Newsletter of the Friends of Morgantina

Transcription

1 Issue 3 American Excavations at Morgantina UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA DUKE UNIVERSITY Newsletter of the Friends of Morgantina November 2014 News from Central Sicily In addition to the recent excavations described in the following reports, there have been several noteworthy developments at Morgantina. The new director of the Museo Regionale di Aidone is Laura Maniscalco, an experienced classical archaeologist who with her husband Brian E. McConnell has excavated at the sanctuary of the Palikoi near Palagonia, producing an exemplary publication. We are happy to welcome Dr. Maniscalco to Morgantina, where she will also direct the Parco Archeologico once the park s statute is approved. Dr. Maniscalco has presided over recent conferences at the museum on the uses of water in ancient sites (July) and on the Morgantina silver treasure (October). She succeeds Arch. Enrico Caruso, who was transferred to the ancient site of Iaitas (Monte Iato); we are grateful to Arch. Caruso for his many efforts on behalf of Morgantina and wish him well in his new position. In June the town council of Aidone at long last transferred ownership of the Torres Truppia elementary school to the Sicilian region, so that this sturdy building across from the Museum can now be used to house new excavation storerooms and, we hope, a well-equipped conservation lab.* The terribly over-crowded existing storerooms are for the most part difficult of access, poorly illuminated, and lack even rudimentary climate control. The school finally offers the hope of proper storage for the sherd boxes and large objects of stone and terracotta, from * In the 1980 s the elementary school was used as lodging for staff and volunteers, who will remember the cold courtyard showers and the excellent kitchen, presided over by the irrepressible Carolina Doria. altars to amphorae: the results of 60 years of excavation. In February, 2013, the FoM provided the means for Erik Thorkildsen to survey the contents of existing storerooms and prepare a detailed plan for the move into the school, which will mark the start of a new era at Morgantina. We hope to contribute to the proper furnishing of the new spaces: this is an immediate challenge. As for the work of the American Excavations at Morgantina (AEM), we are happpy to report that Prof. Shelley Stone s Morgantina Studies VI, The Hellenistic and Roman Fine Pottery will appear at Princeton this month at the time of writing the book is at the bindery (see following page!). This comprehensive and authoritative account of local and imported black and red gloss table wares, as well as relief and polychrome wares, should make MS VI an essential handbook for classical ceramicists and for scholars working in the central and western Mediterranean. We congratulate Shelley Stone on a magnificent achievement, and we thank Christopher Moss, the Princeton editor, for his good work. As a series Morgantina Studies is back on course. The FoM has continued to contribute to research, conservation, and publication. In addition to funding Erik Thorkildsen s visit to Aidone to survey the storerooms, we were able to cover the recent cost of indexing Morgantina Studies VI. In the spring of 2014, FoM also paid for conservation of the newly recognized hearth-altar of Hestia in the North Stoa (see the report on page 7), and we are prepared to contribute to the cost of a new shelter for this remarkable monument, designed by Erik Thorkildsen (see below). Section looking east at the proposed shelter for room 19 of the North Stoa: the hearth-altar of Hestia in red (inv. et dis. Erik Thorkildsen). 1

2 On several occasions when for lack of funds the authorities could not carry out urgently needed maintenance (e.g., cutting high grass around the North Baths and in the Agora to prevent potentially disastrous brush fires), FoM stepped in. While we are all in agreement that FoM should not pay expenses that are normally borne by the the Museum and Park, it has been important for the director to be able to turn to FoM at moments of real crisis-- as she has also looked to the Archeoclub, the local support group in Aidone. Next year will mark the sixtieth anniversary of American research at Morgantina. The first event commemorating the start of work in August, 1955, will be a session of papers on Morgantina at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America in New Orleans (Saturday morning, January 10, 2015). Later that day the FoM will hold a reception for all the friends, volunteers, and staff members who may be present. The past two years have shown that there is much more to do at Morgantina, both in studying the results of sixty years of excavation and continuing productive fieldwork. The FoM has made a mark, and both the AEM and the Italian authorities are grateful for its support. Visit the website at (maintained by Duke University) and we shall hope to see you in 2015 in New Orleans and if not, at Morgantina. Malcolm Bell, III Warren Dunn Neil MacDougall Directors, Friends of Morgantina Title page of Morgantina Studies VI The First Two Years of the Contrada Agnese Project The Contrada Agnese Project (CAP) is a multi-year excavation and research project sponsored by the American Excavations at Morgantina. It aims to investigate occupation at the far western edge of the ancient city to better understand life on the periphery of Hellenistic and Roman settlement. CAP s successful 2014 season was owed to the hard work and commitment of an exceptional group of thirty-one students and scholars from three countries and more than fifteen universities and institutions. We laid the groundwork for this year s work during the 2013 season, when members of CAP carried out excavations in various parts of the ancient city to test the interpretations produced by the 2012 geophysical survey. Among the most significant results of our 2013 excavations was the confirmation that ancient builders at Morgantina altered the orientation of the original city plan to accommodate the Agnese Ridge, which diagonally intersects the city grid. We see this in the different orientation of stenopos W13 and the adjacent insula. In 2014 we focused on the northeastern lot (no. 1) of the insula W13/14S. In three trenches, we exposed several rooms of a very large, and possibly public, building that stood immediately south of plateia B, across the street from the North Baths. The discovery of large storage vessels (pithoi) within our largest trench suggests the building was used, at least for a time, for storage of foodstuffs or agricultural goods. One of the most significant discoveries was a wall constructed over the top of the third-century BCE building that once occupied lot 1. The wall is well dated by the material recovered from the stratum below, a rich deposit of ceramics, coins, terracotta figurines, and even a human mandible. The deposit provides for the first time clear evidence of renewed activity in the Contrada Agnese during the second century BCE, a period in the city s history that remains relatively obscure. We expect to have a better understanding of the space as our research and excavations continue over the coming years. Please stay tuned! Recording evidence is crucial in modern archaeology, and CAP incorporated new technologies in daily routines in the field. One of the most exciting was a drone called Tina, which gracefully soared overhead and furnished us with daily highresolution digital images of trenches and the surrounding landscape. She also managed some great group shots. Back in Aidone, our Geospatial, Data Curation and Finds Teams integrated thousands of contextual, scientific, material, and visual data points into CAP databases, allowing us to track the progress of research and render the fieldwork in impressively detailed three-dimensional models. The CAP Environmental Team, comprised of specialists trained in the recovery and analysis of ancient flora and fauna, made sure that our investigations were focused on the microscopic as well as monumental. Their contributions will add important data to our picture of daily life at Morgantina and its environs. 2

3 Clockwise from top left: computer generated aerial map of trenches; Roman coin, mint of Rome, c BCE; CAP members updating the geodatabase; human mandible found at trench VI; piloting Tina, the team s drone. 3

4 Some further notes on the 2014 season: Over the July 4 th weekend we shared our research with an audience of more than one hundred, at a conference organized by the Società Italiana di Geologia Ambientale and held at the Museo Archeologico Regionale di Aidone. We were visited by individuals with personal ties to Morgantina, including Josh Chernoff (volunteer in 82, 83) and Carin Bartosch Edström, daughter of the late Prof. Carl Erik Östenberg of the University of Lund, who excavated at Morgantina in the 1960 s. Their visits were a reminder of the many lives that have been touched by the AEM over the past sixty years. Eight volunteers joined us this summer to take part in their first archaeological excavation. No fewer than 24 kilograms of pecorino pepato were consumed during the four-week season. Now that s teamwork! We will share more updates on the results of our work during the Morgantina session at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the AIA/SCS. We hope to see you there. Thanks to the Friends of Morgantina and the Depart-ment of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University for their generous support, which has continued to make our fieldwork and research possible and allows us to continue to provide opportunities and training for a new generation of classical archaeologists. CAP 2014 ROSTER Field Supervisors: Randy Souza (Duquesne), Jared Benton (Old Dominion) Trench Supervisor: Steve Gavel Assistant Supervisors: Elizabeth Wueste (Berkeley), Giuseppe Castellano (UT Austin) Architecture Team: James F. Huemoeller, Giancarlo Filantropi, Data Curation + Finds Team: Leigh Lieberman (Princeton), Annie Truetzel (Princeton), Mali Skotheim (Princeton) Geospatial Team: Ben Gorham (UVA), David Massey (Indiana), Alex DeLand (AerialVector) Environmental Team: Michael MacKinnon (UWinnipeg), Robyn Veal (Cambridge), Cynthia Larbey (Cambridge), Charlene Murphey (UCL), Diane Lister (Cambridge) Conservators: Karen Abend, Aislinn Smalling (UCL) Volunteers: George Barr (UOregon), Auschere Caufield (UOregon), Liam Dearing (VCU), Ryan Franklin (Johns Hopkins), Kyle Govan (UOregon), Luke Hollis (Archimedes Web Solutions), Chris Jelen (UOregon), Jasmine Kim (UOregon), Jennifer Knust (BU), Kat Potts-Dupre Huemoeller (Princeton), Lauren Russo, Savannah Schultz (UOregon), Veronica Shi (Stanford), Andrew Tharler (Bryn Mawr), Leonid Tsvetkov (Artist at-large), Jessica Williams (Harvard) Alex Walthall, University of Texas at Austin The South Baths and West Sanctuary Project This was the second season of a three-year project located in Contrada Agnese that focuses on the complete excavation of the South Baths, a Greek bathing complex dated to the third century BCE, and the adjacent West Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone. Both buildings were discovered and partially excavated in 1971, and were briefly investigated in 2004, 2005, and 2009, with more formal excavation of the South Baths undertaken again in The 2014 excavations were directed by Sandra K. Lucore and Monika Truemper, and the project was generously funded by grants from the Loeb Classical Library Foundation and the Gerda Henkel Foundation. The staff included Henry K. Sharp, field supervisor of the South Baths; Italo Giordano, supervisor of the West Sanctuary; Giancarlo Filantropi, draftsman; Shelley C. Stone, ceramicist; and Karen Abend, conservator. Student volunteer Eleni Gizas (Bryn Mawr College) assisted Karen and served as the project registrar. The excavation team consisted of American, Canadian, German, and Italian student volunteers: Dakota Jackson (Bryn Mawr College), Emma Buckingham (University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill), Timothy Shea (Duke University), Susan Grouchy (University of Western Ontario), Todd Caissie (Rutgers University), Neele Theunert (Freie Universität Berlin), Charlene Hartisch (FUB), Annegret Klünker (FUB), Alica Ioannou (FUB), Thomas Heide (FUB), Marc Lecloux (FUB), Emilia Trovato (University of Catania), Roberta Castronuovo (University of Pisa), and Alessandra Andreocci (University of Rome/La Sapienza). Three local residents of Aidone worked with the team on most days: Filippo Campanella, Bruno Cristiano, and Gaetano Caniolo. Our second season focused first on the complete excavation of the South Baths complex at the intersection of Plateia B and Stenopos W 14. Our aim was to reveal all rooms and features that had not been completely excavated in 2013: a large room in the NE (5), the little known area in the NW (now 12 and 13), the furnace (7) below the level of the secondary cooking oven found in its eastern half last year, and the praefurnium/service area to the W of the furnace (now 11). The second aim was to identify the extent and plan of the West Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone, which lies just S of the South Baths. The South Baths are located across the ancient intersection from the contemporary North Baths. The building is much less well preserved than its northern counterpart, owing to conditions of the natural topography, and especially as a result of both reuse and spoliation in antiquity and intensive agricultural deep plowing in modern times. The deep ruts visible in the opus signinum floor are vivid evidence of why very little survives above foundation level; in fact, the 4

5 most extensive and most significant evidence was uncovered in areas cut in the bedrock below ground level, where the plow could not reach (furnace 7 and service area 11; hypocaust in room 12). These conditions notwithstanding, full excavation of the South Baths yielded extraordinary results. The baths occupy one standard lot of the orthogonal city plan of about x m, and the plan now consists of 14 rooms (numbered, for now, 1-4, 5a, 5b, 6-13). This season s results confirm that the bath building conforms to the standard of Greek public baths in Sicily and south Italy, providing two separate and distinct bathing sections: a cleansing section that includes a tholos with hipbathtubs (6), a small entrance room with bench (4) and a connecting corridor with bench (3); and a luxury bathing section, whose defining features were fully excavated and identified this year. The latter section includes a small entrance room (10) with a ramp-like threshold, entered from a small square in the NE of the building lot; a large distributive room (8); and a large room with a communal heated immersion pool (12), of which only the bottom of the hypocaust channel and a small section of the plastered entrance step survive. Both bathing wings of the complex were served by the large central bottle-shaped furnace (7), which, after removal of the cooking oven (post 211 BCE), yielded conclusive evidence for the much-debated reconstruction of an intricate heating system: eight platforms supported four roughly round built structures, which in turn carried containers for heating water. The praefurnium and service area to the W of the furnace (11) was accessible only from an as yet unidentified space in the W. The bedrock floor was trimmed to descend gradually towards the firing chamber, with several steps from W to E, and it served not only to access and work the large furnace, but also to access and work the semi-circular testudo/hypocaust of the immersion pool, located at the NW corner of the service area. South Baths, furnace 7 E end, detail of two round constructions or supports for water containers While the South Baths share with the North Baths central features such as the double circulation system and the general organization of the bathing program, they also include a series of shops and related rooms, which, however, did not communicate directly with the bathing spaces of the complex: room 1, the area W of the tholos which was probably a storage space for the shops; rooms 2, 5a, 5b, and 13, which was probably subdivided into several smaller rooms. These shops can be identified from their earthen floors and, at least in the case of rooms 5a and 5b, the high number of coins (esp. half coins) found in them. The presence of shops is not typical of the Western Greek public baths, but they are also found in the bath building located adjacent to the agora at Megara Hyblaea. The similarity of the South Baths and North Baths raises again the question why two such buildings were built in proximity to each other at roughly the same time a situation that remains unique in the entire Mediterranean. Perhaps our building was less extensively decorated than the North Baths, although further analysis of particular extant details (e.g. the opus signinum floors) could clarify this. Whether or not the South Baths included rooms with tubular dome and/or vaults remains an open question; however, the extremely poor state of preservation of the building in general could explain the fact that only a few fragments of vaulting tubes were found in excavations, and none in situ. And in the case of room 12, for example, the most innovative and luxurious bathing room in the complex, where one could expect vaulting, the walls are thick enough to have supported a vaulted roof. If each bath had been differentiated, to cater to a different clientele, there is currently no evidence to indicate how precisely the bathers were differentiated, by gender, social status, financial circumstances, or any other criteria. The presence of shops in the South Baths distinguishes this complex from the North Baths, and their entrances on Stenopos 14 West suggest that they might have functioned in relation to the large building located on the opposite side of the street (for more on this building see the report by A. Walthall on the 2014 Contrada Agnese Project in this newsletter). Further exploration of the surroundings may provide additional clues to the specific functions of one or both of the baths. Plan of the South Baths 5

6 Clockwise from top left: West part of South Baths; Conservator Karen Abend; South Baths trench tour; West Sanctuary from West 14th Street; West Sanctuary in plan; South Baths/ Sanctuary group The West Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone is located south of and adjacent to the South Baths. Current evidence indicates that the sanctuary was constructed and functioning before the South Baths were built, although a more precise chronology of the building is one of the aims of this project. Like the South Baths, the West Sanctuary was discovered by Hubert Allen in 1971, when one room (2) was fully excavated, yielding finds (esp. terracotta figurines) that motivated the identification of this building as a sanctuary. Further exploration in 2004/2005 focused on three rooms (2, 5, 6) all of which had been significantly disturbed by clandestine activity, but still produced fragments of a large decorated terracotta altar, which further substantiated the identification of the 6

7 building as a sanctuary. This year s campaign concentrated on the complete excavation of room 6, where undisturbed areas remained, and on identifying the extent and plan of rooms that had not yet been identified by the previous projects. Room 6 yielded a most intriguing result: a dense sequence of several different floor levels, which is currently unparalleled in Hellenistic Morgantina; some of these were combined with structures (bench, platform, altar?) that probably were used for cultic purposes. While one of the lower floor levels included a coin from about BCE (Find 46, VI , Bucket 25; cf. MS II 436), no other evidence was found that securely date the many changes above this floor level, particularly to before or after 211 BCE. Currently, 9 rooms have been securely identified, of which two in the western part include small structures paved with opus signinum in their corners, located at a high level (immediately below topsoil). Cleaning of the western exterior wall revealed that construction continued further west, extending over and beyond the presumed ambitus. The 2015 season will focus on the complete excavation of the newly identified rooms (7, 8, 9) and on further exploration of the as yet unknown southern extension of the sanctuary. The end of the campaign was overshadowed by clandestine intervention in the night before the last day of excavation. The clandestine diggers came with metal detectors and made holes in seven locations, in one case even cutting through the well preserved opus signinum floor of room 4 of the South Baths. In order to prevent further damage, we backfilled parts of the South Baths (esp. furnace 7 and hypocaust channel in room 12) and all unexcavated rooms of the West Sanctuary (1, 4, 7-9). Security was further enhanced in the area of the South Baths and West Sanctuary by the reinstallation of the security lights (funded by FoM). Sandra K. Lucore, AEM Monika Truemper, Freie Universität Berlin. News from the North Stoa With a length of 101 m. the North Stoa is the longest of the three porticoes that bordered the upper Agora. Although the building was called a gymnasium in 1961, we have long doubted that identification, preferring the more neutral designation of stoa or portico. Occupied for three centuries, the North Stoa suffered many changes over time. Research on the building since 2013 has shed new light on its initial design, original purpose, and strange later history. There have been some real surprises. A series of probes this past spring (funded by FoM) confirmed the recent hypothesis that the original plan of the North Stoa was based on the principle of precise bilateral symmetry in plan the ten rooms east of the central room 11 are indeed the mirror image of the ten rooms to the west. This sort of designing seems to have originated ca. 340 BCE at Aigai/Vergina in the royal palace of Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Our building, which replaced an earlier structure on the same site, dates about seventy years later. Among Greek stoas it is certainly one of the most complex examples of mirror-image design, perhaps influenced by a major building on the agora at Syracuse. Like King Philip s palace, the North Stoa was equipped with several banqueting rooms a feature that often accompanies bilaterally symmetrical planning. In reviewing the objects recovered in the stoa excavations between 1955 and 1967, a major rediscovery was a fragmentary inscription with the name Hestia, or as spelled in Greek Sicily, Histia. The inscription was found in 1963 in the area of room 19, where an altar with fine plaster mouldings was also uncovered. For the Greeks Hestia was one of the children of Kronos-- her siblings included Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon. Her name is also the word for hearth, the fixture in the house that was sacred to her. In the Greek city Hestia was worshipped at a common hearth that symbolized the city s very identity and was often found in a public building called a Prytaneion, where magistrates met and dined. North Stoa, third century BCE, Prytaneion in rooms with shading. 7

8 At one time the excavators of Morgantina gave this name to another building in the Agora, known today as the Public Office, although firm evidence for the claim was always lacking. Now, on the basis of the inscription, the hearth-altar, and an adjacent dining room, we believe that the Prytaneion should instead be recognized in rooms of the North Stoa, which are marked on the plan by shading. The dining rooms at either end of the building are shown with the couches on which Greek men reclined while eating and drinking and here discussing city business. The six paired rooms in the stoa probably served as offices for magistrates. This spring the hearth-altar of Hestia was reexcavated and studied for the first time. Unexpectedly, it turned out to belong both to the North Stoa and to its predecessor on the same site, a building of the late fifth century BCE that was constructed not long after the refoundation of Morgantina. The stratigraphy of floor levels in room 19 revealed that the much older hearth-altar was left in place when the North Stoa was built ca. 260 BCE, and that it continued to serve as the common hearth of the city. As documents from other Greek cities specify, the hearth-altar of Hestia could not be moved; it was akinetos, unmovable. So too the hearth of Hestia at Morgantina. Once the importance of this feature had been recognized, we realized that it required immediate, even urgent conservation. This was carried out in May by Raffaella Greca and Mario Arangio of Enna, with support from the FoM. Renewed fieldwork in the North Stoa was conducted this past April and May by Hal Sharp, with the assistance of Filippo Campanella; the drawings were made by Erik Thorkildsen. Funding from Duke University is also most gratefully acknowledged. As for the later history of the North Stoa, the building proved to be quite useful to the Spanish mercenaries who inherited Morgantina after 211 BCE, though not in the ways you might expect. The conversion of the stoa to entirely new uses probably took place after the city suffered major earthquake damage in the second century BCE (this was when the barrel vaults and cupola of the North Baths collapsed, perhaps around 190 BCE). As a major structure on the Agora, the stoa was repaired with many changes, and the formerly public building was now given over to commerce and industry. A particularly dramatic example of the transformation can be seen in the Prytaneion of rooms 19-21, where a new wall was constructed directly over the abandoned remains of the hearth-altar of Hestia, and the adjacent magistrates dining room was converted into a bronze foundry. The new evidence for the stoa s later history helps refine our understanding of the mercenaries use of public space, as it sheds some light on their economic and political attitudes. Malcolm Bell, III University of Virginia and co-director AEM The hearth-altar cut by the Roman wall, before restoration The hearth-altar after restoration, May 2014 ABOUT FoM The Friends of Morgantina came into being in 2010, with the objective of furthering excavation and conservation, carrying out projects in landscape maintenance, supporting publications, and providing support for exhibitions and artifact storage. The Friends of Morgantina is a tax-exempt organization as specified in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Our mailing address is 3270 Horseshoe Bend Road, Charlottesville, VA

9 Volunteer reports Annie Truetzel, Ph.D Candidate (Princeton) I first became involved with CAP in 2013, hoping to deepen my understanding of archaeological fieldwork as part of my development as an ancient historian. I had no idea just how rewarding an experience it would be! I've been encouraged to take on more responsibility than I could have imagined in several exciting areas. Our Finds Team has worked together to develop a streamlined findsprocessing system, so that all project teams can have almost immediate access to information on the objects discovered in the field. This experience has helped me better understand how the activities undertaken by various project teams fit together. But most importantly, I've had the opportunity to join the CAP family. I feel so fortunate to be part of this community, which is not only talented and hardworking but also collaborative, supportive and incredibly fun. Jasmine Akiyama-Kim, Undergraduate senior (UOregon) The first time I heard the name Morgantina was in February, 2013, when Dr. Alex Walthall presented his research at my university. Only five months later, I found myself as a volunteer in the Contrada Agnese trowel in hand, drenched by sun, and speckled with dirt. In the field, I worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the other students who had come from universities across the US, as we excavated the walls of an ancient building. After the workday, Aidone welcomed us with its worn and textured cobblestone streets, bar counters teeming with delicious sweets, and a majestic view of Mt. Etna. My experience working with the Contrada Agnese Project for the past two summers has inspired me to continue my on-site education in Italy with the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. I even had the chance to visit Morgantina this Fall with my fellow Centristi! Chris Jelen, M.A. candidate (UOregon) The American Excavations at Morgantina gave me the opportunity to experience the material culture of the classical world in a new and exciting way. As a graduate student focusing on ancient languages, it can be easy to lose sight of the realia of the ancient world. As a volunteer this summer I had the chance not only to see these objects in person but also to interact with them. It is one thing to experience the classical world through texts, but it is quite another to hold it in your hands. Above all, participating on the Contrada Agnese Project allowed me to be part of a remarkable community of scholars and archaeologists. Having the opportunity to be part of this community has not only encouraged me in my academic pursuits, but it has also lead to many lasting friendships. It is certainly an experience I will never forget. Auschere Caufield excavates a second-century fill in Trench VI.36 Robert Ben Gorham, Ph.D. Candidate (UVa) The CAP 2014 field season marked an exciting and challenging new chapter in our team s excavations. Excavation volunteers teamed up with the Geospatial Team in the computer lab to learn all the best methods for using high-tech data management tools (total stations, UAV drones, and 3D modeling) to transform the way CAP produces our data. Our drone, Tina, was launched on her maiden flight this summer (followed by dozens more) to capture high-resolution aerial images of the excavations as they were underway. Learning to use photogrammetry software has allowed us to employ these images to create detailed 3D models of the trenches themselves, resulting in a daily 3D catalogue of our progress in the field. These exciting steps are only the first in what we hope will be a long list of future innovations and discoveries. CAP Teammembers test out the drone s aerial photography 9