A Companion to Roman Architecture, First Edition. Edited by Roger B. Ulrich and Caroline K. Quenemoen. © 2014 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2014 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Monumental Architecture of Non-Urban Cult Places

in Roman Italy

Tesse D. Stek

CHAPTER TWELVE

Introduction

Some of the most impressive sacred complexes in the Roman world arose outside urban areas. This chapter discusses the architecture of such cult places in relation to their role in ancient society. It will be clear that architectural principles and models are not hindered by city walls and many elements can be found equally in urban and non-urban cult places. The location outside the city, however, with its specific structural and socio-political conditions and require-ments, stimulated the development of different solutions and could offer excellent opportunities for experiment. In this way, several non-urban cult places developed into highly innovative and imposing monuments that deviate from urban sacred architecture in important respects. This development is best seen in late republican Roman Italy, which will be the focus of this chapter.

1. From Sacred Natural Places to Monumentality

Prominent landmarks, such as hilltops and plateaus, and other features in the landscape, for example caves, forests, and water sources, had long been part of the sacred landscape of ancient Italy. The network of sacred places in the

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landscape reflected the cosmological view of its inhabitants, helping to structure or to emphasize imagined or natural boundaries and transitory zones. Often, these sacred places were not marked out by elaborate and durable architec-tural forms and are only recognizable, especially from the Iron age to the mid-republican period, by the presence of portable votive material, which regularly has been retrieved in caves, lakes, springs, or appositely made pits (Edlund-Berry 1987; Bouma 1996; Comella and Mele 2005). In the ancient conception the demarcation of sacred space did not require permanent architectural structures or embellishment. A space declared sacred by man forms the essence of ancient cult sites. A frequently encountered definition of early Roman sanc-tuaries is lucus, which literally means “clearing” or “open space” in a wood, and sacred space in general could be indicated visually by trees, marking stones, or cippi (De Cazanove and Scheid 1993 with bibliography). Altars, which could also be temporary, were set up inside these sacred areas for the sacrifice. Proper cult buildings and other stable structures do not necessarily form part of a sanctuary. The built-up aspect, which many non-urban sanctu-aries assume from the archaic and, especially, republican periods onwards, responds therefore to a large extent to other, not necessarily strictly religious, functions and dimensions that these sanctuaries had for their communities, as well as to broader socio-economic and architectural developments. After briefly discussing these socio-economic and architectural developments and the relationship between cult place and community, it will be illustrated how these factors interacted in the creation of some exemplary monumental sacred complexes in Latium, Samnium, and Lucania.

2. Monumental Building between Global and Local

Construction of major non-urban cult complexes in Italy is concentrated in the last three centuries BCE, with a significant emphasis on the latter decades of the second and the first half of the first century BCE (although this varies regionally, see below). These complexes can be called monumental in that substantial resources were employed to achieve high visibility as well as perma-nence (being largely built in stone) with respect to other elements in the landscape (e.g., Trigger 1990; Moore 1996: Chapter 3). The relatively sudden and widespread monumentalizing trend was made possible by a combination of factors. An obvious prerequisite – yet not a “cause” – is wealth (see below). Some of the elites of Roman Italy were able to profit considerably from the opportunities offered by the Roman policies of expansion. In particular, their participation in the eastern Mediterranean markets (best attested at Delos) has been highlighted as contributing to the accumulation of wealth that could then be spent on large building projects. It is also clear that the

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extension of military, political, and commercial activities of Romans and Italians, especially in the eastern Mediterranean, increased familiarity with Hellenistic architecture, as part of a general intensification of cultural interac-tion in this period. Notably, the cult complexes at Cos (Asclepieion), Kamiros, Lindos, and Pergamon will have provided inspiration, especially in their sce-nographical design over several levels (e.g., Coarelli 1987; Caliò 2003). The same probably goes for the presence of theaters in sanctuaries, which were common in the Hellenistic world. This does not mean that this influence should be thought of exclusively as a one-way process, for in the light of the chronology of some complexes, it can be argued that some eastern sanctuaries may indeed have been influenced by the Roman/Latial enterprises, such as the sanctuary of the Syrian goddess at Delos (Caliò 2003: 57–58). Moreover, the vigor and originality of the cult complexes that arose in Roman Italy in their own right are very clear, and the developments here can certainly not be seen as a mere reflection of what happened further east.

This uniqueness is not only evident from the specific Italic and Roman layouts of cult complexes, dictated by ritual or the wish to adhere to (perceived) traditions, that is, in the axial symmetry and frontality of most designs or in the peculiar layout of some Italic complexes (see below). It is also apparent in the adoption of particular building techniques and materials and the specific opportunities that these offered in terms of scale and the expression of local difference. In addition to the typical central-Italian polygonal walling and simple dry laid masonry, which remain popular techniques well into the late republican period, there is the revolutionary Roman construction method of opus caementicium, faced typically with opus incertum, which would perma-nently alter the aspect of Roman architecture (see Chapter 9). It was an outstanding technique for building large structures efficiently, even on difficult terrain. Yet, importantly, neither wealth nor the availability of a new repertoire of architectural forms and techniques automatically leads to the construction of monumental sanctuaries; these factors do not provide an explanation for the phenomenon in itself but should be considered as necessary conditions (Stek 2009: 44–52). We are confronted with particular choices in specific historical situations to invest vast amounts of resources (including human labor) in cult complexes, most of which had functioned for long periods with little architectural presence. The epigraphical evidence shows that these choices were made at a local level by the leading representatives of nearby Italic communities. Not surprisingly in enterprises of such scale and scope, these decisions can mostly be related to the desire of the involved urban or rural communities and their leading figures to position themselves socially, politically, and culturally within the rapidly changing world. The quick adop-tion, when deemed convenient, of similar models and techniques reveals that communities were very aware of what was happening at their direct neighbors

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Monumental Architecture of Non-Urban Cult Places 231

as well as in the wider Mediterranean, but this did not preclude conscious choices to do things differently – rather on the contrary.

Local and regional trajectories of cultural developments and contacts, both in the long and short term, are therefore important factors. These processes led to the creation of unique and innovative architectural complexes, in which both new (or “foreign”) and (perceived) traditional elements and techniques were combined and adapted, which could acquire new meanings and functions in different contexts. The entanglement goes often so far that it becomes virtually meaningless to attempt isolating the  Eastern-Hellenistic or, in turn, the Italic/Roman legacy in such complexes, once a dominant debate (a major turning point is Zanker 1976). A perspective which sees them as self- conscious products of specific historical situations seems more promising to understand the active combination of different architectural schemes and “languages” (Dench 2005; Wallace-Hadrill 2008b). It is therefore important to appreciate the different significances non-urban cult places could assume for their related communities.

3. The Relationship between Cult Place and Community

Many temples outside urban areas are still directly related to the urban community. Most evident are the so-called extramural or suburban sanctu-aries, that is, those located directly outside the urban walls (Colonna 1985; Edlund-Berry 1987). Vitruvius states that some public cult places were in principle located outside the pomerium or the city walls by religious rule, such as Vulcanus, Mars, and Ceres (Vitr. De Arch. 1.7.1–2), and we must keep in mind that one of Rome’s main temple building areas of the repub-lican period, the Campus Martius, lies outside the walls. A direct relation with the urban community is particularly clear in sanctuaries outside the city where Roman priests performed rituals, in the act emphasizing the sacral-juridical unity of the Roman people. One such cult place is that of Dea Dia at the fifth mile of the Via Campana. This cult place is exception-ally well documented by the epigraphical records of the Arval Brothers who performed their cults there (Scheid 1990). The sanctuary was a lucus proper (e.g., CIL 6.2023a), and excavations have revealed the later imperial phases. As it appeared in the Severan period, the sanctuary was constructed over two or three terraces, on the highest of which a sacred grove was placed that contained the cult building (aedes) of Dea Dia but also temporary altars dedicated to associated deities. One level lower, a Caesareum with cult statues of the divine emperors was installed. On the lowest level a

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U-shaped porticus, the rounded southern part of which presented several closed spaces (papiliones), and a balneum, presumably for the use of the priests, closed the sacred complex (Broise and Scheid 1987; Scheid and Broise 1989; Broise and Scheid 1993).

In addition to the evidence of Rome, the huge monumental cult complexes that were built in the latter half of the second and first half of the first century in Latium and other areas of Tyrrhenian Italy were mostly directly related to towns in their vicinity. These cult places, such as the suburban sanctuary of Hercules Victor near Tibur (Tivoli, see below), or another one near Tusculum, occupy dominant positions in the landscape. The direct topographical rela-tionship to their respective towns and their access roads demonstrate, how-ever, that we should not consider them as any less connected to their urban communities than, for instance, the architecturally similar urban cult places of Praeneste (Palestrina) and Gabii. In some cases, inscriptions explicitly state the involvement of the civic authorities in the construction and maintenance of the cult places (e.g., CIL 12.1492 for quattorviri involved in the construction of the Temple of Hercules Victor at Tibur, or the local senate and censors mentioned for the urban sanctuary of Praeneste; Degrassi 1969). The direct relation between civic community and sanctuary is, moreover, demonstrated by the connection of some of the building projects to contemporary and more extensive projects of urban renewal, such as in Tibur or in Praeneste.

A strikingly different situation is encountered in the internal regions of Italy and in some of the provinces, in areas that were less or non-urbanized. Temples could already fulfill a variety of functions in urban contexts, amongst other things as meeting place for the senate, as bank, museum, or archive (Stambaugh 1978). In non-urbanized areas where other specialized public spaces and buildings were largely absent, sanctuaries could take over even more of such functions and become a chief gathering place for the rural community. In the Greek world and in other urbanized areas, non-urban sanctuaries sometimes functioned as frontier markers of communities (de Polignac 1984; Leone 1998), but this model does not seem to work well in the rural areas. Here, the cult places were rather located at the heart of the rural community and functioned as poles of attraction for the wider population (Stek 2009). From the late republican period onwards, inscriptions explicitly attest to the direct relationship between rural communities and their cult places. Rural communities such as vici (villages) and pagi (territorial districts) managed their own cult places and there publicly displayed relevant decisions of the local authorities. A good example is the impressive three-cellae temple of Castel di Ieri in the Paelignian area in Abruzzo, which arose far from any urban settlement in the late second or first century BCE and was maintained by the local pagus (AE 2004: 489; Campanelli 2007). In the past, a strict hierarchy between the cult places relating to different levels of communal

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organization such as vici, pagi, and other institutional entities has been supposed. In light of recent work on Roman rural administrative structures, it has now become clear that such a hierarchy is untenable, which, however, does not preclude different cult places from catering for groups of different scope (Stek 2009 with bibliography). It is evident that some of the major sanctuaries assumed an important symbolic political role, such as the Fanum Voltumnae for the duodecim popoli Etruriae (e.g., Livy 4.23), perhaps to be recognized in the sanctuary at Campo della Fiera near Orvieto or an analogous sanctuary at Pietrabbondante for the Samnites Pentri. As we will see below, such cult places could become appropriate places for the expression of specific local, regional, or even ethnic sentiments and ambitions, which influenced architectural choices. Economic functions of cult sites that are not directly related to urban centers are securely attested as well. Sanctuaries located along important routes or in border zones between communities could act as central marketplaces for the exchange of goods and information (e.g., Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 3.32.1 on Lucus Feroniae near Capena). Sanctuary sites with important centralizing socio-political and economic roles were usually not limited to a solitary temple building, but included several other structures, such as other cult buildings, porticoes, theaters, and shops, and may have eventually even grown out to “urban” centers with independent institutional status, such as Lucus Feroniae and Lucus Angitiae, the latter in the Central Apennines, respectively becoming a colonia and municipium in the first century BCE.

Individual socio-political requirements to cult places are thus an important factor in the ultimate realization of monumental cult complexes. Through discussion of the architecture of some particular examples in three different areas in Italy in the next sections, we will also see how local socio-political as well as ritual backgrounds and functionality could influence architectural choices.

4. Latium: The Sanctuary of Hercules Victor at Tibur

Most earlier Italic cult places focused on ritual and the sacred character of the natural terrain, perhaps modifying it slightly or demarcating it for ritual pur-poses. A very different relationship to landscape develops in the late republi-can period, when cult complexes are emphatically built to make an impression on the wider landscape, maximizing the scenic opportunities provided by the natural terrain and ruthlessly adapting it where it was deemed appropriate. A set of impressive sanctuaries erected in or near Latial towns in this period are often regarded as the apex of this development (notably those of Fregellae, Gabii, Terracina, Tusculum, Praeneste, Tibur, Nemi, and Lanuvium; Coarelli

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1987; Gros 1996a: 136–140). A prime example is the sanctuary dedicated to Hercules Victor, which arose just outside the urban walls of the ancient Latin city of Tibur. This sanctuary, consisting of a large platform with porticoes on three sides (porticus triplex) and a temple building and a semicircular stepped structure on its central axis (Figure 12.1), recalls in certain aspects the format applied earlier in the sanctuaries of Gabii and Praeneste. It is the largest known complex of this type, occupying an area of 152 × 119 m, including the porti-coes. Especially in the substructures of the complex, it displays the virtuoso application of new building techniques in order to combine different func-tions of the site. The main building phase dates to ca. 80 BCE, which is con-firmed by both building techniques and inscriptions (Coarelli 1987: 93–97; Giuliani 2004b with bibliography).

The sanctuary was placed on a short sloping plateau alongside the Via Tiburtina, which shortly afterwards reached the northern gate of the city. Perhaps it arose on the site of an ancient marketplace; it is in any case clear that  the monumental complex deliberately controlled an important trade route leading from and into the mountains. In order to construct the plat-form, the area delimited by the steep descent to the Aniene valley and the Via Tiburtina had to be leveled. This was done by both significantly cutting back

Figure 12.1 Reconstruction of the sanctuary of Hercules Victor near Tivoli. Source: Stek after Giuliani 2004: 28, fig. 8.

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the bedrock on the hillside and constructing massive substructures on the steep side descending to the Aniene River (Figure 12.2).

Substructures in opus caementicium, one of the most typical and original innovations in Roman architecture, are fully employed in the late republican sanctuaries of especially Latium and neighboring areas. The sanctuary of Hercules Victor is a striking example of both the practical use and visual effect of this medium. This can be best appreciated on the highest side of the sanctuary at the northwest corner, where, including the porticoes of the superstructure, the spectator would see no less than five superimposed architectural layers. First was a base of opus incertum. This was succeeded by a level with arches separated by buttresses. The end faces of the buttresses, which had a rectan-gular plan and tapered towards the top, were made in opus quadratum from local travertine blocks, whereas their sides were made in incertum. The same technique was used in the next level, consisting of an array of robust but-tresses alternating with windowed walls. These windows, loosely adapted to the slope in size and height, provided air and light for the chambers and the tunnel that ran through the substructures (see below). This buttressed level reaches the level of the actual sacred area, carrying the podium of the aedes and the two-storied porticoes. The next level, corresponding with the lowest portico surrounding the sacred area, consisted of a series of arches of trimmed travertine blocks alternated with semi-columns made in opus incertum (apart from the abacus in travertine and stuccoed echinus). The exterior aspect of the top level, corresponding with the second story of the portico surrounding the sacred area, is unknown.

One of the most striking accomplishments of the complex is that the sub-structures incorporated the pre-existing and major traffic artery of the Via Tiburtina. The road ran obliquely through the substructures of the sanctuary

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Figure 12.2 Reconstruction of the north elevation of the sanctuary of Hercules Victor near Tivoli. Source: Stek after Giuliani 2004: 33, fig. 13.

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for a distance of 140 m as a proper via tecta with a vaulted roof (Figure 12.1). In the substructures various compartments opened onto the road (south-east side), which were placed so that they served as a foundation for the porticus on the platform of the sacred area too. These compartments may have been used for storage or other commercial functions. On the opposite side of the road were additional spaces, illuminated by the windows in the facade of the substructures, which have also been related to commercial activities. Economic functions were thus fully integrated in the complex. In sum, the substructures enabled the architect to combine the practical need for the creation of a flat area for the upper sanctuary proper with an impor-tant mercantile and infrastructural function underneath. This placed the cult place literally in the major trade and communication route between Rome, Tibur, and the inland mountainous areas. The massive substructures surely not only served practical purposes, but also had a clear ideological dimension (Drerup 1966). The employment of caementa on this scale was only recently made possible by the different, less specialized organization of labor in the late republican period (see Chapter 9) and was effectively put to use to maximize the imposing, awesome effect of monumental com-plexes in the landscape. Similar solutions can be seen in other important temple complexes of the period, such as in the so-called “Tabularium” looking down on the Forum Romanum – also a platform for one or more temples – and the Temple of Magna Mater on the Palatine in Rome, as well as in Puteoli, Tusculum, and Praeneste (Tucci 2005; Pensabene and D’Alessio 2006; cf. D’Alessio 2011). Moreover, as Coarelli points out, in the particular case of the Tiburtine sanctuary, the architectural structure embedded a clear ideological hierarchy: the physical separation of the economic activities, at the base, and the cultic activities, literally on a higher level, reflects contemporary conceptions of the structure of society (1987: 88). The use of different levels to conceptually arrange the cosmic order can also be seen, for example, in the aforementioned sanctuary of Dea Dia (Scheid 1995).

The platform of the sanctuary proper was enclosed by porticoes at three sides (porticus triplex), leaving the southwest side open. The porticoes were built over two levels, with arches alternating with Doric semi- columns on the lower level and Ionic ones on the upper level. The second-story portico sat further back with respect to the lower level. More properly Italic-Roman concepts become clear from the actual temple building and its position: a 6.4-m-high platform with frontal stairs, as well as a 2.4-m-high podium on top of this, raised the aedes high above the sacred area to the level of the second-story portico. The aedes itself, measuring 36 × 25 m, was also frontally oriented with its peripteros sine postico plan. Although little remains presently, it was presumably octastyle, with 10 columns

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Monumental Architecture of Non-Urban Cult Places 237

at the sides. At the back wall of the cella was a niche for the cult statue, leaving two small chambers to each side of it. In the right-hand chamber, stairs lead into a cellar; this can perhaps be connected with the oracular function of the sanctuary or a votive deposit (Coarelli 1987: 90–91; Giuliani 2004: 64).

Morphologically distinctive for many Italic-Roman sanctuaries of this period, a theatrical cavea was constructed before the temple and in axis with it. The frequent architectural alignment of theater-like structures with temples has given rise to the term “theater-temple complexes” (Hanson 1959). The origin of the model and the function of the cavea in sanctuaries have stirred much debate, not in the least because it has been connected to the conception of the Theater of Pompey, which had a tem-ple at the top of its cavea (Tosi 2003; Tagliamonte 2007; see Chapters 2 and 3). On the one hand, it is certain that theatrical performances could form part of the rituals and festivals held at cult places. This is a Mediterranean-wide phenomenon (Nielsen 2002). On the other, it has been suggested that the axial alignment of semicircular steps/theater and aedes seen in quite a few complexes in Roman Italy (besides Tibur, notably in Palestrina, perhaps Gabii, Teanum Sidicinum, Pietravairano, Pietrab-bondante (see below), and Cagliari) reflects the close configuration of senate building (curia) and round assembly place (comitium) seen in some Latin colonies. Combined with the fact that some caveae were not suitable for seating, a political-ideological aspect, whether practical or symbolical, has sometimes been hypothesized (e.g., Coarelli and La Regina 1984: 254; Hülsemann 1987), but such a use remains hard to prove. Apart from possible theatrical and/or (symbolical) political functions or connotations, the semicircular steps/theater before temples provided an architecturally and aesthetically convenient way to make the transition between different levels of a sanctuary complex, leading the view to the temple building (Gullini 1991: 463). Functionally, the distinction should not be put too rigidly. Steps could also be used as a theater, with temporary stage build-ings set up in front of them. In any case, recent excavations confirm that the cavea of the sanctuary of Hercules Victor functioned as a proper theater with scaena (Giuliani 2006b: 26–27; Ten 2006).

On the whole, the visual effect of this extensive building project in cae-menta is that of a massive volume on an eminent point in the landscape, with strong axial symmetry and eventually focused, through the cavea and the framing porticoes, on the temple, visibly elevated several levels above the sub-structures. The hierarchically structured incorporation of practical and cultic functions in one single complex thus formed a strong statement of the success of the Tiburtines responsible for the project and could become a symbol of the town’s significance.

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5. Samnium: The Sanctuaries of Pietrabbondante and S. Giovanni in Galdo, Colle Rimontato

Quite different socio-political conditions marked the internal areas of Samnium (more or less corresponding to modern Molise and part of Abruzzo). Rome’s most feared enemies during the conquest of Italy, the Samnites, exhibited an organization of society that differed radically from the urban way of life typical of the Tyrrhenian coast. Living dispersedly over the territory in villages, farms, and occasional hill-forts, sanctuaries formed focal places in religious as well as socio-political respects (Coarelli and La Regina 1984; Dench 1995; Tagliamonte 1997; Bispham 2007; Stek 2009). Such cult places appear in the archaeological record from the fourth century onwards. It is only after the Samnite Wars (343–290 BCE), and notably in the later third and second cen-turies BCE, that these sanctuaries assume elaborate monumental forms (our knowledge about the architecture of the earliest phases is, however, admit-tedly scarce, and further research into these phases may alter the picture).

The foremost Samnite sanctuary arises at Pietrabbondante, on a hillside at a height of 1,000 masl (Strazzulla 1971; Coarelli and La Regina 1984: 230–257). An Ionic temple was erected in the latter half of the third century BCE, and in the second quarter of the second century BCE, a smaller temple, dubbed Temple A, was built. Several other structures stood in the sanctuary area, and recent excavations by La Regina have unearthed a large atrium house-type building interpreted as a domus publica as well as a portico. The most prominent archi-tectural complex in the sanctuary is, however, the so-called Temple B, aligned with a theater in front of it (Figure 12.3). Both temple and theater were con-structed around the turn of the second to the first century BCE on the site of the Ionic sanctuary, which had been destroyed earlier. The complex partly respects the layout of the previous sanctuary and extends over an area of about 55 × 90 m. Local limestone was used. The theater, which occupies about two thirds of this area, is, contrary to the Tiburtine one, inspired by Magna-Grecian models diffused also in Campania. The theaters of Sarno and Pompeii exhibit strikingly similar features (Lauter 1976; Sear 2006: 153 with bibliography). The lower part of the cavea consists of three rows of elegant stone seats, each with a continuous curved back, terminating at the ends in winged griffin paws, whereas kneeling telamones finish the side walls of the higher part of the theater. These refined details are comfortably juxtaposed with smooth polygonal masonry made of huge irregular limestone blocks for the facing wall of the theater. Polygonal masonry is typical for many central Italian structures in the republi-can period and was not only adopted for practical exigencies of construction, but often seems to assume an added ideological value, perhaps becoming some-thing of an “archaizing” or traditionalizing symbol for central Italian towns and

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Figure 12.3 Plan of the sanctuary of Pietrabbondante. Source: Stek after Sannio 1980: 166, fig. 32.

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sanctuaries in the late republican period (Cifarelli 2003: 88–96; Wallace-Hadrill 2008b: 121–123; see Chapter 1). The suggestion is especially compel-ling here because the polygonal walls seem to function primarily as a cover, whereas the static support is provided by internal walling of a different type (Cifarelli 2003: 88–96).

Behind the theater, and 5.50 m higher than the level of the orchestra, is a space reserved for two lateral porticoes and the temple building proper in the center. The retaining wall behind these structures is also of polygonal masonry. The  temple sits on a high (3.6-m) podium (36 × 23 m) with frontal stairs. The podium is made in limestone blocks and slabs, which cover an intricate system of foundation walls, holding the rubble filling, on the inside. It has articulated profiles at the base and top, with a good parallel in the Fondo Patturelli sanctuary in Capua. The aedes presents a deep tetrastyle front porch and three cellae, and, combined with the high podium, is clearly reminiscent of the Etrusco-Italic or Capitoline-temple type. Altars stood in front of the podium in alignment with the cellae. The temple-theater complex thus shows many elements that are famil-iar in other Hellenistic, Roman, and Latial architecture; yet the entire conception and significance of the sanctuary relate to contemporary notions of Samnite identity and pride. On this very spot, already in the archaic period, weapons (predominantly foreign ones) were deposited, documenting the military-politi-cal overtones of the cult place already by then. La Regina’s suggestion that the original enclosure of the sanctuary corresponds with the dimensions of the area demarcated for a Samnite military oath as described in Livy (200 × 200 feet; 10.38) may further support the martial connotation of the cult place (but see De Cazanove 2008). This military connotation is bolstered by an Oscan dedication to Victoria (Poccetti 1979: no. 16). The most striking inscription, however, is a second-century-BCE dedication (Vetter 1953: no. 149), which mentions the ethnic safinim, apparently defining the sanctuary as that of the Samnites as an ethnic group. With an eye to this particular historical significance of the sanctu-ary, it seems legitimate to read the Temple B-theater complex as a statement of Samnite pride in the period shortly before the last outbreak of Samnite-Roman hostilities, the Social War (91–89 BCE). The fact that Hellenistic, Roman, or Latial elements and models were adopted and adapted does not diminish in any way the distinctiveness of the sanctuary and its potential for expressing a con-scious “Samnite” socio-political message. It is certainly no coincidence that in the same period as the construction of Temple B, around 100 BCE, smaller cult places in Samnite territory were erected that reflected the mother sanctuary at Pietrabbondante (e.g., Coarelli and La Regina 1984: 298; Capini 1996).

The best example of such a small rural sanctuary has been excavated near S. Giovanni in Galdo on the Colle Rimontato (Di Niro 1980; Zaccardi 2007). The cult place arose in a relatively densely settled rural area in the late fourth or early third century BCE. Its monumental phase can be dated accurately to the very end of the second or the beginning of the first century BCE

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(Figure 12.4). The sanctuary is entirely built in local limestone. It consists of a square precinct (ca. 22 × 22 m), which is protected on three sides by a retaining wall. Two lateral porticoes, 4 m wide, were located at the southwest and north-east sides of the area. Columns supported the porticoes whereas the back part of the porticoes was closed off. A small cult building was placed against the center of the precinct’s back wall. It stood on a high podium (7 × 7.50 × 1.54 m) composed of large blocks, with a profile seen in other Samnite sanctuaries, such as Pietrabbondante Temple A. The single square cella that stood on the podium was paved with a red opus signinum floor decorated with white mosaic tesserae.

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Figure 12.4 Plan of the sanctuary of S. Giovanni in Galdo, Colle Rimontato. Source: Stek after Zaccardi 2007: 63, pl. 1.

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The small building lacked stone stairs, which has led La Regina to suppose that it was not a real temple but rather a thesaurus (treasury) perhaps containing a statue (Coarelli and La Regina 1984: 296), though it is well possible that tem-porary stairs were used. The cult place presumably catered mainly for the local rural community of villagers and farmers. Square sanctuaries are frequent in the Italic areas, not only in Samnium (see below). Yet this layout, with lateral por-ticoes and the central cult building in a rectangular precinct, seems indeed to reproduce in reduced scale the sanctuary of Pietrabbondante and taps into the language of self-affirmation of the Samnites in this period.

6. Lucania: The Sanctuaries of Serra Lustrante d’Armento and Rossano di Vaglio

In Lucania, today Basilicata in southern Italy, non-urban sanctuaries were prominent too. But the particular socio-cultural background and historical trajectory of Lucania conditioned an outcome that differs markedly from that in Latium or Samnium. Settlement in the undulating landscape of Lucania was characterized by large hill-forts on the flat hilltops as well as villages and farms (e.g., Salvatore 1990; Torelli and Lachenal 1992; Horsnaes 2002; Isayev 2007). A widespread process of sanctuary building is witnessed in the second half of the fourth century BCE. Although once it was assumed that Lucanian cult places dwindled after Pyrrhus (280s BCE), it is now clear that, on the contrary, many cult places continued to flourish and were rebuilt in monu-mentalized form precisely in the third and second centuries BCE.

The architecture of these Lucanian cult places deviates markedly from the sacred architecture prevailing in the neighboring areas. Most notable is the absence of conventional temple buildings in the classical sense. Sanctuaries often include small shrines, surrounded by courtyards in settlement contexts (Fracchia and Gualtieri 1989) and sometimes by other rectangular structures in the rural areas (Greco 1996; overviews in Horsnaes 2002: 99–105; Isayev 2007: 33–41). Rather than conform to a regular design, the diverse assem-blages of different small cult buildings, porticoes, altars, channels, pits, and so on respond to a set of distinctive ritual requirements. One of these require-ments can be recognized in communal dining. Banquet halls are a regular feature of these cult places, along with hearths and large quantities of cooking pottery. The role of water is even more distinctive. Lucanian rural sanctuaries are always located near a spring. This is a rather common characteristic of sanctuaries in the ancient world, but in Lucania exceptional attention is paid to the conducting of the water through the sanctuaries by way of elaborate channel systems and basins. Eloquent is the presence of ceremonial pathways in several sanctuaries, usually connecting the small cult structures with the cult

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statue(s) and altar with a water source such as a basin, fountain, or cistern. The sanctuary of Serra Lustrante d’Armento may serve as an example (Russo Tagliente 1995). In its first phase of the late fourth century BCE, the sanctuary consisted of an open area with a small cult building (3 × 2.50 m), presumably with an altar in front of it (Figure 12.5). The small cult building was con-nected through a ceremonial path made of tiles with a cistern (4.50 m deep), a water basin, and two rooms for dining and cooking. In the second phase, dated to the first half of the third century BCE, the sanctuary was enlarged significantly and reorganized over two terraces. The terraces were connected by stairs, which were in a later phase replaced by a “via sacra” made of peb-bles. On the upper terrace, more rooms were added, built in a particular masonry technique alternating regular stone blocks with a mix of tiles, peb-bles, and stones. On the lower terrace, the small cult building was rebuilt, and the ceremonial path was adjusted accordingly. This reorganization of the

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Figure 12.5 Plan of the sanctuary of Serra Lustrante d’Armento. Source: Stek after Russo Tagliente 1995: 43, fig. 41.

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sanctuary over terraces has usually been attributed to Greek or Hellenistic influences, as an early example of the development later seen in central Italy (Russo Tagliente 1995: 59–60). Yet, the main elements of the traditional cult place, the banquet hall, the cistern, and the small cult building with altar, connected by a ceremonial parcours, remained essentially there.

The most prominent non-urban cult place in Lucania is the sanctuary of the goddess Mefitis at Rossano di Vaglio, which, if perhaps initially related to the nearby settlement of Serra di Vaglio, developed into a major cult center and continued in use long after the settlement had faded away. The first phase dates back to the second half of the fourth century BCE (Adamesteanu and Dilthey 1992). The full-blown monumental phase can probably be dated to the late third or early second century BCE, and it is clear that the complex was enlarged several times and rebuilt over time, including a significant phase dur-ing the first century BCE (Nava and Cracolici 2005). The main excavated remains cover an area of ca. 70 × 40 m, but the sanctuary extended beyond that over different terraces (Figure 12.6). The excavated part of the sanctuary basically consists of a large area measuring 37 × 21 m, which was paved with slabs of hard local stone. This court could be accessed from the northwest side through a large (6 m) entrance, which was framed by two semicircular foun-tains. The water pouring from these fountains flowed across the paved area through a canal. The court is otherwise surrounded by a series of elongated halls and porticoes. The northern room was decorated on the inside with semi-columns, whereas the southern portico was supported by six columns. This portico also had an entrance to the south, and a “via sacra” starting here has recently been recognized (De Paola and Sartoris 2001). The rooms adja-cent to the court have yielded remains of fine Hellenistic statues in bronze and marble and many votives. One of these rooms may have housed the cult statue of the main deity of the sanctuary, Mefitis, who was venerated alongside other related deities. Most prominent, however, is the large (27.25 × 4.50 m) double altar in the middle of the paved area. The emphasis on specific ritual require-ments seen in Armento transpires here again, and morphologically the sanctuary, with its enclosed paved area, recalls the so-called courtyard shrines (Fracchia and Gualtieri 1989). In contrast to most Lucanian settlement and cult sites, the sanctuary flourished in the last centuries BCE and was frequented well into the imperial period. The abundant Oscan and Latin inscriptions found in the sanctuary, mentioning officials of various ranks, as well as the lavish votives, support the idea that the sanctuary grew to be a major socio-political focus in a time when Lucanian society was rapidly changing, not in the last place as a result of the incorporation in the Roman world. Also in this case, the monu-mentalization and embellishment of the cult place and its associated material culture according to contemporaneous fashion did not prevent it from retain-ing a unique nature.

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7. Conclusion

The act of monumentalizing non-urban cult places, even if on different scales, is in itself clearly part of a broader development in the late republican period. The dramatic placement and visibility in the landscape of the major cult places is a common feature, and this forms an important step in the development of Roman architecture. The ascending hierarchy of space over different terraces or levels can be observed in virtually all larger complexes and is a characteristic which could be developed par excellence outside the urban space by taking advantage of the natural landscape. In the specific sanctuary designs, the accommodation of diverse functions – both practical and ideological – of non-urban cult places in society is manifest. But although particular local or

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Figure 12.6 Plan of the sanctuary of Rossano di Vaglio. Source: Stek after Adamesteanu and Dilthey 1992: 18, fig. 3.

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regional choices are evident, it is important not to equate this distinctiveness with the immutability of local traditions. The choice to express local differ-ence rather related to precise contemporary needs and does not alter the fact that the process of monumental building brought essential changes to the aspect of non-urban cult places, and thereby their role in society. The monu-mental phenomenon was in reality part of fundamental transformations in ancient society and can indeed in part be interpreted as a reaction to it: as the symbolic enhancement of the community and the precarious status of its lead-ing individuals. Anthropological examples suggest that, above all, religion has a major role to play in the “symbolic construction of community” in ethnic or cultural terms in periods of loss of social cohesion and the concomitant chal-lenging of existing power structures (e.g., Cohen 1985). A similar correlation has been found with monumental architecture (Abrams 1989; Trigger 1990), and such a perspective is not at odds with the eventful socio-economic and political context which is late republican Italy.

But these transformations in society and the related significance of cult places did not stop after the major, monumental makeovers of the latter. The cult places and the mark on the landscape they made should also be viewed in the longer term. It has often been stressed that non-urban cult places dwin-dled as a result of the growing emphasis on urban centers and their cult places at the end of the republican and in the imperial periods, especially those which were not able to maintain a connection to an urban center. It is certainly true that monumental building in non-urban sanctuaries shows clear peaks in determined periods, as for instance in the late second and early first centuries BCE. Recent and ongoing research tends to show, however, that these com-mon dates cannot be over-generalized and are moreover seldom end dates in terms of continued use. Many cult places continued to be frequented, had significant imperial phases, or even had the direct attention of the Roman authorities or emperor (Scheid 2006). Continued attraction of these sacred places could manifest itself in many ways in the imperial period: Augustus held court in the sanctuary of Hercules Victor (Suet. Aug. 2.72.2); the cult of Rossano’s Mefitis was adopted in the new Roman town of Potentia (CIL 10.131–133); and the gens Socellia chose to erect their tomb near the old sanctuary of Pietrabbondante.

GUIDE TO FURTHER READING

Research on non-urban cult places has been prolific in recent years, and new sanctuar-ies continue to be discovered regularly, especially in the mountainous and Adriatic areas of Italy. To answer the demand for a systematic overview of cult places in Italy, a corpus on ancient Italian cult places called Fana, templa, delubra is currently in

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preparation, the first volume of which, on part of Latium, has recently appeared (Gatti and Picuti 2008). For definitions and terminology of (non-urban) cult places in Italy, see especially the contributions in Cahiers du Centre G. Glotz 8 (1997); the Thesaurus cultus et rituum antiquorum (ThesCRA) (J. Paul Getty Museum 2004–2012); De Cazanove and Scheid (1993; 2003); and Colonna (1985), and Edlund-Berry (1987) on Etruria and Magna Graecia. On monumentalization see the special issue on “Monuments and the Monumental” in World Archaeology edited by Bradley (1990). Specific studies on the architecture of non-urban cult places in Italy are not numerous and usually treat specific sites or regions. For the (both urban and extra-urban) Latial sanctuaries Coarelli (1987) remains fundamental, along with the excavation reports of specific sites; recent research is regularly presented in the Lazio e Sabina conference proceedings. For the Central Apennines and Samnium, see Coarelli and La Regina (1984); Campanelli and Faustoferri (1997) and various contributions in Sanniti (2000); Capini and Di Niro (1991); Strazzulla (2006) on the terracotta decoration; and Stek (2009) on the relationship between settlement organization and rural cult places. For Lucania see, apart from the already mentioned works on particular sanctu-aries, for example, Masseria (2000); the overviews in Horsnaes (2002); Isayev 2007 (with site catalog); and Nava and Osanna (2005).

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