Friday Archaeology Blogging
Grab bag o'Roman stuff edition.

A couple of recent developments in the world of Roman archaeology:

Roman settlement found next to 'devil's hill'
By Roger Highfield, Science Editor

Evidence of a Roman sacred site has been discovered at the foot of a man-made hill created thousands of years before the Romans arrived in Britain, it was announced yesterday.

That would be Silbury Hill:


Click to see larger version

It's a massive construction, originally terraced, with a presumably ceremonial walkway to the top. It's surrounded by a sort of moat, bridged by two causeways (the material used to build the hill was originally dug out of the moat). It was probably built in about 2600 B.C., roughly contemporary with some of the early phases of Stonehenge. Various myths and legends have arisen about the hill; according to one tradition, it is the tomb of the legendary King Sil and his golden horse. Another tale, the source of the "Devil's Hill" moniker, relates that the devil was carrying a load of earth to drop on a nearby town. When he was stopped by some priests from Avebury, he dropped the dirt, creating Silbury Hill. Although various theories have been put forward (e.g. an enormous sundial), the truth is that we have no idea whatsoever what that hill was built for, or how it was used in neolithic times.

Returning to the Romans, it's not at all surprising that they would build a religious site there. Contrary to what one might expect, the Romans were extremely open-minded about other religions (they tended to outlaw religions only in cases where there were issues of pubic order), to the point where they made a practice of adopting the worship of "foreign" gods. A prime example of this is the Egyptian goddess Isis, whose cult became very popular in Roman Italy.


The Temple of Isis at Pompeii - click to enlarge

The main question, yet to be answered, about the Roman site at Silbury Hill is to which deity it was devoted. It remains distinctly possible that it was actually a Celtic deity whose worship was promoted at the site.

Anyway, moving along, awhile back I did a Friday Archaeology Blogging on the insignia of Maxentius. There have been further developments:

Scepter from Roman emperor exhibited
Telegraph, 27 February 2007

The scepter, which is topped by a blue orb that represents the earth, was discovered at the end of last year and is believed to have been held by Emperor Maxentius, who ruled for six years until 312AD.


This is the best picture of the scepter that I've been able to find so far.

Hopefully, we'll get a chance to see the rest of the insignia soon.

Friday Archaeology Blogging

As is well known, Roman legions marched into battle behind standard-bearers, who, well, bore standards displaying the battle honours of the particular legion involved.


Roman battle standards

The standards were objects of great pride for the legionary soldiers, as was dramatically shown during Julius Caesar's first invasion of Britain (De Bello Gallico 4.25). Faced with the prospect of having to fight their way ashore through deep water, the soldiers of the 10th Legion hesitated to disembark from their ships, until the legion's standard-bearer leapt overboard by himself, taking the standard with him. Shamed, the soldiers followed him, and forced their way ashore.


A rather fanciful depiction of the above-mentioned event.

On those rare occasions when a legion lost its standards, the result was disgrace, and strenuous efforts were made to recover the lost items. The Emperor Augustus was so proud of his recovery in 19 B.C., through negotiation, of the standards lost by Crassus' 10th Legion at Carrhae in 53 B.C., that he commemorated the event not only coins,


A denarius of Augustus

but also on one of the most famous statues of him ever carved.


The Prima Porta Augustus.


Detail of the breastplate, showing the return of the standards from Carrhae. Click for slightly larger image.

The recovery of the standards lost to Arminius at the Battle of Teutoberger Vald (about which we have written elsewhere), was similarly celebrated.


A coin of Germanicus, from A.D. 16, showing a recovered standard.

So, where are we going with all this? Well, on October 28, A.D. 312, the Emperor Constantine defeated his colleague Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, just outide Rome.


Maxentius.

When it was clear that the battle was going against them, some supporters of Maxentius decided to take steps to keep his insignia, including his standards, from Constantine. The took the items into Rome, and hid them in a sanctuary near the Colosseum, on the Palatine Hill. And it must be said that they did a hell of an effective job hiding them, because they were only found last year.

Emperor Maxentius insignia found in Rome
Mon. Dec. 4 2006 9:07 AM ET
Associated Press

ROME -- Archeologists have unearthed what they say are the only existing imperial insignia belonging to Emperor Maxentius -- precious objects that were buried to preserve them and keep them from enemies when he was defeated by his rival Constantine.

The items have apparently been undergoing restoration for past little while, and should be available for public viewing soon; pictures will be posted as soon as I can find any! While I am often leery of supposedly "dramatic" archaeological discoveries, this, I must say, represents something quite special. While they may not add too much to our knowledge of the Roman Empire, these items are a physical, tangible, legacy of a monumental turning-point in the history of Rome.