D.C.-Area Archaeology Event: Ancient Libraries in Rome

Biblical Archaeology Society ^ | Tuesday, March 1, 2016 | Staff

[SunkenCiv]

On Sunday, March 6, 2016, Dr. Pier Luigi Tucci, Assistant Professor of Roman Art and Architecture at Johns Hopkins University, will deliver the lecture "Ancient Libraries in Rome: Reconstruction of the Bibliotheca of the Templum Pacis" in the Washington, D.C. area. The event is hosted by the Biblical Archaeology Society of Northern Virginia (BASONOVA) and Biblical Archaeology Forum (BAF). The Templum Pacis (Temple of Peace) was built by the Flavian emperor Vespasian in 75 C.E. near the Roman Forum. It commemorated both the end of the Jewish war and the civil strife that had followed the death of Nero in 68 C.E. The complex was remodeled under Emperor Domitian and eventually restored by Emperor Septimius Severus after the fire of 192 C.E. Within this architectural complex stood the Temple Library, which had sections on medicine, philosophy and history, and served as a center of culture in ancient Rome. Josephus described the Temple of Peace as "adorned with paintings and statues by the greatest of the old masters … There too Vespasian laid up the golden vessels from the Temple of the Jews … " Pliny remarked, "Should we not mention among our truly noble buildings … the Temple of Peace, the most beautiful the world has ever seen?" Later, the historian Herodian described the Temple of Peace as "the largest and most beautiful of all the buildings in the city since it was adorned with offerings of gold and silver … " Fresh archaeological evidence and literary sources shed new light on this monument and, in particular, on the "Library of Peace."

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

[MUDDOG]

It commemorated both the end of the Jewish war

I din't realize that war was such a big deal to the Romans.

[fishtank]

They need to learn how to tell time, it seems. Here's a reminder.

[Phinneous]

There are lots of threads for those who get bent out of shape by a little acronym. Don’t get bent.

[Vermont Lt]

I wish there was an up vote arrow here. So I will simply +1 for that post.

[Rockpile]

I hope to some day hear before I get planted that an amazing find of hundreds of ancient scrolls in pristine condition have been found in some tomb or cave. Kind of a Villa of the Papyri collection that did not get fried.

[SunkenCiv]

;’)

[SunkenCiv]

It could happen.

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/oxyrhynchus/index

[SunkenCiv]

Yes!

[SunkenCiv]

Weird, since the loot from the Temple was stashed in their monument to peace... :’) Vespasian was probably the last emperor the Jews should have messed with, and a great many of the emperors didn’t like the Jews at all. The big pederast Hadrian — who remains popular for reasons best left to the imagination — considered circumcision to be a monstrous mutilation of the body (he also didn’t go for piercings and tattoos). And Jews wound up exempt from military service (they had to pay a couple of special taxes) because of the Sabbath — another concept the Romans found completely baffling.

https://www.google.com/search?q=monument+to+pax+romana&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2918346/posts

[BroJoeK]

MUDDOG: "I din't realize that war was such a big deal to the Romans."

Loot from Jerusalem, especially the temple, paid for building the new Coliseum which was used for gladiator fights and, some say, for feeding Christians to lions.

That was a big deal for Romans.

[MUDDOG]

I should’ve posted, “I didn’t realize that *particular* war was such a big deal to the Romans.”

But all that loot! Wow.

[Fresh Wind]

I’ve always wondered why “BC” is English, and “AD” is Latin.

[fishtank]

Good thought!

[fishtank]

Words mean things.

Example: the Constitution.

[fishtank]

We’re trying to bend it back INTO shape, I think.

It was diverted and perverted,

and there’s nothing wrong

with trying to get it converted.

[Phinneous]

True. It is, after all, a Free Republic.

[wildbill]

Well, they aren’t in pristine shape, but hundreds of scrolls from a very famous Roman’s villa near Pompei have been found in somewhat charred condition and scientists have been trying to get some of their information extracted for years.

Don’t know the current status but I bet Sunken Civ is on top of it and can give us a report. Please?

[SunkenCiv]

:’) A few (?) years back there was a book, hmm, Goldsomethingorother, author made the ludicrous claim that the gold from the Temple was kept in Rome, then after the city fell, and a hundred years went by, it was all still there, so Justinian (Byz emp, reconquered a good bit of the Roman Empire) found it, nabbed it, moved it back to Israel, and for some reason stashed it in some secret hole in the ground, where it remains. There was even a photo showing some hovel under which it was supposed to have been buried.