Alessandro Sebastiani, Elena Chirico, Matteo Colombini & Mario Cygielman. Diana Umbronensis a Scoglietto: santuario, territorio e cultura materiale (200 a.C.-550 d.C.).

Edlund-Berry, Ingrid

Alessandro Sebastiani, Elena Chirico, Matteo Colombini & Mario Cygielman. Diana Umbronensis a Scoglietto: santuario, territorio e cultura materiale (200 a.C.-550 d.C.) (Roman Archaeology 3). 2015. x+396 pages, numerous b&w illustrations, tables. Oxford: Archaeopress; 978-1-78491-052-5 paperback 50 [pounds sterling].

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This monograph presents the results of excavations between 2009 and 2011 at a Roman-period sanctuary at Scoglietto, on the coast of Tuscany, Italy. The text is composed of brief chapters that provide easy access for readers with specific interests. The first three chapters focus on the surrounding landscape, a summary of previous excavations and a discussion of the role of Diana in Roman religion. Next, there are five chapters on the chronology of the site--from the second century BC through to the present--followed by twelve chapters on the finds, five on regionally related topics and an overall conclusion. Each chapter, except for the last, starts with an English abstract, followed by text with various charts, photographs, drawings and maps as appropriate, and a bibliography.

Due to the changing coast line of the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Scoglietto promontory is today surrounded by land but, in antiquity, was located by the sea. The earliest evidence of human presence comes from a cave first used during the Bronze Age, with activity through to late antiquity. As the land rose, and the sea retreated, the surrounding area became inhabited during the Etruscan and Roman periods, and a manufacturing district for the production of glass and metals was developed at Spolverino on the bank of the Ombrone River during the first century AD. Initially, the Etruscan territory came firmly under Roman control with the construction of the Via Aurelia--the coastal road to Rome. Although there is no ancient record of a sanctuary at Scoglietto, the topography of the promontory is suggestive, and the presence of such a site was confirmed by the discovery of a marble inscription in 2003. The text is a dedication to Diana Umbronensis, dated by Cygielman to the end of the first century BC/first century AD (pp. 340-41).

Excavations at Scoglietto have revealed two sanctuaries, one dated to the second-first century BC (period I) and the other to the subsequent imperial period. The first sanctuary ('Sacellum Dianae') consisted of a small rectangular structure in antis, oriented north-south, and enclosed by a temenos; it is dated by the presence of Campana A pottery. The cult may have originated with the Etruscan deity Artumes (discussed by Vanni, pp. 33-36).

In periods II-III (the end of the first century BC to the end of the second century AD), the existing structure was incorporated into a much larger sanctuary complex, oriented north-east to south-west, consisting of several rooms and a cistern. A new temenos was constructed, although it excluded the original temple; finds suggest that the latter now served as a treasury (thesauros) for the sanctuary. In period IV (the end of the second century to the middle of the fourth century AD), a monumental temple was built, again oriented north-east to south-west, with the entrance on the north-east side. It was built on a tall podium of opus caementicium (concrete), with two columns in antis; the plan suggests that the back wall included an apse. The presence of podium mouldings and marble revetment plaques provides evidence for the decoration of the temple.

The sanctuary was destroyed in the late fourth century AD, probably as the result of the ban on pagan cults, and the area was used for domestic habitation and as a cemetery (periods V-VII). By the mid-sixth century AD, the site was destroyed by a fire and never rebuilt, with only sporadic finds of later date (period VIII, end of the sixth century AD to the present).

The finds are discussed by category, ranging from pottery and lamps to coins, small finds and marble objects. The advantage of this format is that each type of object is presented and classified uniformly. The drawback, however, is that even when the findspots of the objects are indicated in the text or the catalogue entries, it is not easy to correlate the finds with their contexts, or to visualise the overall assemblage from any given stratigraphic unit or area.

The cults of the sanctuary are discussed in separate chapters, by Chirico (on Diana and Roman religion), and by Cygielman (on the marble inscription and on the cult of Isis). The votive objects include coins, lamps and a bronze statuette of a dog. Two marble statuettes, both of Carrara marble and dated to the second century AD, are of particular interest. The first is identified as a standing Diana, wearing a short chiton (tunic) and leaning against a tree trunk. The second statuette, also a standing figure but draped in a long garment, stands on a small rectangular base; on the basis of the style and folds of the garment, she has been identified by Cygielman as Isis, thus suggesting a dual cult at the sanctuary of Scoglietto.

The five chapters following the finds catalogues include overviews of the history of the nearby town of Rusellae and the surrounding area (two chapters), a discussion of the treatise of Rutilius Namatianus (De Reditu), Cygielman's chapter on Diana and Isis (above), and a contribution on the sanctuary at Talamone, an important and often ignored site located a few kilometres to the south.

The conclusions summarise the importance of Scoglietto as an example of a rural Roman sanctuary strategically located both by the sea and the Ombrone River. The construction, use and abandonment of the sanctuary are closely related to Roman activity in the area, mirroring wider historical events. The results of the excavation are presented clearly and accessibly, although there is a lack of cross-referencing between chapters and, as noted above, it is not easy to correlate finds with findspots. Perhaps to avoid duplication, some images in earlier reports are not included in this volume, see Cygielman et al. (2011) and Sebastiani et al. (2013). Thanks to the project described in this volume, the estuary of the Ombrone River and the area around Alberese, south of Grosseto in the Maremma, have found a place on the archaeological map.

doi: 10.15184/aqy.2015.200

References

CYGIELMAN, M., E. Chirico, M. Colombini & A. SEBASTIANI. 2011. Dinamiche insediative nel territorio della foce dell'Ombrone. Nuovi dad dagli scavi presso l'area templare dello Scoglietto (Alberese--GR). Notiziario della Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Toscana 5: 35-92.

SEBASTIANI, A., E. CHIRICO & M. COLOMBINI. 2013. Dinamiche insediative di eta romana nel territorio della foce dell'Ombrone: l'area dei templi di Scoglietto (Alberese--GR). Relazione alla campagna di scavo 2010. FOLD&R Italy 2013: 27. Available at: www.fastionline.org/docs/FOLDER-it-2013-276.pdf (accessed 12 November 2015).

Ingrid Edlund-Berry

Department of Classics, The University of Texas at Austin, USA

(Email: iemeb@austin.utexas.edu)