate 4- 5.
5Gua landi et aJ. (a bove , n .2) 158-160, Pl ate 5 .
6Gualand i et al. (above , n . 2) Pla t e 5.
71GM Carta d ' l ta lia 1 :25,000 200111 NE. For bibliography on
Tempa Cor taglia, see LoPor t o (above, n .2 ) 242 , no .840, a nd Gu alandi
(above , n.2 ) 168, no .2 .
T HE TEMPA CORT AG LI A SU RV EY PRCJ ECT
2 4 S
caMPAli1
LEGEND :
1. Templ e Co rtag l i a
2. San Ma u ro Fo r te
3. Garaguso
4 . Croccia Co g na t o
::::::::::::: =""..... ~ -' -' "'.....
marc Ad r i a t i.c o
~ ~ ~ "
PUGLIA
5 . 0 1i ve to L ucano
6. Metap ont o
7 . Costa Rai
8 . T empa d ell a Ch ie sa
F I GURE 1
Eastern Lucani a , wi t h s i t es in t he ar ea of T empa Cortag l i a
Map ad ap t ed f r om Soc i et a Roman a e Prod u zione Sch i avi s t i ca .
Vo l . 1 ( Ba r i 1981) . -
246 H. FRACCH IA
Contour Int erval : 5m
'''1/1
Wa lls
..
Possible 4th-3 rd century
Rubble
B.C. farm s te ad
-
Mode r n Road
T
Tombs
Pat h
=:-
Pott e ry Concentrations
FIGURE 2: Survey Area
THE TEMPA CORTAGLI A SURVEY PROJECT
247
amp hi thea t re facing SE, with a view to the sou th of the Cavone/
Salandretla and Basento river s ys t ems as fil l' as t he Ion ic coast. To
t he no r t h, t he peaks of t he l.ucanian Dolomit es and Croccia Cognat o
a r e vis ible; to the wes t , the s urrounding mou nt ain s obscure t he v iew.
T he higher peak, at 949 rn, is defended on t he east si de by a ci rc u it
wal l , and is natural ly defended on t he wes t by a steep s lope. The
masonry of the walls ha s been desc r ibed a s "fra Ie plu imponenti della
Luca nia, . .. in perfetta te cni ca is od oma e vanno d atate al pieno IV
secolo a. C. 11
8
Imrned i at et y below t he pea ks on all s id e s t he slope
be comes more gradual and widen s into a se r ie s of s ma ll plateaus which
descend to the mod ern ro ad co nnecti ng Accettura a nd San Mauro
Forte . In Ju Iy a nd August of 1983, we we r e a b le to s u r ve y
int ensi vel y t he two peaks, the s urround ing hill s id es to the bottom of
the vall ey s a ro und Tcrnpa Cortag l ia , and seve ra l other near by
loc al it ie s (Fig . 1, 2 ) . 9
8LoPo rt o (above, n .2) 242, no . 840 .
9The a r ea was divided in to twe lve zo ne s , ea c h of which wa s
s ubdi vided in t o 10m x 10m squa r es, a nd which were then intensively
s u r veyed . The tot al sherd rct r ieval was 5 ,535 pieces, wi t h 2,790
datable s he r d s , which were mea sured, d ra wn, photographed a nd
desc r ibed .
Bl a ck Gla ze 186
Geometric Paint ed Wa r e 50
Impas t o 311
* Fine Wa r e 1, 936
** Coase Ware 1 , 483
Tiles/Brick 1 ,5 69
TOTAL ~
By d e fin it ion , a well-l evi gated undecora ted ware . The fi ne ware
from Te rnpa Cortag l ia breaks in t o two fabr ic categories: orange a nd
c r eamy b uff.
The orange fabric is consistently found in s herds with black g laz e
for ms wh ere t he glaze ha s worn off.
Th e c reamy buff fab ric, on the other hand , is consi stently found
in sherds whic h ar e dat able to the geometric pe riod .
** Fif t een of t he coarse-w are rims are ana logo us t o ty pe s from
Vi ttim ose a nd Vagni ( bel ow , n. 36) . All mat eri al is s to re d in th e
d e pos it of th e Su pe r in t e nd e n t of An tiq u it ies fo r th e Pr ovince of
248 H. FRACCH IA
The fo r tificat ion wal l (Plate 1), p reserved up to four courses ,
e xt en d s fo r 151. 15 m on the E s ide : t his stretch includes a postern
gate at the SE ext re mit y, and a gate as we ll as the remain s of a
tower at th e NE end. 10 Beyond t he to wer , enc losing th e wel l-
preserved as hlar fou nda tions are two buildi ngs and an ample plateau ;
a line of rubble, 1.5m wide , seeming ly disintegrated from s maller
blocks th an those composing the wal l ex te nd s for another 63 . 63m. 11
The on ly potte ry assoc iated with th e encl osed NE area was a large
plain-ware sh erd re pai r ed with a lead p lug.
The gate an d tower are at the foot of t he higher peak : a ro ute
coming up fr om t he south- ea s t p latea u pa s ses throug h the gate , along
the north an d along th e wes t s ide of t he for t if ied peak t o the
Masseria Stangone. It eventually join s an an c ient route connect ing
Garaguso and San Mauro Forte . 12 Within t he fortified area, in
addition to the two foundations noted a bove , there are only some
earthworks, from World War II, accor d ing to local sources, and rock
piles, probably left from DiCicco's excavations in the 1890's . 13 A
concentration of chips and small sherds of excellent quality black
glaze datable to the 4th -3rd c . BC were found immediately below the
Basilicata in Potenza.
10Height of walls: 1.27m-l.54m; gate : 4.50m wide; Tower max.
preserved height: 2.10m, foundations 1.69m x 1.32m.
11Dottoressa E. Lattanzi mentions a large complex at Tempa
Cortaglia without giving more details: "Megale Hellas: nome e immagine,"

foundations of second building : 6.30m x 12.70m; doorway on E side,
1. 47m. The Iine of rubble ends exactly at t he NW corner of the
second building.
12R. J. Buck, "The Ancient Roads of Southeastern Lucania,"
PBSR 43 (1975) 98-117; here 106, Fig.4 and 107-8.
13LoPorto (above, n.2) 242 , no.840 ; Gua la nd i (above, n. 2) 169 ,
n.z,
THE T EMPA CORTAGLI A S URVEY PRCJECT 249
highest peak on th e so u t h face : t he se a r e rnos t Iikely f ro m th e dump
of the 1890 in ve s t ig a t ion s .
The pottery assoc ia t e d wi t h the fort if ied a rea and its immed iate
env irons r anges in date f r om th e impasto of the Mid dl e Bronze Ag e to
the b lac k g la ze p rod uc t ion of the 3rd BC ( Plate 2) .
Concentrat ions of certain ty p es of pottery allow us to deduce a reas of
occupation during parti cu la r periods.
The ea r l iest material , from the Midd le Bro nze Ag e t hrough t he
Earl y Iron Ag e , 14 includes typical examples of we ll -bu rni shed
impasto, corded, and knob- d ecora t ed ware (Pla te 2) . 15 T he greates t
density of t he s e wares wa s fo und on the plateaus immediately to t he
NE and N of the ac r opolis , in t he sa d d le bet.ween t wo peaks. Earl ie r
investigators had noted t he pre s en ce of a proto-Vi lIa nov a n necropol is
withou t, however, in d icati n g its precise location. 16 The ceramic
evidence locates the ne c r opolis on the upper N/N VI s lopes of Tempa
Cortagl ia , facing the modern town of Ac cettu ra and directly a bove th e
headwaters of the Cav one/Salandrella river (Fig. 2) .
In the lower p lateaus in the same a re a a nd spreading d own from
the s ad d le between the two pe ak s, sti ll on th e NW side, enotria n
14R cughly co r re s pon d ing dates for these terms are: Middle
Bronze Age 1450 -1250 BC; Fina l Bronze Age 1250 -950 BC; Iron Age
950-700 BC.
15paral lel s for the T empa Co r t ag l ia impa s t o for ms, cord a nd knob
de corated wares are fou nd in th e p la in of Sibaris : Ricerche s u lla
Protostoria della Sibaritide ( Nap les 198 2) Vol . l : Plat e 3, no. 5 ; Plate
6 , no .4 ; Plate 8 , no .1; Plate 27 , no.3, 8; Plate 29 , no.2 , 14; Pl a te
31 , no.2; Plate 32, no. 3; Vo1. 2 : Pl ate 33, no. 12 . The c loses t ana logy
fo r a hand le "ad piast r a" comes from Sala Consil ina: K. Kili an,
Archaologischen Forschungen in Lu ka n ie n (Heidelberg 1964) Vol .1,
8edage 17, no.3 , 6, - C r a b . XIV; Vol .lll, Plate 201 , III , no . 7,
Grab.27; Plat e 194, IV , no.2 , Grab .6.
160iCicco , " Luc a n ia " NSc (1896) 53 -55 ; Lo Po r t o (above , n .2)
242 , no . 840; Gua landi ( a b o ~ p.2) 169 , no .2. Fo r a n e n t ir e vase
and desc riptio n of other find s from the ear ly ne crop ol is of Ternpa
Cortag lia, see M.S . Bertarelli, " Mus eo Ar cheologi co Provi nc ia le di
Po te n za (Rome 1967) 22 a n d 51, bottom .
250 H. FRACCHIA
geometric sherds, banded cups and b lack glaze were abundant. 17
The black glaze continued to be abundant as we worked our way
around to the Wand SW slopes a nd as we descended to the mode rn
road. The occurrence of loom-weights and coarse-wares increased on
the lower W, SW and S plateaus which are larger than the higher
easterly and northerly ones. 18 The most common coarse-ware
form is a shal low, wide carinated ca sserole wit h two arched or
squared handles appl ied at the ca r inat ion . The handles extend up
and are pushed quite close to the r im wh ich always has a reserved
seating for a lid. The shape is known from all over Magna Graecia,
from as far north as Minturnae a nd as far sout h as Locri: it is
considered a 4th -3rd c. BC form. 19
17No complete motif was preserved of the geometric painted
wares. The sherds are decorated with one or more str ipes of
red-brown , brown, maroon, or black paint on a well-Ievigated buff
fabric. Estroflex rims analogous to those from Tempa Cortaglia are
found at Timmari, /I Museo Nazionale Ridola di Matera, Soprintendenza
Archeologica della Basilicata (Matera 1976), PlateXLI, no.1, Plate
XLV, no .l , 3 from Montescaglioso, Pla te L1, no. 1 from Pisticci.
Very th in wall s s lightly estroflex banded cu ps , black or brown-
black painted were common. Thi s type is most lik e the one-handled
cup from Cozzo Presepe, J. Du Plat Taylor et al., "COZzo Presepe
1969-1972" NSc (1977) Supplemento 191-406, here321-337.
The most abundant black glaze forms are found in J. P. Morel,
Ceramique Campanienne (Rome 1981) : rims F2681a , Fl236a1, Series
2641; bases 321c3; handles F4242a 2.
180 n 1y pyramidal loom-weights, one with dot decoration on the
top, were found at Tempa Co rtagl ia a nd Costa Rai.
19T his form, with many s light variations, is found at Minturnae,
A. Kirsopp Lake , "Campana Suppellex, II Bollettino dell ' as soc ia zione
internazionale di studi mediterranei 5 ( 1934-35) 97- 114, here, p . 105,
type 2, Plate XVII, 2a-h; P.G. Guzzo, "Acq uap pesa , " NSc 32 ( 1978 )
471, Fig.4 , 93; E. Greco, "Santa Maria del Cedro," N'5C 32 (19 78)
453 , Fig. 38, n. 40; Sibar is, perso na l communica ti on f r oms. Luppi no,
Inspector for t he a rc haeolog ica l zone ; Loc r i Epizefi ri: Ricerche
a r c heolog ic he s u un abitato de lla Mag na Gr ecla, Soprrntendenza
Archeologica del la Cal abria , Un ive rs ita d i To ri no Is ti t uto d i
Archeologia (Locr i 1983) 377 , Fig . 147. Alt hou g h very few dates have
been assigned t o coa r s e ware , P. G. Guzzo, in his as s es s me nt of the
dates for Acquappesa in ge ne r al sa ys t hat the site di d not cont inue
THE TEMPA CORT AGL I A SU RVE Y PROJ ECT 251
On t he slope of t he easte rn p la tea u, i n a narrow st r ip ex t endi ng
E-S E, d irect ly be low th e fo rti f i cat ion wa ll and fl anking th e path t o
the main g at e, sev era l red- f igu re sherds , sk y phoi bases an d ha nd les ,
as well as n umero us b lack-g laze wall -sher ds were p ic ke d u p . The
high qual ity and l ocation of these sherds- -a slope at t he edge of the
pl ate au , with little eart h above t he I imes t one bedrock , alo ng th e rou te
to the main gate-- sug gest a 4th-3 rd c . b u rial ground. The p rom i ne n t
location al ong the roa d and ou t si de t he wal ls st ro ng ly sug g est a
communal are a r at her t han an i solat ed si ng le fa mily bur i al site . 20
T he pottery f rom ev er y per iod was no t ewor t h y i n th e quality of
production: few pieces, even among s t t he coa rse ware s , were
misfi re d , and the bl ack glaze was lus t ro us and t h i c k . T here was
littl e ev i d ence of underfiring , a common defect of late 4th and early
3rd c . BC black glaze from rural sites in Lucania .
21
The r ed - figure
sher d s have some preliminar y sk et ch marks on t hem, the drawing is
fine and precise, the g laze shiny . The same even fi ring an d
application of paint i s seen on th e g eomet r ic pa inted ware sherds.
T he imp asto, well depurated , evenl y bur ni shed, smooth t o t he touch,
with sha r p l y execut ed fo rms ad d s to the impression of a con t i n uou s
h igh quality ceramic sou r ce .
Two nearby ar eas were freq uent l y named by local people as
pl aces where pottery was f ound in the fields : Costa Rai and T emp a
dell a Chiesa (F ig.1) . Both si t es are al ong the con t i n ua t ion of t he
ridge extending SVJ from t he si te , ac r oss th e va lley to t he west, and
af ter t he mid -thi rd c. BC ( ~ . ~ . n. 478-9).
20T h i s observati on is based on p la ns pu bl is hed in M. Guido ,
Souther n I t al y : An Arch eol og ical Gui de ( Londo n 1972) for He raclea,
124, Fl g. 20; Mandurl a 152 , Flg.23; Locri 171, Fig.25 ; Ve li a 206,
Fig .32 and Roccaglori os a (Gual tieri , above, n.3) 189, Fig .2 .
21E. Fabbricotti, "Fontan a Bona,1I NSc (19 79 ) 347- 413 , cf.
genera l reru ar k s on bl ock g laze, 408-409; at t)ccaglor ios 2, Fr ac chi a et
~ . (a bo ve, n . 3) 379- 80; and , al t hou g h ne ithe r rural nor Lucani an, at
Mint urnae, Ki r sop p Lak e (abovc . n.18) 110- 111.
252 H. FRACCHIA
probably accessible by a route join ing the one mentioned above
to San Mauro Forte . Costa Rai is a smal l elevation surrounded by
gently sloping fields: black glaze sherds and loom-weights were
sc attered over the cul tivable area. Tempa della Chiesa is a barren,
eroded solitary peak overlooking the valley behind to the nor th, as
far as the Lucanian Dolomites, and to the south beyond San Mauro
Forte. On clear days the Ionic coast is v is ib le from this point as
well. As at Tempa Cortaglia the view of the west is cut off. On the
peak are the ruins of an apsidal building made of brick with an annex
to one side. One wall shows traces of a staircase. Although a great
deal of pottery was scattered ab out. t here wa s no black glaze nor
anything datable to the late 3rd-2nd c. BC. Th e sherds included
combed ware and coarse wares dated to the 1st c. BC. 22 The
original building was probably a Roman watchtower, consideri ng the
extensive view Nand S. The t ower may have formed part of the
defense system for the road run ning from Pol icoro to Grassano via
San Mau ro Forte. 23
As noted, the sherds retrieved place t he actual habitation of the
Tempa Cortaglia area in the periods from t he Midd le Bronze Age to
the midd le of t he 3rd c. BC. This habi tation span accords well with
the neighboring sites of Garaguso, 24 Crocci a Cognato,25 Oliveto
Lucano,26 and San Mau ro Forte
27
(Fig.1l, all of which reflect , to a
22personal communication from P. Arthur, collaborator with the
Depa r t men t of Ant iq u it ies, Naples.
23Buc k (above, n.1l) 106, Fig.4, 107-8.
24Garaguso: J . P. Morel, "Garaguso (Lucanie): traditions indigenes
et inf lue nces qrecques ;" CRAI (1974) 370-395; tv';. Hano, R. Hanoune,
J. P. Morel, "Garaguso, 1r-tifS""c 25 (1971) 424- 438; Gualandi et al.
(above, n.2) 171, no.23. - --
25Croccia Cognato: LoPorto (above, n. 2) 242, N. 841; Gualandi ~
al . (above, n.2) 168, no.2.
260liveto Lucano: Gualandi et al. (above, n .2) 174, no.41.
THE TEMPA COf\ TAGLIA SURVEY PROJ ECT 253
great er or lesser de g ree, the same Greek in f luen ces in their materi al
c u lt ure as do es Te rnpa Cor t ag lia a nd rr.any ot he r s ites in eas t e r n
Luc ani a .
28
Garaguso, excav ated by the Fre nc h Sch ool in Rome , was
inhabi ted f ro m th e Neo lit hic t h roug h La te Cl assi cal ph ase s : however,
the Cl as sic al pe r iod, from 470- 350/3 30 BC , and the Helleni stic per iod,
a ft e r 270 BC when Taran to fe ll to t he Romans , a re poorly
represented. No mat er-ial was found th at was dat able to the
post - Pyrrhic war year s, whi c h s ug ges t s t hat the Roman co nq ues t may
have created at Garaguso, as in so many ot he r localities , a n a bs olute
29
vacuum.
At t he fortified s ite of Cr occia Cog na t o , 1,1 35 rn high, the
doub le circuit wall of sq ua re d blo ck s with Greek letters on them
attest s to a mid -fourth c . p hase . Rece nt ly traces of a mesoli t h ic
habitati on have been found a t t he si t e to s upp lement th e long noted
geometri c settlement. 30 No traces of se t t leme n t ac t iv it y ex is t after
the mid -third c . BC.
At 01iveto Lucan o , a do ub le fo rt if ica ti on wall a nd red-figure
vases of t he 4th c. BC we re found, bu t a long and emp t y ga p ex is ts
between t he 4t h c . BC re mains a nd the Roma n t ombs in th e a rea .
Th e a r ea be tween Sa n Ma u r o Forte a nd Ca ra g us o pres e n t s a
different picture . In the fo r est prese rv e be t wee n the two v illag es , at
t he s ite of Cana llecchia there is ev ide nc e for co nt inue d habitation
fr om the Br onze Age to t he hi storic peri od.
31
T r amonti makes the
27Sa n Mauro Forte: Gu al andi e t al. (ab ove, n. 2) 176, no.62;
T r a mont i (above, n. 3) 87-95.
28Gu alandi et al. (a bo ve , n .2) 155-8; LoPor t o (a bove , n .2); Hano ,
(above, Mor e l (a bove , n . 4) 370- 395.
(a bove , n.4) 438.
30pe r sona l communi cation f r om A. T ramonti.
31T ra mont i (above, n. 3) 90.
254 H. FRACCHI A
follow ing observation: "Ne i grandi cent ri fo r tificat i d i Garaguso,
Crocc ia Cognato e Tempa Cor tagl ia la documen t azio ne a r cheolog ica s i
interrompe infatt i, bruscament e, a lia sogl ia de l I I I se c. a . C.
territor io d i San Mauro For te , proba bilment e f ino a qu el per iodo aveva
costituito la zona agricola d i qu alcuno dei centri suddet t i , con t inua
invece a vivere e a mantenere ta le fu nzione ag ricola . .. dopo
I'occupazione romana della Luc an ia ."
32
Despite the dates av ailabl e fr om t he ana lysi s of t he black-glaze
pottery found at Tempa Cor ta g Iia , we bel ieve th at the re may be
evidence for co nt inued agr icultural ac t iv it y in th at area in the
2nd-1st c. BC, as t he r e is now su ch ev idence emerging in t he a rea
between San Mauro For t e and Ga r aquso .
The existence of a pos s ibl e ga rr ison post at Tempa della Chies a
in the Late Republican period may be linked to t he hea vy use of the
roads in the area :
33
it may a lso be as s oc iat ed with co nti n ued
agricultural usage of the fe r ti le lands aroun d t he a ba ndone d for t if ied
area of Tempa Cortagli a in t he 2nd- l st c . BC. We di d no t fi nd any
Campa na C, other Hellenist ic g re y wares , Italian t e r ra s igil atta nor
Roman fine-wares on any of the plate au s s urveyed, even th oug h ea ch
of those plateaus s eems to hav e hou s ed a farmstead in the 4th -3rd c .
BC. The postulated abandonment of local it ies in ea s t e rn Lucani a ha s
been based on the absence of black-gl aze forms datable to after the
mid-third c. BC; however, a pattern of agricultural fr equentation
ins tead of continuous habitation will not lea ve traces of itself in fine
pott e r y sherds. 34 A settlement re cord t r aced through the
32Tramonti (above , n.3) 90.
33
Buck
(above, n.ll) 115-7 .
34Such a situation has be en s ug gested by D. Adames t eanu, "Ti pi
di insediament i umani in Pug lia e Bas il icat a, II Posebna Izdan ia 24
(1975) 259- 269: "Se s u qu a lch e centro lucano la vita pe rsiste ancora ,
come a Melf i 0 Mont e Ir s i , non si tratta piu di abitati be nsi di fattorie
rust iche, d i veri p iccol i agg lomer ati agricoli 0 pastorali senz ' alcuna
importan za per la vi t a luc an a ." P.G . Guzzo , "11 t e r r it or io d ei
TH E TEMPA CORT AGLIA SU RVEY PROJ ECT 255
ev olut ion and impor-t at ion of eithe r Ca mpa n ia n produced ins pired
black g laze forms woul d no longer ex ist if a n a r ea were us ed e it he r
seas ona lly or on a bas is of fr equ e nt at ion for exclusively agricultural
work. Coa r s e wa re , ins tead of fi ne ware , would have been brought
t o such s it es-- to ea t f ro m, etc. - -fro m Roman supplied vill as. A
concomitant ch ange in coa rse wa re form s from the standard 4th - 3rd c.
BC type de scr ibe d a bove would be ex pec t ed . 35
At Tempa Cortagli a dolia r ims were found in t he lower plateaus
and, more significantly, a sma ll sa mp le of datable coarse for ms , with
close parallels from Vittimos e , a 2nd- 1s t c. BC site, a nd Vagni , a s ite
inhabited from the 2nd c . BC to th e 4th c. AD. 36 The number of
samples datable to th e 2nd-1 s t c . BC is small in comparison to that
from the earlier period; however, Tempa Cortaglia is high (949 rn},
snowfall abundant, a nd wolves s t ill prowl through the forest preserve
of Tempa Cortaglia and at Costa Rai. Land could only be worked
from the late spring through ea r ly fall. If such frequentation or
seas ona l habitati on were the case, a large sample of material should
not be expected.
The surface s u r vey "evide nce" fo r postul ating fr equentation or
seasonal oc cupation in the 2nd - 1s t c . BC is very fragile. Excavation
of one or more of t he p lat ea us a r ound Temp a Cortagli a would
doubtless clar ify th e s itu at ion , Non ethel es s, further study of th ese
coars e ware forms may a llow us g reate r understanding of the s udd e n
decrea se in sites in th e la t e 3rd c . BC in Lucania, an d a ls o allow a
Bruttii" in Soci et a Roman a (above, n.2) 115-1 35 di scus s es th e, a bsence
of black glaze form s dated to af ter the end of th e 3rd c .: " E inv alsa
I'abitudine d i dat are tutta la vern ice ne ra a prima dell a fi ne di III
secolo a . C. las ci a ndo poi pe ro un v uo to f ino a lia co mpa r sa de lle t erre
s ig ni lla t e ... "( 115).
35St ephen L. Dyson, "Cos a : Th e Ut il it ari an Pott ery , " MAAR 33
( 1976) 19-20.
36Stephen L. Dy son , Th e Roman Villas of B _ ~ c c i n o , BAR 187
(Oxford 1983).
256 H. FRACCHIA
modification of the complete v acuum seemi ng l y created by the Roman
i ntrusion into Eastern Lucania.
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA HELENA M. FRACCH IA
257
FOUR T H CENTURY BC ARCHITECTURE FROM ROCCAGLORI05A
An i mpor t an t result of the 1982-83 excavation at this I ta l ic
fo r t ified site in West er n Lucan i a ha s been the discovery of a well
preserv ed group of structures dated to the 4th c. BC and centred
around a larg e paved cour t on t he cen t r al plateau inside the
fo rt i f i ca tion wall (F ig.1. See EMC n . s. 28 [1984) 187- 202 for an earli er
r eport and ge ne ra l descript ion of th e site). I n view of the sca rcit y
of documents pertaining to the arch itect ure of I tal ic fo r t i f ied
set t lemen t s (excluding t he st udy of t he fo rti ficati ons themselves), we
con sider this discovery a maj or aspect of t he project undertak en by a
te am of the University of Alberta.
In the 1984 season differen t parts of the complex were explored
in order to cl arify t he lay ou t , f un cti on and ch r onol og y of the
buildings .
A . Area immedi at ely to the north of the pav ed cou r t (separated
from the latter by a tile wall ) : The ex cavat ion here helped to clarify
the function and exten t of a wall (F12 ) made entirely of fl at tiles laid
with the edges along th e f ace of the wall and parti ally bonded with
c1ay,1 which run s al ong th e N ed g e of the paved cou r t (EMC 28
(1984) Plate 1). The E end of t he t ile wall was cov er ed by a thick
1A si mila r type of structure, al thoug h built with i mbrices and in
a r ather irregular f ashion , was f ou nd at Cozzo Presepe, in the
hinterland of Metapont o : J.P. Morel , Mel Rome 82 ( 1970) 81 Figs. 7-8.
Mor e spec ific comments on the use ortTTeS i n wall cons t r u ct ion,
d u ring th e 4th / 3rd c . BC are in A . Mc Whir r (e d. ) Roman b r i ck an d
til es, BA R 5.68 (1 979) 13. The use of cla y as a boncrrngerement for
walTs is fir st menti one d by T h ucydides i n the building of t he Athenian
forti f i cati on at 5phacteria (Thuc. I V , 4, 5) .
258 M. GUALTIERI
layer of collapsed material from the destruction of the long ba ck wall
of the portico. The back wall continues toward the N on a more
massive scale, which may indica te its use also as a terracing wall
(F47-F48). The destruction of the latter had damaged some parts of
F12 to such an extent that its con tinuation beyond the NE corner of
the paved court was uncertain. Its full length (7m), however, was
ascertained by the end of the 1984 season and it was found to abut
against the continuation of wall B (i.e. the back wall of the portico
opening onto the paved court: Plate 1). The function of the tile wall
was to separate the "cerernonlal" area of t he complex with the shrine
(F11) and portico from the large unroofed area to the N which was
used as an ergasterion or "Industr-Ial area", The latter was
characterized by the presence of a long s t one built-drainage canal
(F28) and minor drains made of imbrices plus a number of hearths or
furnaces made entirely of tile and a settling basin for clay (F40).
Whilst the extent of the ergasterion and the specific function of some
of the features found in it are yet t o be cl a r ified , its find in
association with a large paved complex is not without parallel in urban
contexts.
2
B. Area E of the paved court: The mos t impo r t ant elements for
the reconstruction of the central part of th e complex and the history
of the structures in this part of t he site came from the excavation of
wall B (identified as such in 1983), i. e. th e ba ck wall of the portico
bordering the E and 5 side of the paved court (P lates 2 and 4). The
E face of wall B was exposed for its whol e length (10m) a nd up to a
height of over one metre in the N area, a butt ing onto F46, F47, and
F48, thus providing evidence fo r a major d iv is ion bet ween th e area
opening onto the cour t and the a r ea t o t he E of th e po r ti co , t o whi c h
two doors found in wall B (F55 a nd F56) ga ve access.
2A similar association of a pa ved a re a/ po rt ico compl ex wit h a n
ergasterion is found at Metapont o: F. D
'
Andria Att i Tarc;r. to 17 ( 1977 )
411.
4TH C. BC ARCHITECT URE FROM RCCCAGLORIOSI'. 261
As al r ead y ment ion ed, wall B fun ctioned as t he back wa: I ( J f t he
po rt ico, s u p por t ing t he E s ide of a pi tc hed r oof : t he W s ia e of the
roof wou ld have been s e t on wood e n po s t s r es t ing on t he b locks of
t he as h lar wall c re ating t he edge of th e pa ve d a r ea. 3 T he s ize a nd
accura t e const ruc tion of wa l l B (ca refu l ly sq ua red l imes tone b lock s se t
in a s lig htl y canti le ve re d fa s hion to cou n t e r ac t t he u ns ta b le nat u r e of
t he s loping groun d to the E) u nderl ine s it s majo r fu nction of
per imeter wall for t h is pa r t of the co mp lex a nd confi rms t he p r oposed
r econstruc ti on of t he po r t ico borderi ng the E side of t he pa ved co urt
( Pla te 3 ) . Rooms 1 and 2, to t he S of it , must have been ad d ed in a
second moment. 4
Althou g h th e area E of th e wall B ha s been onl y pa r ti ally
ex p lor ed, th e presence of th e two doo r s F55 a nd F56 (Plate 2) implies
th e exi stence of room s , or an open , fe nc ed s pace con nect ed with the
porti co in th at direction. On t he ot he r hand , the ca r ef ul bl ocking of
the two d oors ( t he s ta te in which t hey hav e been foun d ) poi n ts to a
re - s truc tur ing of th is pa r t of the co mp le x, whi c h has been t e n ta t ive ly
dated in th e fir st hal f of the 3r d c. BC, an d a shrink ing of the
co mplex to t he a r ea immedi at el y s ur ro und ing th e co u r t. Poss ibl y , in
conjunction with s uc h a t r ans fo r ma t ion , th e two r ooms ( n umbe r ed 1
and 2) imrned i atet y to th e S of th e paved cou r t we r e ad d ed . Al so,
th e lev el Iing off of th e a r ea E of wa ll B by mean s of a t h ic k pottery
and til e dump a nd t he re bu ild ing , on t he top of t he r ema in s of wall
B, of a new wall mad e of coa rs e ly a nd irregu lar ly la id lime stone
blocks, ha s p ro v ided th e c lea r d oc ume ntation of lat er r e-use of the
a re a , on a muc h r edu ced scal e . Such rebuild ing pe rh ap s to ok pla ce
3For a re con s truction of t he porti co, J.E. J ones , L.H. Sac ke tt
and A. J. Graham "An Attic co un try house below the cave of Pan a t
Vari" BSA 68 (197 3) 360 -6 5 an d Fig. 2. At Vari the wooden s ha ft s
were resting on a series of socketed s to ne bases rather than on an
as hlar wall.
4T he E wall of Room 1 ab u ts on th e SE corner of Wall B; the
ac ces s from the portico into Roorr: 1 is clearly just a break into the
E-W wall perpendicular to wall B.
262 M. GUALTI ERI
at the same time as some min or f arm bui ld ings we re erected on t op of
the 4th c . BC cemetery ( ~ ~ 32 [19 78] 413). T h is last ph ase of th e
complex can now be tentat ively da t ed t o t he late 3rd or earl y 2nd c .
BC
5
and i s quite consistent wi t h th e evidence so far ava i labl e f r om
other Lucanian sites in the peri od of t he Roman iz at ion of th e area
6
(a lthough clear archaeological evidence as we fi nd on t he cent r al
plateau is so far lacking).
C. Area at the south ex t r emi t y of the comp l ex : A group of
rooms to the S of Rooms 1 and 2 and similarly or iented were
excavated in the S area of t he compl ex by a t eam of st uden t s of the
University of Alberta Summer Fie ld Sch ool. Explora ti on in this ar ea
was undertaken with the aim of cl ari f y i ng t he S l i mit of t he comp l ex;
th e discovery of a dense group of st r uct u r es (Rooms 3. 4. 5 c l earl y
continuing toward the Sand W) , used at leas t i n part f or ha bitat ion ,
has added new elements for the gener al i n t er p r et at ion of t he comp l ex
since clearly the majo r walls belong to the 4t h c. BC ph ase.
Rebuilding on a much reduced scale may be documen t ed al so in th is
area of the complex, but not yet preci sely dated, although i t would
seem to belong to t he late 3rd-early 2nd c . BC f re q uen t at ion of the
site mentioned above.
I n addition t o providing a detai led pla n of the cen t r al part of
the l at e 4th c. BC complex (Fig . 1), t he 1984 season at Roccag loriosa
has produced some very important additional data on size, l ayout , and
construction techniques of this group of buil dings on the cen t r al
plateau. The specific use of i t s different parts an d t he funct ion of
5These date s ar e ba sed on a group of character i st i c coa r se- war e
forms wh ich have been identi fied by H. Fracch ia in t he course of t he
1984 season. Unfortunate l y t he layers c learl y associated wi t h the
re bui Iding of wall B ar e lack i ng i n diagnostic fine-wares.
6D. Ad amest eanu "Tipi d i i nsed i ament i uman i i n Pug l ia e
Basi l i cata " Pose bna I zdan i a 24 ( 1975 ) 268- 69; A. Gi ardi na and A .
Sc hi avone (eds . ) Soc i eta Roman a e Pr od uzi on e Schi av isti ca : vol. 1
L'ltali a : I nsedi amen t i e Forme Economic he, ( Ba ri 1981) 153-59.
4T H C . BC A RCHITECT URE FROM ROCC AGLORIOS A 263
the comp l ex as a wh ol e are sti ll un cle ar. A comp l et e st ud y of the
as soci at ed finds and further ex p lora t ion at least toward the N and E
si des ar e to be comp l ete d before f in al r emark s can be made.
Architecturally, however, th e paved court and assoc iat ed
L-shaped portico do constitute , as or i g i nall y suspected, the main
focu s of th e complex. Thus , t he "monumentalization" of thi s part of
the site, ( and perhaps of ot hers too) which takes place in the late
4th c. BC would seem to con form to what essentially is an established
architectural tradition in rural ar eas of the Mediterranean world.
Many parallels for this central featur e are to be found in major
rural complexes of the late c l ass ical Gr eek world (EMC 28 [1984 ) 192
n. 10) and it is tempting to consider this particular aspect of the
architecture of the site as an added element of influence from the
material culture of the Greek colonies.
7
On the other hand, the
evidence from the inland areas of Central -Southern Italy may provide
some parallels for the use of a similar paved court, in both private
8
and public
9
buildings. A t the Roccagloriosa site itself, such a
Treziny "Main d'oeure indigene et
Lucaniennes" in
fin de la Re ublique
8particularly at Gioia del Colle in Apulia, where some of the
houses on the acropol is (l ate 4th c. BC) show a similar type of
architectural arrangement : NSc 16 ( 1962) 103 and Fig.87. A probable
example has been found III the hinterland of Siris-Heraklea: L.
Quilici, Siris-Heraklea, Forma I tal iae , Regio III, vol.1 (Rome 1967)
144 and Fig. 307 . Relevant remarks by P. G. Guzzo, Le Ci tta
Scomparse della Magna Grec ia (R ome 1982) 140. ---
9At the site of Gioia del Colle a large portico belonging to the
acropolis settlement has been r econstructed as opening onto .... :-:,"h1ic
square: NSc 16 (1962) 110 and Plate 5. At Alfedena, in Samnium, a
large rectangul ar building with portico i n the ac r opol i s area may have
had a similar function: P. Zanker, ed , . Hellenismus in Mitteli tal ien ,
(Cott inqen 1976) 219-23 and Pl ate 2. Here, the replacement of timber
with stone for the column s seemi ng l y took place in the late 3r d c.
BC. Although on a larger scale, the plan of the "S amnitic" sanctuary
at Rossano di Vaglio i n Central Lucani a shows remarkable si mi lar i t y in
264 M. GUALTIE RI
structure would appear to be r at her pop ula r in th e latter part of th e
4th c. BC since:
i) A s imila r architectural a r ra ng ement is to be fou nd in
the group of structures excavated in 1977 on th e SE
plateau, adjacent to the S gate (NSc 32 [1978] 403-408),
where also substantial remains of theearly phase, dating to
the first half of the 4th c. BC a r e p r ese r ved in the
foundations of a la r g e recta ngul ar building. In the late 4th
c . phase, a paved court with a s tone drainage cana l at its
NE corner was partly built on top of the fou ndat ions of the
large rectangular building and became the main focus of a
group of rooms found immed iatel y to the E of it (Fig. 2) .
ii ) In a different part of t he s ite exp lored in 1983, the
so- ca lled DB area outside of t he fortificat ion wall ( EMC 28
[1984] 196 and Plate 4), a paved a r ea bo rdered byawide
line of as hla r masonry has been part ially explored ( fo r an
a r ea of about 6m x 6m) and dated to the second half of the
4th c. BC.
Although the simi lar ity of a rch itec t u r al a r r a ngeme nt wi th the
complex on the central pl ateau is evident, in t he last two ca ses it is
impossible to de f ine a s peci f ic fu nction for t he paved cour t, due to
the fragmentary character of the archaeolog ical ev idence av ailable .
However, such parallels in different areas of t he nucleated site po int
out the ubiquity of this type of cons t r uct ion , whi ch would a ppea r t o
be characterist ic feature of alleged proces s of
"monumentalization" of the settlement areas in the late 4th c. BC.
The more specific function whi ch can be assigned to th e large
paved court on the central plateau, after the discovery of F11 with
the undisturbed votive deposit in side it (EMC 28 (1984] Pis. 2-3), also
archi tectural arrangement: D. Adamesteanu and M. Lejeune "II
santuario lucano di Macch ia di Rossano di Vag i io" MemLinc 16 (19 71)
39- 83. Recently, a large paved area ( bor de r ed byanashlar wal l)
from Moio della Civitell a in the hinterla nd of Vel ia /Elea , dat ed to th e
3rd c. BC, ha s been co ns idered as compelli ng evidence for a
p roto-urban developmen t of t he s it e , a llege d ly unde r t he influen ce of
ne arby Elea: A. Schnapp and E. Greco, "Moio de lla Civ itell a et Ie
t err itoir e de Ve lia" MelRome 95 (19 83) 399- 405, Figs.14 and 18.
4TH C . BC A RCHITECTURE FROM ROCCAGLORI OSA 265

1
':
r r I
I '
.......
Ea r ly phase (f i r s t hal f 4t h c. B. C.)
Late fo urt h ce n t ury ph a s e
D = pa ve d co ur t
E = dra i nage ca na l
Pos sibly co nnected wit h l a t e 4t h c . ph .i s e
lJnce rt a in
! I -\
FIGURE 2 : SCHEMATIC RECONSTRUCTION OF BUILD ING PHASES ON
SE PLATEAU, ADJACENT TO SOUTHERN GATE. (L. S.)
(FOR GENERAL PLAN OF SITE SEE EMC n.s .3 [1984J 191, FIG. 3. )
266 M. GUALTIERI
underlines the growing compl ex i t y of this particular group of
structures and t hei r t r an sformati on into a cen t r e of " publ i c" acti vi t y,
in association with th e increasing " centrality" of t he for t i f i ed ar ea
(EMC 28 [1984] 197-98). Hopefully, t h i s still t entat ive reconst ruction
of the function of the central pla teau will be cl arified by an additional
season of work which i s being planned for 1985. For this opportunity
to complete the study of th e 4t h c . BC comp l ex, thanks ar e extended
to the Central Research Fun d of the Un i v er si t y of Alber ta and to th e
Ital ian Department of Antiquiti es.
UNIVERSITY OF ALBERT A
ACKN OWLEDGEM ENTS
MAUR I ZI O GUA LT I ERI
We wish t o express ou r g rat itude to t he Sopr in t endenza
A rcheolog i ca of Salerno and Pro f. W. Joh annowsky, Superintendent,
for muc h hel p and encouragement. A generous g rant from the Soci al
Sc i ences and Humanities Research Coun cil of Canada (410 -84047 8) and
additional f unding f r om the Cen t r al Rese ar ch Fund of t he University
of Alberta made the 1984 season possible. The ex cav at ion team
i nc luded the wr i t er as Director ; Dr. H. Fr acch i a ( Depar t ment of
Classics , U. of Alberta) i n charge of th e pottery cataloguing and
processing , with the help of A. Keith (U. of Michigan) and L .
Mancebo ( Management Sys tems, U. of California, Berkeley) . Site
su pervisor s we re W. Elliott and C. Gorrie ( Department of Classi cs, U.
of Al berta) and R. Talman (U. of California, Ber k el ey ) . Geologist T .
Ch enowe t h (U . of Cal ifornia, Berkeley) st udied the geomor phol ogy
and soi l dep osi ti on on the central plateau, with particular reference to
th e pheno mena of earth subsidence wh ich caused the sinking of t he N
si de of the paved ar ea. K. Spizydowicz ( Nationa l Con servat ion
Institute, Ottawa and Si r Sandford Flemi ng College, Peter borough ,
Ontari o) was i n charge of t he re st ora tion of the finds f ro m t he vo ti v e
deposit. Prof. S. B6k 6ny i, Di rect or , Archaeol ogi cal I nst itute of the
Hungarian Academy of Sci ences studi ed t he fa unal remai ns an d gave
advi ce on samp l i ng st ra teg ies for t he r ecov ery of ani mal bo ne s. Dr.
L. Constanti ni , Laboratory of Bioa r chaeo log y , I SMEO, Rome, d i r ect ed
the operati on s of t he f lota tion of soi l samp l es fo r t he re cov ery of
botanical remains. Architect s fo r the ex cav ation were J. Roug et et
(CNRS, Paris) and L . Scarpa (Un i versity of Nap l es ) .
267
STATURE AND ARCHAIC STATUES
Most of us are under the imp res s ion that the average height of
ancient Greeks and Romans was "sh ortish". It is suprising, then, to
read such comments a s Pr of es sor Boardman ' s
1
that: "An ' idea l
'
man is
and was six feet tall. II Thi s may re p r esent some artistic or aesthetic
ideal - but one charm of a n ideal is th at it is achieved infrequently.
Si x-footers there ce r t a inl y were , for they are mentioned in ancient
written sources. Undoubtedly they were ad mir ed for being larger
than ave r age , yet not so hu ge as to be unattractive. Nevertheless,
they must have been les s common than in modern Greece and Italy.
The evidence indicates, moreover , that whe n the id ea l wa s achieved,
it was more oft en among th e killoi k'agathoi than among the general
citizenry .
Sin ce Boardman gives t he mea sur'ernen t s of the kouroi and korai
he discu s ses, it is not difficult t o judge whether they mig ht represen t
humans on a I: I scale. Clea r ly three-metre t ita ns and three-foot
mini atures do not. Amon g th ose whi ch we ca n accept as life -size
2
th e New York Att ica kouros , 184 crn, t he Volomand r a kouros a nd the
Dressed kouros from Same s , 179 em. The Tenea kouros and the
"twins" from Tanaqra , 135 and 147 crn . respectively, are s hort, bu t
there are men of such stature. Youth may be a con t ri but ing facto r
a lso . The b ronze ko uros from the Peiraios . 192 em , Kroisos, 194 em,
Ar is t odi kos, 195 cm and Biton, 197 em, wou ld not appear especi a lly
1J oh n Boa rdm a n , Gree k Sculpt ure: The Ar ch ai c Pe r iod (New
Yor k and Tor on t o 1978) 78 .
2
The
rneas u r emen ts are from Boa rd man , Fig ures 63, 104 , 84,
121 , 66 ,1 50,107,145 , 70, 71, 151, respect ive ly .
268 D. EMANUELE
ta ll on a basketball team, but they would have s t ood some what mor e
than "head and shoulder-s" over t hei r contemporaries . There a r e
fewer korai that lend themselves to th is discu s s ion ; Nika ndre is only
a centimetre under six feet fa ll, at 175 crn, a nd Acropol is 682
measures all of 182 cm. Still, t hese ladi es are no t imposs ib ly t a ll ,
bearing in mind Herodotus' account (1 .60) of Phye , Pe is is tratos '
bogus Athena. Although all of th ese a r e of a height to be regarded
as life-size representations, it is no t poss ib le to be s u r e that they
a r e indeed so. They much exceed the avera ge observed in th e sca nt
skel et al rema in s t hat have bee n stud ied.
It is well kn own th a t in ancient societ ies - and modern, too -
t he wealthy at e be tter th an t he poor . It is bu t specul ation to
sugge st t hat t he fo rmer became t he uppe r class because they we r e
large r and strong e r to begin with. Be t hat as it may, t here is a
meas ura bl e diffe r ence in stature between membe rs of th e higher and
lower orde r s .
3
Such differences a r e sa id t o be ev id ent in the legion
of sold ie r s t atues bu ried with the firs t Emperor of China , Qin Shi
Huang Di (259 -210 BC). These effigies represent t he office rs and
men of his a r my, t he nobles being ta ller. 4 Excavations of Alemann
g ra ves (5 th to 8th c. after Christ) in Germany reveal a s imilar
pa t t e rn; the graves contain ing weapons and va lua b le object s
betoken ing high e r s t at us also contai ned the skeletons of larger men
th an the weapon les s, poorer bur ial s .
5
This cl as s - r elat ed di ffer en ce
in si ze calls to mind Thersites ( ~ 2.2 11- 20) th e ugl ies t man in
Agamemnon's a r my ; th is much-de s pi se d commoner was not on ly
3Cf. James W. Hat ch and Rich ard A. Ge idel, "Traclnq Status
and Diet in Prehistoric Ten nes see, It Ar ch aeol ogy 36 (1983) 57.
Cott rel l, The
ica l Find of UL:i'r
5Ne i1 M. Hube r, liThe Pr obl em of Stat ure Inc r ease" in D.
Brot hwell (ed .) The Skeletal Biolog y of Ea r lier Huma n Pop ulat ions
( Pe r ga mon Press 1968) 73- 75 , Table 1.
STATURE AND ARCHAIC STATU ES ?F.Q
ill - fav oured, obnoxious and low-born , but a lso s hor t. Is it likel y,
t hen, t ha t many Archaic statues, wh ic h a r e a lready r ecog n ised as
representing members of the upper class, are in fact Iife -size despite
their ap parent tallness ?
Measurable s ke leta l remain s from Ar cha ic and Classica l Greece
are not abundant - a conditi on due largely to the nature of the soi l
and perhaps in some ca se s to the practise of cremation. The da ta
base , therefore, is not large eno ug h to al low sweeping conc lus ions
concerning t he physical fea t ures of whole po pulations . None th el es s,
su ch experts as An g el
6
beli eve t ha t the average stature among
ancient Greeks was a bou t th e sa me as that of modern Greeks.
Military records gathered in t h is cent u r y indicate that Greeks and
Ital ians us ed to av erag e a bou t 5
16 11
unti l t he Fir st Wor ld War; since
t he n, t he a ve r ag e has been r is ing , more markedly s ince the Se cond
Wor ld War . Alth ough these peop les a re a b it s ho r te r t ha n Ameri can s
and northern Europe ans , it is well to be ar in mind s uc h examp les as
the Evz ones regiment in Gr eece , whos e members must be over s ix feet
ta ll . Office rs, of co u rse , a re except ed - a r ev e r sal ot th e s it ua t ion
in wh ic h th e u ppe r cl as s was made up gene ra lly of tal ler ind ividuals !
J . Lawrence Ang el ' s s t ud y of s ke le ta l re mains of prehis toric da t e
s ho ws small a nd measu rab le, b ut not drama ti c . d iff e r e nces be t wee n
the heights of persons at s eve r a l Neol ithi c an d Bronze Age s it es.
7
The mean height for males in four differen t locales falls between 168.2
cm and 161 Col. The mean heights for the Middl e and Late Bro nze
Age come fr om larger g roups of subjects a nd a re q uite clo s e (166. 3
Col and 166.1 Col) to th e mean he ig ht of Etruscan skeleton s s t ud ied by
6CF. E. Gu rnalni c k , "T he Pro po r t ions of Kouroi, II AJA 82 (1978)
463, n.2l.
7J . Lawrence Angel, II Pal eodemog r aphy a nd Kouroi ; " AJPhys
Anth. 31 (1969) 343-5 3.
270 D. EMANUELE
Cipriani (164.9 cm)8 and Malleg ni. 9 The females in Angel's groups
range between 154.6 cm and 152 .3 cm, again quite close to Cipriani IS
findings (155.3 cm) and Mallegni's. Angel and Burns
1
0 give 166.4 cm
as the average height for Early-I ron-Age males in Greece. While
skeletons belonging to the Classical Per iod at Athens are rare , Angel
has studied what remains there are; 11 t hese individuals were not
remarkably taller than the groups already mentioned. These figures
are very near also to Angel's estimate of the mean height of the
average "Ancient Greek", 162.2 cm for males and 153.35 for females
12
(representing an average for all specimen s for all periods of
antiquity) . A few skeletons from Corinth, datable to some time
between the 4th and 6th c . after Christ, represent individuals of
somewhat greater stature; 13 the he igh t of two of the three males
mentioned by Wesolowsky is in the low 170
Is,
plus or minus about 4
cm, or about 5
110 11
to 6
1
So far, there ha s been found no skeleton
of an individual the size of the tall er statues mentioned above .
Indeed, the female statues listed are the si ze of above-average males.
The archaeological evidence cited abcve indicates that some
statues are too large to represent average aristocrats, even if as a
group they tended to be taller than th eir social inferiors. And the
8L. Cipriani, "Statura e p roporzioni degli arti in scheletri d i
tombe etrusche ," Studi Etruschi 3 (1929) 368; females 369.
9F. Mallegni, "Esame di resti scheletrici umani in 7 tombe
etrusche," NSc 31 (1977) 205-210.
10J . L. Angel and P. Burns, "Append ix III in C.K. Williams and
Joan Fisher, "Corint.h 1972: the Forum Area, II Hesperia 42 (1973)
32-33.
11J. Lawrence Angel, "Skel etal Remains from Attica , II Hesperia
14 (1945) 184-5.
12lb id. 354-60, Tables 3 and 4.
13AI B. Wesolowsky, "The Skeletons of Lerna Hollow, II Hesperia
42 (1973) 340-351.
STATURE A ND ARCHA I C ST AT UES
27 1
smaller ones are t oo short unless we assume (not unreasonably) a
young model. Mu st we beli ev e, th en , that a sculptor oug h t to
measure hi s work so ca re f u lly as t o make it corresp ond precisely to
the height of t he human model ? In deed, if the sta t ue is six feet t all
wh i le th e li v ing subject was on ly 5'6
11
, we might say, f ol lowi ng
Board man , t hat t he st at ue represen ts the subject ideali zed. And if
the sta t ue t u r ned ou t t o be shor t er , perhaps the ar t i st 's block of
marble was not larg e en oug h . I n suc h instances, it woul d be fair to
say that th e sc u l p to r mean t th e work to be regarded as life-size.
But in th e ca ses of Kleobis and Bi to n , t he New York Attica kouros .
and the ot her s men t ioned ab ov e we are presen t ed with a problem.
Most of us have st ood beside i nd i v id ua ls of such stature and f elt
short. How, then , woul d a 5
16 11
Creek vi ew these statues?
Presumably, they would see them as representations of persons of
heroic status - as Kleobis and Biton in fact were regarded. T h i s ,
too, is exactly how the 5th c. Athenians viewed the "bones of
Theseu s" brought home by Kirr.on (Plut. Thes. 36. 2); in ot her words,
a hum an of rare , but possibl e, st ature; colossal , to be sure, but
more 50 for anci ent times th an modern . Consequently, to d escribe a
statue as "sl iqht ly over life si ze" or "almost life siz e" is valid only as
a relative comment to help a mod er n , tallish reader to visuali ze the
work. I n comparison t o human s of th e Archaic Period, however, the
st atues are either too shor t or t oo tall to be precisely life size.
UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA
APPENDI X
Ancient Armour: Made to Measure
D. EMANUELE
Personal stature also can be estimated indirectly, using ar t i cl es
worn on th e per son. These can give us on l y the relative size of the
wearer and , indeed, one mu st bewa r e of leaping to such unwa. ranted
conclusions as Mar ina t os' in publishing a 43 cm spe arhead as the
272 D. EMANUELE
weapon of a "Giant Warrior in t he Ea r ly Iron Age" . 14 A sword hilt,
however, bears a closer r e lat ion t han does a s pea r hea d t o the s ize of
the hand that wields it. The hil ts of swor d s from Basi licata ( ra ng ing
in dNe from the 8th to the 5th c. BC) aff ord a grip only about 8 cm
long while a modern six-footer's ha nd requ ires about 10- 12 cm.
Greaves, worn on the lower leg , tell t he story. Archaic
greaves from Lucania ave r age 37-38 cm in length, whil e the leg of a
modern six-footer (myself) requires a 45 cm greave .
The helmet must be large enough t o allow the wearer's head to
enter through t he open bottom. None of the s pec imens I have seen
in Lucania are large enough to fit ove r my head, even without the
leat he r padding they originally posses sed. Careful mea surement,
moreover, shows that the Corinthian he lmet, r egarded as th; 7Purely
Greek type, was slightly larger tha n the Apulo-Corinthian. The
crown of the former is ab out 20-23 cm long from fr ont t o back , wh ile
t he latter's range is on ly from 18 t o 20. Per haps th ey ha d thinner
lin ings. On e not es in addition t hat the Apulo- Corin thian hel met is
mor e ne a r ly hemispheri ca l t han t he Greek ty pe (see Tab le 1) ; th at is,
the leng th and wid t h are mor e nearl y eq ua l. It is rema r kable ,
therefore, that the la s t three "Corint hi an " helmets on the lis t s hare
is
therefore , a r e t0
1
set apa rt as a separate g roup , Italo- Cor int h ian.
Furtwanqler and al l who commen t on the issue maintain t ha t
be cause the Apu lo- Cor inthi an helmet was too s mall for a man to wea r
(a mode r n six foote r , no doubt) it was stri ct ly ornamental. That is ,
it was a "p arade" helmet or, more fr eq uen tl y, a fune r a r y offe r ing
meant to be buried wi th a dec eased nobleman. But if t his is tr ue ,
then we must a ls o discount t he Italo- Cor inthi an as a " r ea l" hel met.
Why , furthermore, were the illus t r ious dead not buried with t hei r
" r eal" helmets? An imit ation co u ld ha rdly have been a p p rec iab ly
14
5
. Marinatos, "The Giant Warr ior in the Early Iron Age, II
Ar chAnal 1 (196 8) 276-77.
15
p.
Daniel Emanuele, Armor and Weapons f r om Pre-Lucan ian
Basilicata (Diss. , U of Texas at Ausbn 1982) esp.59, no.5.
16
lbid.
198-200.
17 lb id. 171, Table 3.
18
C
f. P. Or land ini, "As petti dell 'arte indigena in Magna Grecia , II
Atti del convegno XI d i s tu d i sulla f.:1agna Gr ec ia ( 1971) 273-3 08.
19
A.
Fur-twanq le r , Olympia , Er tebnisse IV (Berlin 1890) 109-110;
E.J. For s d y ke , Gr eek and Roman ife, ed.3 (London 1929) 76; H.
Bloesch , "Ein Eberhel m
li
, Mela ng es d archeologie offerts a P.
Cahiers d'archeol ogi e r omande ( 1976) 86-87.
STATURE AN D AR CHAI C ST AT UES
273
cheaper ; and economy would be the ch ief r eason f or making co pies of
more costly items for inclusion i n a bu ria l . Admi tt ed l y , three,
possibly fou r, of t he 37 Ap ulo-Corinthian he lmet s k no wn to me cou l d
not have been wor n in batt le. Three ha ve no eyehol es; i ns tead , t he y
are de corat ed wit h eyes i n r epous se . The fourth has eye ho les fi ll ed
wit h iv or y pl ates carved in t o eyes , per haps added on the occasion of
th e owner' s death. Nevertheless, t ha t leav es 33 mor e or l ess
se rviceable helmets, one of which a moder n I t ali an museum Guard
(Plate 1) wore qui te comfort ably . He re ports t ha t t he tiny ey;hol es
afford only poor visibil ity, but t his is on e of t he reasons f or the
abandonme n t of t he Co r in t hi an he lmet i n the fo u r t h c . BC.
T he only se r i ous objection to t he us e of th e Apulo-Cor inthi an
helmet in battle is a more technical on e . Blyth has pointed ou t in t he
correspondence that the bron ze in Apul o- Cor i n t h i an helmets is usu ally
t oo thi n and brittl e t o wi t hs tar.d he av y blows without injury t o t he
wearer . On th e ot her han d, while presen t-day consumer advocates
might denounce publ ic l y suc h defect s, one rTtQY ser ious l y question
whether the ancient warr i or was aware of them.
TABLE 1: HELMETS FROM BASILICATA (LUCANIA)
Corinthian,
Apulo-Corinthi an
L W H
21.4 18.9 21. 9*
21.5 18. 5 23.2
20.5 16.8 22.0
22.0 18.9
22.9 19.0 22 .0
22 . 1 18.5 21.4
22 .4 19.1 21.5
9 18.0 16.0 17.8
10 19.9 16.8 17.0
11 19.5 17.8 16.0
20 . 0 18. 5 18.0
18.3 17.5 19.8
19. 2 17.8 18 .0
20.0 17.2 19.5
* All measurements ar e in cm.
For catalogue number s, Emanuele, above, n. 15.
20Cf. P. H. Blyth, The Effectiveness of Greek Armour aqalnst
Arrows in the Persian War__(490-4 79 Be): An Interdlsclpllllary Enqurr:y:
(Diss. Reading 1977) 192-94 : liThe armourers would appear to he
cutting things fine .. .. II
274
. . : .
THI nun LE! SOM. T HI WarT IMe ( Aao Yf " A ' OlDID T" a LIT. It KULIN C IQll'AI., .-re.)
From t he Ku li l o( Dolol r i.. no t Btr lia (No.llIS)' .

THI LYI.. L rnON. AND T Hr po rT a .,. LU \ ON (A"'J" I IS AM Oa H"WIKTAL "AMUse_lrT' .....KIT) .
From. Kli li. by Douri .. aow in Ikrlu.(No.aalst. .,:
M.....,."riJ.,lt' J.lli ,, I I. . PlI te S" .
:. . -
BOOTH: FIGURE 1
275
DOURIS' CUP ANC' THE STAGES OF SCHOOLING
I N CLASSI CAL ATH ENS
The programme of s t ud y pu r s ue d by the well -born boy in the
cla s si cal period comp rised , on the intellect ua l s ide , letters a nd music;
th a t is clea r ly attested. 1 The di ffi culty is to determine the order in
which he ta ckled these s ubjects. Th e co mmon view, insofar as one is
repres en t ed by t he a ut hors ment ion ed below, would have th e ch ild
attend th e grammatistes for lette r s a nd the kitharistes for music from
t he age of a bout s e ven , when schooling began, until puberty . 2 But
despit e t he e loq uent testimony th ought to be of fe r ed by Dou r is in the
sc enes in Figu r e 1 ,3 s uch conc u r r e n t st ud y is far from ce r ta in .
One scene featu res a fl u te les son and a writing les son , wh ile the
ot he r r ep laces t he a u letes with a ki th ari stes. Training in the flute
fel l from fas h ion in t he 5th c . , as t he anecdote a bou t Alci b iades
remi nd s : he refused such instruction lest pu ff ing s ho u ld distort his
1See Iso c. Ant. 267; PI . Ch rm. 159c; Prt. 312b . 325d-326b; Xen.
Lac . Pol. 2. 1. TTfi e text presenTS t he esse nce of a pape r read to t he
annu<ll mee ting of the Archaeol ogi cal Ins tit ute of America a t To ron to
in Decembe r 1984 .)
2T he t hi rd branch of boyhood in s t r uct ion , a th letics under th e
pai dotribes , is bel ieved to have extended s imila r ly t h ro ug h these
yea rs . This poin t me r it s r econ sidera t ion , b ut not wit hin the co nfines
of t he present br ie f not e .
3The r-ep r od uct ion s a r e bo rrowed from K. J . Freeman , Schools of
Hell as (London 1907) plates 1A a nd 1B, oppos it e pp .5 2 a n ~
fu r t he r F. A. G. Bec k, Al bu m of Gr ee k Ed ucat ion (Syd ney 1975) 14-15,
18 (3 1), 32 (41 ); plate 10.53, 54; pl a t e 30 . 168 . E. A. Hav el ock, The
Lite ra te Rev olution in Greece and it s Cultural Co n seq uerl"CeS
( Princeton 1982) 201-203 cont est s , unconv inc ing Iy , th at pr imar y
ed uca t ion is here r epr -e se n t ed ; c f . L. Woodbury, "The Literate
Rev oluti on : A Revi ew Ar t icle ; " EMC n. s . 2 ( 1983) 331- 32 .
276 A. D. BOOTH
profile.
4
But, clearly, both scenes re p r esent the two subject-areas
that exercised the mind of an Athenian lad. The figure with the
crook is the paidagogos, the sla ve who s hepherded the chi Id to and
from school and supervised his cond uct in public and in class. His
presence indicates that we are dealing with public, not private ,
education. So the cup surely attests publ ic schooling in letters and
music at Athens in the early part of the 5th c. But is it sa fe to
deduce that the pupil would learn these subjects simultaneously?
Such a conclusion has been prompted by the s imilarity of the
figure in attendance at each of the teachers. But this line of
reasoning shou ld take a s t e p further: since the auletes and
grammatistes in one scene look al ike, on e ought then to infer that the
same teacher taught both subjects. Bu t that interpretation would
have to be declared dubious in light of the other scene: there,
certainly, the kitharistes and grammati stes look al ike , but then the
representation of the paidagogos doe s not differ markedly. Yet the
painter surely did not intend to imply that the one man func t ioned
simultaneously as paidagogos, grammatistes, and kitharistes. Hence
the ready conclusion that, for th e adults, the a r t is t has used stylized
figures. If this is so, then the sa me is likely to hold true for the
pupil; thus the resemblance between the f igures attending the
individual teachers cannot in itself be taken for secu r e proof that
letters and music were studied contemporaneously.
If the need for caution is obvious, it has nevertheless been
ignored, with detriment. For the imp ression of "concurrency" c r eat ed
by these scenes has begotten a carel essness in the treatment of
written sources. Thus P. Girard gave s hor t shrift to t he lit e r a r y
evidence, affirming, main ly on the basi s of the cup, th a t t he bo y,
on ce having mastered th e r udi men t s of lett ers , wou ld t herea fte r
4p lut. Alc. 2.4-6; Aul . Gell. NA 15 .17; d . Bec k (abov e , n .3)
24.
DOURIS' CUP
277
attend the kit ha r is tes as well as t he 9 r ammatistes. 5 And K. J.
Freeman, a bout to a ver t hat "on t he vases letters a nd mu sic a re s ee n
being ta ug h t si de by si de , ,,6 sa w s uc h s imu lta neou s study implied by
th e following r ema rk s of Xeno p ho n ( Lac . Pol .2. 1) :
TWV uc v r o f vuv aAAwv ' EU nvwv
o i >UOKOVTe; K(HAHJTO TOUe: u i c tr; nOlou1 V, En I OaV niXIOTo
alJToie; o i nOlOe; TCt Ay6uvo i:UVIWOIV, u6ue; uc v 11 ' c ur o Ir;
no I oa ywyoue; 6 punovT0C: E>IOTiioIV , u6ue; o ~ n( j.J nouol v c i c
oloooKa Awv j.J06Ilooj.J( voue; KO'i ypa j.J uo Ta KO'i j.J OUOI Ki"JV KO'i Ta V
nOAofoTP <C ,
Yet a glance at t he fu lle r co nt e xt (d.3 . 1) reveals th at Xenophon has
in min d t he whole of boyhood and its ac tivi ti es . So, if his use of
u 6u e; stres ses the re adines s of Greek paren t s (the Spartans a pa r t ) t o
re linq u is h to a s lave paidagogos s u pe r v is ion of the ed ucat ion of their
children, it need not mea n t hat the c h ild , on reaching s c hool- ag e ,
would be cond uc t ed immed iat e ly to a t r in ity of teachers (grammatistes,
kithari stes, paidotribes) . For Xen ophon might well express himself
thus even were prog ress ive st ag es involved.
F. A. G. Beck, wh o would also c linc h his ca s e by appeal to
Douri s' cup, likewise find s support for the "concurrent" view in
Xenophon, but he does admit th at thi s testimony is "not completely
unequivocal .
J
Beck thought to find some additional measure of
confirmation in the well -known passage where Plato's Protagoras
sketches th e education of a citi zen boy (Prt. 325d -326a):
UETa o ~ r c Or c i e; 0 I OOOKaAWV
n(j.JlIOVTe; nOAU uauov EVTO AOVTCl l n I j.Jd1 06 a I UKOOj.J f a e; TWV
nof6wv f\ ypauua Twv T KOI KI6 0pfowe; ' o i o ~ Olo aOKaAOI
TO(JTWV T lIlj.JAouvTa l , Ka 'i En IOa V 06 ypaUj.JOTa j.J a6wo lv Kal
j.J (UWOIv c ovrio e I v TCt YYPOPj.J(VO WOllP T6T Ti"J V >wvnv ,
na pa Tl6 (oOIV aUToie; nl TWV Sa6 pwv o:vaYlYVWOK I V no r nt ev
6:ya6wv no I nj.JaTO KO'i Kuov 6uVEI v a voYKul;ouo l v , V ole; nOAAo 'i
6Freeman (above, n.3) 50- 52. By "vases" he means Dour is '
cup.
7Creek Ed uc a t ion 450-350 BC ( London 1964) 80-8 3.
278
A. D. BOOTH
Vou8 Tno 1 e; 7TO AAUl KUl KUl
i c 7TU AUll]V a vop wv ayu8wv , t vu 0 7TU l e; l,;nAwv u 1 1 KUl
op{ynTu l r o i cur oc yv{ o8u l. 0 \ T' u6 K18uPlOTUf,
TOlaUTU, ow<p poouvn e; T KUl lI7TW<; &v 0;' V{Ol
KUKOUPYWO1V
Beck does recogn ize, however, that this t ex t woul d provide eq ua lly
good authority for the supposition that ins t r uct ion in music followed
the learning of letters. And certain ly an unbiased reader might
readily assume that younge r boys ( 7Tu 16 e;) at t ended the
grammastistes, older ones ( VE0 1) t he kithar istes.
This latter interpretation recalls the curricular prog res si on met
in Plato's Laws ( 7 . 80ge- 810b ) :
i e; uc v 7T U101 oKTl OXo?> v
tvl uu To l TP l <;, AUPU<; aljJuo8u l r p Iu uc v Tn KUt UK U
yEyOV601V &pX08U l 0 xp6voe; , rp I'c .
KUl urir e 7T AElW TOUTWV urir ' Aunw 7T u TPl CL tmii,
7T Pl TUUTa Ei: oTw
O.unw Ol UTp \fl i')v 7T0 1E:108CLl 0
TWV 7TCLl<'lfwv tie; o Aryo v {SOT POV p nTov .
V TOUTOl e; TOl <; xp6V Ol e; on r f 7TOTE ol TOUe;
VOue; KUl OI OUOK 1V U{) TOUe; OlOUOKUAOU<;, TOUTO UtJT?> 7T PWTOV
TOf vu v xp n T?> 1 TOU yp uljJu 1 T KUt
aVUYVWVCLl OUVUT?>V dVCLl St c nove Lv - 7T P?> C; TUXOe; 11 Ku H oe;
a7TnKpl!3wo8CLf T10 1V, o te; <PU0 1<; 7T 01TUOV E:V TOl <;
XCLf P lV Eav .
The sense seems s t r a ig h t for wa r d: the boy is to learn letters fr om the
age of ten to thirteen, then t he lyre from thirteen to s ixteen. Yet
H. -I. Marrou has argued that Plato indi cates rather the periods at
which particular emphasis is to be accorded either subject, the child
being ira fact expected to study both subjects f r om the age of se ven
to sixteen. 8 This interpretation is d i fficult to reconcile with the
text, which clearly deal s with ini t iation to le tt e r s a nd the lyre, whi Ie
defining the duration of th es e primary studies. Pla to' s ma n ifes t
in ten tion then is t o limit the ins t r uct ion of t he grammatistes and th e
kitharistes to the su cc es si ve tri en nia sp ec ifi ed.
8Histoire de Pe d uca ti on dans l'ant iq u lt e 7 ( Pa r is 1977) 530-531;
cf. Fl a t o' s CJty U(Prlncet on 1960) 332 .
GCU RIS
'
CUP 279
I n conc l uding ot he rwi se , Marrou may have beer: unduly
i n fl uenced b y th e " concu r r-en t " v i ew , wh ich he seems to acc ep t ClS the
reg ula r patter n of st ud y at Athens . 9 And Be ck , ClS we ha v e see n ,
woul d li k ewi se ha ve t he evidence of th e Prot ago ras conform with t h is
view. But its mainstay, as now emerges, i s no stouter than a sha ky
conjecture f r om Dou r is
'
cup . If, on the ot he r hand, t he
does in dicat e th at instructi on i n letters woul d precede mu si cal st ud y,
th en t he cur ri culum prescribed i n t he Laws is p r ob ab ly mode lled upon
A t hen ian prac t ice, and Pl at o may well sig na l t here t he ages at whi ch
th e boy usual l y attended fir st t he t hen t he k i lhari stes .
Con f i rma ti on of thi s deduct i on is prov id ed , ob i iquel y , by an
inscript ion f ro m T eas, da ted to t he 3r d c. BC, wh i ch r ecor d s
educational ar r angemen t s funded by t he gener osi ty of one Polyt hrus
.. 578 . 8-20):10
&noo fKvuoSa l Ka S' V ciPx[a l]l po fa l e; l.JTU r hv
TWV ypa l.Jl.JaTwv a Ypc o 1v ypal.Jl.Ja TOO1oaoK[ <i] IAOUe; r o c I r;, 0 I Tt ve;
TOUe; naT6ac; Ka! Ta e; na pS j voue; o foo oSa l o [T ] Wl
l.JV n! npWTOV XCl pOTov nSVT[ J] I TOO Vl aUTOO
opaXl.JUe; l; a KOo fo.e;, TWI o n l OEUTPOV opaXl.J a[ c;] I
n VTa Koo f ae; nVTnKOVTa , TWI o tn! Tp fTOV opa xl.J UC;
n VTo.KOIo f'uc;. &no( o f)KV UCS(0. h o Kn'l nc I OOTPfS o.e; OUO ,
0 ' atJTWV Ko.!TP Wl OfOOCSo.l TOU VlaUTOU opn Xl.J Ue;
nc vr c c oo Ic c;. &nol ofKvuoS(a ) 1 o Kl Sa ploTnv 1jJ<iI.T1lV,
o OfOOOSo.l TWl I Xl pOTOVn8VTl TOU VlClUTOO Opo.Xl.J a e;
nTaKOo f o.e; . olhoe; o I TOUe; T naT6 ne; oue; (t v Ko. SnKnl
de; r oun i ov h K[ p H v oSo.l [ KCl 'l] I TOUe; TOUTWV vlauTwl
VWTpOUe; TO T l.J OUOl KU Kn'l KlSap f l;IV ljJOUClV , I TOUe; o
e q>n SOue; TU l.J OUOlKO ncp t o Tnc; ril. lKfae; TWV no.f owv TOUTWV
en 1IKpI VTW 0 nn 1OOVOl.J Oe; .
Each year i s to see th e ap po intment of t h r ee g r ammat od i dask al oi
( =grammat istai), one f or th e f i r st level, one f or th e second, an': one
f or th e third, an d t hese ar e to be pa i d r esp ectively 600, 550 , and 500
d rachmai. The an nua l appoi ntmen t s , t he progr essive le v el s of
9Marrou (above, n.8 ) 83, 126.
10See f u r t her E. Zi eb ar t h , Au s dem Schulwesen ?
(Leipzi g 1914) 54-5 9; A. R. Hand s , Cha r i ti es and Social Aid in Greece
and Rome (London 1968) 121- 122,
280 A. D. SOOTH
instruction, and the graduated salari es poin t clearly to t h r ee
successive years of st udy. In addit ion to these teachers, a
kitharistes is to be appointed annually at a salary of 700 drachmai.
The latter is to teach ephebes, boys who will enter the ephebeia the
following year, and boys still younger by one year; hence three
yea r s allotted to the study of music; for ephebic training at Teo s was
evidently of one year's duration. While it is not stated expl icitly that
t he pupils of the grammatistai are younger than those of the
kitharistes, such is nevertheless a safe assumption; so letters and
music here appear as successive stages in the primary cycle. If the
ephebic age was fourteen or fifteen, as el sewhere in the Hellenistic
world,11 then the seq uence of study r econs t r uct s itself thus: letters
from the ages of nine or ten to twelve or t hir t een; then musi c from
twelve or thirteen to fifteen or sixteen .
This evidence then combines wit h Plato's Laws to indicate that
such a pattern was traditional in the Gre ek world . And sin ce the
Laws are probably reactionary, to as s ume the currency of the
progression from grammatistes to kitharistes in Athens of the early
5th c . is not unjustified. Now Douris' cup confirms that, at that
epoch , letters and music were indeed t he two b ranches of intel lectual
formation enjoyed by the Athen ian boy. But the cup never did
conclusively prove concurrent f r eq uentat ion of grammatistes and
kitharistes. And now it is well nigh ce rta in that the styl ized figure
of the pupil reflects no more th an a desire to represent the t y pica l
school ing of a typical boy.
BROCK UNIVERSITY ALAN D. BOOTH
llCf. Marrou (above, n . 8) 170 -17 3; C. Pe lek idis , Hist oire de
I'ephebie attique des Origines a 31 avan t J esus- Christ ( Pa r is 1962)
57 -60 .
281
EROS TURBULE NT
Tous ce ux qui s ' Inte ressent a u "monde c1assi q ue" ont pu
admi rer, au moins en reproductions, les "grands chefs-d'oeuvre" de
I'a r t grec et de l' a r t rornain . Mais bien pe u d 'entre nou s ont eu la
chance de fa ire des fouille s non seuleme nt "s u r Ie terrain", mais a ussi
dans les reserves des rnus ee s d e l'Anci en et du Nouveau Monde . De
ces fouilles d'un type s pec ia l sortent parfois des obje t s inedit.s qui
lai s sent entrevoir un a s pec t peu con nu d'une civilisation .
Qu atre fragments de vas es en terre cuite co ns e r ve s ['un en
Ame rique, les aut res e n Eu r op e, s ont r eveiateurs d'une tendan ce
a necdot iq ue e t d 'u n gou t specia l po u r les "tab lea ux de genre" . Tous
quatre sont des fonds de coupe or nes j I' {nt er leur d'un medaillon en
r e lief ou lion d is t ing ue un b uste fe rnin in accornpaqne d'un tres pet it
enfan t. 115 se re par tis sen t en de ux g roupes . Sur Ie p re mie r , un
Er os ail e a p pa r ait de r r ie r e l' epaule droite d e la femme : ce son t les
medaillons de la Corcoran Gal le r y a Vv ashington ( Fig . 1) - provenant
d 'un moule assez us e
1
- et de la co llect ion fvl. Herovanu a Buca rest en
Rouma n ie (Fig .2) dont les detail s sont plus c lairs .
2
Sur Ie deuxierne
1Washington , Co r coran Gallery, W.A. Clar k Collec ti on , Acc.
no .26 . 648. Pr ovi end r ai t d 'Al e xa ndri e e n Eg y pte . Argil e ch amoi s
orang e, verni s b r u n mat. Diam. max. : 7 ,2cm ; ht. max. : 5,Ocm.
Siqnal e ma is non re prod ui t dans Corcora n Ga lle ry of Art Han d book,
(Washington 1928) 119 no . 2648; The Corcoran Ga lle r y of Art,
Illustrated Ha nd book, ( Washington 1932) 115 , no .2648. Sur la fi che
d' m v entai re de la gale ric, 1<1 representation est decr ite comme "Bust
of th e c ity of Alexa nd r ia ". Lorsque I'objet et a it expose en 1964, il
eta it ac co rnpaq ne d ' une e t iquette: "Eg ypt, second ce n t u r y B.C.".
J e reme rc ie viverne nt Mes da me s Be tty Bea m et Reb ecca T ig e r q u i
rn' on t pe rmis dexarniner cet obje t e t den publie r la pho tog raphie.
2l:3ucarcst. collect ion o u p r of. i'v'.i r cea Herovanu. Se lon les
282 M. O. JENT EL
groupe , l'enfant , sans ai l es, est juche sur I 'epau le g au che d e l a jeune
femme: ces fragment s sont conserves l'un
3
a l'trniversi t e d'Erl ang en
All emagne (Fig. 7) , Ie second
4
I' Allard Pierson Museum
d ' Amsterdam (F ig. 8) . La jeune et jol i e f emme es t manifestement un e
dees se . re con nai ssab l e a sa large stephane et a son sceptre.
La qualite des r ei iefs est ineqale , Sur Ie fragment de
Wash i ngton (Fig. 1), la par t ie g auche est floue: on distingue tout
juste la t e te , l'epaule d roite, l'a ile et la main gauches d'Eros; su r
celu i de Bucarest ( Fig.2) , I'a i le d r oi te et Ie bras droit d u peti t sont
bi en visibles, ain si q ue la main posee su r I'epaul e d roite d e la dees se:
su r ceu x d'Erl ang en (F i g . 7) et d'Amsterdam ( Fig. 8), q ui sont
man ifestement d u me me mou le, l es rei ie f s sont tres ne ts. Le cen t r e
en haut-reli ef de I'emblema est en meilleur et at q ue (a j on ct ion en t r e
Ie medail lon et la coupe: l es po t ier s on t surrnoul e , semble-t- il , un
motif plus grand , peut-etre un rnedaillon en met al, et l'ont adapt e au x
renseignement s obtenus par V . Ca ranache, ce f ra g ment aurait et e
decouvert a Mangal ia , I' an ci en ne Cal lat is , au bord de la Mer Noire .
Argile rouge brique, ve r n is no i r q r Is a tre. Di am. max . : 7 ,8 cm . Voi r
V. Canarach e , Masks and T anagra Figu r i nes made in the Wor k shop s
of Callatis-Mang al ia (Constant a 1969) 52 no . 11 avec fig. Nous n'avo ns
pu examiner cet objet.
3Erl angen , Archae ol ogi sches I nst it u t der Uni ve r sl ta t , i nv . I 730 .
Provenance i nc onnue. A rgi le or an qe e , v er n is bru n- noir v erda tre.
Diam. max . : 6 ,5 cm; ht. max . :8,Ocm. Siqnal e mai s non reprod u i t par
W. Grunhaqen , Archaeolo i sches Insti tu t der Un i v er si ta t Erl an en ,
~ t i k e Or ig in alar et t en er unstsamm un g es ns tl t uts u r n erg
1948) 57 no.1 730. Ce relief est decrit comme " Bus te einer Got t i n mit
Diadem, Schleier und Sze p te r . Auf de r link en Schulter na ck t es
Kind" .
Je r emerc ie cha leu reusemen t Ie professeu r K. Parlasca qu i m'a
ai mab lement autor ise a publ ier cet objet.
4Amsterdam, Alla rd Pierson Mu seum, inv. 982. Prov i endrai t
d'Egypte. Menti onn e mai s non r eproduit dans Allard Pi er son Museum ,
A r chaeol og i sch _ Museum der Universiteit van Amsterdam, Aigemeene
Gids ( Amsterdam 1937) 174 no .1578; M.O. Jen te l, "Aphrodite in
peripheri a or i en ta l i , II da ns Lexikon I conog r aph i cum My t hol o iae
Cla ss i cae (L1MC) , 11,1 ( Zu r i ch- Mu nchen 1984 164 no.231.
EROS TURBULENT 283
dimensions de leur vase: 5 ainsi s'expl iquent , par example , su r Ie
medaillon de Washington, I'absence de I'aile et du bras droits d 'Eros,
de I'himation de la deesse et la coupure du fleuron qui couronnait Ie
sceptre, elements qui sont bien visibles sur Ie rnedaillon de Bucarest.
Les medal lions de Washington et d' Amsterdam presentent un
detai I technique fort interessan t: un petit trou rond, fait avant la
cuisson, est visible a Washingt on (Fig. 1), au sommet de la tete de Ia
dee sse . et a Amsterdam, sur son epaule droite (Fig.8). "s'agit d'un
trou deven t per ce par Ie poti er pour permettre, pendant la cuisson,
I ' ech appemen t de I' nir ernp r is onne entre Ie fond du vase et Ie
rned aill on en reli ef qui y ava i t et e applique, vraisemblablement a I' aide
de barbotine. La cou r bure d u meda i l l on et I'epaisseu r de ses reli efs
ne permettaient pas au pot ier de I' apl atir comp l et ernen t contre la paroi
pour cha sser I'air. Nous avons cons t at e qu'un pr-ecede analogue,
mai s av ec des trous devervt mu l t i p les , avait ete utili se pour des
medaillons de plats decouver-ts a Alexandrie.
6
Le fond de coupe de Washington p rovieridrrot ,
I I I nventa i r e, d
'
Al exandri e et celui d ' Amsterdam, d'Egypte. D' Egypce
proviendrait probab lement un au t r e fo nd de coupe represen tant " un
bus te de dees se avec sur I'epaule , un en fant nu " qu i eta it autrefois
d ans la coll ec t ion d'Al exa ndre Max de Zoqheb , collection ve ndue a
Pari s en 1912 rnai s forrnee p ri nc i pal emen t en Eg ypt e .
7
La p rovenance
du f ragmen t, d 'Erlangen ri ' est pas connue, mai s cel ui de Bucarest
5Su r Ie p r obl erne des surmoulages de v ases rneta lli q ues . voi r
p . ex . G. M. A. Richter, " Caleni an Pottery and Classi cal Gree k
Metal war e, II AJA 63 ( 1959) 242- 5; I d. , "Greek Fifth Century
Si lverware <Hl OLat er Imitations, II AJA 54 (19 50) 357-37 0.
6Cf. E. B re cc ia, Bu lleti.!:: u la Societ e A r ch eologlque
n . s.ll (1 909)JOfSq ., Flg.52 , 55, 56- 60 , 63.
7Diam. max .: 6,5cm. Col lecti on Al ex and r e Max de Zogheb,
Antiqui te s cg y pt iennes et g re cq ues, Vente (] Par' i s , Ho tel . p r ouot , 9-10
m<li 1912, p. 4 nO.14 ( nun
284 M. O. JENTEL
aurait ete trouve , semble-t-il,
Noire.
Callatis sur l es rives de la Mer
est difficile de restituer la forme des vases puisque la paroi a
disparu et que seuls subsistent Ie rnedaill on et Ie dessous du fond.
D'apres Ie profil, il semble qu'il s'agi sse de coupes profondes
decorees a l'Interteur de rnedaillons a reliefs comme certaines couples
retr-ouvees en Italie
8
et en Sicile .
9
Le fragment de Wash i ngton n'a
pas de pied; Ie dessous est simp l ement decor e de de ux cer c les
estampes concentriques.
L' Ident i t e de la dee sse transparait a la f oi s dans la coquetterie
de son attitude et a t r av ers sa tendr esse mate rn el l e enver s Er os :
crest la belle Aphrodite accornpaq nee de son f ils tu rbule nt mais si
mignon ... . 10 Les rappor ts entre la deesse et son fi l s ne sont plus
ceux, formels, de deux d i v ini t es , mais ceux dune je une mere
heureuse av ec son en f ant bi ert - aime, L' Aphrodite de Washingt on
( Fi g . 1) et de Bu carest ( Fig. 2) est representee avec une coquetterie
t emper ee de rnaj este . Un chi to n leqer et f inement pl isse g li sse su r
son epaule droite et decouv re son sein droit. Ell e po rtait aussi, pa r
dessus, un hi mat ion rout e sous l a poi t r i ne, comme on Ie voit tres bi en
su r Ie fragment de Bucarest ( Fi g . 2) . Ses che ve ux re l ev es en
bandeaux sont re t en us par une large ste ph ane a cabochons et
couverts d 'un voile. Un sceptre tor sade et terrnine par un fleuron,
qu'elle devait teni r de la main gauche , appara i t dans Ie champ,
droite. La deesse , au lieu d1etre dans une posit ion rigide, tourne la
8Cf. par ex. M.a. Jentel, CVA Louvre 15 (France 23). IVE,
pl.3, 3.
9Cf. par ex. T . Carpinter i, IIDi alc uni vasi ellenistici a rilievo
del R. Museo archeologico di Siracusa, II Archivio storieo per la Sicilia
Orientale, (Catania 1930) pl . l , II; G.Sfameni Gasparro, I cu lti
orrentalT"in Sicilia (Leiden 1973) pl.XXV et XXVII. - - -
10Cf. par ex. les nombreuses illustrations montrant Aphrodite et
Eros dans A. Delivorrias, "Aph rodite ;" L1MCII, 2 passim. Nous
preparons un aut re ar t icl e sur "Eros sur l'epaule d'Apbrodite ."
EROS 285
te t e et I ' incl ine leq er-ernen t v ers son epau le droi t e dans une position
chere artistes de lepoque helleni st i que . 11 Son atti t ud e
s'expl ique pa r la pres ence du pe ti t Eros q u i semb le v ol et er derri ere
son cpaule et chucho t er a son or ei l l e . De sa main droite, I' enfant
tire farnil ierement sur Ie voile de sa mere pour en at t i r er I'attention.
La pos i t ion du pe tit est ext r aordinai reo I I semb l e prendre un "virage
sur I'aile. II
Parmi le s nomb r euses pi eces d'orfevrer-ie hel l erris t ique qui son t
ornees d'un buste d'Aph r od i t e av ec Er os , un med ai llon en or
r epousse12 cons er ve a Pr ov i dence l Fig. 3) presente d e gran d es
ana log i es ave c les med ai ll on s d e Wash i ng ton et d e Buca rest: I 'a ttitude
d 'Eros es t t out a fai t identi que , mais Ie c hiton semb le decou vr i r plus
amp l emen t Ie sei n droi t de la deesse . l. a aussi, la de esse sembl e
ecou ter v olontier s son pet i t enfant. Un Amour dans une atti tude
semb lab l e , mai s inver see . apparai t de rri ere lepa u !e ga uc he d 'une
Aphrod i te ana dyornene l Fig . 4) su r une cp i nq l e d 'argen t conscr v ee a
Hamburg .
13
11Cf. par ex . Tran t am Tinh, "Le t ibicen Magno Sa ra p i , " d ans
Revue Archeoloqique 1967 , 107, Fig. 2- 5.
12prov idence , Rh od e Is la nd Sch ool of Design, no.2S.256.
Cou v erc le en or r epousse , peu t - e tre d'une pyxi d e . Prov iendra! t de
Pag asai en Thessalie. Dat abl e d u de b u t du II le siec le av o J. C. Cf.
P. Amandry, "A Gre ek gol d Med all ion" Mu seum Notes, Rh od e I sl and
School of Desi.9..!2, 12, 3 (Spring 1955) p .6 et 8;
59 (1955) 219-22 2, pl.6
/
t ; Treasures in t h e Museum of Art , I<tlode
I sland School of Design, (Providence 1956 ) figu re (sans i n d i ca t ion de

(P rovidence 1976) 66-67 no.22 ; A. Del iv or r ias , . .
no .1137; 11, 2, p l . 113. - -
13Hamburg, Mu seum fUr Kunst und Gewer be . i nv . 18.. 9. 18 .
Proven ance in connue. A r g en t pa r ti ellemen t dor e . Ht . de
13c m. Cf. E. v on Merck lin , ArchaeolojIi.?ches A n zei ge r , \ 1935)
col.92 -95 no .1 4, fig. 21e- f ; H . Ho f f man - P. Davi ds on, Greek Gol d
Je wel ry f rom the Ag e of Al ex and er ( Br ookly n Niu seum----rw;T9L
"ilC:"7-2';" 193 fi g. 72a , b ( Cet t e' ep i ng l e es t d at ee par ccs au t eu r s d u Il le
au I I c sie c le av , J. C. et se r ai t attribuable , selon e UA. a un at e]ier
286 M. O. JENTEL
Le merne sujet est traite tres differemrnerrt sur cer t ai nes oeuvres
plus tardives, par exemple une fresque du 2e st y le ( v er s 40 av .
J . C.) recernrnent decouverte dans la Casa de Fab i us Rufus a Pompe i 14
et un relief en mar b r e de Sperlonga qui dat er ait eqal ernent de la
seconde rnoi ti e du ler siecle av. J. C . 15 Le contraste entr e
II Aphrodite des medaillons en terre cuite et ce l ie de Pomp ei ( Fi g. 5)
est frappant : celle-ci a I'air fa chee et t ou r ne la te te presque con t r e
son gre vers Eros qui lui touche Ie menton d'un air pl ei n de repentir .
Sur Ie relief de Sperlonga (Fig.6), t out sentiment maternel par ai t
avoir disparu. La deesse tourne un v i sag e i ndi ffer ent vers I' enfant
qui de son flabellum l ui indique poss ible victime d e son
espieq lerie.
Sur les rnedaillons d'Erlangen (Fi g. 7) et d'Amsterdam ( Fig. 8), Ie
costume de la deesse est plus au ster e; son epaule et son sein droits
sont couverts par sa tunique, son epaul e gauche par un himation
drape en biais. Son diaderne , moins large, est decore de multiples
rayons. Une meche bouclee descend sur son epau le droite, sou s Ie
voile; elle arbore Ie me me sceptre tor sade que sur Ie fragment de
Bucarest avec Ie fleuron intact. L'attitude d' Er os est tout a fait
differente . Crest un enfant sans ai les, t out nu , assis I 'epaule
gauche de sa mere, son dos vers Ie spectateur, ses jambes
alexandrin a cau se de sa ressemblance avec une ep inqle provenant de
la trouvaille de Galjub en Egypte); H. Hoffman - V. von Claer ,
Museum fUr Kunst und Gewerbe Hambur, Antike Gold und
Si Iberschmuch (Hamburg 1968 no . 99; H. Hoffman , Collecting Greek
Antiquities, (New York 1971) 134, f ig. l77; Delivorrias .QE. ~ . 77
~ p 1 . 6 8 = Jentel, .QE. g., 158 no.83.
14Ambiente 32, paroi est. Cf. Pomfiei 1748-1890, I Tempi della
documentazione, (Rome-Naples 1981) 140 I g. 2.
15Sperlonga. Museo archeologico nazi onale , inv. 10. Marbre de
Carrare. Provenant de I'antre de T ibere , Cf. G. Jacopi, L'antro di
Tiberio et il museD archeolo ico nazionale di Sperlon a (ItinerarJ
no. orne 1 -. et 0 Ig. e on acopi , e prototype
de ce relief serait une oeuvre d'Arkesil aos , vene re e dans Ie temple de
Venus Genetrix a Rome, inauqure en 46 av. J. C.
EROS TURBULENT
2P.7
d is parais san t de I 'autre cote. II semble a vo ir q r irnpe perchoir
improvise et f r otte sa t et e, cornme un p et it c h at , contre I'oreille de sa
mere en saisi ssan t hardiment le s c he v eux d e sa main droite levee. La
belle de es se , s ou r i ant e , in cl in e sa tete ver s son fils. Si , a I' epoque
hel leni st i q u e , Eros es t so uven t r ep r esen te sur Ilepaule ga uc h e
d
'
Aph r od i t e , en se I i v r ant pa r f ois a to utes so r te s de face ties - comme
l ' Er os de T <lrse
16
qui tire sur l a t u n i q ue de sa mere (F i g.9) - il es t
rare qu! i l soi t figure dans cet t e posture a la fois f amiliere et
repentante.
En l 'absence de tout contex te arch eoloqique , il n'est pas faci l e
de dater ces meda illori s de t er r e cuite. T out efois, on peut uti i i ser
quelques elemen t s st y l i stiques iJ t i t r e d e com par ai son . Par exemple,
Ie sceptre d
'
Aphrodite, tor sad e et co urnn ne d'un fleuron, n'est pas
son apanage exclusif : Ie me me type d e scep t r e est tenu aussi par
Cybe!e (Fig. 10) sur une pl aque en bronze dore , 17 datable d e la
secon d e moi t i e du IVe s . av o J.C. Le mcdaill on d'or de Providence
( Fi g . 3 ) dat e sel on Am an dry d u d ebut d u Ille s. <:I V . J .C. L ' epingle
d'<l rgent de Hamburg ( Fi g . 4) es t, selon H . Hoffmann, du Ill e ou d u
l ie s ic c l e av o Jo C.
La med iocr i t e techr.i que de nos mcdai ll on s n e doit pa s nou s
ca c he r I' intent i on d u c r ea te u r du protot ype: nous montrer une
dee s se t r es "hurnaine . " ;) !<J fois aq ac ee et cha rrnc e par les tac et ies
d'E ro s. En les rc q ardant . un petit poerne hel lenist ique inti t u le "Eros
16p ar i s, Louvre , inv . CA 28 . St at ue tte en terre cui te . Cf .
Simon e Bc sques, Ca ta log ue r a isonn e des fig u ri nes et re li efs en ter r e
c u i t e g re CS, et r u sc:; u es et ro ma rn s,- I I I Epoques neTTen l st lq ue et
r om<.Ji ne, Gr ece et A si e Minc u re , ( Pa ris 1972) in , D 2177 et p l . 3425""":""
Cet t e sta t uct t e, - i den ti f iee cornrne A p hrod i t e-Ar i ane k ourot r ophe, est
d atce par l'aut eu r du l e r siecle av . J .C.
17Kom ot i n i , Mu s ee a r che ol oqique . inv 01589 . Decouver t e
Mesernb r in en Thr ac e , lie mo i ti e d u IVe s . avo Jo C . C f . K.
Rhc n.iopou lo u , The Sertrr:h f or /\ Iexcmdcr, An ( New Yo r io-
1980) 128 flo .5 1 ()v CC fi g.
288 M. O. JEN T EL
echappe" nous est v enu a I'e sp rit. 18 La belle Cy p r i s y " r eclarnai t
grands cri s son pe t it Eros " :
C'est un enfant facil e d i st inguer . . . i l n'a pas Ie teint
blanc, mai s cou leur de f l amme; les yeux per cants ,
fl amboyants; mauvais coeu r, doux langa ge, car il ne pen se
pas comme i l parle; sa voi x est de miel , de fiel est sa
pensee , . . . I I porte sur sa te t e de beaux chev eux, mais
I'impudence a son front. Ses menottes sont t outes men ues,
mais elles frappent au loin . ... I I a Ie cor ps nu , mai s
I'esprit bien enveloppe , Aile comme un oi seau, il vole v er s
l 'un , vers I ' aut r e , vers les hommes , v ers l es femme s et se
pose sur leur coeur.
En voyant I'expressio n de tendresse qu e les ar tiste s ont donn e a
Aphrodite sur nos medaillons , on comprend mi eux q ue Ie poet e f asse
promettre, par la dee sse , une r ecompense a celui qui rarnenera son
Eros echappe : "La re compense sera Ie ba is er de Cypr is ; et si tu me
l'arnenes , ce ne ser a pas Ie baiser t out sec, mais t u auras, ami,
quelque chose de plus. 11
19
UNIVERSITE LAVAL, QUEBEC MARIE ODILE JENT EL
18Nou s utilisons la traduct ion de Ph . E.Legrand, Bucol iques
grecs, II, Pseudo-Theocrite , Moschos, Bion , divers, (Paris, Les
belles lettres 1953) 134-7. Sur ('at tri bu tion a Moschos pluto t quia
Theocr lte , voir notice p.133.
19Je remercie specialernent Claude d' A ig le T r emb lay qui a fait des
photos d'etude a Washington, et Bruno Bernard qui a fa i t les
cont retypes des photographi es des objets dej a publ ies ,
289
THE SY MPOSI Ufv\- TENT OF FTOLEfdY II: A NEW PROPOSAL
All students of classical antiquity sooner or later make some
of the Deipnosophists of A th en aeus of Naucratis. Those interested
especiall y in Helleni stic arch it ecture have drawn he avily on Athenaeu s'
excerp t s from the book Peri Alexandreias , written (probably in the
2nd c. BC) by Call ixenus of Rhodes. Of particular interest have
been Callixenus
'
descripti on s of the banquet -tent er ec t ed by Ptolemy
II Phi ladelphus in th e palace-park at Alexandr-ia. for the celebration
of the winter Dionysi a, and of the interi or design and decoration of
the great river -barge, called Thalarneqos . of Ptolemy IV Philopator .
1
The great tent of Ptolemy II is in fact a major, though
neg lec ted , phenomenon in the history of la te r Greek ar c h i t ec t u re ,
For r easons in dicated later in this article, it de serves at least as
muc h at t en t ion as t he famou s ar senal at Piraeus designed by Phil o o f
El eu si s, ar.c ce scr i be d at le ng t h in 11
2
1668 . Despite its elegantly
decora t ed exterior, t he ars ena l , like many other Greek secular
building s, simplv used ol d f or ms in ne w con t ex ts , without breaking
any new te chnical ground;2 Pt olemy' s ten t, on the other hand, as F .
1A th . 196a-1 97c ( t h e sy mposi u m- t en t ) ; 204d-206c (t he
r i ve r - ba rge ) . This paper , the out come of lengthy d iscus sio ns
bet ween Win t er and Ch r is t ie , d u r i ng h er final ye ar s in the Faculty of
A r ch itectur e at the Un ivers i t y of T or ont o, wa s ori g i na lly p re sented at
t he 1983 Annual Mee t i ng of t he Cl assical A ss oc i at ion of Ca nada at
Va nco u ve r . The ne w d r awi nqs ar c en t i r el y Ch r is t ie' s wc r k ; but
bey ond th at , th e proposa l s her e offered owe muc h t o the t ech n i cal
knowl ed g e and ex per t i se t ha t she brough t to th e di scussi on s . Fo r
t he er ror s and omission s Wint er t ak es all r espon si b i l i t y .
L. 1n ad d it ion t o t h e "lCcount s by 1/01. G . Di n smou r (Archi t ec t u r c of
Anci ent Greece) [ London 1950 ! 2L1 1- 2 an d Fig. 8R) and
(Greek- Ar"ch l tec.t u re
2
[H an nond swor t h 1% I 259-2 61 Fi g . 147), sec
290 F.E . WINTER AND A. CHRISTIE
Studni czka po inted out over 70 years ago, is the ea rli est recorded
ancestor of Vitruvian an d other Roman basilicas. 3 Yet Stud n iczka ' s is
s t ill the only detailed stud y of th e great ma r qu ee ; it was al so the
first comment a r y to make use of extant basil ican an d hypos t y le hal ls
th en know n, of pa inte d representations of t ent s and awni ngs, and of
second awning- cove r ed Egypt ian di ni ng -area de scribe d by
Callixenus , in his accou nt of Ph ilop at or ' s Tha lamegos .
4
Nev e rthel es s ,
in our view Studni czk a 's interpretat ion of t he descr ipti on by
Call ixenus of the great tent of Pt olemy I I s omet imes led him to
conclusions t hat a ppear to be s truct u r al ly unaccep t able (see Figs. 1, 2
and Plates 1, 2 and discuss ion be low) .
We begin wit h a t ra ns lat ion of t he passage from Callixenus (At h .
196a-19 7c ) : 5
The pavili on wa s extraordinaril y beautiful and well
wor t h hea r ing about. Its s ize was such that it cou ld
accommodate 130 co uches KUKA't! (this exp re s s ion presumably
ind icates couches set in grou ps aroun d th e perimet e r), and
was adorned in t he foll owing way. Wooden columns 50
cu bits high we re set (or "set at interva ls") [a round the
s ide s J, f ive on each long s ide and four at t he ends ; on
these was fitted a s q ua re epistyle tha t suppor ted t he entire
roo f of t he pa v ilion. Ov er the middle part, this
r oof[ - st r uct u r e] was formed ( lit. "wa s spread over ") by an
a lso J . A. Bu ndg aard , Mnes icles: A Greek Architect at Work
(Co penhagen 1957) and K. Jeppe sen , Paradelgmata (Aarhus 1958TT
a lso J . J. Coulton , Gr eek Ar chi tect s at Work (London 1977) 54-58.
The ex t e r ior de co r at ion was s imply lifted from the designs of
con t empora ry temples and s taas .
3F. Studn iczka , Das Symposion Ptolemaios II (Le ipzig 1915).
4St udniczka (above, n .3) esp.30-34 and Figs.3-6; 102- 105 and
Figs. 24-25; for the awning of th e Th ala megos, Ath . 105f-206a.
51n the translat ion, which is based en C. B. Gulick's Loeb text
(Camb rid ge , Mass. 1929) , a numbe r of Greek wor d s or phrases have
been left unt r ar.slated in order to av oid impos ing ou r parti cu lar view
of t he mea n ing . Word s in square bracket s a r e added to clarify the
mean ing, a nd are not in the Greek t ex t ; those in round brackets a re
ex planat or y notes , or our g losses .
SYMPOS IUM-TENT OF PTOLEMY II
ov pavf CKOC; [ i . e. a minia ture GllpUv6 (, ) , in scarlet
wit h white; on ei the r s ide it hoc beams KUTE:lArnJ va c, with
wh it e- f lec ked (o r "whl te- ban ded") tapes t r ies with [an
ed g ing pattern of J tur rets , v u i'c; painted co f fe rs we re
ar ranged ov er the middle area (i . e. p re s umabl y over th e
s pac es between th e be ams). Of t he colurun s , the fou r rat
th e cor ne r s 1 were s ha ped Iike patrn-t rees , whi Ie th ose I in
the inte rva ls I bet ween [ t hes e fou r I (i . e . a long ea ch s ide ,
between the corne r columns) had the a ppea rance of BUPCOl .
Ou t s ide th e columns on three si des was a pe r is ty le
cor r ido r co ve re d over in th e s hape of a vaul t ; in this
co r r ido r th e r e t inues of th e g ues ts cou ld co nve n ie nt ly
stand. Th e insi de pa r t (i . e . p r es umably r eferr ing t o t he
in ner face of t he e ntablat ure of t he ou t e r s up por t s of t he
peristy le) of the corridor was s u r r ound ed wit h da r k r ed
c u r tains ; in t he midd le part s lpres uma b ly ei t he r "i n t he
int e r - columnar s paces of th e per isty le , " or "bet wee n th e
column s of the pe ris t y le and thos e of the cen t ra l a rea ")
were hung pe lt s of a nima ls of ext ra or d ina r y variety a nd
s izes. The unroofed a re a s ur r oun d in g the peri style was
s ha d ed by I the branches of ] my r t les a nd laurel s and other
s u it a b le plantings; the g r ound was completely s t r ewn with
flowers of every sor t. For Egypt. .. produces flowers in
ab undance a t a ll time s. . . . Thu s even wit h th e reception on
t h is occas ion fa llin g in th e middle of winte r , the spectac le
was a marvellou s one for t he g ue s ts . ...
A.t the s u ppor t s of the te n t ( t he se word s mus t ind icat e
t he per isty le s upports as we ll as t he fift y-c u b it columns of
the cen t r-al a rea) we re placed 100 marble s ta t ues by t he
foremos t artis ts. In the sp aces civet wer e pa ne ls by
pain te r s of the Sicyon ian school , and al te rnating wit h t hem
selected por t r ai t s of ev e r y variety, and c lot h- a t- gold tu nics
a nd c loa ks of th e g reatest bea uty; in so me [of t hes e last I
port rai ts of th e king s were woven , in ot he r s myt hoi og icol
subjects . Above all t hes e , a lter nat inq silver an d go ld
ob toriq s hie lds were set a ll a r ou nd . And in t he sp aces
a bo ve t he s e aqain , which rr.eas ured e ig h t c ub it s . aVTpu
were provided . s ix on each side along t he length of the
te n t, a nd fou r acros s t he width; and in t hem ( i. e. t he
aVTpo. ) , fac ing eac h ot he r [ acros s t he central a rea J. we r e
s ympos ium-scenes of figures f r om t ragedy a nd co med y and
sa t y r --p lay , with r eal clo th ing, and a lso with go lde n c u ps
se t besi d e t he m. Ko.Tet TWV aVTpwv were left VUj.J<j> o. l
(generally int e rpret ed as " ni c hes" ), in whi ch s t ood Delphi c
tripods of gol d on (lit. "h a ving " ) s ta nd s. Along t he
291
6Th is wor d is a n emend a t ion by Sch we iq ha use r for th e fv1S
KaTE: 1
292 F.E . WINTER AND A. CHRISTIE
h ighest space of t he 6poti were eagles fac ing each other,
in gold, fifteen cubit s in size.
set
presumab ly lit he entrance") was left open . . . .
Calli xenus ' descripti on of t he tent is r at her sh ort on s peci fic
measurements. Of the ground-plan, he t e lls us on ly : th at the cent r a l
area was enclosed by wooden columns, fi ve on th e s ides , four ac r oss
the ends (count ing t he corner colu mns twice ); that t h is cent r a l
" nave," as we may call it, had room for 130 couches KUKAttJ ; an d tha t
the nave was surrounded on three s ides by a " pe r istyle corri dor, II
for the retinues of the guests.
The elevation of t he tent is desc r ibed in greate r detai l , bu t with
more emphasis on decorative aspects t han on ph ys ical d imensions .
Thus we learn that the columns at t he an g les were shaped like
palm-trees, the others like Dionys iac t hy rs oi; the imposi ng height of
the columns (50 cubi t s ) is stressed, but t he thickness is not
mentioned. Callixenus further r ecords t ha t the architrave above the
columns provided the sole support for the cove r ing of the nave, i . e .
there was neither a single central pier or column , nor an inner
rectangle of s upports s uch as we find in the bouleuteria of Priene
and Miletos. Yet we are told nothing of the size and construction of
the architrave, wh,ich is described s imply as "s q ua r e " (presumably in
section) . The covering of th e central area of the nave was a
"min iature dome of heaven" (ouraniskos) ; this word, which seems not
to occur before the Hellenistic period, presumab ly ind icat ed originally
a roof or ceiling that curved upward f r om th e perimeter toward the
cent re. In the present instance it mus t refe r to an awning. Since
the axial spans of the columns are not re corded, we must try to
deduce the size of the awning from t he other det a ils that are
described. On either side (KCL 8 ' KnTpov of the roofing
7Keeping the MS OlJll<; r at he r th an emen d ing to a.1J!f <; with
Wilamowitz .
T Ef'IT OF PTOLEMY II 293
a r r ang ement JS a whole, t he r e were beams , app e rent lv draped with
tapestries; "Or." these beams ( V a t e;) were painted co ffers . The ro of
of th e peristyle cor r ido r was in the s ha pe of a vault, whil e the open
area outside of, or s u r r ou nd ing , th e peri s tyle was s had ed by trees,
and perhap s strewn with f lowe rs . 8
Inside the great tent, 100 marble s t a t ues were set "at the
pa r as t a9_e.,:; . 11 9 "I n th e inte r media te s paces" between th e p<lrastades
there were three level s of decor at ion : a t the bottom were displayed
pan el -painting s, po r t ra l ts , t unics, and mil it a r y c loa ks ; next a ba nd of
al t ernating s ilver and go ld s h ie lds ; fin ally, a bo ve t he band of
s h ie lds , in "eight - cubit s paces, II "caves were co ns t r uc te d II to hou se
sym pos ium-scenes with fig u res in drama tic cos t umes , wh ile "bet ween
the ca ves,, 10 were recesses , or niches. with go lden t r ipod s set on
stands. "Along the highest sp ace (or "section") of t he orophe," i.e.
the cei ling or r oof , we re golden eag les fifteen c ubits "in size" an d
II fa cing each other . II
In t he e nt ir e description of the tent , the only dimens ions
r ecor ded are t he height of t he nove co lumns and t he " size" of the
"caves" a nd of t he golden eagles . As not eo abov e, we a r e not told
th e d iamete r and s paci ng of th e co lumns or t he hei gh t and t hic kness
of the archit rave be arns : a nd the dimens ions and s pa c ing of the
supports of the peristyle a lso omitted. Moreover, th ere is no
indicat ion of t he met hod of fas te n ing dow n the ourani skos that
81t is not clea r whe th e r t he of 196d r efers t o the g round
of the immediately preceding tree-shaded area c uts ide th e pe ristyle,
or is the same as T?J Tile; OKllVfie; of 196e.
9Enl TWV Tile; OKllv nc; 1IapaOTllOwV must represent the us e of Enl
with the ge n it ive s pec if y ing locat ion in r el ation to so me t hi ng e lse , as
with 111 TWV a va ll t o ov xwpwv 60 pa l OllP l WV of 196c- d, wh ere t he pe lts
are located in relation t o the s t r uc t u r <l l eiernen t s a nd enclosing
c u r tai ns of t he pe ri sty le corridor; in 196e, on the ot he r ha nd, V
r uI r, Ctva ll t o ov xwpa Ie; means si mply "in th e interva ls. "
10presumiJbly KUTa lltoO\ > TWV aVTp wv corresponds in
meaning to ( OOKOUC;) c v u l C; . Ku TCt lJ{c ov TCHlKT O in 196c above .
294 F. E. WINTER AND A. CHRI ST IE
covered t he central area of th e nave , or of t he loca ti on and s ize of
th e beams acco mpan y ing the ouraniskos 1I0 f e ith e r si dell or th e oro phe
and we are left to guess at the material, and t hus t he th ickness, of
the painted coffers , which 'V (Tai:C; OOKOi:C;) KClTU hTaKLo .
We do not know the exact meaning of the te r m 11 th ere is
no precise indication of the loca tion of t he "intermedi at e s pac es " in
which the paint ings, t un ics , etc. were hung ; an d the pos itio n, and
indeed even the form, of the fifteen -cubit eagl es is left vague. In
fact it is obvious that Callixenus' account of the great tent was
written to interest and entertain layme n, r at he r t han as a gu ide for
builders. In th is r es pect it is quite the oppos ite of the ac count of
the Pir aeus arsenal preserved in 11
2166
8; for t he ins cription
contains so many measurements and ot her det ails of the building that
it has been possible to restore the arsenal, at least on paper , with
almost complete certainty.
As a result of the lack of data in Callixenus, Studniczka' s
restoration of the tent necessaril y based on a se rie s of
assumptions (Figs.1,2 and Plates 1,2 ) . His 50- cubit nave columns a r e
very slender; the foot of t he s haft, above a norm al project ing base,
has a diameter of only two cubits . The per istyle s uppor t s he took to
be square, again with projecting bases ; being smaller in sc ale than
the columns of the nave, they are set only half as far apa r t. Both
nave and peristyle supports a r e shown s imp ly re st ing on the ground.
To provide what he bel ieved to be t he s pa ce requi red for 130
couches, Studniczka assumed axial spans for the nave columns of 20.5
cubits, and thus obtained an axial r ec ta ng le of 61.5 x 82 cu bits, or
111t seems certain, however, t hat the meaning here cannot be
"antae , II for no known type of building would have had so many
"antae" that 100 statues could have been set a r ound them. On the
other hand, the more general meani ng, "anyth inq that stands beside"
(Liddell-Scott-Jones, s. v . ) , would be a s uit ab le description for
smaller piers set against the main colum ns (F ig s. 3,4); by as soc iat ion ,
the term might then a lso include th e ex t e r ior pier s of the pe r is t y le
corridor.

SYMPOS IUM-TENT OF PTOLEMY I I

295

.. ~ lAIC
_-----.--1_ - - . . . ~ - - ~ ~
f ~ "'.
FI GURE 1
Pl an of tent with co uc he s p ro po sed by F. Studnic zka
296 F. E. WINTER AND A . CHR ISTIE
I
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L _ _ -==- ~ . . . k . l _ _=::::r:=:L____f=:.:.L_ _ _ =:J...
FIGURE 2
Detail of part of entrance-side (F. St ud n iczka )
SYMPOS I Utv!- TENT OF PT OLEfviY I I
about 32 x 42.65 m. 1L Ab ove the main a r c h i tra v es he placed a n
elaborately profiled cornice, of whic h t he r e is no mention in t he text,
and in t erpretea the golden eag les <IS co rne r acroteria. Ab ove the
co r n ice , he s hows nothi ng but the ea gles a nd th e 9 r ea t awr in q .
he takes all th e d ec orative d etails of the orophe to refer
to the a wn ing , i . e. in hi s vi ew th e midd le s e c t ion of the a wn ing wa s
scarlet ed g e d with white, wh ile a long the longer s id es there were
painted represt:.ntations of be ams a nd decorated cof fe r s , rather th an
r eal wood en member s. Th is h uge ca nop y was t ied do wn by seven
ca b le s on ea c h si de , th e en ds of th e ca b les being fa ste ned to th e
crossbeams at t he top of t he surrou nd ing pe r is ty le , wh ich t h us had
to resist t he enormo us up wa r d drag of a canopy meas u r ing abou t 33 x
43 .65 m (about 1440 m
2
). and lacking any sort of in termedia te
s upport.
St udnicz ka furt her assumed t ha t the pe risty le cor ridor was
twn-s toreyed . with an upper level of supports; here ag a in , th ere is
no mention of s uch a fea t ure in Athenaeus
'
quotat ion from Callixenus.
lie also be lie ve d th at the panel -pai nting, tunics , and cl oa k s must
ha ve b een d i s p le y eo Oil the outside of t he sc a r le t cur tains th at hu ng
in the interco lumniat ions of the peristyle, a n d so were to the
gues ts the nave. He t hen placed t he s hields, too, around
t he ex te r io r of t he ten t, above t he lower a r c h it r a v e of t he per ist yl e ,
as we ll a s a r ou nd th r ee s ides of the na ve , a t t he sa me level. He
beli ev e d th at t he "ca ve sll1 3 mu s t ha v e been mounted in t he ou t e r
inte r vals of t he ( h ypot he tica l ) upper stor ey of t h e peristyle ; the
"8 -cubit s ize " of th e s paces con t a in ing t he "caves" he in t e r p r e te d as
indi cating height r a th er than width .
12See the sca le accorr panvinq t he r us tor ed p lan and e leva t ions,
Sf ud rii c z kn (a bo ve , n. 3 ) Pl ates 3 ( p la n ), 2 . 1- 2 ( elevat ior r " , here
Figs .1 ,2 a nd Plate 1.
13A rnot i t th at r ec u r s ne t only ill some of the f loa t ; :1: the
p r oc e s s ion cel eb r at ing th e win tc r -Tes t iva I of Dionv s u- . ( /\ t h . LGGe; and
c f . t he ox t dc, hung with g rapp- ViCi l: , ivy , a nd v ar-ious (T it iv a t ed
298 F.E. WINTER AND A. CHRISTIE
By means of these assumptions St udniczka obtained a nave
certainly large enough to hold 130 couches, wi t h more than ample
room left over for circulation of attendants. Almost all decorative
elements, however, were relegated to the exterior of the marquee,
where, like the eagle acroteria, they would have been visible ~
from the outside. This placing of t he decorative elements, though
reasonable enough in a temple designed to be seen primarily from the
outside, is much less logical in bui Id i ng s in which people normally
gathered in the interior. Thus the paintings and other dedications of
the Lesche of the Cnidians at Delphi, and of the St oa Poikile, Stoa of
Zeus , Bouleuterion, and Tholos in the Agora at Athens, like the
paintings, mosaics, and carved ornament of Hellenistic houses and
palaces, were inside the buildi ngs, not on the exterior.
14
In th e
case of Ptolemy's tent, too, we beli eve that the decorative elements
were all, or almost all, in the interi or; and we no te that the same is
true of the vast majority of the decorat iv e details of Philopator' s
river-barge, as described by Call ixenus .
We further believe that Studniczka gave i nsu ffic i ent attention to
the structural problems raised by his philologi cal i n t er p r et at ion s . In
fact, when we began to work out the details of our own restoration,
we concluded that his version of the te nt could in all I ikel ihood never
have been erected. I n our view, it woul d have been virtually
impossible, without intermediate supports, to stretch above t he nave
an awning measuring more than 1400 rn" : this objection remai ns val id
despite Studniczka's assumption that there was a large central oculus.
If Callixenus correctly states that the nav e ar c hi t r av es formed the
sole support of the awning, the nav e itself mu st have been much
fruits, that sheltered the colossus of Di ony sus at 198d), but also in
the "Dionysiac saloon" of Philopator's r iver-barge ( At h . 205f).
14Delphi: Paus. 10.25-32; Athenian monuments: Paus. 1.3.2-3,
3.4, 5.1, 15.2-4. Houses: d . t he description of the decorative
elements of the block of the House of the Comedians, in Delos 27
(Pa ris 1970).
SYlviPCSIUM-TEf'JT OF PT OLEMY "
299
s ma ller t han 32 x 42 rn. Even in our proposed na ve , wi t h an ax ia l
rectangle of not mor e than 36 x 48 c u b it s (a bou t 18. 75 x 25 rn) the
"drag" of the great ca nopy woul d hav e been s uc h th at the lofty
column s would have co l la psed , unless they were s u n k a t lea st
0.65-0.75 m into the ground. Thus if they had base s a t a ll ( and
such may well have been the ca s e ) these must hav e bee n for "show"
only. Th e peristyle support s mu st al so have been su nk into the
ground, to help "buttress" the lofty nave. Even so, the freestanding
ex te r ior supports of th e pe r is t y le , if they were to s e r ve as anchors
for the cables of the awn ing, must t he ms e lves have been guyed down,
lest the "drag " of th e g u y- ca b le s of th e a wn ing uproot them. In a ny
eve n t , th e awn ing woul d have been eas ier to d ea l with, a nd a ls o most
like a min iat u re oura no s . if it co u ld be made to c u r ve upward from
t he s id es toward th e midd le.
We have therefore based our restoration of t he pa vilion on quite
a di fferent set of assumptions fr om those made by Studni c zka
( Figs . 3-5 ). We hav e used thicke r columns, assuming a lower diamete r
of not le ss th an 3. a rid possibl y <I S much a s 3. 5- 4 cu b i Is ; the
co lumns . we bel ievc , must ha ve been s u n k in tc the ground, so t ha t
t he visible bases, if a ny , were re a lly fal se ba ses.
15
We fu r t her
believe that virtua lly all d ecorative e lemen t s , a nd pa r t icut arIy t he
"caves," were intended to be v isib le to the dine r s gathered in the
tent. We therefore s ug g es t th a t t he "caves" we r e in the upper pa r t
of t he nave interco lumn ia t ion s . Tak inq the 8-cubi t "s ize " of the
caves recorded by Ca ll ixen us to r e fer to t he width of t he spaces
occupied by t he "cave s " (rat her th an to the he ig ht , ClS St udniczka
ass umed), we a r ri ve a t axial Sp,If)S for the na ve colonnades of (8+3)
to (8+4) z: 11- 12 cubi ts; the axial re ct a rq !e wou ld th e n ha ve measur- ed
33 x 44 to 36 x 48 cubit s , or some 17.2 5 to 18. 75 m in width , by 23
15Like th e ex is t ing fa lse ba se s f i t tr.d arou nd th e co lumns at the
cor ne r s of t he bay s of cros s vau lt inq in t he nave of S . Mari a de gl i
Angeli a t Rome.
300 F. E. WINT ER AND A . CHRISTIE

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1
FIGURE 3
Proposed new plan of the tent, d ra wn by A. Chri st ie
( scal e in cubit s)
SYMPOSIUM -TENT OF PTOL EMY"
//
/ '
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FIGLJRE 4
Structure of tent, from a bove :
ne w p roposa l
dr-a wn by A. Ch r is t ie
301
302 F .E. VvINTER AND A. CHRISTIE
FIGURE 5
Proposed new e levat ion of front of te nt: drawn by A. Ch ri s t ie
SYMPOSIUM-TENT OF PTOLEMY II 303
to 25 rn i n le ngth . Whi Ie not insi st ing on t he cor r ec t ne s s of
in t e r p re t a t ion of the " si ze" of th e "cave s . " we ne ve rt he less maintain
that the axial width of t he nave co lon nad e cannot have been
significantly larger th an the figure th at we propose, if it was
spanned by real wooden crossbeams. We a ss ume that the beams lion
either s ide " of the orophe were in fact real beams, not painted
representations; these be ams would have been laid above the se cond
and fourth columns on either s ide of the nave, and would have
s u p por t ed light wooden coffers over the bays between the beams a nd
the architraves of the s hor t ends of the nave . Th e free span of t he
beams, in ou r r es t or at ion , would hav e be en just ove r 16 m, i . e . well
within the ca pab ilit y of Hellenistic builders to handle. 16
In addi tion to the two beams a bove , we bel ieve t ha t there wa s a
thi r d cross beam, supported by th e t h ir d column on each long side of
the nav e. Sunk ir. to the e nd s of a l l three beams were bow-shaped
met al rods, or di atonaia t oxoeide , as Call ixenus calls them in h is
acc ount of the a wn ing ov er t he upper deck of the great river-barge
of Ptol emy IV; 17 our diatonaia span abou t 17 m, a s ag a ins t only 8 m
on th e r ive r - ba rge. 18 We assume th at th e diatonaion over t he central
beam c u r ved upward more than those ov er t he two end bea ms , thus
imparting a fl attened domical s ha pe to the a wn ing s t r e t c hed ove r t he
beams . All diatonaia may have been join ed to the wood en be ams
themselves by braces, to for m a sor t of triangular truss- sy stem.
19
16Cf. the free spans of th e r oof ed cou nc i l- c hambe r in the
bouleuterion complex a t Miletus (about 15. 75 m) a nd of the original
roof- structure of th e as s emb lv - fia !l at Priene (about 14.25 m) .
17Cf. Ath. 205f-2 06a .
18T he "bow" - s ha pe of th e dia to nai a use d on t he r ive r -barge mus t
s u re ly ind ica t e t ha t t hey we r e r.le ta l, not wood en ; a nd th e t ech nol og y
t ha t p r od uc ed 8-met er me t a l r od s co ul d a lso hand le 17- me t e r r ods.
19T he t.ime Li nd p lace a t which qeriu u : t r us s es were first us ed in
Creek a rc h it cc t u r e rema ins un ce r tnin : most a u t ho r i t ies , howeve r,
re ga rd t he trus s Hellenistic deve lopme nt. Pe r haps the
304 F.E . WINTER AND A. CHRISTIE
Al th ou gh th e g rea t awning was visible f r om bel ow on ly ov er the t wo
middle bays of t he nave , it ne ve r theles s ext en de d ri g ht out to the
en d a r c hitraves, in orde r t o p r otect t he wood -panelled end bay s f r om
the weather. In th e a bs ence of any indication of t he pos iti on of the
entrance of th e pa v ilion , we ha ve r es t or ed it with the entrance on
one long s ide, as in t he hall exc avated many years ago in T rasteve re
at Rome, and no longer in ex istence . 20
The 100 statues mentioned by Call ixenus mus t hav e been set at
the supports of t he peristyle as well as at t hose of the na ve ; for so
large a number of statues could no t have been acc ommoda t ed a round
the nave columns alone .
There is no reason t o believe t hat the pe r ist yle had mor e t han
one storey, with the ceil ing in the shape of a se gmenta l vault, i. e .
resembling the roof of some of t he pav ilions of th e Praeneste mosaic ;
presumably there was an outwa rd -pitched cove r ing of some sor t a bove
the ceiling, to shed rainwate r . Since the nave columns , 50 cubi ts, or
some 26 rn, in height, rose far above the si ng le- storeyed pe ristyle,
there would have been ample s pace in t he intervals between these
columns for t he following :
theoretical basis of such systems was first work ed ou t by engineers
in the service of the Ptolemies. At any r ate we known th at Ptolemaic
a r chit ec t s and engineers were res pon s ib le for th e mos t famou s of
early Helle nis t ic ac hievements in the tec hnica l f ield, i.e. the great
lighthouse on Pharos island at Alexand ri a ; and th is structure, which
could not have been built and op erated wit hout a great deal of
technical innovation, pre-dated the symposium -tent now under
discussion. On long-span wooden beams in Gr eek architecture, see in
general J.J. Coulton, (above, n.2) 155-60; Coulton suggests that
Greek architects, unl ike their Roman success ors , may never rea lly
have understood the principle of th e t r us s , bu t t his view is perhaps
excessively sceptical.
20G. Gatti, NSc (1905) 80-81; Studniczka, 32 Fig. 3. The
Trastevere hall, likethe other similar examples c ited by Studniczka,
was of course a permanent masonry st ructure ; the area of the nave ,
which measured about lOx 13.5 m, was only a bout three-sevenths of
that of the symposium-tent of Ptolemy II.
SYMPOSIUM-TENT OF PTO LEMY II
1) a t ground leve l , pass - throu g hs t o t he peri st yl e (a bou t
4 m);
2) above thes e, arrangements for su spend ing the
paintings, tunics, and c loa ks (perhaps a not he r 4m) ;
3) the row of silver a nd gold shields (about 2- 2.5 rn) :
4) the "caves" (6 -8 m);
5) at the top of the intercolumnar spaces, "clerestory
windows" a t least 8 m high, providing ample light for
the interior .
305
Since Callixenus says that t he r e were s ix "caves" in length, four
in width , and since the intercolumnar spaces numbered only four on
th e sides a nd three acros s t he ends, our placing of the "c aves"
requires that the two middle intervals on the sides of the nave, a nd
the central interval at the ends, each contain two "caves" above
t he ot he r ; thus on t he long s ides the "c aves" were s et in
pattern , across the e nds . : .
At this point of our reconstruction we have still two major
questions to a ns we r . (i) What and where were the golden eagles of
15- cu bi t si ze ? (ii) Could ou r 18 x 24 m nave have held even 100
couc hes, let alone 130?
With regard to the eagles, we do not s ee how e ve n hollow-cast
bi rds of gilded bronze, nearly 8 m high, co u ld ev er had served as
ac r ot e ria over s le nde r wooden co lumns ; in any case, lik e t he ot he r
dec orat ive elem e n t s , th e eagl es mu s t have be e n vis ible t o t he guest s
d in ing in t h ~ ~ a v e . We would s ugges t th at the g r ea t siz e of th e
bir d s is best ex p la ined by r ef e rr ing it to t he wid th f r om s id e to s ide ,
th e fo r m of t he eagles be ing de ri ved f ro m t he old Pharaoni c motifs of
falcon s and vultures with ou t s p r ea d wings; both these motifs were
ve r y wid e f ro m s ide t o s id e, but modes t in he ig ht. Th e old
Pha raonic s ymbols were ce r ta inly ta ke n over by t he Pt ol emies ; th e ir
Eg y pt ian s ubj ects ex pected it, wh ile Gr eeks a nd Macedo n ia ns s a w the
bi r d s as t he eagle of Zeus. The g r ea t b irds in t he tent of Pto lemy II
cou ld have been ei t he r a p pliq ues of t h in g ilde d bron ze a ttached to the
in ne r face of t he a rchi trave be ams, or gold- emb r oide r ed a p p liq ues on
the unde r s ide of t he awning t ha t co vered the central part of t he
The former interpret a ti on per haps acco r-ds be tte r with th e
306 F.E. WINTER AND A. CHRISTIE
pu rely "metallic" implications of th e ad jecti ve XPUOOl , 21 the latter
with the location of the eagles in lit he hi gh es t space of t he orophe . II
As for the nu mber of cou ch es th at cou ld be ac commoda t ed in our
nave, 130 couches of 4 x 2 cu bi t s (8 sq. cubit s ) would have filled
some two-thirds of the space available. Even if only 100 co uches
were act ua lly set out, cou ch es plus serving- ta b les , basins , and the
like would have left only a very modest s pac e for se r vants t o move
a round. Nevetheles s, we bel ieve that if th e couc hes extended beyond
the ax iai rectangle of the nave , there would have been room for the
number s ta ted by Callixenus. In any ev ent , such an ad jus t ment
seems to us better than proposing a t ent which coul d probably never
have been erected at a ll , but which, if by some ch ance it ha d been
erected, would almost certainly have co lla psed on the g ues t s .
At the besinr ing of t his a r t ic le we refe rred t o Studniczka's
characterist isation of Ptolemy ' s sy mposium-tent as the earlies t
recorded Greek ances t or of Vi truvian and ot he r Roman basilicas and
hypostyle halls. It is really this aspect of t he great pavilion that
makes it so important for the study of later Greek architecture.
Hypostyle halls with clerestories, con s tructed ent ire ly in stone, are of
course found in t he a r ch it ect u r e of Pharaoni c Eg y pt many centuries
before the establishment of the Pto lemaic ki ng dom; but there s eem t o
be no earlier ex ampl es, eit he r Greek or Egypt ian , of large cove red
s paces with an " inte r na l peristyle" s uppor ting a clerestory roofed
with the aid of long-s pan wood en bearns . Thus the pavil ion descr-ibed
by Callixenus, for all its ephemeral cha ra ct e r , appears ( at lea st if we
have restored it cor re ct ly ) to introduce us to a new era of technical
achievement in the architecture of ancient Greece, an era in which
some builders r ega r ded wooden beams wit h a free span of more th an
16 m as sufficiently routine in character to be used even in temporary
structures such as the one under discussion. As far as we can tell
21For patterns woven or embroidered in gold, XPUOOl seems less
a pp ropriate than a word such as the xp uooutjll c; of 196e -f.
SYMPOSIUM-TENT OF PTOLEMY" 307
O{K OC; for dining); 20Se ( satoon with
"Dicnys i ac" s3100n ); 206a- c (IIEgyptian
ll
from extant monuments, th e ear l ies t examp les of suc h long spans in
permanent buildings belong to the foll owing cen t u r y , 22 i.e., nearly a
cen t u r y later than th e great te nt in the palace pa r k at Alex andri a .
Ye t th e roof- spans of Ptolemy' s t ent must su re l y have had at
least a few predecessors in the real arc h i t ec t u r e of Alexandria; and it
is r easonable to assume t ha t t hese predecessors were to be found in
the palace-buildings of th e fi rs t Ptolemi es. On the ba sis of th is
assumption, we may concl ude t ha t as early as the first third or so of
the 3rd c , . Ptolemai c arc h i t ect s had designed and built ro yal
d i ni ng-r ooms an d aud i ence- ha ll s with internal peri styles, l ong- sp an
wooden ceilings and c l er esto r y windows; hall s which, in f act, al r ead y
included almo st all the featur es of the earl iest Roman ba sil i cas. Thi s
conc l usion , if co rrect , woul d lend f u rt her su ppor t to th e t heory th at
th e Latin word basilica was der ived f rom such basilikai aulai, or ro ya l
halls. By late Hellenisti c times, halls with internal peristyles had
ev i den t ly be come a commonpl ace in Ptolemai c, or at l eas t Alexandri an,
domest ic arc h i tec t u r e; thus whe n t rans fe r re d to Italic con t ext s, they
were descr i be d as " Eqypt ian oec i" e . g . , by v i tr uvius . wh o remark s
t hat suc h halls ob v ious l y re semble basil icas . 23 Several exampl es of
"Eqypt ian oeci " do in fa ct appear in Callixenus' account of t he
Ph il opat or
24
; ag ai n , we may note, at an ear l ier
da te (l ast quarter of the 3r d c. ) th an that of an y ex ta n t Itali c
examples.
22 T he ear l iest da ta b le examp le is Mile t us , about 17 0 ; perhap s we
sho u ld add A la ba nda (G. E. Bea n, Turkey Beyond th e Maea nde r
(London 1971 1 186-87). Both da te and met hod of r oo fll19 atl\fOfilJiTi
are uncer t ai n ; the bu i Iding, if complet ely roofed, may well postdate
the appea rance of Roman b ui ld ing-techniques E of t he Ad r i at i c , but
wi t ho ut f ur th er excavation any conclusions mus t rem ai n purely
specu lat ive.
23
Vi t r
. 6.3.8-9 .
24
A
th . 205b-c (main
peristyle of l ri di an stones;
saloon ) .
308 F.E. WINTER AND A. CH RIST IE
Our conclusion then i s that th e tec hnical ach i evemen t
represent ed by t he symposium-tent of Pto lemy II, tog et her with its
presumed relationship to mor e permane nt hy postyl e halls in t he pa l ace
at Alexandria, suggests that t he pl an and const r uc ti on of t he earl iest
Roman basicilas was very strongly i nf luenced by Pt olemaic proto types;
the Hypostyle Hall on Delo s, whi ch i s t he Hel leni st ic monument most
often mentioned in discussion s of the an cest ry of t he Roman basil ica,
was actually bui lt hal f -a -century or so af t er t he construction of the
great pavilion at Alexandri a, of whi ch, f ro m t he technical point of
view, it was in any event only a pa le ref lection . In fact t he
technical expertise and lavish or nament of Ptolemaic palace-
architecture seem to have been uneq ua l led in t he Hellenistic world,
and were probably not surpassed , even by the Romans, until the time
of Nero and the Flavians.
DEPARTMENT OF FI NE ART
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
F.E. WINTER
ADRIENNE CHRISTIE
309
A LETTER TO APHRODISIAS IN CARlA
Among the i nscr i pt ions r ecently pu bl i shed by Joyce Reynolds in
her and Rome is one which she inclines to asc r i be t o
Nicomedes IV of Bithyni a .
1
The f ol lowi ng notes mainly concer n t he
text, though I come bac k at the end to the question of th e
ad d r essee. This i s Reynolds ' version of the te xt : 2
[ ?Ba0 1,\ i ) <; 81 8u vwv [11>.apao{wv]
[ Kat 'A]pOOClO\[]WV TQ Sou '\Q
[Tfil] vac Xo.f[ p ] C\ \i vac
[ .. 4-5 .. 1r eEI KAN we; Kal a6 -
1Reynolds, Aphrodisias an d Rome (see below) 20-26 no. 4.
have used th e followang special ab bre viat ions: Holleaux, Etudes = M.
Holleaux, Etudes c'epi r aphie et d 'histoire orecques,
(Pari s 193 - 1 auer s erger = <J ue rs Polybi os-Lexi con
(Berlin 1956); Reynolds = J. M. Reynolds , Aphrodisias and Rome ( JRS
Monographs no.1 [London 1982 ] ); She rk , Roman Documents -
Sherk, Roman Document s from th e Greek East ( Baltimore 1969);
Welles, Ro il l Correspondence - C . B. Welles Correspond_ence i n
t he HellenIstic erlod NewHav en 1934 ) . Ot her abbre v iatiuns sho u ld
be sel f- ex p l anat or y . I am v ery g ra teful to G. W. Bower sock and
Chri stian Habi cht fo r their commen ts. Ke na n Erim gave me eve r y
fac i l i t y for st ud y i ng the inscr iption t o be di scu ssed here d u ri ng a
vi sit t o Aphrodisi as in June , 1984, and l owe him many t han ks .
2Rey no l ds, 20- 26 with Pl at e II I . In Rey nold s' desc r i pt ion of t he
up per b loc k (p. 20) t he words " Ief t - tran d " and " ri ght -han d" sho u ld be
r ev er sed. The d ra wi ng is confusi ng, espec ial ly fo r t he fragment s of
t he lower bl ock , and i n l i nes 23 and 25 shows readings t ha t Reynold s
does not acce p t in to her text. The p lates omi t a small f r aqrnen t to
t he ri gh t cen t er of l in es 19 an d 20. I hav e co r rected t he ac cen t to
B18uvwv i n line 1, and made some small changes r olat inq to th e
visi bility of lett er s in lines 7, 8 , 24 and 31. l.arqer al te ra tions wil l
be discussed be low .
310 c. P. J ONES
[TOl] uy ta ( vollv. KUt o i li-
[ IlU T] OUTli! Ui p6 VTEC; TI pa BUTUl: ouv-
[11 KUl: a a TIuaa lJE:vo t nllii c;
TOO TI[A]ti8o ue; a TIOWKUV KUl: n\l
TI taTOAnV Si ' on-
AO[OT]E: a uvn[ a 6i'iv ] u t :TI l: r ot c KUTa A6y ov
nll[ d]'! v KUl: OTEIjJU-
12 t nllii[ e; x]p uoli! a TE:ljJa vli! KUl:
d[K6v t] o taAx[ 6] na uv KUl: o i TI pO-
BE: u[ Ta l: aKoJAou6we; r ot c tv UUTQ KUTU-
KX[WPt all{]'!Ot e;, TnV 6ua(uv TIUp a Tn-
16 ccv a(u[v T]i'ie; nlJopue; TIpoutpa-
we;. Ka TEt Tb[ v O]i'illov UIlWV
K TIAE: t6v[wv ?E: UVOt KW] <i [Ot]<;KdlJE: VOV
7!pbe; nll[iie; KUl: ?aTIu ]6 ov Ta ad :TI t -
20 ?nllii e; tv] r o Ir; TIpO -
[ . . 7.. a TIo vac ox 6[ lJ],; 6u KUt -
[ ?TIQva]ullE:V TIOA U T]nV \)VO tClV
[ ?UIlWV] TItpu a6 1l6u [ E: u] KCl tp nauv-
24 [?TEe; ?xup ] a6 nva t M; K[al: ?u] IlWV Kal: Tne;
[ nllopa]s lE[ 4-5 .. l 'ApTIl(O Wpov
[ .. 5 .. 5.. lo ue; ui oue; Ka-
UTa Tb n Icp ov co ve ] . 5 .. l E: a6a t nllE: Tv
28 [ 9 l IOTEK[ 5 l e; EIIAN
[ .. 10.. l OTET[ 5 . . lA ITOT d vut
[ .. 11.. l ?Kp[ d vull ] E:v KUt ull Tv
[ ?ypa1jJu llv TI Jcot "Eootoo ec .
1. On the photograph , only a delta foll owed by a lower serif is
visible (confirmed by autopsy, June 1984). In addition, Reynolds'
restoration takes 33 letters, more t han a ny ot he r line, whereas the
A LETTER TO AP HRODI SIAS IN CAP I/".
311
letters of the sal u t ati on ar e larg er t ha n th ose of t he main t ex t. 3 The
de l t a sho u l d be about the fift eenth let t er, with some eleven or tw elve
following. A simpl e rec our se would be t o excise th e 6 18uvwv , whi ch
would al so bring th e sal u ta t ion in t o acc ord with the usu al st y le of
Hel l en i st ic kings, so that it began :
[BCW l AEUe; lL\upuowv J
For doubt s a bou t the correc tn ess of this restoration, how ev er ,
t he final paragraph below.
2. From t he ph ot og r aph t he secon d wor d look s l i k e
' A<j> p oo 10 WV, 4 presupposin g th e form 'A<j>P OOE1OEVe; instead of t he
usual - 0 tEue; ; this was presumab ly a vulgarism, I ike h UI-JOe;
in no. 2 line 12. The form recur s in inscriptions of I taly; 14. 1237,
1598 (Moretti, 532) , perhaps 2388a ; d. i n I
Lyttos no.50.
4. In her discussion Reynolds inclines to accept a proposal of
J. Dei n i ng er , [Ei <oi'<n> Clv we; Bou>"6)JE8u : a copyi st or
mason r ead the two epsilons as one and tu rned the remaining I HANrll:
into the famili ar ad v er b lKuvwC; .
11 - 12. Since 0-r:cUVWK VU1 is f ol lowed by EiK6v1 well as
o TEa v/f , the right transl ation is not "crowned" but "honored,"
"presented," a kn own sense of OTE<j> UVOUV. 5
3Reynol ds' difficu lty is sho wn b y the drawing, in which the
su r vi ving de l t a is v is i bl y larger than an y ot he r let t er . It is no
aoubt bec ause of t his problem that she adop t s th e spe ll ing B18uvw\J in
her text and BE18uv wv i n t he d ra wing.
4Rey nold s shows both the second epsilon of ' APOOE10WV and
t he rho of XUt PEl v in l in e 3 as mi ssing . They are now, since th ey
were carved on u loose c h i p which has disappeared (P late 2 ) . At th e
ti me of t he photograph wh ic h Reynolds g i v es as Pla t e III 2, how ev er ,
bo t h l etter s were still vi sibl e.
5Ful yb . 13. 9. 5, wh i ch Liddel l - Scott - Jones, OTEu \!6w II 2,
mist r anslate as " r ewa r d ": seve r-al e p iq r aph ic al i nst ances i n L. Rob ert ,
AC 37 (1 96 8)
312 C. P. JONES
15-16. Comment ing th is i n sc r i pt ion , K. J. Ri gsby has
sug gest ed that the envoy s " ar r ived on the occasi on of a fe stival , and
were naturally i nvited to share i n it." It seems si mpl er to as sume
that t hey " of f er ed sac r ifi ce" on their own init i at i v e; compare t he
decree for Pose id on ios of Bargyl la , ambassador to M. I Aquill ius i n
129, [ ouvno8d <; tnt ToT<; yCYOV601vJ lTET Oe:[odv ToT<; 8E:o T<; TC:t <;
Ka8nKouoCl <; 8UO ( Cl <; , KTA. 6
17. KCl TE: 1An[ <j>6 TE: J<; is excell ent , bu t no t so t he assert ion th at it
"must mean understanding. II T hat t r ans lat ion i g nor es the perfect
tense, and KClTClAa\.lBav 1v in t he of " understand, II
"comprehend" seems alw ays to be f ollowed by a noun or an i ndirect
question. With a parti cipial phrase it means "fi nd , II II notice . "
"discover ." usually with a con not at ion of pr ior moti on but sometimes
without; here then it shoul d mean "havi ng fo und. 11
7
18. Reynold s somet imes prefixes a si g n of doub t ev en to the
most plausible r estoration s, but here expre sse s no q ua lms abo ut K
lTAE:16v[wvJ . T he phrase ought not t o q uali f y KClTE: 1An<j> 6TE:<; but
r ather, t he wor d or der shows , Ol ClK E( \.lEVOV. T he r ig ht
supplemen t mus t be K lTA lOV[O<;] , " f or a con si derable t i me";
Thucydides and Pol ybi os hav e K lTAovo<; Xp6vou , Cas sius Di o three
tim es has K lTAEOVO<; . 8 T he wri t er has t her efor e "found y our
people well disposed to us for a con sider ab l e t ime. II
20-21. For th e noun or pa r t ic ip l e fo llo wi ng ToT<; Reynolds
suggests lTPO [T OU or lTpo[YyEVn\.lVo] 1<; ; bu t the r un of the
6K. J . Rigsby, Phoenix 38 (1984 ) 103. Poseidon ios: M. Holleaux,
REA 21 (1919) 2, 5( =Etudes 2.181 ,184 ) .
7For these t wo sens es and constructions of KClTaAaj.JBavE:1v see
g; s i
dass . . .. ): for thiS lost nu an ce see e. g . Polyb.
clearer is Joseph. BJ 3.405, <hpKn TOV ' l wonlTov Kat tv &""0 1<;
KClT E:Aa\.lBClVEV . -
8T huc . 8.45.2; Polyb. 1.68 .9 , 2.69.1 1,14.12.1,24.9.14 ; Dio
Casso fr.57 .18 , 70. 4, 42.57 .1.
A LETTER TO AP HRODI S IA.5 IN CARl A 313
p h rase, "eag er th a t we s ho ul d alw ay s s u ccee d in our . .. . " does no t
fa vo r a wo rd in wh ic h rrp o - signifies " before" in a tem pora l se n s e .
np o[ Kc I lJ{ VO] i r; exactly f ills t he s pac e po stula ted by Rey no lds and in
Polybi os fr equentl y has the s e n s e of " p la ns, " "intenti on s"; thus
1. 9. 6 , OUVTACOUlJCVOe; TO n p ox c f uevov ; 1.1 3.1 , A{ YCIV wpa n c p ] TWV
l1POKCIlJ {VWV; 2 .6 7. 6, 3 . 61.9 , a <j> ClJ VOl TC' IV np OKCIlJ{ VWV .
21-22 . For [ n Qv to ]CilJCV a f t e r ano oX6lJc 8a compare Sherk,
Roman Docu ment s no .26 col. a l ine 26 ( J u li us Caesar ) , T ou e; &vopac;
En {jv c[oa . Kal <j> I >'0<j>p6v ] w(; O:TICoc I: UlJllV ; Re y nolds , no . 6 l ines 33 - 35
( Oc ta vian ) , TIa I v toae; TOV r. 6 >.wv o. lJa U o v Fo r TIC).\)
lJa >.IO Ta , "most especia ll y ," a comb ina t ion ne t a p pa re n t ly no t iced in
t he d ic tionari e s, We lle s , Royal _S or r es pondence no . 25 line 17 ( Ziael a s
of Bithynia ).
23- 24 . c umI pn o a v T e; look s right , b u t no t Re ynolds ' t r ans la t ion .
"i n our p ro s pe r i tv ; " The pri mary s e n se of clJKa I oc t v , th ou gh
dep lor ed by th e gra mmar ia n s , is "to have le isu re" ; thus in Poly bi os
(20. 9.4), Ka Ta IlV TO TIa p OV OUK <j> a OKCV etJK U I PClV , TICPlOTI WlJCVOC; 0n o
Tfi e; TWV >.a<j>upwv o LcovouIcc . The sense "prosper," though th e
commone r in Po ly b ios , is t he ra rer el s e whe r e. In th e pre s ent le tte r
it woul d be odd if t he wri te r , afte r rr.ention ing " t he sat isfactory
ou tcome of ou r affa irs" ( Iine s 10- 11), s hould now a d mit to f ina nc ia l
e mba r r a s s me n t .
9
24. [Xap] 1U8 i'j v CiI look s somewha t long fo r the s pace ( agai n, t he
d r a wing is s lig ht ly ina cc u ra t e) ; perha p s [ Il V] ll o 8 i'j val , with th e ob j ect
e it he r aUT i'je; understood o r the geni t ives after at; l we;.
9See t he a b un dant citat ion s in th e r evi sed S tephan us , T hesau ru :::
s , v . ; a ls o Lid dell -Scott- J ones s . v. I , "have op po r t un it y , le isu r e or
t ime . " J . A. d e Fouc a ult, Rec he rc he s _sy r la langue et Ie sfYT"e de
(P ari s 1972 ) 351, g iv es onl y th e se n s e IIpro sperer, II inc luding
un de r it s uc h pa ssages () S Po lyb . 20. 9 .4 (c i ted in t h e t e x t) in wh ich

fin ancier-e . "
314 C. P. JON ES
25. From here on the f r agme nt a r y na t u re of t he t e xt mak es it
increasingly difficult to r estore. Rey nolds reads [ ?r\1.1 TcpcxJe;
66Ha e; JE[ . 4-5 .. I ' ApTE:1J 16wPO\i; but, a part from t he sl ip for
66F;ne;, the Iine is s us p ici ous ly long , 32 or 33 letters aga ins t a n
average of about 29 . The photograph ( Plate II I 3) sh ows wha t coul d
be the upper ho r izontal of sigma and the to p of d elta ; then after
about one space a n upper left - ha nd serif whi ch wou ld fit xi; then
after about one more s pace the s ig ma wh ich is evide n tl y the isola t ed
one shown by Reynolds . 10 Th at is , th e sigma thoug ht by he r to fall
in the four th place af t e r 06Hae;J shoul d be the las t letter of
0[ 6J HnJe; , and t he number of let ters in the line ca n be re d uced t o 28
or 29. Reynol d s suggests t ha t a ne w sentence be g in s befor e
'APTIJf 6wpo\i . Tha t must be so if t he s uggestion t o be made be low
about line 26 is correct , a nd in turn th e re s houl d be so me t h ing in th e
gap to form a bridge from what precedes, pe r ha ps [ t !p' ote;J , as in a
s imilar passage in the letter of Octavian of 39 or 38 (no.6 line 33) .
26. It is natural to take TOUe; oi ooc , and perhaps , ApTE:1Jf6wpo\i
too, as the objects of a main verb, wh ich if the wr iter is refe rring to
himself will be in the first person p lura l . In the group AAE:::AMf:.
Reynolds observes that xi might be e psi lon, zeta , or sigma. A
recurrent term in the language of Hellenistic diplomacy is na paKCXAcl\i ,
"invite, II "request"; though usually a ppl ied to the pleas made by
ambassador s and the like, persons in a ut hor it y al so us e it modestly of
their own requests.
11
Here [ncxpK]aAOalJ[\iJ ex actly fills t he space
allotted by Reynolds at the beginning of the line . and [Ka t T] OUe;
ui ou e; does the same for the space near t he en d .
10The photograph, however. is not pe rfectly clear, and the
drawing is particularly unhelpful for t his line.
ll E. g . Welles. Royal Correspondence no .14 line 12 (Ptolemy II to
Miletos), no.15 line 30 lAntlochos II t o Erythrai) ; both uses in no.34
lines 5.17,21 (Attalos I to Magnesia).
A LETTER T O AP HRODISIAS IN CAR l A
315
26-27 . KU[TU Tb n J up6v see ms another cer t ai n supplemen t. This
expression occ u rs 70 t imes in Pol y b i os alone. 12 I t often sug g es t s ,
like "for th e present" i n Eng lish, a con t r ast wi th t he f ut u re ; t hus in
a r ece n t l y publi sh ed i ns c r ip t ion of Ephesos i t i s con t ras te d with Eie;
13
Tb
As Reynolds observes . th e see ms t o de pe nd on t he
immedi at ely preceding . The writer earl ier spo ke of t he " satisfac t or y
out come of ou r affai rs , II th e v erb np oxwp El V impl y i ng some ki nd ot
en te r p r ise or ex ped i tion; if EllKUlpnou vTEe, i n 23 i s co r re ct ly
i n t er p re t ed as " when we hove leisu r e , II t ha t suggest s th at he is sti ll
bu sy . I t may t herefore not be overbol d t o suggest somet h i ng I i ke
auvE[ n 1 AuS]t a eu 1 [ np be; EVUVT] fo ue; or nOAEll ]foue;; if the
omi ssion of the article seems u ncomfortable ( t ho ug h not u nu sual in
He il en i st ic Greek) , t he r ar er verb a uv c[n t pX] Ea eUl nllEl V wi th a
d i r ec t acc u sat i ve might do i n st ead. 14
28-2 9. The f ol l owi ng words seem beyond recovery. T he k appa
of 28 might r epresent Lot l . fo l l owed by a second infi nitive c lau se
ending at cfVU1 .
15
The syl lables EITAN, sligh t ly separ-at co t r om t he
previ ou s wo r d and so almost cert ainly be ginning a ne w one, shou l d be
t he p refix si gnifying " r et u r n " as in [T il J e, n uv[ 66ou ] , Enuv -
[ O OWllf:V] . I ca nnot f i nd su p p l emen ts f or li ne 29; - AITOT mi g h t
suggest a transl i t erat ion f rom Lati n .
12Mau er sberger . KUTa V I 2; cf. Preisigke , Wor t erbuc h de l'
g r iec h ischen Pap y r u su r k u nd en s .v , n dp ei ut b , ex amples from t he 2nd
c. Be on. -
13D. Kn i b be , Jahr- esh ef tc c!1-:S Oesterreic h . A r ch5010g . I n stitut s
53 (19 81/82, p u b l . 19!ITf- rli 9 no.169 l in E" 4 . ----
14For a UVETi I AnpR6v OllU1, Wel l es. Roy al Correspondence 366 s , v .
Fo r t he omi ssi on of t he ar t ic l e in p reposItlon;:;I p h rases , Maysel' .
Grllmm.lt ik d er griech isc hen Papy ri aus d el' Pt ol ernaerzei t II 2.
pp. 35-40. - - - - -
15T h e le tter s at til e ellei of l ir.e 29 rruqh t po ss i b l y r epres en t th e
of a pur pose cla use i nt r od uced bv r oo (o n thi s
cons t ruct ion. e . g. Gr-eek of. he Ne w
316 c. P. JONES
30-31. T he traces co rrespon d to an epi stolary formula often
observed in Hell eni st i c letters , wh ic h almost al way s appear s j u st
be fore or anot her closing expressi on. Thus i n th e letters of
Sp. Postumius to the Delphi ans and Amphictyons , (I1TWC; 06 v E:Uiii u ,
hP1VOV U111V yp aljia1 1T Ep t TOIJTWV; i n Attalos I l l s letter t o his cousi n
Athenaios, (I1TWC; Kat a u d Oii1 C; , EnlOTEtAa f 001 .
16
In
the present letter there i s ju st room t o supply : 17
U v a doi'\u ,] Kp[dvOl1]E:V Kat Ul1E:IV
[ En lO TEtAa 1 1T ]E:pt TO[ UTW] V . "E ppw0 8E:.
wou ld translate thus :
King Ni come de s ( ?) to the council and peop l e of
Pl arasa and Aphrod i sias , g r eet i ng s . If yo u are well i t
woul d be as we wish ; we t oo are i n goo d he alth .
Ar temidoros and th e ambassadors chosen with hi m met us
and g r eet ed us from t he peo p l e , and al so deli v ered the
letter you ha d wr i tten, i n wh i ch yo u indicated t hat y ou
cong r at u l ated u s on t he satisfact ory outcome of ou r affairs
and had p r esen t ed us wi th a gold crown an d statue; and
t he ambassado r s sp ok e i n accordance with what had been
set down in it ( t he l et t er) and made a sac r i f ic e ap propria te
t o our conduct. Having therefore found yo ur peopl e well
d i spo sed t o us fo r a considerab l e t ime and eage r th at we
shou l d al ways suc ceed i n al l ou r (plan s) , we ap prove and
ap p r ec iat ed most especial ly your go odwill , and we shall try ,
when we have leisure, t o r emember (you, sc .) i n a way
wor thy both of you and of our glory . ( For this rea son ?) ,
we have r equested Art emidoros and h i s sons fo r the t i me
being . .. wi th us ... ( and ) to be... . (So that y ou should
know) we j udg ed best t o wri te t o you on this subject.
Farewell.
For the id en t i t y of t he wr i t er , Reynolds' su ggest ion of a
Nicomed es of Bi t hy n ia , perha ps t he Fourth , f i t s the traces in li ne 1
Testament 206 pa ra .400), though this seems ve r y unlikely.
16Cenerall y , H. Kosk enn i emi, St ud i en zur Idee und Ph r ase oloqi e
des gri ech ischen Bri efes (Hel si ri k] 1956) rs-r , Sherk, t<oman
Documents no.1 A l i nes 6- 7 , B l i ne 7 (Sp. Posturni us I . Well es, ROyaT
no.65 l ines 18- 20 ( A ttal os II), cf. no .66 lines Ts=T8
and p.XXXVIII n.6.
17 / n line 30 (I1TWC; and 06v ( but not both) might be su bst i t u t ed.
A LETTER T O A PHRO DIS IAS IN CARl A
317
and the general sty le. Nevertheless, her origina l v ie w (not
mentioned in her recent discussion) that the author WLl S a I! Roman
official" st i l l has some attraction .18 The q uestion is bo und up wi t h
t hat of the pos i tion of this l et t er on the so-called A r ch i v e Wall , the
inscriptions of wh i c h f or m the core of Reynolds ' book. I have
d iscussed t his in a fo rthcoming review of Reynolds , and here on ly
note my be l ief that the document s on the wall form a single col lect ion ,
and that the present let t er a p pea r s f rom its posi t ion t o have been one
of the most impor t an t. I incl i ne th er ef or e to think that Reynolds'
first sug ges t ion was cor r ect , but admit that I cannot fi nd a Roman
offici al of th e late Republic whose name eas i l y fi t s t he t races i n line
1. 19
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO C . P. JONES
18Reynolds in Akten des VI. Internationalen Konqresses fUr
Griechi sch e und Latelnlsche Ep,g r aphlk , Vestigia 17 (Munich 1973)
115.
19Simil ar doubt s abou t th e introducti on of a Nicomedes ar e
ex p ressed b y G. W. Bow ersock, Gno mon 56 (1984) 51, and S. Mi t chell,
CR 34 (1984) 294.
318
OCEANUS
DUECAlEDONIUS
A.A. R. HENDERSON
Thule f
40m
319
AGRICOLA IN CALEDONIA:
THE SIXTH s SEVENTH CAMPAIGNS
Since Ogilvie and Richmond published their commentary on
Tacitus' biography in 1967. a great deal of work has been done on
the five Scottish campaigns of Agricola (I' I-V II. numbered by the
years of his governorship of Britain).l Our understanding of these
operations has been enormously increased by discoveries in the fie ld.
Relatively few new ideas have been generated by study of Tacitus'
text. which has never seemed to offer much hope to the investigator.
As a biographer and literary artist Tacitus suppressed many
geographical and similar details that he felt would bore or distract his
readers. The archaeologists . for example, have disposed of the
belief. still strong when Ogilvie and Richmond wrote, that Agricolan
installations underlay all or most of the forts of the Anton ine Wall,
buil t two generations later. In fact the praesidia mentioned by
Tacitus in 23 (year IV) as marking the temporary terminus of
the province on the Forth-Clyde isthmus, coincide with the latter
sites at a maximum of three places; and unlike the Wall. the Agricolan
system starts S of the Clyde in the W (Barochan Hill) and continues
S of the Forth on the E as far as Edinburgh (Elginhaugh). 2 Only
the third of Agricola's Scottish expeditions (V) continues to resist all
1( am entirely persuaded by the arguments of Professor A. R.
Birley for the earlier dating of Agricola's governorship. i. e . 77-83/4.
instead of the tradit ional 78-84/5 (liThe date of Graupius , II LCM
1 (1976) 11-14). Cf. B. Dobson . "Ag r icola' s Life and Career ." sCOt:'"
Arch. Forum 12 (1980) 10. --
2See W. S. Hanson and G. Rome's North-West Frontier:
The Antonine Wall (Edinburgh 19lD) 39 -40. 121; Raroson. "Agrrcola on
the Forth-Clyde: is thmu s ." Scot. Arch. Forum 12 (1980) 55-68 ; Hanson
320 A. A. R. HENDERSON
efforts at elucidation. Despite t he reservations of the most recent
writers on the subject, the fighting described in ~ . 24 is best
explained in the context of a crossing of the Clyde; but
archaeological evidence to support this will be particularly hard to
find, in view of the nature of the terrain in S. Argyll and Kintyre. 3
The campaign that has attracted most attention is without doubt
the last (VII), chiefly because of the Scarlet Pimpernel-like character
of the battlefield of (or at) mons Graupius, where Agricola crowned
his long period of service in Britain with a crushing victory over a
Caledonian army ( ~ . 29-38). The quest for the elusive ~ and
accompanying marching camp (33. 1, 35.2) ha s gone on now for at
least 277 years; n ig h on a dozen t heo r ies have been published, some
lunatic, some plausible.
4
Si nce t he Sec ond World War there have
been four, the latest of which, t hat of Professor J . K. S . St. Joseph,
is circumstantially very convi nc ing, and has won widespread and
authoritative support. 5 Most of the p roffered ide ntificat ions depend
an d Maxwell , "An Ag ri col an p r ae,;dit lrg on the Forth-Clyde isthmus
(Mollins, Strath cl yde ), " Br it anni a 80) 43- 9.
3See Hanson and Maxwell (a bove, n. 2) 40-1 ; N. Reed , "The fif th
year of Agr icola ' s ca mpa igns, II Br ita nnia 2 (1971) 143- 8.
4The earl iest known to me is Sir Robe rt Sib bald 's proposal that
Ardoch (fort) was the Roman s ' camp before t he battle, put for wa r d in
his Comment a rius in ea uae Taci t us habet de Ges t is A r icolae of 1707
( Ed in urg : n r ew ymso n. e con trr utrons 0 t e ev , James
Pla y fa ir to t he Old Stati st ica l Accoun t , vols. 9, 17 and 19 (1793,
1796, 1797) typify the wilde r sh ores of the su bject.
5See J. K. S. St Joseph, "Aeria l r econnais sance in Roman Br it ain,
1973-76 ," JRS 67 (1977) 141-5; id ., "The camp at Durno and Mons
Gra u pi us ,' r--g-ritan nia 9 (1978) 271-88. Cf. A. L.F. Rivet an d C.
Smit h , The Place-names of Roman Britain (London 1979) 45 : "the most
plausi b le [ suggestIon ] IS t hat ot Profes sor J . K. St Joseph" ; ib id . 371
[ GRAUPIUS MONS): "Pr obab ly Bennachi e - the s uggestion of J . K. St
Joseph." Also M. Todd, Roman Britain 55 BC - AD 400 (Fontan a
His tory of Br ita in 1981) 109 : ii a plausi b le case . . " '; " the best
cand idate for th e si te so far p roposed" . Bennac h ie is a hill 18 miles
NW of Abe rd ee n ; s trictly speaking, it is the Mither Tap s ummit of
6 enna chi e (1 ,69 8 feet) t hat is meant. The othe r post -War solut ions
AGRICOLA IN CA LED UNIA
321
en t i r ely on th e arc ha eol oq i ca l evi dence av ai tab l e at the t i me, and as
more an d more Roman camp s, some Fl avi an , some not, are d iscovered
from th e air in north- east Scot lan d , so fresh soluti on s requ ire t o be
evolved to t ak e acco unt of the new dat a. To those on l y t oo famili ar
with the controversy su r r ou nd i n g th e whereabout s o f mons Graupius
it may seem labour lost to att emp t y et ano t her ans we r , ev en a partial
one , t o th e problem. But in what follows I wish to reverse today' s
usual procedure, by which T acitus' text i s made to fit the material
evidence so revered by th e arc haeol og is t , and instead to reinstate the
Agri cola, defective though its narrative is in many respects , as ou r
one proper authority, t o whi ch the ar chaeol og i ca l data must be firmly
su bor d i na t ed. I beli ev e th at a f u ll er understanding of the seventh
campai g n depends on a c lose r analys is of what Tacitus has t o say
abou t th e si x t h , which ha s been comparati v el y negl ect ed; ana th at
th ere i s su f fi c i en t 'l at ent i n f ormat ion ' i r, h i s acc ou n t of bo t h
cam pa igns t o ena b le u s, wi t h Pto lemy's hel p, not t o pinpoi nt th e
ar e as fo ll ows : (i) O. G. S. Crawfor d , .. of Roma n
North of the Ant onine w-u (Camb r idge 1949) 108, 130-3: RaedyKes
ca mp i n th e h i ll s above St on ehaven, a smal l to wn on the NE coast 15
miles 5 of Aber deen . Rae dykes had been p roposed by an 18th c.
an t i q uar ian , Wi lli am Maitl and , but tile camp i s no t of Flav ian date.
Nor is the su rrounding l andscape su itable . (ii ) A. R. Bu r n, "In
sear ch of a batt lefield: Agr i col a' s las t battle, I I Proc . of t he Soc. of
Antiq. of Scot. 87 (195 3) 127- 33: mon s Graupius - Kn ock Hi ll (1 ,1109
Banffshi r c , A berdeen, with
Agricol a' s camp = Auchin ho v e camp I St r aca t h r o type). But at 27+
ac r es Au chi n hov e is too srnal l , and i t is also on the wron g ( W, or
enemy ) side of t he h i ll . Burn' s theory was taken up b y Si r David
He nd er son -Stewart, " The bat tie of Mon s Gra u p i u s , " Trans . An c. Mon.
Soc. 8 ( 1960) 75-8 0 , whence Ogilvi e and
WiTho u t any ac knowl ed gement to Burn, who b riefly r esta t ed h is views
la te r in T .A. Dorey ( ed . ), T ac i tus (London 1969 ) 56 . A modification
of Burn 's theory wi l l be S.S. Frere , B r itan nia (London
19(7) 111 , wh o l ocat es mons Grau pi us W of Au chi n hove:--nrr) Ri ch ard
F-eachem , " Mons Craupi us ::: Dunc rub 7, II A nt i qu i t y 44 (1 970 ) 120- 4.
Duner ub is d min usc u le b u mp in t h e va l ley ---at' the Ear n , near
Dunning, Perthsh i r e - i , e. in th e Cor': t r al Lo wl an ds (! ). On the
spell i ng Cra u p i us see Rivet and Smit h ( ab ove) 370. The f law s in
th ese moder n th eori es ha ve re cen t Iy be en ccns id er ed by Dr. L. J . F.
Keppi e in a judi ciou s th ou g h uncor.s t r uc t i v c paper ( bel ow, n . 6) .
322 A.A.R. HENDERSON
battlefield, but t o nar r ow down the a r ea of se a rc h fr om virtua lly th e
whole of Scotland, as a recent study despairingly concluded , 6 to one
small part of the count r y hitherto untested for Roman sites.
It is clear from the r eferences t o t he Riv er Fort h ( Bodot ria) 7 in
25.1 and 3 th at t he sixt h ex ped it ion was launched up t he E s ide
of Scotl and from the terminus of the is th mus. Th e point of as se mb ly
for the ar my was perhap s Camelon, nea r Falk ir k, whe re t he later
main road to Perth and places nor t h be ga n , and where there may
have be en a harbour in Roman times.
8
According t o Tacitus, t h is
was the first t ime tha t a combi ned land - and- s ea operat ion had been
att empt ed anywhere in t he Roman world ; to hav e bot h arm s t oget he r
in t he one pla ce for briefing, loading, embarkation of mar ine s
(nauticus miles), etc. would obv iously be ad vant ageous . It will be
recalled that Agri col a had reached the Tay, a small er est uary N of
the Forth, on a previous expedition ( III) . Just possibly some forts
had been planted as a scree n N of the Forth-Clyde fr on t ier line
during III . Campaign VI, however , s ig na lled t he st ar t of a new
policy (Domitian's) of total conques t beyo nd th e Forth. Tacitus
writes (25.2) :
amplexus ci vitates trans Bodotr iam s itas, quia mot us
universarum ul tra ge nt ium et infesta hos t ili exerc itu iti ne r a
timebantur , por t us c las se ex p loravit ; quae ab Ag ri co la
6L. J . F. Kepp ie, "Mon s Gr aupius : t he search for a batt lefie ld , II
Scot. Arch. For um 12 ( 1980) 79- 88. Cf. Hanson and Maxwe ll (above,
n. 2) 42, commenti ng on St J oseph ' s p r oposa l : "until some concrete
evidence of a major ba ttle comes to light, the site must re ma in
unconfir med " .
7Ptolemy 2.3 . 4) cal ls t he es t uary Boderi a (var.
for etymological di scu s s ion see Rivet and (above,
n , - 1. ( For conveni en ce I g ive t he Latin f? r ms of place and
tribal names in Ptolemy; where his Gr eek IS no t si mp ly a
transliteration of a Lat in na me or a translation of a Lati n common
noun, both languages a r e given.)
8See T.W.T. Tatton Brown, "Ca melon , Arthur's O' on, and th e
main supply base for the Antonine Wall, II Bri tannia 11 (1980) 340-3.
AGRICOLA IN CA LEDONI A
primum ad surr-p t a in partern vi r i um seq ue bat u r egregi a
specie . cum s imu l ter r a s imu l rnar i bel l um i rnpe l ler etur .
323
This describes the fir st t wo stag es of the operation : (i) the
ov er r u n n i ng or annex ation of tw o or more c i v i t at es N of th e Fo rt h;
( i i ) a more cau t iou s ad v ance towar ds the territory of the gentes ultra
( = ulteriores); de spite some v essel s wi ll have been
employed to re connoi I re the coast ahead of the main f orc e (portus
c1asse exploravi t) and bring ba c k intelligence. These g entes ultra
are identified by T aci tus a few I ines later as Caledoni am incolen t es
populi (25 . 3) . They are q u i te distinct from the civitates_ trans
Bodotriam si t as , wh o had no part in the imminent rising ( mot u s )
i mp u t ed to t he former . Thi s dist in ction is c r u c i al . The meaning of
amp l ex u s may be determined by r eferen ce to 17.2 [Cereal is I magnarr.
Briaantum partem au t vi ctori a amp lexu s est aut bello, whe re be l lo
()mpl ect i signifies 'to campa ign ov er ' or ' i n v ad e' , ac t ua l comba t bein g
con not ed by th e ot he r abla ti ve, (ef. Ogilvi e and Richmond ad
loc . ) . Here the participle by i t sel f does not ne ce ssari Iy imply that
f ig h t i ng occ urred.
The ci v i t ates across the Forth t her ef or e sit uated on th e
edge of or on t he way to Caledonia; to get at t h e l att er Agri col a had
to i nvade t he former. I t is poss i b le to id en ti f y these neighbours of
the Cal edoniam incolentes populi in E and NE Scotland from Ptolemy
2.3 .8-9), whose i n f or mat ion , though not set down until about
140-150, never theless reflects th e ge opol i t ical con d i t io n of the region
in Flavi an times , because it was deri ved at only one rem ove from
Agri col a' s own repor ts and was never updated . 9 I f we excl ud e from
con si d er-at ion t he Damnoni i or Dumnon i i of the Central Lo wlands
- - - ---
(through the E end of whose ter ritory P.grico la will hav e passed at
9Ptol emy ' s irr.rr.eciiate source was Mar in us ot T y re ( f l . about 100).
I t is significant t hat Ptol emy shows no awar-erie ss of Hadr ian's Wall,
le t alone t h e Antonine . Apart f rom some min or d et ai ls abo ut the
ga r r is on i ng of Br itain, nothing in Ptolemy postd at es the Fl avian
per ioo. See Ri v et ari d Smith Lab ov e . n. 5) 114-5.
324 A.A .R. HENDERSON
the outset), the fir st of th e N c i vitates on his ro ute wer e t he
Venicones, whom Ptolemy locat es (a llo wing fo r hi s rotat ion of
t r an sisthmi an Scotland th roug h 90 deg rees) 10 app r ox i mat el y SE an d E
of h i s Cal ed on ii ( Taci t u s does not use thi s name). Above the
Ven icones l ived the T aex al i (var . Taezali); W of these , the Vacoma gi
( p lac ed by Ptolemy 'below' th e Cal edon i i, i.e. E of t hem) . Pro jected
on a modern map , the Ve nicones occu pied E Per t h an d Angus ( and
perhaps al so Fife or part th ereof) , t he T aex al i Ki nca rdi nesh i r e and
Aberdeenshire (Taezalorum promontorium = Kin naird ' s Head ), and th e
Vacomagi Banff, Moray and Nairn ." How f ar Agric ola advanced
before he made con t act wi th t he Cal edonians is de bat abl e. St age
three begins after he learned th at th e enem y were pla nning a divi ded
attac k on his col umn ; Agr icola th en d ivi ded his force in to three
groups; the enemy r e-formed and assa u lted the camp of the weakest
group, the Ninth Legion, by ni ght ( 25.4- 26 . 1) . Ogilvie and
Richmond associ at e th i s incident wit h the f ort i n Damnonian te r r i to r y
called Victori a by Ptolemy ( 2. 3.7) , wh i ch they i de n t i fy with
Dalginross or Strage ath (64, 243-4) . But i t is ce rtain that Victoria =
I nchtuthiJ, t he f ortress on t he Tay beg un aft er Agricola ' s r et iremen t
and destined for the Twen tieth Legion, and that its
commemorated not t he successful defence of a marc h i ng camp , but th e
great victory won the following year (VII) .1 2 Both Dalginross and
lOOn the 'turning of Sco tland' see I.A. Richmond, "Ptolemaic
Scotland," Proc. of the Soc. of Antiq. of Scot. 56 ( 1921- 2) 12-2 6;
J.J. Tierney, "Ptolemy's map of Scotland," JAs 79 (1959) 132-48 ;
Ogilvie and Richmond 36-46; Rivet and Smith ( aoov e , n.5) 111-4.
11, retain the old and familiar county names in preference to the
new and heartily disliked system of Regional and District ones.
12Bu t cf. Rivet and Smith (above, n.5) 499: "No actual victor)'
need be in question.... The naming i s probably due to the fac t that
the XX Legion Victrix g arri soned th e fortress. II The expected
derivative from Victrix, however, would be Vi ctricensis, as in Colonia
Victricensis (Camulodunum). Oddly, Rivet and Smith say t hattFi1S
title is derived either from Claudius' v i ct or y or from the suppression
of the Boudiccan rebell ion. But the Twent ieth, having earned the
AGRICOLA IN CALEGONIA 325
Strageath, on the southern ed g e of t h e Hi ghl and s, wh olly
unsuitable si t es . The nocturnal a t tac k cccu r r ed af t er Agricola had
ad v anced a considerabl e distance, f ar be yo n d the DamnonJ..i., for
Tacitus spea k s of the ast on i shmen t of the n at i v es at seeing the fleet
sai l i ng by: tamquam ap er t c maris sui secreto ultimum victis perfuaium
clauderetur (25.2); and that comes before the partitioning of the
13
army.
I t is not impossible, in d eed, that the Roman s had reached the
Moray Firth, turned W al on g t h e Vacornaqian ccas t . an d were
ap p r oac hi n g the region of I n v er n ess when the Caledonians decided to
i ntervene . They may well have been shad owi n g Agricol a for some
ti me , but i t i s highly u n l i k ely t hat a Caledonian levy would eve r h ave
vent u re d ou t into St r athmo re or Buc ha n (Ven i con ian an d T aex alic
te rritory respec ti v el y ) t o engage f ormidably equipped an d
d isci p l i n ed f i el d ar my, st ro ng i n cav al r y an d capa b l e of r ei n f o r cemen t
f ro m mar i ne- car r y i ng sh ip s , on ali en and l ev el g r ound . Pto l emy t ells
us that th e Caledcni!. st re tched t r om the LefTlannon iu s si n u s ( Loc h
Long c r Loch Linnhe l in the SW t o the Varar aest uar i um (Beauly
Fi rt h or head of the Mo r ay Firth at I n v er n es s) i n t h e NE. I f
Agri cola, having perforce s k i r t ed the E edge of the Gr-ampian
Mountains, as the I ine of temporary camps indicates, was now headed
for the Varar, then the Caledonians cou l d less riskily intercept him
c l oser to home.
title Victrix, bequeathed it (so to speak) to the colonia which was
t h ei r trrSflJase i n Britain. On Victoria an d InchtUtFi1lsee further
Frere, Scot. Arch. Forum 12 argument against the
eq u at i on Pinnata Castra - ruarchi nq camp W of Bellie i s ove r come b y
the thesi s of thi s article, that Agricola wa s indeed on the Mora y Fi rt h
or beyond by mi d - summ er, t h ou g h the battle did not t ake pl ace
( f ar t he r N1 un til rnid -S ept ernb er .
13No trace o t the camps which T aci tus say s were shared by lane
troop s an d n.ar ines ha s y et b een fou r.d; they must I ie very close to
the coas t.
326 A.A.R. HENDERSON
These march ing camps, which stretch in a gentle arc from the
Lowlands up to t he Moray Firth, are not all of Flavian date , of
course. There a re several series. Those known to be Flavian are
presumed Agricola n; the other series of larger camps are usually
associated with Severus' expeditions of 208-9, but some may be
Constantian, others Antonine, although we have no literary or
epigraphic evidence of Antonine act ivi ty N of t he Tay. Artefactua l
verification of the date of temporary camps is extremely difficu lt to
come by. The Agricolan examples from the NE (the so - called
Stracathro camps) have traditionally been assigned to his last
expedi tion, but a connexion with h is s ixt h cannot be ruled out. In
addition to the arguments advanced a bo ve, the following points may
be considered: (i) The impression given by Tacitus' description
(25.2) of the Br itons' reaction to the a ppearance of the Roman fleet
(ut ex captivis audiebatur) is th at t he f leet had reached the upper
stretches of the Moray Firth, close to Cal edonia; 14 it hardly seems
appropriate to the long, flat expanse of the E and N coa sts of
Aberdeenshire, Banff, a nd Moray. ( ii) Foll owing the successful
repulse of the night attack on the Nin th' s camp, Agricol a 's t r oops
clamoured to be allowed to press on in to Caledonia and find t he end
of Britain (27.1) nihil virtuti suae inviurn et penetrandam Caledoniam
inveniendumque tandem Britanniae terminum cont inuo proeliorum cursu
fremebant). From thi s it may be inferred that (a) the Roman s were
close to, if not already within the borders of, Caledonian t erri tory ;
(b) Agricola possessed intelligence (from prisone rs, or from the fle et)
that the terminus Britanniae lay not t oo un r ea lis t ically far away . If,
as all archaeologically-minded enquirers seem to bel ieve, the phrase
terminus Britanniae denotes the S shore of the Moray Firth (cf. 30.3
14Tacitus Caledonia in two distinct senses: (i )
geographically, to mean the whole lan d mass of Scotland N of the
isthmus (10.3) ; (ii) topographically, to mean the Highlands of
Scotland as opposed to everything else. Cf. Ogilvie and Ric hmond ,
60.
AGRICOLA IN CA LE DON IA 327
an d 33.6 ), we arc fac ed wi t h a do ubl e d ifficulty: fi rs t , t ha t nei ther
the I ine of approach to the Moray Fi rt h in dicatecJ b y th e marc h i ng
camps nor the lands al ong th e S sh or e o f the Moray Firt h f al l wi thin
th e terr i tory of th e Cal ed oniam in colentes popu l i as defined abo ve ;
an d sec ondly, th at no Roman commande r on r eac hi nq the Moray Fi r t h
at t he mouth of the Sp ey ( where the cam ps end) or indeed at any
ot her point could long r emai n under the i mp r ession th at th i s was th e
veri tab le end of Britain. He would soon lea r n of , i f he co u l d not
already perceive , another wedge of land wai ting for him on t he ot he r
side (Ross & Cr oruar ty . Su t herland, C2 i thness) . Equal ly, however.
he wou ld be ab le to l ea r n t hat th at was th e ul timate b it of the i sl and.
Hence t he troops' con f i d ence th at t hey could reach the termi nus th at
season , even if it mean t fighting t he Caledonians ev ery inch of t he
way.
A lthoug h the last of t he kn own march ing camps lies ne ar the
mou t h of the Spey at Bell i e ( non - Flav ian ) , there is liter ary ev i d ence
for the exis te nce of a Romer . site W of Bellie, whi c h has an imp ortant
bear inq on the ex t en t of Aqr icola' s campaig n i ng in this ar ca , Once
again . Pt olemy is our sou rc e (2 . 3. 8). Among t he Vacomaqi , he says ,
are f our n6>"EI C;; Bannatia, T arnei a , Tuesis an d PinnaE Cos t r a
(Il lEpWTOV LTpu T6nE6ov ) . Since T u e ~ ~ aestuari um (2 .3 . 4) is t he mouth
of th e Spe y, T uesis n6>.. I ::; must be a si te there or t hereabouts . Ri v et
and Smith au to maticall y i den tify it wit h Be ll ie , and deduce t ha t
Pinnota Castra, whi ch Ptolemy's figures of long i t ud e p lace W of
Tuesis, represents a fur t her , u nknow n marchi ng camp at th e mou t h
of t he Findhorn. seventeen mil es W of t he Sp ey , ad d ing:
" p resumab l y th e f ur t hest enc ampmen t of Ag ri cola's army. 1115 Bu t
nowhe r e else doe s Pt ol emy use n6 >.. i c; to mean 'temporary camp' , and
one wou l d be su rprised if the Greek word cou l d ever denote
tran si ent a community. A ll hi s other n6 >" EIe; are for-ts, Roman or
15(Abov e , n.5) 141. Bannat ia and T arneia , like Devona (a n6>"1e;
among t he Taexali ) , ar e almost ccrtilinly un id en tifi ed fort s In t he NE.
328 A. A.R. HENDERSON
Br it ish (oppida), but in either case pe rma nent installat ion s . Fr om
t hat same list Rivet and Smith te nt at ive ly identify Bannati a and
Tame ia wit h the forts of Dalg inros s and Cardea n re spectiv el y .
Alt houg h th ese identifications mus t be wr ong , as neit her Dalg inros s
nor Ca rdean is r emot e ly ne ar the Mora y Firth ( t he authors ar e
prepared to transpose the Vacomagi to Pe rth and Ang us if ne ed be,
but Tuesis ties th e tribe to the Mor ay Firth) , it is correct t ha t
Bannati a and Tame ia should be forts. So too, t hen , should Tuesis
and Pin nat a despite its name. 16 Forts we r e almost inv ariably
bu il t in con qu e red territory in the year af t e r t he a r my had passed
t ha t way. There is no r ecor d of any Roman military act ivit y in the
far N of Scotland during the governorship of Agr icola's unknown
successor, and the Roman s abandoned all t heir forts N of the Tay,
including t he un completed Inchtuth il , by 86 or 87.
17
If Tuesis and
Pinnata Castra re a lly wer e forts, t herefore , the re is a pos sib ility t hat
they were cons t r uc t ed in Agr icola' s las t ye a r of office , if he overran
the reg ion on campa ig n VI (AD 82); alte r natively his s uc ces so r bu ilt
them the season after mons Graupius. Eit he r way , the occ upat ion of
the country of t he Vac omagi re s ulted fr om Ag r icola ' s campaigns th e re
and, a fortior i , beyond. For if he did not penet r ate Cal edo nia on
VI, he must have done so on VII, mons Grau pius be ing ev ident ly a
Caledonian hill (29.2-4).
Although Tacitus d ispenses wit h th e preliminari es an d stat es
simp ly that Agr icola came to mons Gr au pius , where Calgacus was
already in position, there is no diff icult y in unde r s tandi ng t ha t he
followed initially his route of th e previous year. His a r my , we a re
16Cf. Castra Exploratorum, the fort at Netherby in Cumberland.
The term castra, 'camp', was un iversal ly applied to permanent military
and fortres ses (castella), and has passed, via
Ang lo-Saxon, into dozens of place-names in Britain
Gloucester, Exeter, etc.).
17See Ogi lvie and Richmond, 69-7 6; Hanso n and Maxwell (above,
n.2) 43-4; Todd (above, n.5 ) 115.
AG RI CGL A IN CA LEDONI/\ 329
told, was expeditus (29 . 2); th i s p iec e of in formation is po int less ,
unl ess a contrast i s i n t ended wi th the ar my of VI, which must t hen
have been, as norma l , impedi tus. An ar my without impedimenta,
coveri ng g r ound i t had been ov er before, would be ab l e t o r each a
po i nt well beyond th at f ormerly attained, starting f r om th e same place
at th e same time. It look s as i f Agricol a was intent on dr iving faster
than on VI , i.e. on pe netrat i ng Caledonia . He may have been
satisfied t hat al l his su ppl ies and et her bag gage cou l d be ha nd led by
t he fleet in attendance. A . R. Bu rn c lai med th at Tacitus had
suppressed al l reference t o t he " wear isome successi on of de ployments
and r e-deployments, marches and cou n t er - mar ches" involved on this
expedition, which al one cou l d explain wh y it took Agricol a until
mid-Sep t ember ( 38.2 exa cta iam aestat e) t o r eac h mons Grau pi u s , a
mere 120 miles f r om his " ad v an ced base."
18
But Burn believed that
Aqr icola's ad vanced base was Inchtuthil on t he T ay, which is
His l egionar y troops woul d lea ve th ei r fortresses i n
Engl and - Yor k , Chester , Wr oxeter - at the end of Apr i l ; the field
army would assemble i n t he Scott i sh Lowlands a mon t h or so later
when the auxi liaries f ro m the forts had joined the legions; the Moray
Firth by the end of June, perhap s; and then, only then, would begin
the pursuit of t he enemy, t o be fl us hed f r om h i s lair 19 - the lair
being th e multitudinous r anges of Cal edonia, beyond the tame
landscapes of the Vacomag i and T aexal i . Bu rn' s "deployment s and
r e-rteployrnen ts " may be noth i ng less t ha n the truth , but th ey belong
to the country on the fa r sid e of I nverness and t he Varar
aes t uari um; not to NE Scot land , but to the l ast wedg e.
1811 T aci tu s on Britain, " i n Dorey ( above, n . 5) 57. The offic i al
end of summer f or the Roman s was 22nd September. Possibly T acitus
i s no t st i ck i ng to the letter of the ca len dar, bu t that the battl e was
fought unusually lat e in t he ye ar is borne ou t by the reference in
10.4 t o the Shet land v oy ag e , when no lan ding was made qui a hiems
adpetcba t.
19Cf. ~ . 33 .4 ( Ag r ic ola speaki ng ) veniunt, e lat eb r is su i s
ex t r u si.
330 A.A. R. HENDERSON
The very lateness of t he season when t he batt le was foug ht
constitutes a strong a r g ument fo r it s very h ig h lat it ude . This
World's-End quality is repeat ed ly emphasi sed in t he s pee che s of
Calgacus (30. 1, 30. 3) and Agricola (33. 3 and especially 33. 6 nee
inglorium fuer it in ipso terrarum ac naturae f ine ceci d is se ) . The
former is wholy fictitious, the latter largely so ; but the matter f r om
which Tacitus has con structed them is not untruths or id le fancies,
but facts - physical and emotional - known to him. The terms
'rhetorical' and 'mendacious' a re not a lways s y nonyms , and least of al l
where an intellect of Tacitean ca lib r e is con cerned . But even if the
evidence of the speeches is re jecte d, t he re r ema in ot he r a r g umen t s to
suppor t t he sea s ona l one . Th ese a r e drawn part ly f ro m Tacitus' brief
narrative of the events that followed t he battle ( 38 . 2- 4) , partly f r om
Ptolemy.
(i) ubi. .. exacta iam ,-, es t at e s pa rg i bellum nequibat, in fines
Borestorum exercitum deducit. ib i accept is ob sid ibus.... We do not
meet the Boresti elsewhere in literat u r e , and t he loca ti on of t he
people and the etymology of t he na me a re much d isputed. 20 Beca use
Tacitus names no other tribe in Sco t land, the Boresti must ha ve
merited special attention in some way. Th e log ica l explanat ion wou ld
seem to be that they were found by Agricola to in ha bit the terminus
Britanniae or finis terrarum - the tribe at World's- End. The name is
possibly Celtic, though hard ly to be conn ected with Bodotria or the
hypothesised *Voritia; Boria , Borius, Bor illus, Borissus are all
-- -- --- - - - --- 21
personal names recorded fro m Gaul th at may exh ibi t the same r oot.
But it could be a learned ca lqu e , form ed from t he Greek B o p ~ a c ; or
B6p 10<; , intent ionally suggestive of ' T1T p B6p 0 l. In Ptolemy (8 . 3. 2;
cf . 2.3.1) the Oceanu s Hyperbore us forms the westerly extension of
t he Oceanu s Duecaledoni us, N of Bri tai n. If a made -up geograph ica l
a p pe llation , Bor es t i mig ht well fall out of use qu ickly , suppr essed in
20See Rivet and Smith (above, n. S) 272-3.
2'Thesa urus Ling uae Latinae, vol. ii (Leipzig 1900- 6) 2133.
AGRICOLA IN CALEDONIA 331
f av our uf the true tribal name( s). Ptol emy l i s t s th e Co r ria v ii and
Decantae from Caithness , the Smertae and from Su th er land a nd
Ross. Bores-.!i might have d enoted one, two or more of these. Rivet
and Smith sug g est th at th ey were " a subd ivi sion of one of the larger
unit s th at d o i n f act f ig u re i n Ptolemy" , l i v i ng on t he Mora y coast
( 272- 3) .
( ii) praefecto cla ssi s ci rc umv eh i Britannidm praec ip i t. . . c lassis
secu nda tempest ate dC f dmd Trucculensem po rt um tenuit... . The
whereab ou t s of portus T r uccu l en sis , otherwi se u na tteste d ,
immaterial, though if ("madel!, "reached") imp l ie s ( as it seems
t o) ove r wi n te r i ng th ere , then it surely lay mu ch f ar ther S t ha n mos t
scholars hav e thought.
22
From an earl ier chap t er ( 10. 4) we lear n
that the fleet first v i sited the Orkneys (Orcades insu lae), which were
f or mall y an nex ed , 23 sai led cl ose to the Shetlands (Thule in sul a)
wit hout landing , qui a hact enu s i ussum et hiems ad pet ebat, and f i nal l y
doubled back anticlcckwi se arou n d th e N'rV tip of Sco t lan d (Cape
Wr ath) he aded for po r t us Trucculensis. The battle at mons Graupius
was fought in lat e September. For th e fl eet to have had time to
acc omp l i sh these ob j ec t i v es before th e end of t he sailing season , i t i s
al mos t a necessity f or it t o have begun the vo y age from a point q u ite
22See Ogi lvie and Ri chm on d ad loc . . who f avo u r Lipsius
'
vi ew
that T r uc culensem i s a cor ru p ti on of Rutup (i Jen sem, wh i ch wou ld
i d en t ify the harbou r as Rutupiae, Ri chborough i n K ent ; N. Reed
(a bove, n .3 ) suggest s t h e Ravenna Cosmog r ap hy 108
3
,
some sea l och or es t ua ry on th e extreme N coast ; J. G. F. Hi n a,
Bri t an ni a 5 (1 974) 285-8 ( T ruccul ensem * T u n noce l ens em
Ituna being t he Solway Fi r t h ) . RIvet and Smi t h
(abov e , n . 5) r eject these identi f icat ion s, t hemsel ve s
can vas si ng Sand wood Loch in Su t her l an d . whi ch t hey call
" attractive" . Burn ( i n Dorey [a bove , n .5! 59) p r oposed Loch Br oorn .
not f ar from Sand wood Loch.
23T he i n tr ig u i ng t al e i n Or osi u s (7 .G . 10) tha t Cla udi us rece ivec
th e su bmi ssi on of t he Orkneys i n I,D in . w.vich is de ri v ed f r om
Eu t r op iu s' accou n t of the Cla u d i an invasi on ( 7.1 3 . 2-3 ) , can not be
true . See th e discu ssi on , and ex p l anat ion , by C. M()x wel l , Scot.
Arch. Forum 7 (19 76) 31- 4 . --
332 A.A.R. HENDERSON
t he Orkneys . If th e ba tt le occurred in Aberdeenshire, th en it
mig ht have taken anoth e r week fo r Ag ricola to r each the mid -point of
t he Moray coas t. The admiral , ordered to proceed to Orkney , would
not attempt to cut straig ht across t he op en sea, but would
coast-crawl , ta king anot her week. If Ag r icola was victorious in
Caithness, t he ch r onological di ff iculty evapo rates.
( iii) ips e peditem atque eq uites lento itin ere, quo nov a r um
gentium an imi ip sa transitus mor a terre r entu r , in hiberni s loca vi t.
Because t he approach of wi nter p r ecl uded t he p r olongation or
ex tensi on of aggress ive sea rc h-and-dest roy operations against t he
defeat ed Ca ledon ians ( sparg i bellum neq uibat ) , Agricola ch ose to s how
the fl ag (and pr isoners and hostages ) dur ing a leisurely march-past
an d so t erri fy hit herto unencou nt ered tribes. The names of tribes N
of the Gr ea t Gle n in Ptolemy may r ef lect these encounters, thoug h
they co u ld have been as certained fr om hostages and captives. Rivet
an d Smith opi ne that "all this information must have been derived
f ro m intelligence r eports", presumably sent in mainly by Agricola's
admiral ( 141) . Now if mons Graupius were Bennachie l St Joseph) or
Knock Hill ( Bu rn ) or Duncrub (Feachem) or some hi II behind
stonehaven ( Cr awfor d ) , and if Agri cola went no further af ter his
victo ry than the Moray Firth (a nd no fa r t he r W than the Spey ) , as
t heor ies 1 , 2 and 4 of t hose a bove req uire, then it would have been
q uite impos si bl e for Agr icola t o d is cove r a route 5 back to his
hiber na, whe re ve r t he y were, t hat took him through the terri tory of
any nova ge ns. Wher eas if he had been op e rating N of Inverness
and the Varar, then there wa s one obvious new route for him to
take, the one natural arteri al highway through the heart of
Caledonia, the Great Glen itsel f. From this a number of branches
allow a relative ly easy return to the Lowlands . Agricola may have
gained some familiarity with the 5 end of the Great Glen during
campaign V; and in any case one sh ould not underestimate Roman
knowledge of the southern Hig hla nds adjacent to the line of
'glen-blocking' or (better) 'glen-watching ' forts built by Agricola,
f rom Drumquhassle at the bottom of Loch Lomond to Fendoch at the
AGRICOLA IN CALEDONIA 333
mouth of t he Sma' Glen. 24 ( It was some of these fort s th a t t he
Caledonians a tt ac ked in Ag ri col a ' s re a r ciu r ing VI : 25 . 3 oppugna re
ultro castella ador t i . The ma noeuvre was po lit ica lly a nd strategi cally
coordinated t o ca use ma ximum embarassme nt t o Rome:
regrediendumque citra Bodotri anl e t ce de nd um potius guam pellerentur
ignavi specie prudentium adrnone ba n t.)
Lastly . ( i v l , it may be pe r ti ne n t to obse r ve that for nigh on 60
years following Agricola' s vi c t ory, Caledoni a ceased to be a threat t o
the province. Although Rome began to withdraw from N Scotland
very shortly after Agricola retired, s ay in 86, it was a systematically
planned, s t rnteqic retrea t, as the e v iden ce fr om Inchtuthil a nd other
forts proves, and the reasons for it are to be sought in Europe, not
in Britain . Indeed s uc h a withdrawal could not have been
contemplated, despite the seriousness of the Continental situation,
had the Highland tribes beer. unsubdued. Ogilvie and Richmond
wrote correctly that the battle of mons Graupius was "a victory which
was as fin al for its generation as Culloden ." Not until the 130's and
140's d id the Ca ledon ia n tr ibe s recover s u f f ic ient ly to force a
r e t hi n k ing of frontier policy in Britain. The Trajanic-Hadrianic line
of Solway- Tyne no longer affor de d enough of a buffer; Antoninus fe lt
obliged to incorpor-ate Lowla nd Scotl and beh ind the barrier of a new
Wall (c omp le t ed in th e governorship of Lolliu s Ur bicus . 139-42). If
Hadrtan'.s Wall reflect s the first r ecrudes cence of the Northern Menace
- and it is not a t all ce r ta in that it does < , t he fac t r emains that for
ove r 11 generat ion th e ba ck doo r of Britanni a was left unlocked, it
being deemed safe to leave it so . For t h is t o hav e be en possible,
Agricol a's defeat of the Caledonii must have been not only a he avy
one, but inflicted where it d id the most damage both milit arily a nd
politi cally or so cia lly . Th a t is to say, <:I v ictory in t he N hea r-tlan d of
2
U
The second half of 1983 ha s p r od uced two mor e fo rt s of
Flavian da te in thi s se r ies , one a t Doune , w e rve miles NW of St ir ling ,
and one a t t he mout h of Gi en Clava, Angus ( nea r Inve r q u ha r it y
Cas t le ) . as we ll as il fortle t S of Ar dcch.
334 A.A.R. HENDERSON
Ca ledonia. No victory in the S, no victory over t r ibes other than
t hos e inhabiting Caledonia proper, will expla in the ec lipse for so long
of that powerful confederation, when no steps wer e ta ken to gar r ison
its lands after 83 . That, of cou rs e, tu rned out in t he fin al ana lys is
to be Rome's biggest mistake.
This paper may have achieved in the way of pointing to
ce r tai n inherent weaknesses of the 'archaeological approach
'
th an of
convincing anyone by its arguments that mons Gr aupius should be
sought elsewhere than in the well-trampled hinterland of Aberdeen.
If it has a lso helped to r es tor e a measure of confidence in Tacitus as
the chr onicl er of Agricola's campaigns, that is to be welcomed. It is
only by fitting the still -accumulating pieces of t he archaeol ogical
jigs aw to t he fai nt but unchanging picture given by the literar y
sou rc e that r eal prog ress can be made. I have tried to sharpen the
de tail s of t he pi ctu r e a lit t le, and rearrange a piece or two. The
Ag ri co la seem s to me to direct us to the true te r r a r um ac naturae
finis of Northern Scotland, where mons Gr aupius waits to be
re cognised. It is now up to the eye of the airborne ca me r a to t r ack
Agr icola into Caledonia and so lead us to the battlefield.
CAMBRI DGE
ADDENDA
A.A.R. HENDERSON
1. After the above a r t icle was fi nished, th e writer learned of
certain invest igations of putativel y Roman s ites W of the Spey by
Mr. Ian Keillar of Elgin. In Popular Archaeology for November
1983, Mr. Ke illa r descr ibed the sect ioning of a ditch belonging to
a rectangular enclosure, t hr ee sides of which we r e detected as
crop marks by ae ria l photography , at Th omsh ill , four miles S of
Elgin. The published drawing of t he section s hows a t y pica l
V-shaped Roman ditch wit h a s lot or sump in t he bottom; it s
width is t en feet , it s de pt h fou r feet. The a r ea of the
enclosure is too small for a march ing camp; a fortlet is a
possibility, protecting the route between forts on t he Spey to
the E and the Findhorn River to the Vv. No pot tery or ot he r
artifacts were recovered . A second site nea r Cawdor on t he
River Na ir n , some ten miles E of Inve rness, has been exami ned
AGR ICOL,A. IN CALEDONIA 335
this yea r (1984) by Mr. Keillar, accompa n ied by Professor Barri
J ones of Manch este r . Details of the site have not been rel eased ,
be yo nd t he fact that it has been eroded by the ri ver, but
Pr ofes sor J ones , quo non praestantior alter castra vi de r e virum
Mar ternq ue exqui re re pala, IS reported to ha ve Judged It a
poss ib le s mall Roman fort. Third ly, from much fa r t her N, at
Be rri ed al e on th e coast of Caithness , a bout 50 mile s ( corni ce
volant e) fr om Inve rn es s , comes a photograph , accord ing ~
~ of a rectangular enclosure of which t he Regional
Archaeologis t allegedly remarked, IIWel1 of co urse if we d idn 't
kno w th at the Roman s never got as far as t h is, lid sa y tha t wa s
a Roman ca mp. II The wr it e r r est s hi s case.
2. (2 2nd May 1985 )
Mr . Charles M. Dan ie ls of the Uni ve rs it y of Newcas tle is to
excava te the possibl e Roman for t at Th omshill near Elgin in June
and July of this ye ar, while Professor G. D. B. Jones will
investigate a second s ite at Croy. Thomshill lies 8, Croy 10
miles W of the Spey. ( In fo r mat ion from the Moray Aeri al
Archaeology Group, cou r t es y of Mr . Ian Keill ar.)
336 BOOK REVIEWS/COMPT ES RENDUS
G. W. BOWERSOCK. Roman Arabia. Cambri dge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1 9 8 3 ~ ~ 4 with 16 B/W plates, co lou r
front ispiece, 8 maps and plans.
--- _._--- - - - - - --- - - - - - -- - - - - - -
Describing the genesi s of a r esea r ch pro ject often help s explain
it s fundamental significance , and in t he Pr ef ace of hi s book on Roman
Arabia, Professor Bowersock st at es th at lit he ges ta t ion of thi s volume
has been preternaturally long " ( ix ) . When Bowersock be gan his
resea rch in the lat e 1960's, he quickly r eal ized that th e rel ev ant
textual and archaeo logical materi al was bot h r ich and cha llenging, bu t
that a synthet ic s t ud y based on recently ac cum ul at ed data was
conspicuously ab sent. His ini tial st atement of t he s tat us of research
on Roman Arabia, publ ished in J RS in 1971, stim ulat ed considera ble
interest and led sever al young sch ola r s t o undertake t heir own
projects of study and ex cavation in Jordan. The fort unate r es ult of
thi s in itial stimulus was a new wav e of lit e r at u r e t hat, over t he
following de cade, r ais ed and, to some extent, resolved a ser ies of
qu estions conce r nin g t he Roman province of Ara bi a . As the Preface
acknowledges, Bowersock has himself been able to make full us e of
thi s recen t scholars hip , and his new study constitut es the f ir s t
aut hor ita t ive histor y of t he reg ion from t he 4th c. BC to t he time of
Con stant ine . The lowe r chronol ogica l boundary is set by the
appea ra nce of .t he Nabataeans in historical record. the upper by the
d is so lutio n of the old province of Ar ab ia .
The subject of the book is es sent ially po lit ica l and military
history: "principally ... the Roman presence in th e Nabataean kingdom
and t he Roman province which was s ubs eq uent ly c r eated out of that
kingdom" (ix). Allusion is made to cruci al probl ems involving the
socia l and enonomic life of t he region in th at period (such as the
process of th e sedentarization of the Nab at aean s ) , but t he major goal
is recreation of events during t he Nabataean an d Roman
administrations and their immediate ex planation. In this Bowersock
has succeeded admi rably , and his st udy cons titutes the necessary
first st ep towards recreating the overall patterns of Nabataean ,
BOOK RENDUS
337
Roman, a nd early Arab Iife th ere. Alt hough a rc ha eolog ica l dat a
figure prominently in th e boo k , fu r t her su r vey and ex ca va t ion a r e
necessary for virtually every pe ri od and every part of the fo rmer
province. Bowersock's expressed hop e that his work will as s ist other
scholars should be abundantly realized.
The fir st chapter describes the ge ography and topography of the
region, with shrewd appreci ation of the r el ev ance of these factor s to
historical events. "Arabia is a vague word," as Bowersock notes,
because of the va st area inh abited by Arab peoples, th e ab sence of
obvious natural borders, and the nomadic character of many of it s
tribes. To the Romans it was the land Sand E of Palestine, in the
corner of the Mediterranean between Egypt and Syria . The province
ul timately encompassed the Negev in present-day Israel, NW Saudi
Arabia, most of Jordan, and S Syria . Formation of the Provincia
Arabia in AD 106 closed the c ir cuit of imperial provinces around the
Mediterranean, and provided important strategic advantages. Arabia
controlled the roads between Palestine and Egypt and the easiest
passage from the Gul f of Aqaba to the Mediterranean ports of Gaza
and Rhinocolura; it dominated the route S from Damascus . Perhap s
no other Roman province, comments Bowersock, could s ho w such a
dramatic diversity of geographical a nd cI imatic features: sea coast,
desert, the great Jordan-rift valley, the Jordanian plateau cu t by its
four main wadis IYarrnuk . Zer qa , MUjib, Has a) . and the ba salt ic lava
fields to th e NE. Because of r ainfall patterns, the W half of the
Jordanian plateau has always nurtured the major cities of the reg ion,
but even in the desert the soi I often is ferti Ie. The Nabataeans
developed methods of water storage and irrigation that a llowed an
agriculturally-based urban fl owering in the Hej a z , the Hisrna , and the
Negev unequalled until the last few decades.
In his second chapter Bowersock pr-ovides a s hor t, perceptive
history of the Nabataean kingdom fr om it s beginnings until the arrival
of Pompey in 64 BC, emphasizing it s r el at ion s with the adjacent Gr eek
and J ewi sh kingdoms. Th e Nab at aean s, whe f ir s t appea r in hi stori cal
s ou rc es in th e late 4th c . Be as pa rt ly sedenta r ized nomads in Edo rn,
may have entered the area from NW Saudi Arabia (the Heja z ) . From
338 BOOK REVIEWS/ COMPTES RENDUS
t he start t he ir p ros pe r ity seems to have been founded on an energetic
control of the t raffic in perfume and sp ices or ig inat ing in Saudi
Ar ab ia and its Indian ocean ports, bu t they also ra ised livestock and
mar keted aspha lt collected from t he Dead Sea . Bowersock suggests
that the process of sedentarization was accelera ted by the new
seaborn commerce the Egyptians beg an to car ry out d irectly with
Ind ia after discovery of the monsoons in th e 2nd c . BC. Indeed, by
the mid- l st c. AD the ove rl and traffi c through Petra had largely
d r ied up. Has monaean ambitions brought t he Jewi sh and Nabataean
kingdoms into conflict in the late 2nd c. BC, and th e Nabataean kings
found it ad vantageous to playoff Jewish factions against each other
as bes t they could.
The complex military and diplomati c history of the per iod from
Pompey's arrival to the battle of Actium is reconstructed in ch apt e r
3. Nabataean support fo r the exiled Hasmonaean Hyrcanus brought a
curt r ebuke fr om Pompey in 64 BC, but Bowersock makes a ca se that
Pompey ' s planned expedition to Nabat aea was intended to be an
inspection rather than a military advent ur e. Subsequent Roman
acitivity seems directed most ly at ta pping some of t he pr-ove r b ia l
wealth of the Nabataean kings .
After 30 BC, the kingdoms of Ju daea and Nab ataea confronted
Roman legates to the N in the province of Syria, and prefects in th e
SW in the ne w province of Egypt. In cha pt e r 4, Bowersock s ur veys
the events s u r r oun d ing th e transformati on of J ud aea too into a Roman
province, and the concomita nt Naba taean renaissance . Two ma in
is s ues occupy t he bu lk of th e ch ap t e r : the ex pediti on of Ael ius
Gallus, the firs t pref ec t of Egypt, aga inst the Sa baean king dom in SW
Ar ab ia in about 26 BC, and Roman intrigues agai nst the Kingdom of
the Nabatae ans. St rabo blames th e failu r e of Gallus' ca mpaign , whi ch
was s upported by 1000 Naba t aean and 500 Jewish soli ders, on th ei r
Nabat aean g uide Syllae us, a min is ter of King Obodas . Bowersock ,
howev er, makes t he case for Syllaeus
'
good intentions, and pro vi des
plausible explanat ions fo r th e supposed treache ries r ecount ed by
Strabo. Augustus d isli ke d th e Nabat aean King Ar et as IV, who
reigned f r om 8 BC t o AD 40 , and Bowersock draws the brillia nt and
BOOK REVIEWS/COMPT ES RENDUS 339
attractive conc l u sion th at the emp eror ac t ua lly ann ex ed the kingdom
in the period ot uncertainty following th e d eath of Herod the Great in
4 BC. The existence of thi s sho r t- l i v ed Pr ovincia Arabia (3 BC - AD
1) is alluded to by Strab o and su p po r t ed by the absence of coins
from the otherwise prolific mint of Aretas for the years 3-1 BC . It s
formation helps explain th e sud den florescen ce of Mad a'In Salih in NW
Saudi Arabi a as a fall -back positi on f or the Nabataean king, and the
expeditio ar ab i ca of Gaius Caesar in AD 1. Ultimately the Nab ataean
king was reinstated, in AD 1, and the Jewish kingdom transformed
into a province in AD 6.
I n chapter 5, Bowersock recounts the flowering of Nabataea
under the long-lived Aretas IV. Sedentarization con tinued, and cities
sprang up throughout the de sert regions of the kingdom. The
sophistication of the irrigation sy stems reveals the importance of
agriculture, the new source of livelihood as the old trade routes
declined. The Nabateans had ev olved from abstemious nomads into
wine-drinking city dwellers. By the end of the 1st c. AD, the
sphere of Nabataean power had spread NW once again into S Syria,
and with the decline of caravan trade the old nomadic centre of Petra
was replaced by a new urban capit al <It Bostra.
The remaining c ha p t er s (6 -10) con cern the foundation and
history of the Provincia Arabia c r eated by Trajan in AD 106.
Although directly r elevant literary sou rces are skimpy, Bowersock
succeed s in c r eat i ng a con v i nci ng r econ struction of the circumstances
and motivation for the takeover. From his se r v i ce in the Near East,
Trajan realized th at the Nabataean k i ngdom represented the final
piece needed to sec u r e Roman con t ro l thr ou ghout the Mediterranean.
Once empe ro r , he may have deci de d t hat afte r th e aged Ki ng Rabb el
(AD 70-106 ?) di ed, a p r ov i nc e wo uld be f ormed out of hi s do main.
Imp eri al ti tul ature sugges ts t hat the occupation involved at most some
mi l i tary sk irmishes , wh ile the d el ay of seve n years i n ad vertis in g the
new province on imperi al coi nage was meant t o al low t i me fo r
con sol i dat ion . Much of thi s d i p lomat ic and mil it ary hi st or y is
recons t r uc ted , but Bow er -sock mak es it p lau sib!e by i ncor por at i ng it
into th e wider' world of Roman ac t i v i ty i n th e reqion . He go es
340 BOOK REVI EWS/ COMPTES RENDUS
further, and suggests th at lit he organizat ion of Arabi a . . . may well
have been part of T raj an 's master plan for conquest of th e Parthians "
(84). Restoration of the bou ndaries of th e new province (ch . 7) is
more difficult than one might expect. Ca refu l cons ide rat ion of the
evidence, however, leads Bowersock to inc lude the ce nt r al pa r t of the
Nabataean kingdom, the Nab ataean Negev , p robabl y mos t of th e Sinai ,
the Hejaz , and a few of the Dec apoli s c it ies . The N bound ary was
drawn a little N of Bostra and due E. The wadi Si rhan s hou ld be
included, but the E desert boundary was left va g ue . Inclu si on of a
map offering even a tentative graphi c re con struct ion of the pr ovince
would have been useful.
The 2nd c. AD was a t ime of p rosper ity and qu iet for the
Provincia Arabia, but, as Bowersock doc uments in cha pte r 8, the
reign of Septimius Severus opened a new era of s plendor for th e Near
East within the context of th e Emp ir e . Se veral unsucce ssful
pretenders were raised up in Syri a in t he ci vi l wa rs at the en d of the
century, and the victorious Severus took a specia l int e r es t in the
region. Bowersock traces t he dynast ic effects of his marriage to the
educated and amb itious Juli a Domna, culminating in the accession of
Philip the "Arab" in 243 (ch.9 ).
Palmyra had been a reli able and use fu l Roman ally on the desert
frontier sin ce the 2nd c . Bowersock desc r ibes c learly how t he
instability in th e Near East engendered by the Pe r s ia n t h r eat an d th e
inability of the Roman ce nt ra l gover nment to maintain any cohe r ent
foreign policy brought t he caravan city to p rominence. The r omanti c
episode of Queen Zenobia is well - known , but Bowersock make s a new
cont r ibu t ion in out lini ng the role of an opposing confede r at ion of Ar ab
tri bes kn own as the Ta nukh in hel ping the Romans to crush Pa lmy ra.
J ad hl ma , one of the fir st sh eikhs , was killed by Zenobia , and his
successor, 'Amr ibn ' Adl, first king in t he Iine of Lakhmid rul ers ,
used his nat ive skill in desert warfare to lead the Romans to victory.
In his final chapter Bowersock ou tli nes the success of
Imru ' il- qais , th e son ' of 'Arnir ibn IAdi, in con solidating the Lakhmid
power ove r a large por t ion of th e dese rt between the limes de fenses
and th e Euphra tes and far down t he Arab ian peninsula . His tomb
bOCK REVI EWS/ COMPTES RENDUS
341
bo asts the title "Kinq of all the Arab s , II an d Imru'l -qai s mu st have
been an al l y cr uc ia l to Roman po we r in th e region. By the time of
his de ath in AD 338, great chang es had overtaken the Pr ovincia
Arabia and th e Roman government. Diocletian had reorgani zed the
province in the lat e 3r d c. , detachi ng the whole 5 part of both sides
of the ' A r aba an d renaming it Palaestina Tert ia. These administrative
reforms, comb i ned with improv ed r oads and an enlarged network of
military st r uct u r es temporarily gave new life to th e region. The
future, however, clearly lay with the loc al A r ab culture.
Four su bsta n t ial appe nd ices deal with speci al problems or
document s whi ch Bow er sock ap parentl y felt would be out of pla ce in
the text : th e bilingual (Greek and Latin) i ns c r i pt ion from Yemen of a
Roman sol d i er as sociated wi th t he g arri son left by Gallus, the
presen ce of th e Nabataean s an d Romans in the wadi Si rhan , a
summar y list of th e governors of Arabi a, and anc i en t maps of Roman
Arab ia . The last is b y f ar the longest, and provides a th orough
discussion of th e Peu tinger T abl e and Madab a map . Bower sock t r aces
t he strati graph y of label s and p lace names, to ar g ue t ha t th e 4th c .
or ig in al of the Peutinger T ab l e wa s based u lti mately on Ag r ippa' s
worl d map in Rome, wh i le the 6th c . Madaba map was i ns p i red by th e
Ono mas ti kon of Eusebi us .
Bower soc k 's book i s a rema r kab le accomp l is hmen t. T he smoot h
and begui li ng na rrat i ve of t he bac kgrou nd an d hi story of th e
Provi ncia A r abi a hangs upon a framework of careful r esear ch in a
wide v ariety of p rimary sources. T he cit ati on not es t hemsel ve s <Ire a
mi ne of informat ion , and th e bibliography a va l uable tool for f urther
rea d i ng . I not iced on Iy a few, mi nor typograph ical errors , and the
physical ex ecut ion of t he book i s st u r d y and attracti ve. The si x p lan s
following th e tex t are c lear enough , but esse n t ial l y irre le vant to th e
text. At leas t hal f of th e si x t een pl at es , and t he (probably
ex pensi v e) colour f ro n t i sp iece , providi ng qe ner al views of Nab at aean
and Roman mon umen ts , are eq ually su pe rfl uo us and cou ld have been
el iminated to l ower t he price. Plates I and II, i n con t r ast , whi ch
meant to illustrate discussi on of t he Peut i nq er T abl e and Mada ba map,
ar e virtually ill egible. The ope t ext map of t he whol e re g ion in cludes
342 BOOK REVIEWS/COMPT ES RENDUS
ba s ic t opograph ical features but lack s a scal e , N a r row, and any
indication of the po litical boundaries of th e Pr ovincia Arabia . The
t wo a r ea maps lack any indication of topography. These complaints
are minor, however , and none interferes with Bowersoc k's
accomp lishment in hav ing shown how important a knowledge of t he
Provincia Arabia is for our unde r s t a nd ing of the Roman Empire in the
Near East.
UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA JOHN PETER OLESON
GERALD D. HART (ed . ) . Disease in Ancient Man . Toronto: Cla r ke
Irwin 1983 . Pp.xvii, 297. Cloth, $31. 45.
Some say t hat cla ssical archaeologis ts ca r e only for architect ure ,
tha t New World archa eolog ists look onl y for early man sites, while
nobody at a ll cares about bones . Here, however , is an absor b ing
book by sc holars who do care about bones and t he intriguing stories
t hey can tell. It contains 22 pape rs drawn from an internationa l
confer ence on Disease in Ancient Man held in London in 1979 under
the join t auspices of the Royal Society of Medicine and the Academy
of Medicine, Toronto. Pape r s range in length from 2 to 37 pages
(average 11 ). Inclusion of many ( 120) hi g h q ua lit y ta bles and
photographs has kept the articles agreeab ly s hor t. This is a us eful
introd uction to the literature in pa leopat hology providing 410
r efe r ences and an additional listi ng of 124 book s, a r t icl es and reports
by Cal vin Wells, to whom the volum e is dedicated and who d ied
during preparation for t he conference. A g re at affect ion for him is
evinced in many of the a r t ic les.
The book is divided int o fi ve sections, t he f irst of whi ch
emphasizes int e r d is c ip linary poin ts of view , pa r t icu larly in the arti cl es
by former associ ates of Wells. Rosemary Cramp (Du rh am) r eviews
archaeol ogical evidence, especiall y th at re lat ing to population
characteristics an d individual pathology . Most int e r es t ing to me was
BOOK REVI EWS/ COMPT ES RENDUS
343
her descr ip t ion of an excavation by Wel ls of nine lay er s wi t h i n a
sing Ie Bronze Ag e b u rial urn containing five c rema ted skeletons . She
ca lls fo r creation with i n Britain of a major i ns t i t ute for ost eol ogi cal
studies t o overcome th e iso lation wh i ch ent husias ts in pa leo pa t ho lg y
feel. N. B. Millet (Royal Ontario Muse um) describes his ex perience
with en suring maximum informati on from mummy materi al (often
unprovenienced) in museum coll ecti on s . He ca ut ions against too hasty
examination employing de structive techniques when future archaeo -
metrical advan ces may ob v ia t e current samp l ing problems. He
describes f asc in ating work on a 12th c. BC Egyptian weaver, Nakht,
who se lungs were ex amined with a transmission electron mi c r osco pe
and microprobe X-ray analyser. This showed a very high level of
granite du st, which was att r i bu ted , on historical grounds, to a st i n t
of forced labour pounding g r ani t e monuments. Raoul Perrot
[Universi te Claude-Bernard ) con t r i b u t es a weak chap t er on the
st ra ng el y- j u x t aposed topi cs of pse udopat hol og y and di scontinous t ra i t s
of biologi cal variation. In st an ces of the fir st , as illustrated , would
not deceive a compe t en t osteologi st wh i le the latter features are only
arg ua b ly ge r mane in mos t cases t o pa leopat holog y. Jessi e Dobson
(H onorary Archivi st t o th e Company of Barber Surgeons) r evi ews
sou rc es for medical hi st orians. She includes a disappointingly
cu rsor y and dat ed treatment of pathology in ear l y fossi l hominids. A
s i mi la r cont ribution by W. E. Swinton (Toronto) po ints to an apparent
cha sm sep arating human pal eop athol ogy , which is r easonab ly
well -founded in theoretical con sid er ati ons suc h as cultural ecology and
subsi st en ce ad ap t ati on , from an imal paleop athology, wh ich st i l l , it
seems, can con t r i bu t e only "first i ns ta nces " of disease. This i s
d isa ppoi nt i ng an d p r obab l y not th e cas e.
The seco nd sec t ion deal s wi th traumatic le si on s. Keith Knowl es
(Norwi c h) bases hi s pap er on Ca l v i n Well s' many con t r i bu tions t o ou r
knowl edg e of fractur es, joi n t di sease, bony growths, su rg ica l
t echniques , and wound s from weapon s . It serve s as a r ic h
in t roduct ion t o Well s at hi s best . Here I wi l l men t ion on l y t wo cases.
A tibi a from a Romano -Bri t i sh cemete r y CI t Cirencest er , wit h a nasty
bone sp i ke proj ecting f r om th e sh i n, had b r on ze stai ning beside i t
344 BOO K REVI EWS/ COMPT ES RENDUS
indicating th at t hi s individual wor e a sh i ng uard. was sta rt led to
learn that evidence f or ab r asion of ankle bon es by shackles has been
demonstrated i n an Anglo-Sa x on cemet er y . The important grou p of
pa thologies subsumed as wear -and-tear lesions is dealt wi th next by
Nils-Gustaff Gejvall (S tockholm) d r awi ng on his long ex pe rience with
Swedish, particularly Medieval, sk el et al mat er i al. He des cr ibe s
pregnancy scars on the inside of human pelvic bones , ment ioning that
they have also been demonstrated on domestic an d wi l d animal pelves
- a fact new to me. This suggests quite excit ing st ud ies that could
be done on changing fertil ity as domesticati on p r oceeds . He provides
an elegant skeletel demonstration of a I ink be tween shorter st at u r e
and lower social class as evidenced by buri al di stance from a medieval
church at Vasterhus.
Part Ilion infections starts with a discussion by D.A. Birkett of
various non -specific infections. He draws attention to the intriguing
situation that bone inflammation (osteomyeliti s) was apparently in
ancient times a disease of adults bu t is today more common in
children. However. immature r emai ns in archaeological sites have
tended to be neglected. Rightly or wrongly, the identificat ion of
syphilis from skeletal remains has been the si ne qua non of
paleopathological diagnosis. I n this volume. C. J. Hackett (London).
who is the recognized authority of th is cont ent iou s subject, provides
a concise summary of the dia gnost ic c r i t er ia of syphilis and th e
necessity for properly dated remai ns to sett le the origin of
Pre -Columbian sy ph i l is . Apparently v enereal syphi lis evolved in the
New World whi le i n th e Old Worl d si mi lar skel etal lesi ons wer e cause d
by treponarid , a b iol ogical r el at i v e of sy phili s. Moll er- Ch r i st ensen
(Copenhagen ) prov id es a us eful review of lep r osy and t uberc ul osis.
Surprisingly. he relates that th ere is no evidence in biblical writ ing
for leprosy. whi ch i s not demonstrab l e be f ore AD 500. There i s
historical ev ide nce th at Rober t the Br uce , Ki ng of Scotl and . was a
lepe r. The next article by W. J . Moore and M. E. Corbett (Leeds )
t r aces the con sequences fo r dent al hea lth i n Bri t ain to the
i nt r oduct ion of refined flour (17 th c. ) and th e du ty free suga r (19th
c.). Not surprisingly. the incidence of caviti es i ncreased drastical ly
BOOK REVI EWS/COMPTES RENOU S
345
but, interestingly, they sh i f te d thei r l ocat ion from th e gum line in
anc ien t times, to the wo rking su r face and con tact point s between
t eeth. Thi s articl e, t hou gh i t does t ackl e t he su bj ect of al v eola r
in fecti on, does no t d eal wi t h it ad eq uate ly. No curren t t ext i n
pa leo pa t holog y deal s ade quate l y with de nta l disease.
The nex t sec t ion con ta ins six art icles on lab oratory tec hn iques.
T h is is a v aluabl e gui de but I can ' t he lp fee l i ng th at fo r man y
os te ol ogists , wh ose or ig i ns I ie in an t h ropolog y, more basic in structi on
i s ne ed ed in trad iti on al met hod s like th i n- secti on mi croscopy and
r ad i og ra ph y . The ed i t or of this vo l ume, G.O . Hart, and ot hers
describe how to test for bl ood groups f ro m anc ient bo nes and
mummified t i ssu e . Very cle ar labora tory procedures are p resen ted.
They discuss th ei r demonstrati on that th e 12t h c. BC mummy, Nakht,
was bl ood group B, wh i l e Egypt today has the thi r d hi ghest incid ence
of th i s g ro up in th e wor l d . Ton y Wal dron (London Sch ool of
Hygiene an d T r op i cal Med ic i ne ) prov ides a clear desc ri pt ion of h is
attempt t o get t he l ead out, by mean s of an at omic ab sor pt ion
spec t rophoto met er . Lead i s an env i ro nmen t al po ll utant th at is
bon e- seek ing . He has sho wn u nusual l y high l ev el s of l ead in
ske l eto ns from tw o Roman o- Br iti sh cemet er i es (Po undbury and
Ci r enc este r ). Apparently some juveniles t rom t hese si te s may hav e
died from lead poi soning. T he sou rc e of t h i s i ngest ed lead remain s
un k nown but may have derived from wat er p ipes or pe wter win e
goblets . Bernard Knig h t (C ardiff) p resent s a depressing, if we ll -
wr itten, acco unt of our abil ity to determine elapsed ti me since de at h
f ro m ph y si co -chemi cal an alysis of bones . Th is article how ev er, would
hav e been mor e suitab le in a forens ic jo urnal . He ex ami nes p ro tei n
degrada tion re vea led by n i trogen and ami no- ac i d co n ten t ,
fl uorescence , r esidual an t i - human serum rea ction , and be nzi d i ne
r eacti on. Thi s latter techn i q ue involves a r estri ct ed substance of
suspect ed carc i nogenicit y , a f act whi ch i s marked b y a mi spl aced
as ter isk. None of t he se t ech n i q ues seems u sefu l bet ween 5 and 150
yea rs an d woul d seem t o have no u tility i n paleo pat ho log y. T he ear l y
h i st or y of the app lic at ion of opt ical and elect r on rni c r oscopy is
r evi ewed in a r ather un ev en mann er by P.O. Hor ne ( T oron t o) . I t
346 BOOK REVI EWS/ COMPT ES RENDU S
doe s contain, how ev er , some lov ely SEM photog raphs of parasites
which regrettably are not keyed t o th e text. Much mor e successful i s
F.D . Pool ey ' s ( Cardiff) cha pter on electron microscopy and X- r ay
microanalysis i n whi ch he ex plai ns how even single dust part icles can
be photog r aph ed an d thei r chemica l composition determin ed . T he
te chnique has be en success f ul l y appl i ed to Nakht 's mummi fied l un g
tissue , showing t he presen ce of gran i t e d ust. T heoreticall y , with
car eful ex cava tion p r oced u r es, air pol lu t ant s such as si l ica du st f r om
flintknapping coul d be ide ntified i n the thorac ic cavity of
skeletonize d , as opposed t o mummified, rema ins. Sex-I i nke d
occupati onal tas ks in anc ient ti mes mig ht be demonst rable using d ust
analysis . P. S. Gooch des cribes a different ki nd of body pollu t ant;
helminth parasites . I n part i cul ar he discusses t echniques f or
re covering worms and t hei r eggs from ancient f eces , middens and
cess deposits. So f asc inating are hi s observati ons on th e prolong ed
association of foreign organi sms with ou r i ns ide s as unwil l ing and
unwitting hosts that one wonders ruefully why pools and
coprolites can not be more numerous.
The final section concer ns the effects that pathology,
part icularly amongst whole populations, has on evolutionary and social
development. A. Rook (Cambridge) in troduces the section by
remar king on the need to distinguish among under-nutrition,
malnutrition, protein deficiency (both ch ronic and acute), and lack of
essential trace-elements from the diet. W.M.S. Russell (Reading) has
written a lengthy and thought-provoking discourse on the nature of
population change and how to discern this from skeletal and
paleodemographic indicators. Cemetery data will rarely yield true
population estimates but can give qui t e accurate ideas of relative
population size, composition and change. He describes the population
crisis resulting from even a modest surplus of births over deaths.
Reso urce shortages lead to social breakdown and physiological st r ess ,
result ing ultimately in loss of resistance to disease and full blown
epidemics. These result in populat ion decline and the creation of
population cycles . Superimposed upon flux i n natural population
levels is the human factor of increasing longevity. This is a very
BOOK REVIEWS /COfl,\PT ES RENDUS 347
intell ig en t cha p t er . I es pecia l ly l ik ed h i s d isc ussion of Cal vin Well' s
demons t ra t ion of twice as man y indicators of ch i ld hood st ress i n
female Saxons th an in mal es. This is an ex ample of th e potent
contribution that paleopathology can mak e to our underst anding of
soci al real ity in past popul ations . The di scussion by Paul Sl ack
(Oxford) on the soci al effects of pl ague i n ear l y modern Eu ro pe i s the
clo sest thi s v olume comes t o i nc l ud i ng ( as it should) th e per spe ctive
of medical anthropology, especiall y c ul t u ra l perceptions of di sease
process and disease as puni shment and san ct ion . The r av ag es of a
6th c . ep i demi c in Gaul are att r i b u te d to typhoi d feve r by P. D.
Jan ssens (Antwerp) wh o presen t s an er ud i te bl en d of diffe re n tia l
diagnosis and hi stori c sc ho la rsh ip . It i s al most convent ion al widorn in
an t hropolog y th at white rnarr' s di seases are th e Amerindi an' s burden,
si nce he has no evolved genet i c immu ni t y t o them. Supposedl y ,
European diseases, especi al l y smali pox , c l ear ed Sp ani sh Ame ri ca fo r
t he Conq u i st ador es. Th i s scenario, however, may be somewha t
ina ccurat e. Ac cor ding to F. F . Ca rt wrig h t ( London) in hi s d i scu ssi on
of pandemics past and future, t h is small pox may have been a new
st rain, off a sla ve ship of Afri can s , th at deci mat ed th e Amer i cas and
sp read ultimately t o Europe where small pox is k nown to hav e changed
from a r elatively mild ch i ldhood d i sease to a sev ere killer of ad u lt s i n
the late 18th century . Thi s pu t s t he lat er r avages of smal l pox in
Nor th Ameri ca, with cont inued Eu ro pean coloni zation , in a d i fferen t
perspective .
Thi s book i s ge ne ra l l y of h ig h q ualit y. It con ta i ns a ho st of
i n t ere st i ng aspects of ancien t human di sease only a f ew of whi ch ha v e
be en mentioned here. It is a positive ad d i t ion to the absor b i ng
titer-atu r e on paleopathology.
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY
SIMON FRASER UN IVERSITY
f..'\A RK SK IN NER
348 BOOK REVIEWS/COMPTES RENDUS
LEE I . LEVINE (ed .). Ancient Synagog ues Revealed. Jerusalem:
Th e Israe l Exp lora ti on Soci ety ; Detroit : wayne State University Press
1982. Pp .1 99 . Clot h , US $24. 00. ISBN 0-8143-1706-5.
With the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in AD 70, the
s yn ag og ue - ne ither a sacred centre nor a place of sacrifice, but a
house of as sembly , of prayer, an d of study - emerges from obscurity
to be come t he cent ra l institution of J uda ism. The present volume of
r ecent ly excava t ed sy nag ogal rema ins from Roman and Byzanti ne
Palestine, as well as from scattered s ites in the Diaspora, is th us a
fitting sequel to Je r usa lem Reve al ed. Ed itor Levine, of the Heb r ew
University , ha s su pervised the col lection , ar rangement, and
translation from Hebrew of 38 articles and notes by 25 experts
(mostly Israeli). The re s ult is easily t he best ava ilable overview of
ancient Palestinian synagogues.
The work is d ivided into e ight sect ions. The first sect ion
compri ses two introd uc tor y es say s : the first (by Levine h imself)
sketches in broad st ro kes th e s ig nificance, fu nctions , and s ymbolic
complexi t y of t he synagogue with in ea rly Judaism; t he second (by A.
Kloner) offers a r a pid archaeo log ica l survey of ancient Pal estinian
synaogues . The second section contains fou r articl es on th e ea rliest
known synagogues: the late Second Templ e exem plars at Masada,
Herod ium, and Gamla. (The apparent ly contemporary s y na gog ue at
Magdala is menti oned only in pass ing. ) The t hird and longes t sect ion
is devoted to the riches of t he Galil ee , incl uding Hammath-T ibe r ias,
Horvat Shema
',
Gush Halav, and Horvat ha-' Amudim , but with s pecia l
attention to the cont roversi al Cape rn au m synagog ue . S. Loffreda
expla ins and defends the Fr ancis can excav at or s ' "lat e chronology"
(late 4th - early 5th c. AD), while articl es by G. Foerster and M.
Avi -Yonah are representative of the Israeli preference for the
tradit ional 2nd - 3rd c . AD date. The fourth sect ion focu ses on the
Beth-Shean region (synagogues at Ma' oz Hayim, Rehob,
Kokhav-Hayarden, and Beth-Shean itself) , whil e the fifth consists of
a single lengthy survey of the lesser known synagog ues of th e Golan .
Next, the synagogues of Judaea are represented by a r t icl es on
BOCK REV IEWS/COMPTES RENDUS 349
En-Gedi , Es htemoa, Hor v at Susiya, and Gaza. T he seventh section
i s de v ot ed to inscr iptions ( si x articles, including a u sef u l su r v ey by
J . Naveh) and small finds (two r ather flimsy notes on lintels with
menorah reliefs). The final section is devoted to selected Diaspora
synagogues, with G. Foerster's survey the most helpful of the five
ar ticl es . The volume co nc l udes with a glossary, sele ct bi bliography
( already in need of updati ng), and index.
Despite its obvious riches , t he volume is not without i ts
weaknesses. Levine not es in his foreward th at, unlike i ts
p redeces sor, Jerusal em Rev ealed, " almost hal f the articl es in th e
present volume come from sou r ces ot he r than [the Hebrew quart er ly 1
Qad moniot , and of th ese, most are being pu bli shed for the fir st
time. II The scholarly user will thus find it fr us tr-at lnq not t o be
provided with any information regarding the exa ct sou r ce (and da te)
of each art icle. More importantly, while th e editorial decision to mov e
beyond Qadmoniot was undoubtedly wise, on e wishes the ed i t or had
ex ercised an even stronger hand, especi ally in the clos ing sect ions .
The in scriptions from speci fic si tes need to be treated in their proper
g eographical and archaeological cont ex t s, and Naveh' s epigraph ic
survey matched by an equally comprehensive su r v ey of ar tisti c
motifs. Lastly, th e art icles de aling with individual Diaspora
synagogues add l ittle t o wh at is r ead il y av ai l ab l e in English; abst r acts
of these might have been i nc l uded in a sl ightly expanded version of
Foerster's survey.
Such criticisms, however , do not less en th e debt we owe ed i t or
Levine for a work th at mu st be strongl y recommended to anyone
i n t er est ed in an c ien t Judaism and/or the archaeology of th e eas t er n
Medi t erranean. The l avish i ll ustr ations , and especi ally th e su per b
plans and I ine drawings, are al one worth the price of admi ssi on . If
t he volume as a whol e possesses less coherence than i t s Jerusal em
predecessor, this v ery sprawl i s a sign of intense acti v i t y , and
perhaps more r epresentative of t he arc haeo l og ica l wealth of I srael .
THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
PA UL G. MOSCA
350 ANNOUNCEMENTS /ANNONCES
CALL FOR PAPERS
The Center for Maritime Studies a nd Faculty of Human ities of the
Universi ty of Haifa, together with the Cae sarea Anc ient Harbour
Excavation Pro jec t are sponsoring a n Internat ional Symposi um on
Harbours, Port Cities, and Coas ta l Topography ent it led :
"Cit ies on the Sea - Pas t and Pr esent, II
to be held in Haifa, Israel, October 1986
Throughout history port cities and mar itime act ivities have been
frequently affected by polit ical and economi c events, by ever
chang ing technology, and by an unstable land -sea interface. Because
of close dependence on geomorphologi cal coastal processes as well as
on the everchanging characteristics on both t he foreland and
hi nterland, the past, present a nd future of Por t Cities and man-
affected coastlines are to be studies as an integrated issue.
The rapid growth in demand for land reclamation, coastal
construction, road building, harbour dredging, marina construction,
and other activities which create general pollut ion have g reat ly
affected the physical features of the shorelines as well as the
archaeological relics in the water and on shore.
The growing concern for the future of our coastlines, its
delica te equilibrium be ing under imminent threat from the rising sea
level and human activit ies , necessitates a be tter understanding of
factors and processes and much closer cooperation in studying and
planning. The proposed Symposium aims to encourage such
cooperation and hopefully will be instrumental in initiating the direct
exchange of ideas and experience gained by s cholars from different
countries and various scientific disciplines.
The Symposium will be divided into 4 sections, within which
short papers will be presented. Twent y minutes wil l be scheduled for
each presentation, 10 additional minutes will be allowed for questions
and d iscussion.
The sections will be on the followin g subjects:
1. Coastal Processes and Man-made Structures.
2. Evidence for Changing Seal Levels and Coastal Topography
during the Holocene.
3. The Impact of the Sea on Econ omic and Political Institu-
tions.
4. Harbour Engineering in the ancient Mediterranean.
5. Ports of the Past - The Evidence of Ar t and Archaeology.
6. Piracy and the Mediterranea n Litoral.
In the panel session a series of presentations of a more
comprehensive nature will be given, within a 30 minute t ime limit.
These presentations might be on any of t he foll owing topics:
1. The Harbour and the City - Past and Pr esent.
2. The Historical Geography of Coas tal Regions.
3. The Interrelations between Earth Sciences and
Archaeological Research .
4. The History of Coastal Oceanography .
5. Cities and the Sea in Antiquity and Middl e Ages.
ANNOUN CEMENTS /ANNONCES 351
A v olume wi t h a summar ized ve r sion of all presentati ons wi l l be
p ublished by the da t e of th e symposi um .
I f i n t er este d i n parti cipat i ng , please send y our name , ad d ress ,
inst i t u t iona l affiliat ion, and t i tle of p roposed pa pe r by 15 November
1985 to
Ci ti es of th e Sea
Cen te r for Maritime St ud ies
Un iversity of Haifa
Haifa 31999, I srael
CL AS SIC /H. SOC IETY OF THE AMER I CAN ACA DEMY IN ROME
Ameri can Acad emy Summer Session Scholarsh i p, 1986
T he Classic al Soci ety of the Ame rican Academy i n Rome offer s at
least one sc ho larship of $1500 to a st udent or teacher of t he c l as sical
languages an d/or cl assical civilizat ion . T he sch olarshi p will be
awar d ed on a competiti ve bas is , and is to be used t o ena b le t he
recipient to attend the summer session of t he Amer i can Academy i n
Rome. T he Acad emy will also remit $100 of th e t uiti on in t he summer
session for t he receipient of the CSAA R sc holarsh i p. Hig h sc hool
students an d col l ege undergraduates ar e no t eligi b le fo r t he CSAAR
sc ho la rs h i p .
" A ppl icat i on f orm s (d ue February 15, 1986) are av ai l ab le f r om:
Professor Sheil a K . Dickison , Depa r t ment of Cl ass ics
3-C A r t s s Science Building, Uni ve rs ity of Fl or i da
Gainesvi l le, FL . 32611
9th ANN UAL A.C.L./ N.J. C.L. NAT I ONAL LAT I N EX AM
The 1986 ACL/ NJ CL Nationa l Latin Exam under t he j oi n t spons or -
sh i p of th e Amer i can Cl assi cal League . Mor e than 57,000 Lat in
st udent s ac r oss t he U.S. A., Canada, and Jap an t ook th e 1985
National Latin Ex am and derived great enjo y men t and benefit from it.
There ar e 40 questi on s on eac h level and there are sepa ra te
exa ms for Latin I , I I, III - I V prose, III -IV poetry and Latin V . The
f ormat of the 1986 exa m l ev el s I -I V, i s si mi lar t o previous exa ms ,
i . e. , 20 grammar, 15 mythology, life , hi st ory, and d erivative
q ues tions, and 5 qu est ion s based on a shor t passage in Lati n. The
Lat in V Ex am consis t s of seve ra l Lat i n passages with mul tipl e choice
q ues tions on hi storical backgrou nd, c las sical l iterature, literar y
de vices , g r ammar and comp re he ns ion. The ex am t akes f orty mi n u tes
t o ad mi n is te r .
To en t er the 1986 exa m, please write for ap pl ication fo rm to
P.O . Box 95, Mount Vernon, VA 22121. The cost i s $2.00 per
st ud en t entering . A st ud en t may en ter onl y th e level in which he i s
cu r re n tl y en r ol led and may take only one exa m. Ch eck or mon ey
order must accompany t he appl ic ation. Pu rc has e or d ers ca nnot be
accepted in l i eu of check or money order. Up on re ceipt of ap p l i ca t ion
and payment, an acknowl edgement wi ll be sen t to y ou .
352 ANNOUNCEMENTS/ANNONCES
All communi cati ons requiring a r ep ly ( ot he r than t he appli cation
itself) must be accompani ed by a self- addressed st amped envelope.
A packet containing t he four prev i ous exa ms (1982 -1985, all four
levels included) and a syllabus may be or der ed by sending a $5.00
cheque or money order (no purchase or de rs , please), payable to
National Lati n Ex am, t o Linda Sharrard Mont r oss , James Madison High
School, 2500 James Madison Drive , Vienna, VA 22180.
Results of the 1986 National Lati n Exam will be sent to the
principal on April 21, 1986. Gold med als and summa cum laude
certificates are awarded t o the top score rs . Si lver medals and maxima
cum laude certificates are awarded t o the nex t highest scor er s .
Third place magna cum laude certificates and fou rth pla ce cum l aude
certificates are also awarded . A scholar ship app li cat ion w i l l ~
to 1986 gold medal winners in Latin III, IV or V who are high school
seniors and plan to take at least one y ear of col lege Latin or Gree k .
Last year eight $1,000 scholarships were awarded.
All entry applications must be po stmarked by Friday , January
10, 1986.
1986 ACL INSTITUTE AND WORKSHOPS
Prel iminary Call for Papers and Workshops
The thirty-ninth Annual American Classical League Institute and
Workshops will be held at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio , June
25-28, 1986. Individual papers and p r esent at ions in workshop format
are solicited in the following areas:
Medieval Latin prose and verse
Latin programs in private school s : curriculum devel opment ,
promotion, etc.
Latin declamation and compo sition
Classical art, archaeology, mythology
Classical heritage and influence in po st - cla ssi cal aut hor s and
artists
Planning museum trips and trips abroad for students
Advanced Placement Latin: prepar at ion f or, sy ll abus devel opment
Computers i n the Latin classroom
Reducing the attrition rate in Lat in 2 and beyond
Greek in the high school
Proposals on other topics will be consi der ed . Proposals are
invited from teachers at all levels, from el ementary school through
university. Please submit a 100- to 300- wo r d descript ion with title
for a workshop or paper to Pr of. Judith Ly nn Sebesta, ACL Vice
President, Dept. of Classics, Univ . of South Dakota, South
Vermillion, SD 57069; indicate audi o-vi sual equipment requi red, if
any. Unless otherwise proposed, worksh ops will be assumed to be
one hour in length, papers twenty minu t es in length.
BOOKS RECEIVED/L1VRES R E ~ U S
Not e : Les I ivres r ecen ses n e so n t pas pas mcnt io nn es . / Book s
re viewed ar e not in clud ed here.
353
ALLEN, R. E. (tran s.). The Di al ogues of _ ~ , Volume 1. New
Hav en, Connecti cut: Yal e Univer sit y Press, 1985. Pp. x i v , 350 .
Cloth, U.S. $30 .00. 03000 32269.
BU RGER , Ronna. The Phaedo : A Pla to n ic Labyr inth. New Hav en : Yal e
Univer sit y Pr ess, 1985. Pp.i x , 288. Clo t h , U .S. $25.00 . 0300031637 .
CA RNE- ROSS, D . S. . Pindar. New Ha ve n : Yal e Univer si ty Pre ss
(H ermes Boo ks ) , 1985. ~ x , 195. Clo t h, U. S. $25.00, 03000 33844 .
Pap er , U. S. $7 . 95, 03000 33931.
DI ET Z, Soren . Li nd os I V, 1 Excavat ions and Survey i n Sou t her n
Rh od es : The Mycen aean Peri od. Res u lts of the Carl sb erg Fou nda t ion
Excava t ions in Rh od es 1902-1 914. Publ ica t ions of th e Nati on al Mu seum,
A r ch aeol ogi cal Hi st ori cal Series Vol . XX II: I . The Nati on al Mu seum of
Denmark, 1984. pp.1 20, i llustrations. Paper, Dk r. 188. 50 .
8748004871.
FULEP, Ferenc. Sopianae: The Hi s t or y of Pees d ur i ng th e Roman
Era , and t he p ro brernoT" t he con t in uit y of th e l at e Roman popul at ion .
Budap est : Akademla i Ki ad o , 1984. Dis t r ib. in US by Humanit i es
Pr ess, I nc . Pp. 392 , 115 fi g s . , 72 pla tes , and 7 su p p lemen ts. Clo t h,
U.S . $56 . 50. 9630530 171.
GODMA N , Pet er (Editor) . Poetry of th e Ca ro l i ng ian Rena issance .
Norman , Ok la homa: Un i v er si t y of Okl ah oma Pr ess, 1985. Pp. xviii,
384. Clot h , U. S. $39.50. 080611 939X .
HAYES, Joh n W. . Greek an d I ta lian Black -G loss Wares and Rel at ed
War es in th e Roya l On t ari o Mu seum. T oront o : Roy al Ontari o Mu seum
Publi cati on Servi ces, 1984. $45.00 . 0888543026.
LAMBERTON, Rober t D . and ROTROFF, Susan I. Bi rds of th e
A t he n ian Ag or a. Pr i nce ton: Amer i can Sc hoo l of Classica l Studi es at
A th en s, 1985 . Pp. 32; 56 Illus trat ion s. Paper, U.S. $2. 00 . 8766 16279.
MERRI FI ELD , Ralph. London: City of t he Rornan s , Be r ke ley:
Un i ve rsity of Ca li fornia Press, 1983 . Pp.xxi , 288 , 60 pla tes, 40
map s , pl an s and d iagrams. U.S. $30.00. 0520049225.
T HALMANN, Wi ll iam G. . Conventions of Form and !hough t i n Ear l y
Gree k Epic Poet r y. Ba l t imore Md.: I he Joh n s Hopkins Un iversit y
Pr ess , 1984. Pp .xxv, 262. Cloth, U.S. $27 .50. 0801 831954.
354 BOOKS RECE I VED /L1VRES REyUS
TOMLI NSON , R. A. . Ep idauros . Au stin : Un iv er si ty of T ex as Press,
1983. Pp.98. U.S . $12 .50. 029272044 0.
WALKER, Ian. ( I n tro . and Note s) . Pl at o' s Euthyph ro. Chi co : Scho l ar s
Pr ess, 1984. Pp. x, 136 . Pap er, U.S. $11.75 (member s $9.95) .
0891 305718.
WALSH, George B . The Vari eti es of Encha n t men t: Early Greek Views
of the Nature and Function of Poetry. Ch apel Hill: Un i v ersity of
North Carolina Pr ess, 1984. Pp. ix, 170. Cloth, U.S. $18.00.
0807 815764.
WILSON, R.J.A . Piazza Armer ina . Austin : Uni versity of T ex as Press,
1983. Pp.124. Paper , U.S. $12. 50. 0292764723 .
NEW EDITIONS/NOUVELLES EDI T I ONS
CUN LI FFE, Ba r ry. Roman Bath discovered. London : Routl edge and
Kegan Paul, re vised edition- --1984 . Di stributed in Canada by Oxford
University Press. Pp . xvii, 232. Cl ot h $37.50. 0710 201966 .
HAWTHORN, J . R. Sal lust : Rome an d J u g u r t . . ~ ~ . Bristol : Bristol
Classical Press and ChI cag o: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 1984.
(orig. 1969). Pp.l xiii, 148 . Paper , U.S . $11.00. UK 0906515 335. USA
0865160384.
LEE, A. G. Ovi d : Metamorphoses I. Bristol: Bri stol Cl assic al Press
and Chi cag o, Bolchazy-Carducci, 1984 (orig . 1953). Pp.vi ii , 162.
Paper, U.S. $8.00. UK 0862921 449 . USA 0865160406.
MARCHANT, E. C. Thucydides: Book II, wit h new i n trod uc tion by T.
Wied emann. Bristol : Bristol Clas si cal Pr ess and Ch i cago :
Bolchazy -C arducci, 1984 (orig. 1891). Pp. xxx ix , 239. Pape r, U. S.
$13.00. UK 0906515203. USA 0865160414.
PLATNAUER , M. Euripides : I phigeni a in T auris. Bri st ol : Bristol
Cl assi cal Pr ess, and Chicag o : Bolc ha zy - Ca r d ucci , 1984 ( orig . 1938 ).
Pp.xix,186. Pap er, U.S. $13.00. UK 0862920388. USA 0865160600 .
RUDD, Ni all and COURTNEY, Ed war d . Juvenal : Sat ires, I, III , X.
Bristol: Bristol Cl assical Pr ess, and Chicag o: Bol ch azy -Carduccl,
second ed. 1982 (orig. 1977 ) . Pp .i x , 91. Paper, U.S. $8 .00 . UK
0906515033. USA 0865160 392 .
WILLIAMS, Gordon . T echnique and I deas in th e Aeneid. New Haven,
Conn. : Yale University Press, 1985. Pp .x , 301. Paper, U.S . $11.95.
0300 034296.
c. II. WILLL\l\IS. PLATE I:
Myt ilcnc: trench lrom south
c. II. WILLlAi\IS. PLATE 2:
Myul cnc: xhcrds III w.irc"
C. & H. WILLIAMS, PLATE 3:
Mytilcne: erotic symplcgma.
C. & H. WILLIAMS, PLATE 4:
Mytilcnc: Ephcsos lamp .
r---- - _
H. FRACCHIA, PLATE I:
Forti fication Wall at Tcmpa Cortaglia.
H. FRACCHIA, PLATE 2:
Middle Bronze Age-Early Iron Agc material from Tcmpa Cortaglia.
GUALTIERI. PLATE I:
GUALTIERI. PLATE 2:
E corner of portico (from cast). with blocked d u u r ~ F55 and 1-'56.
GUALTIERI, PLATE J:
Close-up of Wall B (cast face) showing cant ilevered construction and later re-bui lding.
GUALTIERI. PLATE4:
North secti on of Wall B abutt ing onto terr acing/perimeter wall of " industrial"' area.
JENTEL, PLATE 1:
Wa shin gt on , Corc ora n Ga llery (photo du Musco).
JENTEL, PLATE 2:
Bucarcst , Co li. Herovanu (daprcs Canarache p.52) .
.JENTEL. PLATE 7:
EriangL: ll. Arch. lnst (photo du 1 \ 1 1 1 s ~ L : )
.JENTEL. PLATE H:
Amsterdam, Alla rd Pier son Museum (photo RII'O ).
1 -