An important question for our understanding of Roman history is how the Empire’s economy was structured, and how long-distance trading within and between its provinces was organised and achieved. Moreover, it is still unclear whether large construction timbers, for use in Italy, came from the widespread temperate forests north of the Alps and were then transported to the sparsely-wooded Mediterranean region in the south. Here, we present dendrochronological results from the archaeological excavation of an expensively decorated portico in the centre of Rome. The oak trees (Quercus sp.), providing twenty-four well-preserved planks in waterlogged ground, had been felled between 40 and 60 CE in the Jura Mountains of north-eastern France. It is most likely that the wood was transported to the Eternal City on the Saône and Rhône rivers and then across the Mediterranean Sea. This rare dendrochronological evidence from the capital of the Roman Empire gives fresh impetus to the ongoing debate on the likelihood of transporting timber over long distances within and between Roman provinces. This study reconstructs the administrative and logistic efforts required to transport high-quality construction timber from central Europe to Rome. It also highlights an advanced network of trade, and emphasises the enormous value of oak wood in Roman times.
Geological models are very useful tools for developing conceptual schemes owing to their capacity to optimize the management of stratigraphic information. This is particularly true in areas where archaeological heritage is exposed to hydrogeological hazards; 3D models can constitute the first step toward the construction of numerical models created to understand processes and plan mitigation actions to improve visitor safety and preserve archaeological heritage. This paper illustrates the results of a 3D hydrostratigraphic model of the site of the Colosseum in the Central Archaeological Area of Rome. In recent years, this area has experienced numerous floods caused by intense meteorological events. A new borehole survey provided the opportunity to update previous maps and cross sections and build a local scale 3D model. The resulting conceptual model was used to identify primary gaps in existing knowledge about the groundwater system and to optimize the planning of a piezometer monitoring network. Further studies can then focus on the development of groundwater numerical models to verify hypotheses regarding inflow-outflow dynamics and facilitate the optimization of water management.
Rossella Rea, Il Colosseo. Destrutturazione e riuso tra IV e VIII secolo, p. 183-195.
La destrutturazione dell'anfiteatro flavio iniziò nella seconda meta del V secolo, per cause naturali, terremoti e antichità delle strutture, cui seguirono le demolizioni teodoriciane nel versante meridionale. Nel Colosseo sono rari i depositi archeologici altomedievali indisturbati, causa la capillare asportazione dei pavimenti in pietra attuata tra l'XI e il XIII secolo. Tuttavia neanche il 10% della superficie del I ordine è stata, finora, esplorata. La rarità di reperti databili tra VI e IX secolo contrasta con la massiccia presenza, a quote crescenti, di tracce di riuso. Terminati gli spettacoli, nel Colosseo prosegue la frequentazione per fini diversi, associati da un comune denominatore : l'attività demolitoria. Il censimento dei vari tipi di tracce e il loro successivo accorpamento entro quote di frequentazione omogenee consente di individuare 9 fasi, comprese tra fine VI e XVIII secolo. Le prime 4 fasi coprono il periodo tra i secoli VI e VIII.
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