PICUS XXXVII 2017

PICUS

Studi e ricerche sulle Marche nell’antichità

 

ISSN 0394-3968


 

PICUS XXXVII – 2017

Anno Edizione: 2017

Saggi e articoli

L. Brecciaroli Taborelli, Ceramica a vernice nera decorata nell’officina di Jesi – Aesis. Ceramisti migranti nell’Adriatico ellenistico-romano, p. 9-75
This study centres on the analysis of a group of black glaze vase fragments with overpainted and/or incised decoration produced during the first half of the 2nd century B.C. in the workshop at Jesi-Aesis. This workshop was set-up in about the mid 3rd century B.C. in order to provide for the needs of the colonists who, following the Roman conquest of the ager Gallicus (284/3 B.C.), were settling in the territory. Within the local black glaze ware production, which from the earliest phases presented Etruscan-Latial characteristics, the group of fragments examined here appears as an extraneous presence, bringer of a Hellenistic tradition. It introduced innovative elements, such as some vessel forms and, above all, a particular decorative technique. These new elements, together with the episodic nature of its production, apparently limited to few years or a little longer, suggested the undertaking of an in depth analysis of this ceramic group, with the aim of gaining a more precise understanding of its characteristics and identifying its most likely models of reference. The majority of the fragments under examination were found in two “sealed” contexts close to each other: the fill of a demolished kiln that was not rebuilt (F2/US6) and that of a small cavity (E94/US56). Both contexts were in a sector of the workshop that was active between the late 3rd and about the mid 2nd centuries B.C. The decorated fragments belong to just over 60 vases that were discarded, because of firing defects or other accidents, and then put to one side and finally recycled. Almost all the fragments relate to just one form, the bowl without a real foot Morel 2150, borrowed in the West from the Hellenistic East from the late 3rd century B.C. onwards. It seems to have been produced with a range of profiles and proportions with two main types: “type 1”, deep bowl with incised lines half way up the inner wall; “type 2a-b”, shallower bowl, with smooth walls, with or without a groove below the rim on the interior. The decoration is positioned on the upper part of the inner wall, but on some fragments, it also extends to the lower part. The main decorative motif (bordered by painted lines and dots) is incised, often with the addition of painted details (leaves, fruit, dots) made using diluted clay coloured white and light red with pink and orange tones. The repertory of motifs is quite varied but the ivy tendril, which is the commonest on overpainted Hellenistic ceramics, both in the “Gnathian” style and the “West Slope” style, is predominant. Diversely, other vegetal motifs, particularly the ear of wheat, and other geometric patterns seem to be typical of the “West Slope” ceramics. Moreover, the particular rendering of the vegetal tendril and the constant use of incised technique are typical of the latter style. The thinness of the walls, the bowl profile and, above all, the typical grooves present on the type 1 bowls have made it possible to identify the most likely typological model on which they were based; bowls, sometimes with summarily rendered decoration, produced in southern Apulia and at Herakleia in Lucania between the late 3rd and the 2nd centuries B.C. The type 2a-b bowls can be generically referred to examples from these regions and others on the eastern coast of the Ionian Sea, types that do not present the toreutic taste that distinguishes type 1. To conclude, the bowls produced in the workshop at Jesi-Aesis appear to re-propose various morphological and decorative models that refer to diverse craft-working traditions, both in the “Gnathian” area and the “West Slope” area. Therefore, it seems unlikely that such an innovation was due to the initiative of local potters who worked following a traditional repertoire. Rather, it is more likely that the new elements were the work of potters who came from elsewhere, bringing with them the particular knowledge and technical experience that was indispensible for the creation of this type of pottery. It is impossible to judge the ability of the immigrant artisans and the quality of the artefacts they produced from the material documenting this event. However, the typological variety, range of decorative motifs used, and the different way of making the vases suggest not only a certain diversity among the immigrant artisans, but also a difference in professional level both between the latter and between the local assistants and apprentices. The event documented in the pottery workshop at Aesis belongs to a historical phase (late 3rd-first half of the 2nd century B.C.) that was particularly complex and traumatic for many regions in the Adriatic-Ionian basin. Firstly, the end of the Second Punic War, and then the fall of the Macedonian kingdom, had heavy political, economic, and social repercussions for the populations of south-eastern Italy and north-western Greece. These military events led to a diaspora among which there must have been artisans. They were a privileged category of refugees, as their personal patrimony consisted of particular technical knowledge. It may be presumed that one of their chosen destinations was the northern part of Adriatic Italy, where the consolidation and increase in the colonial presence of Rome offered stability, new opportunities and prospects for the development of one’s own activity. The episodic nature of this ceramic production, which continued for no more than a few years and was apparently without a market beyond the local one, is of particular interest. This suggests its success was modest. However, we must consider that the population of possible buyers was almost exclusively constituted by old and new central Italian colonists, who, by culture and economic activities leaned towards traditional consumption, and therefore were not very inclined towards using “exotic” vases. Further, considering that it was only from the second half of the 2nd century B.C. onwards that the territory of what is now the Marches region began to accept the various manifestations of Hellenistic culture, thanks to Roman mediation, it could be suggested that not only did our immigrant potters arrive “out of place” but also “out of time” for imposing pottery of Hellenistic taste on a cultural and social context that was not ready to accept and appreciate such a novelty. Adriatic (sea), Black Glaze Ware, Overpainted Ware, Migrant Potters, Jesi Workshop, Hellenistic-Roman (period).

M. Mayer I Olivé, Observaciones sobre C.I.L. IX 5771 y el significado de PELLICI en su texto, p. 77-86
The object of this paper is to try to specify the value of pellici in the metric text of C.I.L. IX 5771. There are examined the possibilities of interpretation that could avoid approach of the term to the pejorative value of paelex. Epigraphy, Ricina, Roman History, Funerary Epigraphy, Carmina Latina Epigraphica.

G. Paci, I destinatari degli alimenta traianei, p. 87-97
In the documents illustrating the Trajan’s alimenta, the mention of Italy and the implementation of the program suggest that the recipients are the poor children of all citizens, without distinction of status or class. Trajan, alimenta, Beneficiaries of subsidies.

 

Note e relazioni

M. Bilò – M. Mariani, L’insediamento rurale di età romana nel territorio di Numana antica. Nuove acquisizioni dagli scavi in località Montefreddo – Sirolo (AN), p. 101-131
This article represents a preliminary synthesis of a bigger investigation that is still being carried out aiming to study the evolution of the agricultural landscape of the roman city of Numana. The aim is to catch the deep transformations of the territory in the roman era and in the transition to late antiquity and early middle age eras. The study requires a revision of the printed material; it draws information from archive data and also recent investigations on emergency archaeology interventions carried out in suburban contexts in the well known Montefreddo area – Sirolo An -. Numana, Montefreddo, Rustic Settlement, Centuriation.

S. Finocchi – F. Melia – S. Simonetti, Un sepolcreto piceno a Fontenoce di Recanati: notizie preliminari, p. 133-158
This article aims to present a basic summary of new archaeological findings in Fontenoce, in the area around Recanati. In the spring of 2016 preliminary digs conducted during the installation of a new roundabout brought to light numerous archaeological features. Among these, the elements attributable to the Picene era play an unequivocally important role. Archaeologists identified and stratigraphically analyzed a ring of funerary sites, built to protect an underground tomb. The discovery also suggests the presence, further confirmed by aerial photographs, of other archaeological features, which are comparable in size and can likewise be interpreted as funerary sites belonging to the same Picene community. The findings are indisputably valuable under multiple aspects: topographically, for the presence of a circular burial mound in an area where such phenomena of monumental commemoration had not previously been thought to exist; materially, for the types of personal effects buried along with the dead, which make the tomb closely reminiscent of those at Matelica, Pitino di San Severino, and Fabriano; and demographically, for its attribution to a community led by an aristocratic warrior class. Such elements open up important new horizons for our understanding of funerary practices in the Picene community at the end of the Orientalizing period and the beginning of the Archaic period. Picenum, Necropolis, Recanati, Funerary Kit, Orientalizing.

G. Gori, Il sepolcreto romano di Ponterotto (Fossombrone), p. 159-189
Of great interest was the recovery and study of Domenico Passionei’s epigraphic collection which the Cardinal’s nephew, Benedetto Passionei, set up around 1760 and which he kept in the family building at Fossombrone. The collection includes about 190 inscriptions, largely urban. Besides allowing us to examine all the new inscriptions from Forum Sempronii and the nearby territory, the PRIN project “Coloniae and Municipia of Roman Italy in the Digital Era”, provided the opportunity to recover the epigraphic material from Casa Passionei, which had been stored in one of the warehouses belonging to the Episcopal Seminary of Fossombrone. This allowed the recording of every inscription by means of modern methodologies (EDR) and the updating of both CIL and later publications, which assumed that the collection was lost. Collecting, Epigraphy, Eighteenth Century, Antiquities, Electronic Archive.

S. M. Marengo, I falsi epigrafici dell’Umbria adriatica (regio VI – C.I.L. XI) – Relazione preliminare, p. 191-219
The paper focuses the state of knowledge about the fake of the vi regio (Adriatic side) from the chapter of falsae et alienae curated by E. Bormann in C.I.L. XI . In the collections of Passionei Museums (Fossombrone) and Baviera (Senigallia) and in Lapidary Archaeological Museum of the Urbino Ducal Palace there are fakes and copies of which are given the list. Finally it is confirmed the urban origin of c.i.l. XI 728 *, 1, now in Fabriano. Fake, regio vi, Collections of Fossombrone, Senigallia, Urbino.

S. Menchelli – E. Iacopini, I territori di Firmum e Novana: analisi comparative sulle ricerche in corso, p. 221-243
We are presenting a concise comparative analysis of the results of the research which is being conducted by the University of Pisa in the valleys of the Tenna, Ete Vivo and Aso rivers, in the territories of Firmum and Novana, located in the present-day Comunanza. The data highlight the different ways in which the process of “Romanization” was carried out in these territories, and how the results of “Roman” interventions made with respect for, and the development of, local resources are still stratified in current landscapes. Picenian landscapes, Romanization, Firmum, Novana.

 

Schede e notizie
M. Ambrosi – I. Venanzoni, Nota preliminare sul ritrovamento di un tratto di un condotto romano a Cupramontana (AN), p. 247-257

Recensioni
R. Cordella – N. Criniti, Parole su pietre (L. Sensi), p. 261-264
I fratelli De Minicis. Atti del Convegno (S. Antolini), p. 265-270

Spoglio dei periodici
Facta. A Journal of Roman Material Culture Studies (S. M. Marengo), p. 271

Schede per località
Montottone (AP) (M. Pasqualini), p. 273-279
Moresco (FM) (C. Di Cintio), p. 281-286
Morro d’Alba (AN) (I. Venanzoni), p. 287-292
Morrovalle (MC) (C. Di Cintio), p. 293-306
Nota redazionale, p. 307-308

Segnalazioni
a cura di F. Cancrini – G. Paci – M. Pasqualini, p. 309-320

 

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