With support from the National Science Foundation, a multi-disciplinary international team directed by Dr. Nicola Terrenato will carry out archaeological research at a Tiber River site in downtown Rome around which the ancient city grew. Preliminary drilling has shown that the environment of the Tiber shore was extremely challenging for early Romans, with frequent flooding, silting and land sliding. Given the strategic significance of the harbor though, the inhabitants had to reclaim this area with infill, river walls and resurfacing over a course of two or three centuries in the early first millennium BCE. This was one of the first collective projects that the Romans undertook and it arguably signaled the first emergence of a state structure and of a city government. The excavations will reveal how and when this crucial human impact took place, while at the same time allowing a more precise reconstruction of the original environmental conditions when the city was founded. The site of S. Omobono is also characterized by the presence of a cult structure: a wooden temple whose façade was highly visible by the ships arriving in the harbor. It honored Good Fortune, a key deity for ancient Mediterranean traders. The excavation will explore some of the associated votive deposits, deep pits in which objects dedicated to the goddess were thrown, revealing important aspects of the religious life of the early city and exploring the connection between cult places and early markets. Thus the project will shed light on the interaction of multiple variables - economic, social and political - which contributed to the rise of this early and iconic state.
The deep levels which will be exposed have been submerged in water since their original deposition, a situation that allows the conservation of organic materials, such as wood, leather, fabric and much else, which normally rot away and are lost forever. This rare kind of wet preservation will allow for the recovery of a unique range of artifacts and of other perishable materials (such as fruits or insects), which will significantly improve knowledge of early Mediterranean cultures and environments. New light will be thrown on aspects such as agricultural production, diet, craft activities and trade.
It is well attested from goods found in tombs that merchants from Syria, Cyprus and Greece, among other Mediterranean commercial centers, would regularly visit Rome. Given the proximity to the harbor, evidence of trade is expected to be particularly rich at S. Omobono. Combined with the exceptional wet preservation and the presence of votive pits, the site is highly likely to yield a unique range of imported materials. Their sequence and quantification will definitively test the hypothesis that the formation of early states is accompanied by a sharp increase in long-distance commercial contacts.
