Books by Marcello Mogetta
Cambridge University Press, 2021
University of Michigan Press, 2021
This volume represents the first book-length treatment of the reception of
Augustus and his age d... more This volume represents the first book-length treatment of the reception of
Augustus and his age during the reign of Domitian. Its thirteen chapters,
authored by an international group of scholars, offer readers a glimpse
into the fascinating history and culture of Domitian’s Rome and its
multifaceted engagement with the Augustan past. Combining material
and literary cultural approaches and covering a diverse range of topics—
art, architecture, literature, history, law—the studies in this volume
capture the rich complexity of the Augustan legacy in Domitian’s Rome
while also revising our understanding of Domitian’s own legacy. Far from
being the cruel tyrant history has made him out to be, Domitian emerges
as a studious, thoughtful cultivator of the Augustan past who helped
shape an age that not only took inspiration from that past, but managed
to rival it.
Since 2009 the Gabii Project, an international archaeological initiative led by Nicola Terrenato ... more Since 2009 the Gabii Project, an international archaeological initiative led by Nicola Terrenato and the University of Michigan, has been investigating the ancient Latin town of Gabii, which was both a neighbor of, and a rival to, Rome in the first millennium BC. The trajectory of Gabii, from an Iron Age settlement to a flourishing mid-Republican town to an Imperial agglomeration widely thought to be in decline, provides a new perspective on the dynamics of settlement in central Italy. This publication focuses on the construction, inhabitation, and repurposing of a private home at Gabii, built in the mid-Republican period. The remains of the house provide new information on the architecture and organization of domestic space in this period, adding to a limited corpus of well-dated examples. Importantly, the house's micro-history sheds light on the tensions between private and public development at Gabii as the town grew and reorganized itself in the mid- to late- Republican period transition. Published in digital form as a website backed up by a detailed database, the publication provides a synthesis of the excavation results linked to the relevant spatial, descriptive, and quantitative data.
Papers by Marcello Mogetta
Archeologia dell’Architettura, XXVIII.1, 2023 – Archeologia del cantiere edile: temi ed esempi dall’Antichità al Medioevo. Atti del Convegno (Università di Bologna, 21 maggio 2021, per via telematica), a cura di A. Fiorini, 2023
This study traces processes of experimentation and initial diffusion of concrete construction in ... more This study traces processes of experimentation and initial diffusion of concrete construction in Roman architecture in Italy, paying particular attention to the relationship between the legal system that regulated the economics of the building site and the execution of construction projects in Late Republican Rome and Italy.
F. Colivicchi and M. McCallum (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the Archaeology of Urbanism in Italy in the Age of Roman Expansion, pp. 104-123. Routledge: Abingdon, 2024
This paper explores how the local community at Gabii reconfigured itself in response to the physi... more This paper explores how the local community at Gabii reconfigured itself in response to the physical growth of neighboring Rome, the overarching projects of the expanding Roman state, and the long‑term patron‑client dynamics existing between the Gabines and gentilician groups from the metropolis in the 5th through the 2nd century BCE.
B. Dufallo and R. Faber (eds.), Comparing Roman Hellenisms in Italy, 249–77. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2023
One of the most emblematic examples of the process through which content, form, and proportions o... more One of the most emblematic examples of the process through which content, form, and proportions of Greek canonical designs got transformed into quintessentially Roman markers is represented by the development of the Corinthian into an order with its own formal apparatus. Taking the cue from current research on the economy of construction in Late Republican Rome, broadly construed to include building process and labor, l concentrate on the mechanisms of technological transmission of masonry practices that brought about the innovation. While recognizing that Roman architecture as a whole was experiencing major changes driven by the cultural implications of Rome’s imperialistic agenda, I show that these manifestations were to a great extent influenced by the activities of patrons and private entrepreneurs well-versed in the cosmopolitan styles, who operated independently of Roman hegemony. I thus emphasize circulation over appropriation and centralized intervention in cultural production.
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 535, 2022
As part of the new cycle of archaeological research promoted by the Archaeological Park of Pompei... more As part of the new cycle of archaeological research promoted by the Archaeological Park of Pompeii in the Sanctuary and Temple of Venus (VIII.1.3), a team from Mount Allison University and the University of Missouri undertook a second and third season of fieldwork in the summers of 2018 and 2019. This report presents the stratigraphic data collected from trenches excavated within the cella, in the open court E of the temple, and in the E wing of the triporticus that surrounded it. The results have allowed us to further define the spatial organization of the area prior to the construction of the monumental sanctuary, first uncovered in 2017, revealing more remains of Samniteera buildings that occupied elongated city blocks which were for-mally developed during the 2nd century BCE and repurposed in the early 1st century BCE, possibly for commercial functions. Based on finds from the obliteration sequence of these features and the surviving architectural decoration, the erection of the temple and triporticus can be securely dated to the late 1st century BCE, thus undermining previous reconstructions that vari-ously assigned the first building phase to the Late Samnite, Sullan or Caesarian periods.
Since 2009 the Gabii Project, an international archaeological initiative led by Nicola Terrenato ... more Since 2009 the Gabii Project, an international archaeological initiative led by Nicola Terrenato and the University of Michigan, has been investigating the ancient Latin town of Gabii, which was both a neighbor of, and a rival to, Rome in the first millennium BC. The trajectory of Gabii, from an Iron Age settlement to a flourishing mid-Republican town to an Imperial agglomeration widely thought to be in decline, provides a new perspective on the dynamics of settlement in central Italy. This archive is based on the Gabii Project’s first digital publication, which focuses on the construction, inhabitation, and repurposing of a private home at Gabii, built in the mid-Republican period. The remains of the house provide new information on the architecture and organization of domestic space in this period, adding to a limited corpus of well-dated examples. Importantly, the house's micro-history sheds light on the tensions between private and public development at Gabii as the town gre...
American Journal of Archaeology
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2021
Excavations carried out at the Latin city of Gabii between 2012 and 2018 have contributed new dat... more Excavations carried out at the Latin city of Gabii between 2012 and 2018 have contributed new data to a number of debates around the emergence, lived experience, maintenance, decline, and resilience of cities. Gabii’s urban trajectories demonstrate both seemingly familiar forms of urbanism and, on closer study, many locally circumscribed elements. Specifically, the Gabii Project excavations have uncovered an early Iron Age (8th–5th centuries b.c.) hut complex that has provided evidence for architecture, funerary rites, and quotidian activities during the initial polynuclear settlement at urbanizing Gabii. A unique monumental complex constructed in the 3rd century b.c. has been identified and is interpreted as a public structure potentially used for ritual activities; the study of this complex raises questions about the creation and reception of markers of civic identity. Excavation data has further characterized the reorganizations that took place during the first centuries a.d., wh...
Journal of Roman Studies
Recent archaeological investigations have revealed that at the end of the fifth century b.c.e., G... more Recent archaeological investigations have revealed that at the end of the fifth century b.c.e., Gabii, an ancient centre of Latium Vetus, was reorganised in a planned, quasi-orthogonal pattern, which constitutes an anomaly in the regional context. This is indicative of an important transformational moment in its history, representing a break from previous patterns of occupation and involving significant spatial and socio-political discontinuities with the previous settlement. This article proposes that the reorganisation reflects a moment of refoundation after a period of abandonment, an urban trajectory that can be clarified by a critical re-examination of the historical evidence, focusing on two pivotal processes: the devotio of the city by the Romans and the dynamics of early colonisation in Latium. This new interpretation not only has important implications for understanding the archaeology of Gabii and of early republican urbanism, but also sheds light on one of the ‘darkest’ a...
Journal of Roman Archaeology
Recent studies of the physical development of the city of Rome in the period of ascendancy from r... more Recent studies of the physical development of the city of Rome in the period of ascendancy from regional center to Mediterranean capital have highlighted the delayed nature of the phenomenon. Cross-culturally, construction programs that stand out as disproportionate in terms of number, size, and architectural refinement in relation to other building forms represent one of the main manifestations of imperial status. In the case of Rome, however, full-fledged monumental architecture on the ground emerged when the trajectory of expansion was all but complete. The scale of investments and efforts and the pace of construction activities in the Republican period has mostly been regarded as slow and gradual, which suggests that the construction industry received greater impetus only in the Imperial age. All that remains on the ground for the early phase is a series of small satellite temples paid for by manubial funds, with little in terms of orchestrated urban infrastructure and amenities. To explain this pattern, scholars have emphasized factional rivalries among members of the ruling elite. Given the visibility that sponsorship of public architecture afforded to patrons, constraints on public monumental construction, such as short-term limits of magistracies and strict Senate oversight on expenditures, would have been imposed by the state so as to curb the ability of magistrates to execute large-scale projects and curtail unfair advantage in the competitions for public office. It was only when construction in concrete was introduced in the course of the 2nd c. BCE that massive building programs could finally be undertaken. S. Bernard’s work contributes significantly to this debate by rehabilitating the Mid-Republican period as a crucial one in which other socioeconomic transformations and technological innovations originated that enabled the city’s growth.
Massimo Osanna (a cura di) Ricerche e scoperte a Pompei. In ricordo di Enzo Lippolis. STUDI E RICERCHE DEL PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DI POMPEI 45, 2021
Federico Buccellati, Sebastian Hageneuer, Sylva van der Heyden, Felix Levenson (eds.) Size Matters – Understanding Monumentality Across Ancient Civilizations, 2019
A study of the early phase of opus caementicium construction at Cosa
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 438, 2019
In dieci anni di scavi e ricerche all’interno del Parco Archeologico di Gabii (2009–2018) il Gabi... more In dieci anni di scavi e ricerche all’interno del Parco Archeologico di Gabii (2009–2018) il Gabii Project ha raccolto un insieme di dati fondamentali per la datazione dell’impianto regolare della città, rivelato da prospezioni geofisiche condotte in precedenza (2007–2008) su larga parte dell’area all’interno delle mura, lungo le pendici meridionali del cratere di Castiglione. L’impianto è caratterizzato da una serie di isolati di forma stretta ed allungata disposti a ventaglio su un asse stradale principale che si adatta alla morfologia del cratere. Da questa arteria, che nella sua fase più antica corrisponde probabilmente alla Via Gabina citata dale fonti letterarie, si dipartono strade laterali ad intervalli regolari, ad eccezione di un diverticolo che esce dalle mura a SE in direzione di Praeneste, messo in luce negli anni ’90 dalla SSABAP di Roma, ed interpretabile come tratto urbano della Via Prenestina. Le indagini stratigrafiche hanno dimostrato che, nella loro configurazione originaria, inquadrabile alla fine del V secolo a.C., le strade erano costituite da semplici tagliate ricavate nel banco tufaceo, al di sopra delle quali sono documentati continui rifacimenti databili tra il III ed il I secolo a.C. La tipologia più frequente è quella delle viae glareatae, superfici stradali formate da livelli compatti di ghiaia, ciottoli e frammenti ceramici. In alcuni casi sono attestati tratti lastricati in basoli di lava (affioramenti del materiale sono noti in prossimità della città), la cui costruzione può forse essere messa in relazione con le responsabilità di manutenzione assegnate ai proprietari di case che si affacciavano sulle strade. Tre delle quattro strade laterali indagate dal Gabii Project vennero definitivamente abbandonate già alla fine del I secolo a.C., come risultato della contrazione dell’abitato, mentre Via Gabina e Via Prenestina, di cui si conservano i lastricati di età imperiale, furono mantenute fino ad almeno il V secolo d.C. (periodo in cui si possono datare i battuti più recenti rinvenuti al di sopra del basolato della Via Gabina). Nel complesso, i dati ottenuti consentono di arricchire notevolmente il quadro delle conoscenze sulle dinamiche insediative di Gabii in età repubblicana. In particolare, la sequenza stratigrafica relativa alla fondazione dell’impianto urbanistico ortogonale, che sostituì un abitato organizzato in precedenza per nuclei distinti, invita a riflettere sulla relazione tra la forma della città e l’espansione romana nel Latium Vetus nel V secolo a.C.
Fasti Online Documents & Research, 2019
From invisible to visible. New data and methods for the archaeology of infant and child burials in pre-Roman Italy and beyond. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology 149, 2018
This chapter presents both a synthetic description and a first contextualisation of a group of in... more This chapter presents both a synthetic description and a first contextualisation of a group of infant and young child burials found in association with domestic architecture at the Latin urban site of Gabii. We concentrate on a subset of these tombs, which can be singled out due to the elaborate nature of their furnishings and their location near the core of one of the occupation nuclei of the Early Iron Age and Orientalising settlement. Based on our analysis of the grave good assemblages, we interpret the funerary ritual as a statement of inherited rank reflecting the status and identity of the parents and family. These intramural burials, only made possible by the ‘non-member’ status of infants and children within the community, served as symbols of the familial and domestic sphere. In addition, given the public nature of the funeral, we suggest that the tombs also represented vehicles for the creation and manipulation of the group identity at rare and unusual moments in the life of the settlement, coinciding with periods of uncertainty and potential strife that must have accompanied the process of city formation.
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 425, 2018
In convenzione con il Parco Archeologico di Pompei, archeologi della Mount Allison University e d... more In convenzione con il Parco Archeologico di Pompei, archeologi della Mount Allison University e della University of Missouri hanno ripreso lo studio del Tempio e Santuario di Venere. L’obbiettivo principale della nuova iniziativa, il Venus Pompeiana Project (https://www.archaeological.org/interactivedigs/pompeiiitaly/), è quello di stabilire cronologia, estensione ed organizzazione interna del luogo di culto originario, e la natura dei rituali che vi venivano condotti, definendo le trasformazioni urbanistiche in questo settore di Pompei con la transizione alla fase romana. Si presentano in questa sede i risultati della prima campagna di rilievo fotogrammetrico e di mirati interventi di scavo archeologico nel sito. Le attività, parte di un programma triennale, complementano le precedenti ricerche con nuovi dati descrittivi e topografici, con lo scopo di svilupparele migliori pratiche per l’integrazione e l’analisi di vecchi e nuovi dati in formato digitale. La riapertura di una trincea scavata da un team dell’Università della Basilicata nel 2006 nella corte ad E del podio, ed il suo allargamento per comprendere un settore del portico orientale, hanno portato alla luce nuove strutture che predatano il complesso esistente. I resti murari e la sequenza stratigrafica dimostrano che nel II secolo a.C. l’area aveva una differente organizzazione spaziale, essendo occupata da due isolati distinti separati da una stretta strada. Il proseguimento delle indagini consentirà di chiarire natura e funzione degli edifici all’interno degli isolati. I reperti confermano la datazione post-sillana del primo triportico e tempio. I risultati iniziali hanno importanti implicazioni per la comprensione della topografia di un cruciale settore di Pompei che si affacciava su Via Marina in diretta relazione con la Basilica.
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Books by Marcello Mogetta
Augustus and his age during the reign of Domitian. Its thirteen chapters,
authored by an international group of scholars, offer readers a glimpse
into the fascinating history and culture of Domitian’s Rome and its
multifaceted engagement with the Augustan past. Combining material
and literary cultural approaches and covering a diverse range of topics—
art, architecture, literature, history, law—the studies in this volume
capture the rich complexity of the Augustan legacy in Domitian’s Rome
while also revising our understanding of Domitian’s own legacy. Far from
being the cruel tyrant history has made him out to be, Domitian emerges
as a studious, thoughtful cultivator of the Augustan past who helped
shape an age that not only took inspiration from that past, but managed
to rival it.
Papers by Marcello Mogetta
Augustus and his age during the reign of Domitian. Its thirteen chapters,
authored by an international group of scholars, offer readers a glimpse
into the fascinating history and culture of Domitian’s Rome and its
multifaceted engagement with the Augustan past. Combining material
and literary cultural approaches and covering a diverse range of topics—
art, architecture, literature, history, law—the studies in this volume
capture the rich complexity of the Augustan legacy in Domitian’s Rome
while also revising our understanding of Domitian’s own legacy. Far from
being the cruel tyrant history has made him out to be, Domitian emerges
as a studious, thoughtful cultivator of the Augustan past who helped
shape an age that not only took inspiration from that past, but managed
to rival it.
On the basis that an infant and child tomb is itself an archaeological entity, whose analysis cuts across disciplines - mainly archaeology, bio-archaeology and anthropology, but also philology, ancient literature, gender studies, pedagogy, medical humanities and digital humanities - and in order to promote an interdisciplinary approach, the conference at Trinity College Dublin involves scholars from international institutions, experienced in interdisciplinary methods, in order to create a network specifically focused on the analysis of childhood in ancient societies. The role of this network is to function as an interdisciplinary incubator, offering a platform for dialogue between disciplines around infant and child burials.
We have invited scholars working on the archaeology of Italy from the Early Iron Age through the Archaic Period (c. 1000–500 BC) to present the results of their recent researches on the topic of infant and child burials.
We envision that this platform can be a model for other archaeological studies in the future as well as ideal for developing a new methodological approach to the excavation of infant and child tombs, following best practices in archaeology.
Publication plan
The prestigious series of Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology (SIMA) has already agreed to publish the proceedings of the conference.
For further information please email Jacopo Tabolli ([email protected]) or Hazel Dodge ([email protected]).
After a pilot season in 2017, a full-scale excavation was launched in 2018 thanks to generous funding provided by the AIA Cotsen Excavation Grant. Our research design called for the reopening of old trenches previously excavated in the temple court (Trenches IIS and IIN), which had already revealed a sample of the complete sequence of occupation of the open area east of the podium, including direct stratigraphic relationship between its various floors and the foundations of the east colonnade of the sanctuary, and for which part of the original archival data was also available. We resurveyed standing features and exposed stratigraphic sections employing both traditional total station and rich data capture in the form of photogrammetric (image based) modeling, while reanalyzing the existing descriptive record of each unit. Furthermore, we continued the investigations below the levels reached by the previous excavators. The relevant ceramic materials and coins were retrieved from the Soprintendenza storage in order to be restudied, thus complementing the old data with the new finds. In addition, new trenches (Trenches A and B), were opened under the east portico to better define the layout
and clarify the function of architectural features that had been exposed below the monumental phase. The construction sequence of the podium and ancillary structures was also documented, laying the groundwork for future conservation work.
The initial results contribute significantly to the broader debate about the urban development of the so-called Altstadt of Pompeii and the Samnite-to-Roman transition at the site. Most notably, we identified a N–S street running across the entire extent of the east court. The street, which most likely branched off from Via Marina, was certainly in use through the second century B.C.E., separating two distinct city blocks occupied by structures. This layout was completely obliterated in order to make room for the triporticus and temple, for which we confirm the post-80 B.C.E. date, thus demonstrating the impact of the Roman conquest on the religious landscape of Pompeii.
During the first phase of the HTR agreement a pilot project, CALCRome, funded by Mizzou Advantage and Research Council, was launched in collaboration with experts from the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas (CAST-UA), the UMR 6249 Chrono-Environnement of the University of Burgundy Franche Comté (UBFC), and Carleton University (Canada). The goal was to develop an approach to the scanning of these artifacts that supports both detailed metric study for research on their use and digital display and archiving. The results of the initial RTI imaging, 3D scanning, and formal analysis are archived here.