Early Imperial Research Articles

A Cippus from Turris Libisonis: Evidence for the Use of Local Materials in Roman Painting on Stone in Northern Sardinia

The ancient Roman town of Turris Libisonis was located on the northern coast of Sardinia and was known in the past as an important naval port. Located in the Gulf of Asinara, it was a Roman colony from the 1st century BCE and became one of the richest towns on the island. Among the archaeological finds in the area, the cippus exhibited in the Antiquarium Turritano is of great interest for its well-preserved traces of polychromy. The artefact dates back to the early Imperial Age and could have had a funerary or votive function. The artefact was first examined using a portable and non-invasive protocol involving multi-band imaging (MBI), portable X-ray fluorescence (p-XRF), portable FT-IR in external reflectance mode (ER FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy. After this initial examination, a few microfragments were collected and investigated by optical microscopy (OM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in ATR mode (ATR FT-IR) and micro-ATR mode (μATR FT-IR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to improve our knowledge and characterize the materials and to determine their provenience. The results contribute to a better understanding of the provenance of materials and shed light on pigments on stone and their use outside the Italian peninsula and, in particular, Roman Sardinia.

Mantha Zarmakoupi. 2023. Shaping Roman landscape: ecocritical approaches to architecture and wall painting in early Imperial Italy. Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum; 978-1-60606-848-9 hardback $65.

Mantha Zarmakoupi. 2023. Shaping Roman landscape: ecocritical approaches to architecture and wall painting in early Imperial Italy. Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum; 978-1-60606-848-9 hardback $65.

Romans and Greeks in Early Imperial Lydia and Phrygia

Romans and Greeks in Early Imperial Lydia and Phrygia

The Early Imperial Republic: From the American Revolution to the U.S.-Mexican War ed. by Michael A. Blaakman, Emily Conroy-Krutz and Noelani Arista (review)

The Early Imperial Republic: From the American Revolution to the U.S.-Mexican War ed. by Michael A. Blaakman, Emily Conroy-Krutz and Noelani Arista (review)

The Issue of Provisioning Garrisons of Regular Troops in Southern Western Siberia in Correspondence of Military, Mining, and Civil Authorities of the Region in the mid-18th Century

Intensive transformations in the administrative environment in the South Siberian outskirts during the second third of the 18th century led to the emergence of a special kind of communication, namely, intersectoral. The problem of provisions supply delivery for the regular forces in the south of Western Siberia in the regional and local administrative discourse of military-departmental, mining, and civil authorities in the middle of the 18th century is considered in the paper. The author analyzes the office documentation which was one of the key channels for the implementation and reflection of administrative interactions between various verticals of power in the early Imperial period. Intersectoral communication at the regional level was largely open while at the local level there had been attempts to limit it deliberately. It is shown that the development of a renovated model, algorithms for the procurement and food supply for military teams took place during the official correspondence of 1747–1749, when the structures of the three branches of government had significantly different positions. The circumstances of discussing the food supply issue in the power discourse revealed in the article indicate that there were tangible manifestations of competition between civil and departmental authorities in the regional and local administrative system of the middle of the 18th century.

The Julio-Claudian Roman Family and Their Role in Establishing the Foundations of the Early Imperial Age (14–68 AD)

The Julio-Claudian family was credited with solidifying the foundations of the Roman Empire, which was anxious due to the deeply rooted republican thought in the Senate (Senatus), which was looking for opportunities to pounce on the empire and return it to the republican era. However, this family stood against this project by creating the Imperial Guard (Praetorian), especially after the assassination of Julius Caesar inside the Senate with knives by the council members. The decisive word in the power transition process was for the leaders of the Imperial Guard, whose command to maintain their influence and dominance was linked to the emperor’s survival; therefore, they stood against the return of the republic.

Australian Foreign Policy Stability and Instability: Imperial Friendships and Crises from the Great Depression to the Fall of Singapore

Over the past century, crises have enabled the construction of Australian foreign policy orders, or sets of ideas that reduce uncertainty and stabilise interests. However, such ideas have also engendered misplaced certainty and renewed crisis. Developing a constructivist framework, I stress the ways in which ideas can over time impede the use of information and fuel instability and crises. In a staged model, I trace the construction of ties with “great and powerful friends”, their conversion in ways that fuel misplaced certainty, and the construction of crises which advance change. Empirically, I then trace the construction of an early Imperial order, misplaced certainty in UK‐backed austerity and appeasement, and crises in the Great Depression and fall of Singapore.

Astral Science in Early Imperial China: Observation, Sagehood, and the Individual, Written by Daniel Patrick Morgan

Astral Science in Early Imperial China: Observation, Sagehood, and the Individual, Written by Daniel Patrick Morgan

Hin und Her der Blicke, Eidola in der Pupille Augenförmiger Gemmen

The presented group of late Republican to early Imperial intagli consists of round layered stones (sardonyx, cornelian onyx) with a flat reverse side, which are strongly convex on the front side. Their horizontally stacked and differently coloured plies are sanded on the front to form concentric rings around a dark centre. The motif incised in this centre looks like an eidolon in the pupil of a 'fisheye'. Most of these motifs can be interpreted against the background of Augustan love poetry. It is possible that gems of this kind were gifts of love and, due to their striking design as an eye, also had an apotropaic function.

Mints not Mines: a macroscale investigation of Roman silver coinage

Although silver coins have been investigated through the lens of geological provenance to locate argentiferous ore deposits exploited in their production, we consider that this avenue of research may be a cul-de-sac, especially for studies that rely heavily on deciphering lead and silver isotope signatures that may have been altered by the addition of lead and copper (and their associated impurities) during silver refining and debasement, and by ancient recycling of coinage. Instead, we focus our attention on mints, by analysing the compositions of over 1000 silver coins from the early 1st century BC to AD 100. We propose that lead from the west Mediterranean was used exclusively to refine silver at mints in the West, and that an unknown lead supply (possibly from Macedonia), used in the East by the Late Seleucid ruler Philip I Philadelphus and later Mark Antony, was mixed with western lead. Extensive mixing of lead and/or silver coins is particularly evident under Nero and Vespasian, aligning with historically attested periods of recycling following currency reform. We further propose that coins minted in the kingdom of Mauretania used different lead and silver sources from the majority of coins minted in the western Mediterranean, and that silver coins minted at Tyre are derived from silver refined in the west Mediterranean. Coinage minted at Alexandria is consistent with debasement of recycled Roman denarii, thereby suggesting that denarii were deliberately removed from circulation to mint tetradrachms during the early Imperial Roman period.

Making Sense of the Odes


 
 
 Prior to the emergence of the formalized commentarial traditions of the Early Imperial era (221 BCE–220 CE), the Odes seem typically to have been encountered “in motion” or “in use” as quoted speech in early historical and philosophical works. By studying the way the Odes are used in an understudied text—the Guoyu 國語 (Discourses of the states), probably compiled in the late Warring States era (ca. 475–221 BCE)—this article explores how historical speeches and anecdotes were used as an early form of commentary, variously contextualizing, explaining, paraphrasing, glossing, and interpreting the Odes. Before the invention of comprehensive, systematic commentaries associating each poem with a particular historical context and meaning, texts like the Guoyu provided early readers with guides to understanding and using classical texts, and many of their exegetical forms and strategies anticipate the commentarial traditions of the early empires. This article shows that historical speeches were one way in which early Chinese elites were trained in how to read and use the Odes appositely and sensitively, and that we can think of such speeches as a form of commentary.
 
 

Tlos Tiyatro Tapınağı’ndan İki Yeni Yazıt

This article presents the theatre temple of Tlos and two inscriptions carved on the walls of this temple. The temple was built on the central axis of the summa cavea of the Tlos theatre. The façade of the temple faces east. An inscription dated to the 2nd half of the 1st century BC was carved on the west-facing wall of the temple. According to this inscription, Aithon dedicated a golden wreath to Apollo and Demos. Thus, it is understood that the temple belonged to Apollo. The inscription states that Aithon belonged to the astikos demos. For this reason, some interpretations of the inscriptions found in Tlos and containing the names of demoi are included in the paper. All of such inscriptions are dated to the Hellenistic Period. From the Early Imperial Period onwards, demos names are no longer found in the inscriptions. In addition, all of these inscriptions were found in the city centre. Therefore, these demoi indicate a topographical division of citizens in the city settlement plan. The second inscription carved on the southeast wall of the Apollo temple is an astragal inscription. The main function of this inscription is to give a prophecy for those who are going on a journey or travelling. This prophecy inscription consists of 56 stanzas. However, the inscription presented here has not survived as a whole. Only the verses of 25 of these stanzas have survived as fragments. The translation of the 1st inscription is as follows: Aithon, son of Polemon, of the astikos (demos), after becoming gymnasiarkhos and agonothetes, offered this golden wreath as an offering to Apollo and the demos.

THE SUPPRESSION OF THE DRUIDS IN CAESAR'S GALLIC WAR

AbstractAncient testimonia on the Druids are few in number and sparse on details, and they have yielded a broad range of scholarly opinions on the Druids’ function among the Gauls. This article examines the suspiciously limited role played by the Druids in Julius Caesar's Gallic War (= BGall.). Considering the work of both classicists and archaeologists, it argues that, given Caesar's demonstrated propensity for tailoring his portrayals of northern Europeans to fit with his narrative objectives, he deliberately omitted the Druids from nearly all of the Gallic War save for a brief ethnographic digression on the Gauls. This he did in order to downplay the sophistication of the Gauls, and the threat they posed to the Romans, since the Druids were likely a potent source of anti-Roman sentiment during Caesar's time in Gaul, just as they seem to have been in the Early Imperial period.

Elephantine in Context: Studies on the History, Religion and Literature of the Judeans in Persian Period Egypt ed. by Reinhard G. Kratz and Bernd U. Schipper

Reviewed by: Elephantine in Context: Studies on the History, Religion and Literature of the Judeans in Persian Period Egypt ed. by Reinhard G. Kratz and Bernd U. Schipper Craig E. Morrison reinhard g. kratz and bernd u. schipper (eds.) Elephantine in Context: Studies on the History, Religion and Literature of the Judeans in Persian Period Egypt (FAT 155; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022). Pp. xii + 385. Paper €144. The discoveries on Elephantine, a small island just over a kilometer long and four hundred meters wide and strategically located at the first cataract of the Nile, has generated two centuries of scholarly discussion. For the three millennia before the Common Era, Elephantine was a center for trade, as goods were portaged around the cataract. Between the mid-seventh century and the mid-sixth, Judeans arrived and scholars have wondered about the nature of their community. This volume is intended "to consciously break with a research tradition focusing on the Judeans (Jews) mentioned in the epigraphic evidence from Elephantine and instead investigate the military colony in a broader historical context" (p. v). The volume is divided into three sections. The first section, titled "Society and Administration" includes four articles: Gulia Francesca Grassi, "'Do We Know the Arameans?' (SAA 17,176): The Use of Ethnonyms in the Aramaic Documents from Egypt" (pp. 3–34); Holger Gzella, "The Scribal Habit of Achaemenid Administrators, Its Educational Underpinnings, and Its Reception in the Hebrew Bible" (pp. 35–53); Alexander Schütze, "The Legal Context of the Aramaic Legal Tradition on Elephantine Reconsidered" (pp. 55–73); and Sylvie Honigman, "Serving the Kings, Building Temples, and Paying the 'Jewish Tax': Aramaic-Speaking Judeans and Their Descendants in Upper Egypt from Persian to Early Imperial Times" (pp. 75–128). Grassi demonstrates that the ethnonym "Judean" is not synonymous with "Aramean," because the latter does not indicate origin but is a "cultural/linguistic/administrative/military label" (p. 20). She provides an appendix of ethnonyms that appear in the first-millennium Aramaic texts from Egypt to demonstrate the multicultural world of Elephantine. Gzella's article will be of interest to biblical scholars since it traces how Achaemenid Official Aramaic evolved into the local Aramaic in Palestine during the Hasmonean period. Judean scribes wrote their documents in the context of the Achaemenid administrative and literary world. G. employs his extensive knowledge of Aramaic to imagine the education of scribes: "Prudence, loyalty, and efficiency are the values that come to the fore in texts that plausibly formed part of the curriculum" (p. 47), and these learned scribes transmitted theology and religious practice as we see in the figures of Ezra and Daniel. Schütze's contribution presents examples of sale documents and other legal procedures to show how "Aramaic scribes integrated clauses from the Demotic legal tradition in an older Aramaic formulary" (p. 69), creating hybrid documents that were valid because they conformed to Egyptian law. This article successfully broadens our understanding of the world in which these documents were written and advances the purpose of this volume. Sylvie Honigman's article studies the Aramaic documents after Elephantine (third and early second centuries b.c.e.) mostly from Edfu. Judeans from southern Palestine settled there, and during the transition from Persian to Macedonian rule they continued to write and speak Aramaic. This detailed presentation of this evidence makes for fascinating reading about a group of Judeans who lived in this area for 450 years only to be destroyed during the Jewish Revolt of 115–117 c.e. [End Page 367] The second section, titled "Religion," comprises four articles: Alexandra von Lieven, "Spätägyptische Religion in und um Elephantine" (pp. 131–49); Collin Cornell/Brent A. Strawn, "Is Judean Religion at Elephantine a Pidgin? Reassessing Its Relationship to Its Antecedents and Congeners" (pp. 153–82); Bob Becking, "'That Evil Act': A Thick Description of the Crisis around the Demolition of the Temple of Yahô at Elephantine" (pp. 183–207); and Bernd U. Schipper, "The Judeans/Arameans of Elephantine and Their Religion – An Egyptological Perspective" (pp. 209–33). Biblical scholars will be interested in Cornell and Strawn's study of Judean religion. This article follows nicely after Alexandra von Lieven's review of the...

New Evidence about the Polychromy of Early Imperial Cycle from the Augusteum of Rusellae (Tuscany)

This study is concerned with recent analyses of seven marble statues from the imperial cycle of the Augusteum of Rusellae, in the south of Tuscany, Italy. The sculptures represent the deified couple Augustus and Livia, Livilla, Claudius, an anonymous young girl and a headless cuirassed emperor (maybe Domitian). In addition, a fragment of a leg, from another cuirassed statue, was also considered. All of them are preserved in the city of Grosseto, in the Maremma Archaeology and Art Museum. Still preserved traces of polychromy and gilding were investigated both in situ, using non-invasive portable techniques, and in laboratory, taking two micro-samples. The non-invasive approach was based on multi-band imaging techniques (Vis, UVL and VIL) integrated with analyses (XRF, reflectance spectroscopy). A portable optical microscopy was also used for documenting the analysed areas. Two micro-samples from the gilding decoration of the headless cuirassed statue were also analysed using EDS-SEM. Comparing the results from the analytical survey, important information about the use of ochres and Egyptian blue on the cuirassed headless Emperor statue has been highlighted with the presence of gilding in the cuirasses and in the mantle, enriching the knowledge of this important imperial cycle, in addition to contributing to the archaeological point of view.

Reconstructing anthropic coastal landscape of Campi Flegrei volcanic area (Southern Italy) during the Roman period from multi-technique surveys

ABSTRACT Campi Flegrei is one of the widest and most dangerous active volcanic complexes in the Mediterranean basin, known to be affected by continuous and sudden vertical ground movements (bradyseismic crisis) that have characterized the post-calderic volcanic activity since the Late Pleistocene and particularly during the Roman period. Despite the intense volcano-tectonic processes, the area has been densely inhabited since the Greek-Roman as testified by several submerged archaeological remains here used as high-precision relative sea-level markers. By using a complex multi-technique approach made of direct, indirect morpho-acoustic and optical surveys, and stratigraphic analysis, we present a detailed reconstruction of the coastal landscape of Campi Flegrei and its surroundings between the Roman Late Republican and Early Imperial ages. The coastal scenario aims to facilitate the comprehension of how volcano-tectonic events influenced the evolution of this singular coastal landscape, and how these interfered with human activity in terms of damages and adaptation.

:La villa dopo la villa 2: Trasformazione di un sistema insediativo ed economico nell’Italia centrale tra tarda Antichità e Medioevo

:<i>La villa dopo la villa 2: Trasformazione di un sistema insediativo ed economico nell’Italia centrale tra tarda Antichità e Medioevo</i>

:The Archaeology of Roman Macedonia: Urban and Rural Environments

:<i>The Archaeology of Roman Macedonia: Urban and Rural Environments</i>

Egyptian and Oriental Ornaments in the Necropolis of Iulia Traducta (Algeciras, Strait of Gibraltar). Reflections on the Socio-Cultural Influences in the “Circle of the Strait” During the Early Roman Empire

Three small items belonging to different grave goods found in the Roman necropolis of Iulia Traducta (Algeciras, southern Spain) are analysed in this paper. Their clear provenance from Eastern Mediterranean contexts, as well as their characteristics, allow us to make some observations on the influence and continuity of Punic cultural, economic, and social traditions in this city at the start of the Roman Early Imperial period. The survival of certain Punic features in the face of Roman cultural currents has already been observed and reported by other researchers in various locations in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Rural Landscapes of Roman (northern) Liburnia: Diachronic Development of Organisation and the Economy in Extra-Urban Territories in the Light of Recent Archaeological Research

The archaeology of Roman rural landscapes in the province of Dalmatia, and espe¬cially northern Liburnia, has until recently focused on single-site or single-monument analyses, allowing for only geographically patchy and chronologically limited conclu¬sions. Considering the results of recent research in the wider Kvarner and sub-Velebit area, the paper discusses issues of Roman extra-urban territorial organisation, the formation and evolution of settlement and economies on rural estates. Using several case studies, the role of indigenous residents and immigrants in the organisation of the countryside during the early Imperial era is addressed, testifying to a diversified social structure of both landowners and the employed workforce. Later developments in rural settlement are analysed through the prism of newly emergent geopolitical factors emerging in the region from the 3rd century onward. The Christianisation of rural areas and associated novel social practices, and possibly new forms of habita¬tion, are also covered. Finally, the final phases of use of rural sites can now be more cogently discussed thanks to new data from several, mainly insular sites.