Alo?
Posted on 10/08/2007 4:43:40 PM PDT by blam
From Times Online
October 8, 2007
Unearthing Rome's king
Richard Owen
Italian archeologists have uncovered the ruins of a 2,700 year old sanctuary which they say provides the first physical evidence of Rome at the time of Numa Pompilius, Rome’s legendary second king, in the 8th century BC.
Numa Pompilius, a member of the Sabine tribe, was elected at the age of forty to succeed Romulus, the founder of Rome. He reigned from 715-673 BC, and is said by Plutarch to have been a reluctant monarch who ushered in a 40-year period of peace and stability. He was celebrated for his wisdom, personal austerity and piety.
Clementina Panella, the archeologist from Rome’s Sapienza University who is leading the dig, said Numa Pompilius was also known to have established religious practices and observance in the emergent city state, instituting the office of priest or pontifex and founding the cult of the Vestal Virgins. She said the temple or sanctuary her team had uncovered lay between the Palatine and Velian hills, close to the Colosseum, the Arch of Titus and Via Sacra, and had probably been dedicated to the Goddess of Fortune.
The dig began a year ago, with the help of 130 students and volunteers. The wall of the temple was found seven metres below the surface, together with a street and pavement and two wells, one round and one rectangular. Both wells were “full of thousands of votive offerings and cult objects”, including the bones of birds and animals and ceramic bowls and cups.
Dr Panella said there was no doubt that the objects dated from the period of Numa Pompilius. However there were no statues or figures because Numa forbade images of the gods in his temples, arguing that it was “impious to represent things Divine by what is perishable”.
Numa Pompilius is also credited with dividing Rome into administrative districts, and according to Plutarch organised the city’s first occupational guilds, “forming companies of musicians, goldsmiths, carpenters, dyers, shoemakers, skinners, braziers, and potters”.
Corriere della Sera said the unearthing of the temple proved there were still “remarkable discoveries” to be made in the Forum and Palatine Hill areas. Last year Andrea Carandini, Professor of Archeology at La Sapienza, announced that he had discovered the remains of a royal palace dating to the time of Romulus.
He said the palace, built around a courtyard, had a monumental entrance and ornate furniture and tiles, and was ten times the size of ordinary homes of the period.
Also last year Dr Panella, who has been excavating in the Forum for twenty years, discovered a sceptre which belonged to Emperor Maxentius, who ruled for six years until 312AD — towards the end of the Roman state.
Maxentius drowned in the Tiber during the battle on the Milvian bridge against his brother-in-law, Constantine, who attributed his victory over Maxentius to divine intervention and converted the Roman empire to Christianity.
Maxentius’s supporters are thought to have hidden the sceptre after the defeat. It was found wrapped in silk and linen in a wooden box together with battle standards and lance heads.
GGG Ping.
Alo?
Amazing. After all these centuries they are still making major finds in ancient Rome!
Obviously it is easier to date a remnant of the Tetrarchy period in the Empire, but an object connected with the episode which led to Christianity becoming the Empire’s official religion is something spectacular!
|
|
|||
Gods |
there were no statues or figures because Numa forbade images of the gods in his temples, arguing that it was "impious to represent things Divine by what is perishable".Interesting. Thanks Blam. |
||
|
· Mirabilis · Texas AM Anthropology News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · · History or Science & Nature Podcasts · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
|||
related to Lucius Cornelius Sulla’s post (message 5):
Emperor Maxentius insignia found in Rome
AP on Yahoo | 12/3/06 | Marta Falconi - ap
Posted on 12/03/2006 2:57:26 PM EST by NormsRevenge
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1747883/posts
Rome’s Palatine Hill shows new treasures
AP via Yahoo! | 1-23-07 | ARIEL DAVID
Posted on 01/23/2007 8:07:37 PM EST by Dysart
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1772564/posts
Emperor’s Treasures Found (Maxentius)
The Times Online | 1-31-2007 | Richard Owen
Posted on 01/31/2007 5:21:08 PM EST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1776985/posts
Scholars Unearth Mystery (Romans)
Rocky Mountain News | 2-13-2006 | Jim Erickson
Posted on 02/19/2006 7:46:32 PM EST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1581889/posts
Ancient Rome is rebuilt digitally
Associated Press | 6 minutes ago | ARIEL DAVID,
Posted on 06/11/2007 5:21:35 PM EDT by BenLurkin
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1848519/posts
Space Impact ‘Saved Christianity’
BBC | 6-23-2003 | David Whitehouse
Posted on 11/13/2006 1:29:21 AM EST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1737616/posts
In Hoc Signo Vinces - The Vision of Constantine
Triumph [the book] | H. W. Crocker III
Posted on 08/06/2002 10:46:53 PM EDT by JMJ333
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/728897/posts
ping.
Yeah, the historical critics turned their noses up at the Roman monarchy...and when you get enough such critics, their personal doubts get turned into facts of history. Ancient authors like Livy are writing 700 years after the events, so (according to the critics) they are unreliable. Yet the critics writing 2700 years after the events somehow get off scot free from the unreliability charge and are magically able to tell what is legend and what is fact. Funny logic, that! :)
I wouldn't want to push Livy or Dionysius of Halicarnassus farther than they go, but I think they haven't gotten their last laugh in all this yet!
What got my interest was the Emperor Maxentius scepter. The blue orb representing the earth on top showing that they knew the earth was round not flat
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/27/wroman27.xml
They are uncovering some really cool stuff in Italy these days.
Imagine finding Maxentius’ sceptre.
Emperor Maxentius scepter
.... However there were no statues or figures because Numa forbade images of the gods in his temples, arguing that it was “impious to represent things Divine by what is perishable”.
Sounds like Numa Pompilius lifted his position regarding images of 'the gods' directly from the Ten Commandments:
...Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them...
I guess Mr. Pompilius was representative of those gentiles which Paul refers to in his parenthetical statement in Romans Chapter 3:
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
I.e., Numa Pompilius might not have had access to Scripture, nonetheless he had gleaned enough from God's handiwork to understand that you do not make images of the Divine....
"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.