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Final Exam
Review
Slide Identifications
The Seven Wonders
Number 1
The Temple of Artemis at
Ephesus
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Date: ca. 550 B.C. – 300 B.C.
Location: Ephesus, Asia Minor
(modern Turkey)
Material: stone, specifically
marble
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Ionic, dipteral, octastyle, distyle in
antis
127 columns, as described by Pliny
(only 1 column remains)
Said to have been originally built by
Amazons, though the structure
known as a wonder, shrine D, was
built by Croesus.
Burned on July 21st, 356 B.C., the
birthday of Alexander the Great, by
Herostratus.
Alexander offers to rebuild the
temple in 333 B.C., though the
Ephesians refuse.
Damaged in earthquake in 262 A.D.,
finally destroyed by St. John
Chrysostom in 401 A.D. after the
Edict of Theodosius.
Number 2
The Workshop of Pheidias
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Date: ca. 430 B.C.
Location: Olympia, Greece (on
the Peloponnesus)
Material: local stone
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Building in which Pheidias built
the chryselephantine statue of
Zeus at Olympia
Tools have been found in the
building along with a cup with “I
belong to Pheidias” on the
bottom and scraps of unworked
ivory.
Turned into a Christian church
after the Edict of Theodosius;
reason the building is so well
preserved.
Excavated extensively by
Germans, beginning in the
1950’s
Details on Pheidias – also built
the statue of Athena for the
Parthenon, kicked out of Athens
for scandals, had a “special
friend” named Pantarkes,
whose name supposedly
appeared on the Statue of Zeus.
Number 3
The Pharos of Alexandria
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Date: ca. 297 B.C. (alternate date •
of 283 B.C. given by Eusebius)
Location: Alexandria, Egypt,
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specifically on the island of Pharos
Material: white marble
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Built by Sostratus, perhaps at the
bidding of Ptolemy I Soter.
Designed to mark the entrance to the
harbors at Alexandria as the coast of
Egypt in that area is largely undefined
by landmarks and is overwhelmingly
flat.
Consisted of a base 10 meters in
height, a square portion 57 meters in
height, an octagonal portion 27.5
meters in height, a cylindrical portion
7.5 meters in height, with a statue of
Zeus Soter on top 5 meters in height for
a total height of 117 meters.
Would have used mirrors to amplify the
light. Said to have had a constantly
burning fire, but more likely to have
used the light of the sun during the day.
Described at length by Abou Haggag
Youssef Ibn Mohammad el-Balawi elAndaloussi in 1166.
Damaged by earthquakes in 956 A.D.,
1303 A.D., and 1323 A.D.
Number 4
Amazonomachy Frieze
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Date: ca. 353 B.C.
Location: Mausoleum of
Halicarnassus
Material: Marble
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Frieze depicting a battle
between Amazons and Greeks.
Shows Amazon women as twobreasted, though they are
generally shown with only one
breast.
Adorned the Mausoleum at the
top of the base, just below the
36 columns.
Pieces of the frieze survive
when in 1505-1507 they are
used for decoration in the
Castle of St. Peter, originally
built by the Knights of St. John
of Malta at Bodrum in 1402.
When seen by Lord Stratford de
Redcliffe in 1846, the pieces of
the frieze prompt excavation by
the British, most notably under
Charles T. Newton.
Number 5
The Ishtar Gate (Walls of
Babylon)
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Date: ca. 600 B.C.
Location: Babylon, Mesopotamia
(modern Iraq)
Material: blue-glazed brick with
gold animal decoration
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Orignally built by Nebuchadnezzar
as an entrance to the city, using
his trademark blue-glazed brick.
Showed various animals from
territory controlled by the
Babylonians.
One of the reasons why the Walls
of Babylon were originally on
Antipater of Sidon’s list of the
Seven Wonders.
Discovered by the Deutches
Orientgesellschaft under Robert
Koldewey in 1899, along with what
he thought were the Hanging
Gardens.
Rebuilt by Saddam Hussein, who
used Nebuchadnezzar and his
works for propagandistic
purposes.
Partially destroyed by U.S.
Marines at Camp Babylon in Iraq.
Modern reconstruction in
Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The Development and
Practice of Classical
Archaeology
Number 1
Temple of Fortuna Virilis
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Date: 2nd century B.C. (Temple);
1508-1580 (Drawing)
Artist: Andrea Palladio
Location: Rome
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The work of Andrea Palladio
(1508 – 1580) begins to formally
study Classical architecture. He
very meticulously draws the
façades of buildings surviving in
Rome and postulates
reconstructions with a great
deal of thought and study.
Palladio’s work is centered
detailed study of the Roman
architectural writer Vitruvius (ca.
80 B.C. – 25 A.D.), especially
with respect to proportions for
buildings.
Palladio applies all of this to the
design of new palatial homes for
the wealthy of his own time.
Number 2
Laocoön Statuary Group
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Date: early 1st century B.C.
Location: Sculpted on the island
of Rhodes; found in the Baths of
Titus, Rome.
Based on: the Great Altar of
Zeus at Pergamon
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King Attalos III of Pergamum
bequeathed his entire kingdom
to Rome upon his death in 133
B.C., and this allowed much
Pergamene sculpture to be
transported to Rome to
decorate the houses of the
wealthy and generated Roman
interest in the Pergamene style
of art.
The Laocoön group is a good
demonstration of this. The
twisted body of Laocoön himself
bears a striking resemblance to
several figures on the Great
Altar of Zeus at Pergamon, and
there are also similarities in the
sculpting of the sea-serpents.
Number 3
Palace of King Minos
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Date: 19th – 16th centuries B.C.
Location: Knossos, Crete
(Greece)
Excavated by: Sir Arthur Evans
and Duncan MacKenzie
Excavation Dates: begins in
1900
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Excavation of the palace of
Minos is Sir Arthur Evans’ claim
to fame, but formal and
scientific excavation comes only
with the assistance of Duncan
MacKenzie, a Scottish architect
who had excavated the site on
the island of Melos (1896-1897)
MacKenzie is considered the
father of stratigraphic
excavation.
The current condition of the
palace is an example of
archaeology carried to the point
of reconstruction, with the result
that the original condition of the
structure is compromised.
Number 4
The Elgin Marbles
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Date: ca. 450 – 430 B.C.
Original Location: The
Parthenon, Athens (Greece)
Present Location: British
Museum
Obtained by: Thomas Bruce, 7th
Earl of Elgin
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Elgin was the British
Ambassador to the Ottoman
Empire from 1799 until 1803.
In 1801, the Turks granted Elgin
a permit to remove sculptures
from the Parthenon in Athens.
In 1806, Elgin removes over half
of the sculptural decoration from
the Parthenon in roughly 200
crates, including:
– 274 feet of the 524 foot
frieze
– 15 of the 92 metopes (many
were likely damaged when
Elgin saw them)
– Various other sculptural
pieces, including 17
pedimental sculptures.
Number 5
Bust of Pompey the Great
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Date: ca. 50 B.C.
Location: Rome
Modeled after: Various busts of
Alexander the Great, especially
one done by Lysippus (ca. 330
B.C.)
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The Roman aristocracy had a
great interest in earlier Greek
sculpture, especially from the
time of the sack of Corinth by
Gaius Memmius in 133 B.C..
Sculpture is both taken from
Greece and copied by Roman
artists.
Pompey makes use of this fact
in having a sculpture made of
himself to look like Alexander
the Great, an earlier general
also well known for military
conquest.
Similarities are most well noted
in the hair and on the brow.
Pompeii
Number 1
Capitolium of Pompeii
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Date: Originally constructed
in 2nd century B.C.,
renovated ca. 80 B.C.
Location: Forum
Modeled After: Temple of
Juppiter Optimus Maximus,
Capitoline Hill, Rome.
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The Capitolium is a
reconstruction of an earlier
Temple of Juppiter
Higher in elevation than
surrounding buildings to
simulate Capitoline Hill
Three shrines, for Juppiter,
Juno, and Minerva, each with
a basement beneath.
Hexastyle, Tuscan style
(non-peripteral).
Number 2
Amphitheatre of Pompeii
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Date: ca. 80 B.C.
Stonework: Opus Incertum
Event/Date: Fight between
Pompeians and Nucerians in
59 A.D. (Tacitus)
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This is the oldest stone
amphitheatre in Italy.
Seating is divided into 3
parts: summa, media, and
ima cavea.
Partially dug into the ground
and built into the city walls
for support.
Seated roughly 20,000—
more than the population of
Pompeii
Used for gladiatorial
combats.
Pink Floyd plays here in
1971.
Number 3
House of the Vettii
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Date: becomes a single
house in the 1st century B.C.
Decoration: 4th style
Excavation: 1895-1896
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Originally more than one
dwelling.
Owned by freedmen of the
Vettii family.
Lavishly decorated in the 4th
style, especially in the oeci,
probably after the
earthquake of 62.
Had a moderate peristylum,
but also a viridarium, or
pleasure garden.
Most visited structure in all of
Pompeii.
Number 4
Odeon of Pompeii
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Date: ca. 80 B.C.
Stonework: Opus Quasi
Reticulatum
Builders: Gaius Quintus
Valgus and Marcus Porcius
(magistrates seeking
election)
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A theatrum tectum, or roofed
theatre.
Traditional semicircular
theatre design inscribed in a
rectangular building.
Acoustically superior.
Used for events such as
mime, dramatic recitation,
musical performance, and
even political speeches.
Adjacent to the Large
Theatre and the Triangular
Forum.
Number 5
Alexander Mosaic
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Event/Date: Battle of
Alexander the Great at Issus,
333 B.C.
Location: Exedra in the
House of the Faun
Dimensions: 19 ft. x 10 ft. 3
in.
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Mosaic is a reproduction of
an earlier Greek painting by
Philoxenus.
Represents the Battle of
Issus, featuring Alexander
the Great and Darius of
Persia.
Contained at least 1.5 million
colored tiles (tesserae),
though estimates go as high
as 4 million.
Rome
Number 1
Capitoline Wolf Sculpture
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Date: 5th century B.C.
Material: Bronze
Location: Rome
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A bronze sculpture of Romulus,
Remus, and the wolf who is said
to have raised the twins to
adulthood.
The twins themselves were
added during the Renaissance
and may or may not have
replaced bronze twins originally
associated with the statue.
Romulus, Remus, and the wolf
are still used symbolically as the
emblem for the Roma soccer
team.
Mussolini gave a copy of the
statue to Rome, Georgia in the
late 1930’s.
Number 2
Bust of Lucius Junius Brutus
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Date: 1st century B.C.
Material: Bronze (with ivory and
stone inlay for eyes)
Location: Rome
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Lucius Junius Brutus was the
man who overthrew Lucius
Tarquinius Superbus, the last of
Rome’s 7 kings, in 509 B.C.
This changes the Roman form
of government from a monarchy
to a republic.
During the time period of the
Republic, Rome is governed by
2 men called consuls, who
provide a check against one
another and are elected yearly.
There are also a number of
lower magistrates.
Lucius Junius Brutus is one of
Rome’s first consuls.
Number 3
Theatre of Marcellus
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Date: early 1st century B.C.
Location: Rome
Current Use: Apartment
Building
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The Theatre of Marcellus was
turned into a palace during the
Renaissance. More recently,
this palace has been converted
to apartments.
The Theatre of Marcellus is an
example of an ancient structure
which has been preserved
because the structure was used
for some other purpose during
the middle ages. Otherwise,
much of the stone might have
been quarried.
Another example would be the
Mausoleum of Hadrian, which is
now the Castel Sant’Angelo (the
fortress of Vatican City).
Number 4
Claudian Era Circus Reliefs
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Date: 41 – 54 A.D. (the reign of
the Emperor Claudius)
Depicting: the Circus Maximus
Material: Terracotta
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These reliefs are able to be
dated to the period of the
Emperor Claudius or after
based on Suetonius’ statement
that Claudius improved the
Circus Maximus by gilding the
metae and adding some
decorative relief.
Before this time, Ovid implies
that the metae are unadorned
and rather like cypress trees.
Circus racing reliefs were
especially popular during the
mid 1st century A.D.
Number 5
Egyptian Obelisk
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Date: brought to Rome in the
late 1st century B.C. (after the
Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.)
Brought by: Augustus
Point of Origin: Heliopolis, Egypt
Original Location in Rome:
Spina of the Circus Maximus
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Augustus brings this and another
obelisk to Rome after defeating
Antony and Cleopatra at the
Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.
Christian writers like Tertullian
associate obelisks with the
worship of the Sun or, more
likely, of Apollo.
Augustus derives several benefits
from setting up the obelisk in the
Circus Maximus:
1) he decorates the barrier of
the circus
2) he displays spoils from a
recent victory
3) he honors his patron divinity
4) he honors a god who
participates in the same event
hosted in the circus.
Identifications
The Seven Wonders
“Queen’s Chamber”
• Misnamed by Arab explorers. There is no evidence
that a queen was ever buried there or intended to be
buried there
• Probably the second intended burial chamber for
Khufu.
• 18 ft. 10 in x 17 ft. 2 in x 15 ft. high
• Accessed by a ramp starting just below grand gallery
• On east-west axis
• Unlike the Subterranean Chamber, it was finished
Casing Stones
• Limestone blocks used to smooth the sides of
pyramids by covering square blocks and filling in
gaps
• The only pyramid in Egypt which still has its casing
stones is the Pyramid of Khafre; the casing stones
from the Great Pyramid are gone
Antipater of Sidon
• 2nd Century B.C. writer who composed the list of the
7 wonders of the ancient world
• Originally had the walls of Babylon listed as a wonder
in place of Pharos at Alexandria
• Says he has been to all the wonders
• Picks Temple of Artemis at Ephesus as his favorite
Archimedean Screw
• Pump mechanism described by Strabo as the
irrigation machine for the Hanging Gardens of
Babylon.
• Screw turning within a tube, thus drawing water
upwards.
• Supposedly invented by Archimedes in the 300’s
B.C., though apparently in use in Babylon in the early
500’s B.C.
• Either not the irrigation method for Babylon, or
misnamed because it was in use before Archimedes.
Robert Koldewey
• German excavator working in Babylon in 1899,
leading the Deutsche Orientgesellschaft project.
• Discovered the Ishtar Gate, the walls, the central
ziggurat, perhaps the Tower of Babel.
• Thought he discovered the foundations for the
Hanging Gardens in a series of rooms with vaulted
ceilings, though there are many problems with this
conclusion.
Herostratus
• Burns the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (shrine D,
the Croesus Building) on July 21st, 356 B.C. in order
to try to gain notoriety for himself.
• Commits this act of arson on the same date as the
birth of Alexander the Great.
Dipteral and Octastyle
(+ an example)
• Dipteral – with two rows of columns going along the
entire exterior.
• Octastyle – with 8 columns across the front
• Both terms apply to Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
Chryselephantine
(+2 examples)
• Term used to describe statues made of ivory and
gold.
• From Greek “chrysos” (gold) and “elephantos” (ivory).
• These statues are usually constructed around a
wooden frame.
• Examples: Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Statue of
Athena in the Parthenon
Artemisia II of Caria
• Sister/wife/successor of Mausolus of Caria.
• Begins constrcution on the Mausoleum before
Mausolus’ death in 353 B.C. and gains political power
after his death.
• Crushes an attempted rebellion in Rhodes and
supports an oligarchic government there.
• Was known to mix a portion of her husband’s ashes
in her daily wine.
• Dies in 350 B.C. due to her excessive grieving.
Edict of Theodosius I
• Law passed down in 391 A.D. banning structures and
institutions which were pagan in nature.
• Buildings either had to be destroyed or converted into
Christian buildings.
• The Temple of Zeus at Olympia and the Temple of
Artemis at Ephesus were both destroyed as a result
of the edict.
• Institutions such as the Olympic Games were also
banned.
Knights of St. John of Malta at
Bodrum
• Christian organization which locates at Bodrum to
protect and house pilgrims travelling to the Holy
Land.
• Also known as the Knights Hospitallers
• Built the Castle of St. Peter in 1402.
• Repair the castle from 1494 – 1522 using green
volcanic stones from the Mausoleum at
Halicarnassus for building and breaking up and
burning marble steps and statuary for lime mortar.
• Discover the tomb chamber of Mausolus but get none
of the riches; these are stolen by pirates overnight.
The Development and
Practice of Classical
Archaeology
Thomas Bruce
• 7th Earl of Elgin—one of the first 19th century
“archaeologists.” Served as the Ambassador to the
Ottoman Empire from 1799 until 1803.
• In 1801, Elgin the Ottoman Turks who control Greece
give Elgin a permit to remove sculptures from the
Parthenon in Athens
• In 1806, Elgin removes over half of the sculptural
decoration from the Parthenon in roughly 200 crates,
including:
– 274 feet of the 524 foot frieze
– 15 of the 92 metopes (many were likely damaged
when Elgin saw them)
– Various other sculptural pieces, including 17
pedimental sculptures.
The Classical Period (including
problems in definition)
• Most commonly used to mean something like “related
to the ancient Greeks and Romans,” but can refer to
a time period or something more stylistic.
• In some ways problematic as there are few definite
boundaries for a “Classical Period,” and there are
numerous differences between Greeks and Romans
(language, artistic styles, forms of government, and
time period).
• The “Classical Period” could begin as early as the
19th century B.C. or as late as the 4th century B.C.
• The “Classical Period” could end as early as the 4th
century B.C. or as late as 1453 A.D.
Greek Independence (+ year)
and Archaeology
• In 1829, Greece wins its independence, putting a
stop to the export of antiquities possible under the
Ottoman government. A curator of antiquities is
appointed and the Greek Archaeological Society is
formed to manage archaeological finds.
• Thus, much archaeological work shifts to Asia Minor,
where the export of antiquities is still allowed. This
leads to Newton’s work on the Mausoleum and
Wood’s work at Ephesus.
Heinrich Schliemann
• Schliemann directs a massive excavation at Troy
between 1870 and 1890.
• Schliemann took the Homeric story of the Iliad as
based on historical fact, and so he believed that if he
dug at Troy, he would eventually find the treasure left
behind after the fall of the city.
• At first, he simply looks for valuable items and ignores
the chronology of the various levels.
• Schliemann at first also smuggles valuable items out
of Turkey in the middle of the night to avoid detection.
• Schliemann becomes more scientific in his approach
when he gets help from Wilhelm Dorpfeld, a German
who is considered the pioneer of stratigrahpic
excavation.
Duncan MacKenzie
• Stratigraphic excavation comes to Greece with the
work of a Scottish architect, Duncan MacKenzie, who
excavates the city of Phylakopi on the island of Melos
from 1896 to 1899.
• MacKenzie is better known, however, for his work
with Sir Arthur Evans at Knossos on the island of
Crete. Along with Evans, MacKenzie excavates the
Palace of Minos beginning in 1900. All finds are
carefully recorded, and it is MacKenzie that is largely
responsible for this documentation.
Systematic Surface Survey
(+ 2 types)
• Surface survey or fieldwalking, then, can be defined
as “the systematic visual survey of an area to record
evidence of previous human activity.”
• Surveyors may practice an intensive survey, involving
walking all of a potential archaeological site in a grid
pattern, or an extensive survey, which targets only
portions of the established grid, based on completely
random factors, terrain, or any number of other
factors.
Negative Crop Marks
• Aerial photography reveals structures such as walls
and streets in the form of negative crop marks, areas
where the crops do not grow as tall as in areas
without sub-soil structures.
• The result is that the outlines of larger structures are
indicated by crops which grow to a lesser height.
Resistivity Survey
• A resistivity survey measures the resistance in the
ground to the passage of an electric current. This is
able to reveal structures located beneath the soil as
stone, for instance, resists an electrical current to a
greater degree than the soil around it.
• Once data is processed by a computer, outlines of
buildings or large deposits of artifacts may emerge
based on their resistivity profile.
Stratigraphy
• Stratigraphy is a means of interpreting the chronology
of an archaeological site by studying its various
layers or “strata,” assuming that later levels will
overlie earlier levels. Soil levels can often be
distinguished by various differences in color, texture,
or the like. A result can be to establish pottery or
artifact types associated with different levels in an
effort to determine a chronology.
• The stratigraphy of a site is best revealed in slit
trenches or in the baulks of box trenches.
Box Trenches and Baulks
(+ inventor)
• The box trench is the most commonly used trench
type.
• Developed by Sir Mortimer Wheeler in the 1920’s and
1930’s.
• In addition to the ability to establish the stratigraphy
of the site vertically, a horizontal dimension is also
added, making it possible to actually unearth artifacts
while studying their chronology at the same time.
• Problems with these include excavation of baulks out
of sequence, the total area of a site contained in the
baulks, and the vulnerability of baulks to collapse.
Carbon 14 Dating
• Carbon 14 dating relies on the remains of organic
material at archaeological sites and the rate of
decomposition of the isotope Carbon 14 to determine
a date or range of dates.
• The half-life of Carbon 14 is 5,730 years, plus or
minus 40 years or so, and testable samples could be
as old as 70,000 years.
• Usually Carbon 14 testing is done on pieces of burnt
wood, though other organic material, such as bone,
can be used as well.
• What is measured is the emission of radioactive beta
particles, which exit a modern sample at 150 per
minute. Thus, if only 75 per minute exit an ancient
sample, the sample should be 5,730 years old, plus or
minus 40 years.
Dendrochronology
• Dendrochronology involves the study of known tree-ring
data from a region with the remains of wooden artifacts
to determine a date or range of dates.
• Dendrochronologists begin with a living tree sample
from the target area and work backwards, comparing
tree cores until they reach a match.
• Problems with dendrochronology:
– Only wooden samples can be tested.
– The date revealed by the wood will, at best, give the date when the tree
was cut down.
– Unless the piece of wood still has the bark on it, it is not possible to
determine the exact year in which the tree was cut down.
– Though testing is done within regions, climate factors make regional
lines somewhat blurry.
– There are not always sufficient wood samples to go back to the times
being studied.
Pompeii
Samnites
(+ Language Spoken)
• The Samnites were a native Italic people from
Central Italy (in the Apennine Mountains) who settled
in the region of Campania as early as the 8th century
B.C.
• Pompeii is founded by the Samnites in the 6th century
B.C.
• Etruscans and Greeks then fight over the region for a
while, before the Samnites re-enter the picture after
the Greek victory at Cumae in 474 B.C.
• The Samnites, along with the Greeks, maintain
control of the city until Sulla defeats the Social
League in 80 B.C. at Nola.
• The Samnites spoke a language called Oscan.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla and the
Social Wars
• Lucius Cornelius Sulla was a Roman general and
dictator during the time period of the Social Wars (89
– 80 B.C.), wars fought at first to resist Roman
occupation of Campania and later for Roman rights
(i.e. voting).
• Sulla unsuccessfully tries to besiege Pompeii in 89
B.C., but a successful resistance is led by Lucius
Cluentius. He eventually takes control of Pompeii in
80 B.C. after the the Social League, a group of
Samnite/Greek allies in Campania, surrender at Nola.
• Sulla leaves a garrison of 2,000 veterans at his newly
establish colony, called the Colonia Cornelia Veneria
Pompeianorum, effectively beginning the Roman
period of the city.
Eumachia
(+ associated structure)
• A wealthy Pompeian woman who constructs the
Building of Eumachia, a sort of union hall for the guild
of fullers (weavers, dyers, washers of fabric) in the late
1st century B.C. It is identified based on a dedication
from the guild at the base of a statue of Eumachia (in
the guise of the Empress Livia) and by the presence of
urine basins (used for bleaching fabrics).
• Eumachia is known to have paid for the crypta,
chalcidicum, and porticus.
• She uses expensive materials, imperial decoration,
and probably non-local craftsmen.
• All of these factors denote her wealth and importance,
especially as a woman living in a time when women
could not own businesses or even possess their own
money.
Opus Sectile (+ where to find
an example)
• Opus sectile is a term used to describe a technique in
Roman concrete construction which involves the use
of cut marble laid out in patterns and set in a bed of
concrete.
• Opus sectile is generally found on floors.
• An example in Pompeii can be found on the floor of
the Capitolium, where cut marble was laid out in a
diamond shaped pattern.
Ima Cavea
(+ who would be there)
• The Ima Cavea is the lowest section of a Roman
theatre, located behind the orchestra and in front of
the Media Cavea.
• This section of seating would have been reserved for
the wealthiest and most politically influential
members of society as they viewed plays, mime
performances, musical performances, and even
gladiatorial fights.
• The Ima Cavea was generally accessed by a
separate entrance.
• Each of Pompeii’s 3 major theatres (the Large
Theatre, the Odeon, and the Amphitheatre) had an
Ima Cavea.
Opus Quasi Reticulatum
• Concrete structures were often faced in opus quasi
reticulatum, common to the time around 80 B.C. and
featuring concrete walls with roughly squared stones
placed in a somewhat diamond-like pattern.
• This style replaces the earlier opus incertum and
precedes opus reticulatum, which entirely regularizes
the diamond-mesh pattern of the stonework.
• The Odeon at Pompeii was constructed in opus quasi
reticulatum.
Impluvium and Compluvium
• The impluvium was a shallow pool located in the
middle of the atrium of a Roman house. It was
designed to catch rainwater which could be used for
household functions such as basic cleaning.
• Corresponding to this was the Compluvium, a hole in
the roof which allowed rainwater, air, and light to
enter the atrium, serving as the primary light source
for the front portion of the house. The roof sloped in
towards this compluvium.
• Together, the impluvium and compluvium, along with
the opening in the roof above the peristyle, formed a
Roman air-conditioning system.
Patron-Client Relationship +
Salutatio
• A wealthy man (usually one seeking political office)
would agree to be a patron giving large sums of
money to clients who needed such funds, generally in
exchange for votes. The clients in-turn could become
lower level patrons on their own, using their patron’s
money.
• Clients frequently included poets, writers, artists, and
the like who were well educated and influential, but
lacking in funds.
• One major responsibility for a client was to visit his
patron at his home, in the tablinum, each morning, a
visit called a salutatio. During the visit, the client
would wish his patron well and ask if there was
anything he could do for his patron.
Opus Signinum
• A masonry technique used for the floors of Roman
houses.
• This technique utilizes mortar with fragments of
terracotta amphorae (large, two-handled wine/oil
jugs) mixed in.
• Sometimes, these floors would be painted as well,
most often either red or white.
• This is the most common flooring technique seen in
Pompeii, and it is known to have been significantly
less expensive than techniques such as opus sectile,
which used expensive marbles, or mosaic, which
involved especially skilled artisans.
House of the Faun
• The House of the Faun was the largest home in Pompeii,
at 3,000 sq. meters, occupying an entire city block.
• The house is named for the statue of a dancing faun
which was found in the impluvium in the larger of the two
atria.
• The house has two atria, two peristyles, at least five
rooms which could have been used as dining rooms and
had four shops across the front. This was probably a
fusion of two earlier homes.
• The decoration is largely in the first style, denoting the
classy simplicity of the home’s owners who desired to
keep the home decorated in an older style, even after the
earthquake of 62. The floors are done in opus sectile.
• The house also had its own bathing complex and is
especially well known for the quality of its mosaics, most
notably that of Alexander the Great at the Battle of Issus.
Viridarium
• A smaller version of a peristyle. A very small garden
on the interior of the house, though with an open roof.
• Comes from the Latin word “viridis,” which means
green.
• Sometimes referred to as a pleasure garden.
• Often only small in comparison with the peristyle of a
house.
• The best examples of viridaria can be found at the
House of the Vettii and the House of Loreius
Tiburtinus.
Triclinium (+ furnishings)
• The dining room of a Roman house. Many Roman
houses would have more than one, often seasonal
(related to whether sunlight would or would not enter
the door at mealtimes).
• Furnishings consisted of three couches with a fairly
low table in the middle. In order to accommodate
these couches, the door was almost always offcenter, making the room easy for archaeologists to
identify. The Romans reclined while dining, three
people to a couch.
• The triclinium was often the best decorated room of a
Roman house as the Romans took a great deal of
pride in their dinner parties. Floors were almost
always done in mosaics (sometimes depicting fallen
table scraps), and the wall paintings often depicted
literary themes designed to show the intelligence and
taste of the homeowner.
Rome
Romulus and Remus
• Legendary founders of the city of Rome, descendants
of Aeneas, a Trojan who escapes the ruin of Troy at
the end of the Trojan War.
• Romulus and Remus were supposed to have been
killed by Amulius (who was trying to usurp their
eventual throne), but the slave who was supposed to
drown them in the river rather left them on the bank,
to be raised by a she-wolf.
• Romulus kills Remus upon the foundation of the city.
Although the brothers try to determine who will name
the city by augury, a fight still ensues, and Remus
dies.
• Romulus names the city and serves as the first king,
from 753 until 715 B.C.
Roman Monarchy (+ number
of kings and duration)
• The Roman Monarchy lasts from 753 B.C. until 509
B.C., when Lucius Junius Brutus kills Lucius
Tarquinius Superbus, last of Rome’s kings, and
Rome becomes a Republic.
• During the 244-year span of the Roman monarchy,
there are a total of 7 kings, each of whom would have
to have reigned for an average of 35 years each,
which would have been unlikely at this time, when life
expectancy was closer to 40 – 45.
• The 7 kings, in order, were: 1) Romulus; 2) Numa
Pompilius; 3) Tullus Hostilius; 4) Ancus Marcius; 5)
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus; 6) Servius Tullius; 7)
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.
Palatine Hill
• One of Rome’s 7 hills, located near the city center.
• The Palatine was the hill chosen by Romulus as an
observation station for birds as he and Remus (who
chose the Aventine) tried to resolve the matter of
whose name the city should bear.
• The Palatine is later home to the wealthiest of
Rome’s citizens, including the Emperor Augustus,
who also builds a Temple of Apollo on the site.
• The Palatine Hill overlooks the Circus Maximus
Rape of the Sabine Women
• Romulus’ plan to ensure that the city of Rome would
have a second generation. Because the earliest
residents were all men, there was no possibility for
offspring.
• Romulus invites Rome’s Sabine neighbors, who were
known for their adherence to religious observance, to
attend a festival in the newly founded city and to
bring their wives and daughters.
• At a given signal, each man picked up a woman and
ran home to begin production of Rome’s next
generation.
• A war follows this event, which is ultimately ended by
the intercession of the Sabine women themselves.
Lucius Junius Brutus
• Lucius Junius Brutus was the man who overthrew
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the last of Rome’s 7
kings, in 509 B.C.
• This changes the Roman form of government from a
monarchy to a republic.
• During the time period of the Republic, Rome is
governed by 2 men called consuls, who provide a
check against one another and are elected yearly.
There are also a number of lower magistrates.
• Lucius Junius Brutus is one of Rome’s first consuls.
Mussolini and Roman
Archaeology
• Archaeology in Rome owes a great deal to former
fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who used the
monuments of the Roman Empire as symbols of
national pride during World War II.
• Mussolini in many ways saw himself as an emperor
attempting to recreate the Roman Empire of old.
• The result of this propaganda machine was the
excavation of numerous sites, including the Forum of
Julius Caesar, the Forum of Augustus, and others.
The Popes and Roman
Archaeology
• Archaeology in Rome has been threatened in the
past by the various Popes.
• Most Roman buildings were constructed of quality
stone and lavishly decorated with marble. Much of
this stone and marble finds its way into St. Peter’s or
other churches throughout Rome.
• Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, with permission from
his uncle, Pope Paul III, utilized 4,000 men in a single
day to rob the Colosseum of its stone.
• This stone was used in the construction of the
Palazzo Venezia, St. Peter’s, and the Church of St.
John Lateran.
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus
(+ monument built)
• Lucius Tarquinius Priscus was Rome’s 5th king, from
616 – 589 B.C.
• He is most well known for his early construction of
the Circus Maximus.
• The site is originally marked out by Romulus at or
around the time of the Rape of the Sabine Women,
but the first permanent structures are put in place by
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus in roughly 600 B.C.
• The structure becomes considerably more grandiose
as time goes on with additions being made by most
politically influential people in Rome (i.e. consuls,
emperors, etc.)
Carceres and Herms
• Carceres were the starting gates in a Roman circus.
These were generally made of metal and opened by
means of a pulley system (usually involving the use
of animal sinews)
• The Romans insisted that the gates be opened
simultaneously to enforce fairness at the races.
• The herms were small pillars with statuary heads on
top which were placed between each of the gates.
The herms served to cover up the pulley mechanism
which was used to operate the gates.
• “Carcer” in Latin can also mean prison.
Augustus and
The Circus Obelisk
• Augustus brings this and another obelisk to Rome
after defeating Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of
Actium in 31 B.C.
• Christian writers like Tertullian associate obelisks
with the worship of the Sun or, more likely, of Apollo.
• Augustus derives several benefits from setting up the
obelisk in the Circus Maximus:
1)he decorates the barrier of the circus
2)he displays spoils from a recent victory
3)he honors his patron divinity
4)he honors a god who participates in the same
event hosted in the circus.
Pulvinar (+ implications of
Augustus’ presence there)
• A pulvinar was the imperial box. Augustus notes in
his Res Gestae that he built the imperial box at the
Circus Maximus.
• There was probably already a structure called a
pulvinar before Augustus since the term can simply
refer to something above ground level and is also
related to the term pulvinarium, which can be defined
as a couch on which images of the gods were placed.
• It would also have been a daring maneuver for
Augustus to sit in a structure which had a name
resembling that for a resting place for a god’s image
in that he characteristically did not allow himself to be
considered a god within his own lifetime.
Eggs and Dolphins
(+ cosmic associations)
• The ova and delphini, “eggs” and “dolphins” adorn the
euripus primarily to serve as a means for counting the
seven laps of a race. Each circus had both sets of
ornaments, one on each end of the euripus.
• These features were able to be turned up or down to
symbolize the completion of a lap. According to some
accounts, the dolphins were actually fountains which
poured water into the euripus.
• Cassiodorus tells us that the eggs are present because
they give birth to the next lap and that the dolphins
relate to the water in the central barrier.
• Tertullian suggests that the dolphins spout in honor of
Neptune and that the eggs are sacred to Castor and
Pollux, who were born from an egg.
Exercises
(Maps/Diagrams to be Used)
Exercise 1
**Be able to
answer
questions
about the
relative ages of
the items in
this diagram.
Exercise 2
**Be able to identify: 1) carceres; 2) spina/euripus; 3) metae;
4) obelisk; 5) cunei/gradus; 6) pulvinar
Exercise 2 (continued)
**Be able to identify: 1) orchestra; 2) ima cavea; 3) media cavea;
4) summa cavea; 5) proscenium; 6) scaenae frons; 7) tribunalia;
8) parodoi
Exercise 3
**Be able to identify these
decorative/construction
techniques.
Exercise 4
**Be able to identify the locations of: 1) Great Pyramid of
Giza; 2) Hanging Gardens of Babylon; 3) Temple of
Artemis at Ephesus; 4) Statue of Zeus at Olympia;
5) Mausoleum of Halicarnassus; 6) Colossus of Rhodes;
7) Pharos of Alexandria
Exercise 4 (continued)
**Be able
to identify
each of the
7 Hills on a
blank
version of
this
diagram.
The 7 Hills:
1) Palatine
2) Aventine
3) Capitoline
4) Quirinal
5) Esquiline
6) Viminal
7) Caelian
Essay
Essay Question
• The essay question will center around the impact of
the following on archaeological excavations and
research in the ancient world:
a) Literary Evidence
b) Natural Processes
c) Politics and Propaganda
d) Christianity
e) Advances in Science
f) Post-ancient treatment of structures
• Be prepared to cite specific examples for each of the
above.
Study Hard,
and Good Luck!