The Romanization of northwest Iberia (modern Portugal)

During the last two centuries of the second millennium BCE a series of settlements were established along the coastal areas of northern Portugal. Their noble elite celebrated ritual banquets and participated in an extensive network of interchange of prestige items such as  cauldrons, knives, bronze vases, roasting spits, flesh-hooks, swords, axes and jewelry, from the Mediterranean up to the British Isles. But this network appears to collapse at the beginning of the first millennium and their open settlements were gradually replaced by fortified hill-forts constructed of earthen walls, battlements and ditches, which enclosed an inner habitable space. Trade dwindled to just the production of various axes and tools.

Then, beginning in the 6th century BCE, the "Castro" culture once again began to expand and widespread trade returned driven by Carthaginian merchants who brought imports of wine glass, pottery, and other goods.  The Carthaginians constructed emporia that sometimes even included temples and other civic structures. While the archaeological record of the Iron Age Castro suggests a very egalitarian society, a privileged class appears to have developed with better access to prestige items as evidenced by findings of large quantities of fibulae, pins, pincers for hair extraction, pendants, earrings, torcs, bracelets, and other personal objects used to enhance personal appearance.

Their hill-forts evolved as well, becoming semi-urban fortified towns we now know as oppida that in some cases housed several thousand inhabitants. These citadels included paved streets equipped with channels for stormwater runoff, reservoirs of potable water, and evidence of urban planning. Many of them also presented an inner and upper walled space, relatively large called acrópole by local scholars and the structures were surrounded by concentric ditches and stone walls sometimes reinforced with towers. Gates to these oppida become monumental and were decorated by sculptures of warriors.  Dwelling areas that have been excavated were frequently externally walled, with kitchens, sheds, granaries, workshops and living rooms ordered around an inner paved yard, sometimes equipped with fountains, drains and reservoirs.

People inhabiting the far northwestern corner of Iberia, now northern Portugal, became known as the Gallaeci. Those tribes living in what is now southern Portugal became known collectively as the Lusitani.

The people eventually encountered Rome when the Carthaginians hired them as mercenaries to fight the Romans during the Punic wars. During the Second Punic War between the years 218 and 201 BCE,  Silius Italicus reports a combined Celtic contingent of Lusitani and the Gallaeci led by a commander named Viriathus raided northern Italy whenever the terrain was too rough for Hannibal's famed Numidian cavalry. 

In retaliation, the Romans levied heavy taxes from the tribes. Between 209 and 169 BCE, the Roman army collected 4 tons of gold and 800 tons of silver from the locals and a number of their men were required to serve in the legions. The exploitation and extortion reached such an extreme degree that Rome had to create a special tribunal and laws, like the Lex Calpurnia which established the first permanent criminal court in Roman history, in order to deal with the growing number of crimes committed by Roman governors in the provinces.

In 150 BCE Praetor of Hispania Ulterior, Servius Sulpicius Galba joined forces with the Governor of Hispania Citerior, Lucius Licinius Lucullus and began to systematically depopulate Lusitania. Fearing a long siege and the destruction the Roman siege engines would cause in their towns, the Lusitanians sent an embassy to Galba to negotiate a peace treaty. Galba seemingly agreed but when the Lusitanians were gathered together to turn over their weapons, Galba's army surrounded them with a ditch, to prevent them from escaping. Then , Roman soldiers were sent in and began to massacre all the males of military age. Galba killed 9,000 Lusitanians and later sold 20,000 more as slaves in Gaul (modern France).  

Three years after the massacre, another Viriathus appeared with an understanding of Roman military tactics and proceeded to wreak havoc among the Romans until 139 BCE when he was betrayed and killed in his sleep by three of his companions who had been sent as emissaries to the Romans.  The warriors were bribed by Marcus Popillius Laenas to perform their treachery. However, when the three returned to receive their reward from the Romans, the Consul Quintus Servilius Caepio ordered their execution, declaring, "Rome does not pay traitors".

Viriathus stands as the most successful leader who ever opposed the Roman conquest in Iberia. During the course of his campaigns he was only defeated in battle against the Romans once, and from a military standpoint can be said to have been one of the most successful generals to have ever opposed Rome's expansion.

After the death of Viriatus, the Gallaecians and Lusitanians kept fighting and as a result the Roman general Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus led a successful punishment expedition into the North in 137 BCE. The victory he celebrated in Rome granted him the title Callaicus (“Galician”). During the next century Gallaecia was still theatre of operation for Perpenna (73 BCE), Julius Caesar (61 BCE) and the generals of Augustus (29-19 BCE), but gradually the native people acquired Roman culture and language and eventually gained the status of "Citizens of Rome". Although most of their oppida were abandoned or converted to religious sanctuaries, some continued to be occupied up to the 5th century CE when the Germanic Suevi established themselves in the region.

Rebuilt hut in the oppidum of Santa Tegra, A Guarda, Galicia earth courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Froaringus

Statue of a Gallaecian Warrior, Castro Culture, 1st Century CE, North Western Iberian Peninsula, courtesy of the National Museum of Archaeology (Portugal) and Wikimedia Commons.

Gold fibula, of long-footed form decorated with the figure of a naked warrior, wearing a Celtic helmet, with scabbard suspended from his waist and carrying a sword (scabbard and pommel are both of La Tene type), with another figure of a hunting dog jumping up to him. The eyes of both figures were originally inlaid with enamel. The arched bow has eight curls and the side panels are elaborated with running spirals and loops, also originally inlaid with blue enamel. Each end of the brooch is terminated by a dog's head. The hinge or spring and pin are now lost. The long foot of the fibula comprises two thick wires, twisted together and terminated with another dog's head, jaws agape and ears raised. The brooch was probably made by a Greek craftsman active on the Iberian Peninsular. Image courtesy of the British Museum and Wikimedia Commons.

Diadem from Moñes (Piloña, Asturias). Warriors with horned helmets parade carrying torcs and cauldrons, Castro Culture, 3rd - 1st century BCE, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Ángel M. Felicísimo

Lunula from Chão de Lamas, Coimbra (Portugal) courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Luis Garcia. (removed glare spots) 

Boat-shaped earrings decorated with filigree and granules, Gallaecian, gold, from the "Bedoya Treasure", exhibited in the Museum of Pontevedra

Late Bronze Age golden helmet from Galicia courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Carlos de Paz.

Iron Age Castro Culture Torcs from Asturias, Spain courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Dageno.

Head of an stone Iron Age Galician warrior, wearing a torc. Now, in the Museo Provincial de Ourense, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Froaringus.

A Castro Culture severed head sculpture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Froaringus.

Nabia Fountain in Braga, Portugal. The deity probably had an association with water, the sky and the earth courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Snitrom

Galician Celtic Stele for the deceased, called Apana, presumably an aristocrat of the tribe of Celtic Supertamáricos courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Alexandre Gal.

Mosaic from the Casa dos Repuxos Roman villa in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Halley Oliveira

Roman mosaic with marine life in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Marta Magalhães 

Mosaics in the House of the Swastika in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Carole Raddato.

Roman mosaic with man and dog in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor GFreihalter (Adjusted perspective and cropped)

Mosaic in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Elisardojm. (Adjusted perspective and cropped)

Roman peristyle with mosaics in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Elisardojm

A Roman mosaic depicting Dionysus (?) in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Elisardojm.

A Roman mosaic depicting a man walking a dog (?) in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Elisardojm

More Roman mosaics in ancient Conimbriga, Portugal courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Duca696.

Conimbriga is one of the best preserved Roman archaeological sites in Portugal.  You can see many more of its beautiful Roman mosaics here:  

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Ancient_Roman_mosaics_in_Conimbriga

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Hannibal's Secret Weapons

My friend Patrick Hunt from Stanford University presented this lecture in June for the Archaeological Institute of America.  Before I retired, Patrick kindly invited me to join him on one of his National Geographic-sponsored expeditions in the Alps but I had just returned to work after six months recuperation from a serious fall in Naples. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with his cohort of burly Stanford athletes at the 8,000 foot altitude of the Clapier-Savine Coche pass. I really enjoyed this lecture and learned some interesting information about the battle of Cannae that I must have overlooked.  Patrick points out that at the battle of Cannae Hannibal took advantage of a seasonal dust storm that is known to blow sand from the Sahara desert into Italy at that time of the year and positioned his troops so that the wind was at their back while it was blowing in the faces of the Romans.  He also mentioned that Hannibal used troops dressed in captured Roman armor from the battles of the Trebia River and Lake Trasimene to help trick the Romans into advancing into his concave center where they could be outflanked.  Patrick's lecture is today's featured "Antiquity Alive" presentation.

Back in 2016, I wrote about another researcher who claimed the Col de Traversette pass was used by Hannibal because of finding a large deposit of horse manure there. Obviously, Patrick disagrees with that conclusion.  You can read my article about it here:

 https://ancientimes.blogspot.com/2016/04/hannibals-route-over-alps-or-just-horse.html

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Eudaimonia and the corruption of excess

"Excess generally causes reaction, and produces a change in the opposite direction, whether it be in the seasons, or in individuals, or in governments." - Plato

In the case of drinking to excess, this change could result in the loss of virtue and well-being or, as the Greek philosophers termed it, Eudaimonia. Plato believed that individuals naturally feel unhappiness when they do something they know and acknowledge to be wrong.

Plato's student, Aristotle, agreed that although the pursuit of virtue, excellence, and the best within us was necessary to achieve eudaimonia, virtue in itself was not sufficient alone.  

"Aristotle believes that happiness and well-being come from how we live our lives,"   explains psychologist Catherine Moore, "And that's not in pursuit of material wealth, power, or honor."

Aristotle expounds upon ways to achieve the happy life in his work "Nichomacean Ethics."

"To be honest, a lot of Nichomacean Ethics is about what happiness isn’t," Moore points out, "Satisfying appetites is akin to a “life suitable to beasts." The pursuit of political power, material wealth, even fun and leisure, he (Aristotle) saw as “laughable things”, inferior to “serious things."

"Instead, happiness is an ‘intermediate’, or a ‘golden mean’ between deficiency and excess. One example of virtue as a mean between two extremes is courage – as a virtue, it’s halfway between recklessness and cowardice."

“He is happy who lives in accordance with complete virtue and is sufficiently equipped with external goods, not for some chance period but throughout a complete life.” – Aristotle, Nichomacean Ethics, Book I, Chapter 10

So, although Aristotle acknowledged  fate or luck does play a role in happiness, he believed an individual's disposition and talent could still be used to achieve it.

Which virtues does Plato value?  In his work "Republic" Plato describes a discussion among friends as to what a just republic would look like and four virtues are revealed:

Temperance (moderation) – or self-regulation, to avoid the vices and corruption caused by excess.

Courage (or fortitude) – to stand up for what we believe is right and good.

Justice – a social consciousness that plays a key part in maintaining societal order, and

Wisdom (practical wisdom, or prudence) – the pursuit of knowledge.

Again we see a reference to excess. These ideas were being exchanged at symposia of the 4th century BCE both in Greece and in the Greek colony of Magna Graecia in southern Italy. Plato, in his work "Gorgias", written about 380 BCE describes Magna Graecia as a place where discussion of the human soul abounded amid religious and philosophic speculation. Its proximity to and trade relations with Etruria would have also been a strong influence on Etruscan potters and may have served to inspire moralistic themes in art of the period. One possible example is a red-figured terracotta rhyton found in a tomb at Tarquinia.

"This unusual 4th century BCE vessel is composed of two mold-made faces set back to back: the upper one a bearded Greek warrior with curly hair and wearing a Corinthian helmet pushed up on top of his head, the lower one a caricature of a bearded man, perhaps a Syrian or Phoenician, with a broad nose, almond eyes, and thick, smiling lips." - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

As is characteristic of many Janiform representations, it may portray two contrasting aspects of a single individual - the friendly face of the Greek warrior rendered realistically that is transformed into a caricature of a belligerent barbarian once the guest overindulges - a subtle caution about the corruption of excess. I think the fact that the barbarian visage is rendered as a caricature points to the artist's metaphorical intent.

Read more about Eudaimonic Well-Being here: 

https://positivepsychology.com/eudaimonia/

Images:  Etruscan rhyton attributed to the Bruschi Group, Late 4th century BCE - Late Classical or Early Hellenistic Period, now in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, images courtesy of the museum.

Images:  Etruscan rhyton attributed to the Bruschi Group, Late 4th century BCE - Late Classical or Early Hellenistic Period, now in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, images courtesy of the museum.

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Deciphering Iconography of a late Classical Period Etruscan sarcophagus

The sarcophagus of Etruscan priest Laris Partunus found in the Tarquinian necropolis was produced in the late Classical Period.  This exquisite sarcophagus crafted of Parian marble is painted with scenes of the Amazonomachy.  The Greeks are shown in hoplite armor while the Amazons are wearing chitons. Surprisingly, the Amazons are depicted winning most of the paired battles instead of an equal number of victories as depicted on the Amazon sarcophagus also from Tarquinia.

The Partunus sarcophagus also depicts blue-skinned demons, but unlike the fearsome blue demons seen in the Tomb of the Blue Demons, also in Tarquinia, these figures appear to be gently guiding an aristocratic lady to her family like Greek psychopomps,  creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. 

The painting on the long side of the sarcophagus depicts the execution of Trojan prisoners. They too are accompanied by winged blue-skinned demons who symbolize their impending deaths and journey to the underworld.  Such inclusion of mythical beings may have also served a heraldic or apotropaic function.

"This scene has inappropriately been seen as influenced by the sacrifice of Roman captives by the Tarquinians in 358 BCE (Livy 7.15.10-11), and the subsequent slaughter of Tarquinian prisoners by the Romans in 353 BCE (Livy 7.19.2-3), points out Allison Weir in her PhD thesis "Footsteps of the Dead: Iconography of Beliefs about the Afterlife and Evidence for Funerary Practices in Etruscan Tarquinia", "There are, though, many significant problems with the attempt to connect a mythological scene in a tomb with an alleged historical event. It goes without saying that the historical accuracy of Livy’s account cannot be taken for granted, especially for an episode alleged to have occurred in the 4th century. The uncertain dating of the sarcophagus aside, there is nothing in the scene to suggest a human sacrifice, rather, the scene depicts the execution of prisoners of war. Therefore, the decoration on the sarcophagus should be seen for what it is: a mythological scene fused with local Etruscan chthonic demons. "

Weir also discounts the implausible suggestion that the presence of victorious female fighters on the sarcophagus indicate the women of Tarquinia in the 4th century were emancipated.

The image of Laris Partunus lying fully flat on the lid of the sarcophagus reflects the style of the  mid 4th century BCE where sarcophagi had either a fully reclined image or no image of the dead at all. It reminded me of tomb effigies I have photographed from the medieval period - no dogs or lions at their feet, though!

"As the Hellenistic period progressed, the pose of the figure on the lids of sarcophagi and cinerary urns became progressively more upright," Weir observes.

This is illustrated by the sarcophagus of Laris' son, Velthur Partunus, also found in the same family tomb. He is depicted in a position halfway between that of his father and the upright pose of sculptures on later sarcophagi.

To read more about Funerary Practices in Etruscan Tarquinia, check out Allison Weir's full thesis at:

  https://dt01-s1.123dok.com/pdf/123dok_us/pdf/2020/01_22/xz7brd1579688774.pdf?X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=94NFDWF3B17T3R35S85K%2F20210721%2F%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20210721T142719Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=600&X-Amz-Signature=f74d1bc7e60980fd614ff8d6657d6575700ba08a66b213b762843827335c0d8d

Images: Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Fully recumbent effigy of Etruscan pries Laris Portunus on the lid of his sarcophagus found in the necropolis at Tarquinia, Italy, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Scenes of the Amazonomachy including prisoners and blue demon-like beings acting as guides to the underworld on the Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

A bound prisoner on the Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Closeup of one of the blue-skinned demons acting as a psychopomp on the Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

A winged blue-skinned demon preparing to take a dying warrior to the underworld on the Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

A blue-skinned demon preparing to guide a soldier to the underworld on the Sarcophagus of Laris Portunus, priest, depicting scenes from the Amazonomachy and the Trojan War, Parian Marble, 350 BCE, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum at Tarquinia, Italy, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sailko

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Red-figured fish plates of the 5th century BCE

Throughout my travels to various museums around the world I have often encountered red-figured fish plates. First developed in Athens, these beautifully detailed serving pieces became especially popular in South Italy and Sicily in the 400s BCE. I stumbled across this excellent video about them and learned that fish plates produced in Magna Graecia were usually more colorful with white accents and the fish are portrayed with their bellies facing inwards towards the small central depression that is thought to have contained dipping sauce like garum. Fish on plates produced in Athens are painted with their bellies facing outwards. I thought this is quite a peculiar style difference. 

There also seems to be disagreement among scholars as to whether these plates were actually used in everyday life or produced for funerary purposes only, as almost all of the 1,000 examples that have been recovered came from ancient burials. Art historian Lucas Livingston points out that many of the recovered examples have a crack in the bottom of the dipping well produced during firing. This would indicate many of the plates were never actually used in the way they are designed.

You can see dozens of examples here:

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=ancient+Greek+fish+plates+in+art&qs=n&form=QBIR&sp=-1&pq=ancient+greek+fish+plates+in+art&sc=0-32&cvid=B677B9B0A24547C0B59A1F1E97C1E345&first=1&tsc=ImageHoverTitle

As producer of the Ancient Art Podcast, Livingston, who has worked at the Art Institute of Chicago since 2002, has a number of other ancient video lessons available on YouTube including a discussion of Hadrian and Antinous, Medusa, the Roman Lycurgus Cup, Cleopatra's ethnic origins, and ancient astronomy.

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Sarmatians: Descendants of the Amazons?

Herodotus (4.110–117) tells us some Amazons were captured in battle by Greeks in Pontus (northern Turkey) near the river Thermodon, and the captives were loaded into three boats. They overcame their captors while at sea, but were not able sailors. The boats were blown north to the Maeotian Lake (the Sea of Azov) onto the shore of Scythia near the cliff region (today's southeastern Crimea). After encountering the Scythians and learning the Scythian language, the Amazons agreed to marry Scythian men, but only on the condition that they move away from Scythia and not be required to follow the customs of Scythian women.

Hippocrates described these warlike women.

"Their women, so long as they are virgins, ride, shoot, throw the javelin while mounted, and fight with their enemies. They do not lay aside their virginity until they have killed three of their enemies, and they do not marry before they have performed the traditional sacred rites. A woman who takes to herself a husband no longer rides, unless she is compelled to do so by a general expedition. They have no right breast, for while they are yet babies their mothers make red-hot a bronze instrument constructed for this very purpose and apply it to the right breast and cauterize it, so that its growth is arrested, and all its strength and bulk are diverted to the right shoulder and right arm."

Their descendants settled beyond the Tanais (Don) river and became the cultural group known to the Romans as Sarmatians. Strabo said the Sarmatians extended from above the Danube eastward to the Volga, and from north of the Dnieper River into the Caucasus and at some point had intermarried with the Thracians (7.3.2).

These "wagon-dwellers" and "milk eaters" wore long flowing robes similar to those of the Persians according to Tacitus and by the third century BCE, the Sarmatian name appears to have supplanted the Scythian in the plains of what now is south Ukraine.

With iron a rare commodity on the steppes, the eastern Sarmatians used bone and wood for weapons and armor made of horse's hooves. Pausanius, who found a Sarmatian breastplate among votive offerings near the Athenian Acropolis in the 2nd century CE, describes the process:

"Each man keeps many mares, since the land is not divided into private allotments, nor does it bear any thing except wild trees, as the people are nomads. These mares they not only use for war, but also sacrifice them to the local gods and eat them for food. Their hoofs they collect, clean, split, and make from them as it were python scales. Whoever has never seen a python must at least have seen a pine-cone still green. He will not be mistaken if he liken the product from the hoof to the segments that are seen on the pine-cone. These pieces they bore and stitch together with the sinews of horses and oxen, and then use them as breastplates that are as handsome and strong as those of the Greeks. For they can withstand blows of missiles and those struck in close combat."

They also used lassos during combat in which they would lasso an enemy then turn quickly to unseat the rider. Their weapons and tactics were formidable enough to defeat two Roman legions in Pannonia in late 374 CE as recorded by Ammianus Marcellinus. This was in spite of the fact that Sarmatians had previously served in the Roman army. In the fourth and fifth centuries when the Huns expanded and conquered both the Sarmatians and the Germanic tribes living between the Black Sea and the borders of the Roman Empire, the Sarmatians fought with the Huns against a combination of Roman and Germanic troops but their alliance was shattered at the brutal  Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451 CE followed by the death of Attila two years later.  The Sarmatians returned to their traditional homeland and were eventually assimilated and absorbed by Proto-Slavic tribes during the early Middle Ages.

I have greatly condensed key points in the rise and fall of the Sarmatians. I highly recommend reading much more about them here:  https://weaponsandwarfare.com/2017/10/14/the-sarmatians/

Gold diadem with amethyst, almandine, garnets, turquoise, coral and glass inlays, Sarmato-Alanian Culture, 1st century CE, found near the modern city of city of Novocherkassk, Russia, now in the collections of the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia, image courtesy of the museum.

Gold bridle ornament depicting a stag, Sarmatian, 5th-3rd century BCE, now in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, image courtesy of the museum.

Reconstruction of Sarmatian chieftain. Araltobe mount, Kazakhstan, III-II cc. BC. Excavation of Z. Samashev. "Heritage of the Great Steppe" exhibition, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Аимаина хикари.

Disc brooch, Sarmatian, c. 150-100 BC, gold, chalcedony, carnelian, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Daderot.

Sarmatian cataphracts (who fought for the Dacians) during the Dacian Wars as depicted on Trajan's Column, 113 CE, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Oval brooch with intaglio of Athena, Sarmatian, c. 100 BC, gold, carnelian, garnet, rock crystal, glass, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Daderot.

Battle between the Slavs and the Scythians (Sarmatians) — painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (1881), courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

 

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Domus del Chirurgo (House of the Surgeon) in Rimini, Italy

 I noticed the link to this archaeological site in an article with a suggested "tour" of the Roman Empire. This 2nd century CE Roman site does have an English version website and a few images of mosaics and structures a visitor would find there. I checked Wikipedia and was surprised to find the site barely mentioned on Rimini's page although it appears to be an extensively excavated site. 

The nearby museum houses the 150 surgical instruments found there. Eutyches, the Greek physician who owned the house is thought to have been an accomplished military surgeon as his instruments were designed for bone injuries and wound repairs, including a Diocles' spoon for extracting arrows. No gynecology-related instruments were found though so he probably worked in an all-male environment.  

Eutyches was also an admirer of the Epicurean philosopher Hermarchus as fragments of his statue were found In the garden. Hermarchus was a disciple and successor of Epicurus as head of the Epicurean school. Although none of his writings survives it is known from other sources that he wrote works directed against Plato, Aristotle, and Empedocles. A fragment from his Against Empedocles, preserved by Porphyry, discusses the need for law in society.

The villa suffered a catastrophic fire and was abandoned about 260 CE based on the dates of 80 coins discovered in the ruins.

The official website:  https://www.domusrimini.com/eng/the-surgeon-house/ 

Mosaic pavements in the 2nd century CE Domus del Chirurgo (House of the Surgeon) in Rimini, Italy

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!

Nomads of the Golden Mountains of Altai

Yesterday when I was researching the post about horses in the ancient world, I was intrigued by the detail image of a Persian horseman on the so-called Pazyryk carpet that Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones included in his blog post. The Pazyryk carpet is considered the oldest surviving example of a pile carpet in the world and is thought to have been made around 400 BCE in Armenia or Persia.

It was discovered in a Scythian kurgan burial in the Pazyryk Valley of the Ukok plateau in the Altai Mountains, Siberia, south of the modern city of Novosibirsk, Russia. The tomb mounds discovered there are now part of the  Golden Mountains of Altai UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The horseman of the Pazyryk culture apparently  accumulated great wealth through horse trading with merchants in Persia, India and China as evidenced by the variety of grave goods including Chinese silk, the pile carpet,  horses decked out in elaborate trappings, and wooden furniture and a full-sized burial chariot found there.   Some horses were provided with leather or felt masks made to resemble animals, with stag antlers or rams’ horns often incorporated in them. Bearded mascarons (masks) of well-defined Greco-Roman origin were also found.  Scholars think these may have been inspired by the Hellenistic kingdoms of the Cimmerian Bosporus. 

These finds were preserved when water seeped into the tombs in antiquity and froze, encasing the burial goods in ice until their excavation by archaeologists M. P. Gryaznov in 1929 and Sergei Ivanovich Rudenko in 1947–1949.

In his book, "The frozen tombs of Siberia: the Payryk Burials of Iron-Age Horseman," Rudenko comments on the close similarities between the equestrian and animal motifs of the Pazyryk carpet and the sculptures of Achaemenid Persepolis.

"Arranged chain-like men and beasts in certain spaces, obviously remind us of Achaemenid and Assyrian styles. Decorating horse tail and foretop is also a Persian tradition. Stablemen pace on the horse's left while their right hand is on its neck both in Persepolis statues and Pazyryk."

He also points out that the deer design is a yellow deer known as a Persian Fallow Deer or Mesopotamian Fallow Deer.

Five bodies were found in the Pazyryk burials during this period including a powerfully built man in his fifties thought to be a chieftain. The man was elaborately decorated with an interlocking series of striking designs representing a variety of fantastic beasts. The best preserved tattoos were images of a donkey, a mountain ram, two highly stylized deer with long antlers and an imaginary carnivore on the right arm. Two monsters resembling griffins decorate the chest, and on the left arm are three partially obliterated images which seem to represent two deer and a mountain goat. On the front of the right leg a fish extends from the foot to the knee. A monster crawls over the right foot, and on the inside of the shin is a series of four running rams which touch each other to form a single design. 

A carefully embalmed young female, dubbed the Siberian Ice Maiden, was discovered by archaeologist Natalia Polosmak in 1993 at Ukok, near the Chinese border. She had been buried over 2,400 years ago in a casket fashioned from the hollowed-out trunk of a Siberian larch tree. On the outside of the casket were stylized images of deer and snow leopards carved in leather.  Six horses wearing elaborate harnesses had been sacrificed and lay to the north of the chamber. Her hair was shaved off but she was wearing a wig and tall hat and was  clad in a long crimson and white striped woolen skirt and white felt stockings. Her yellow blouse was originally thought to be made of wild "tussah" silk but closer examination of the fibers indicate the material is not Chinese but was a wild silk which came from somewhere else, perhaps India. Like the chieftain, she had been tatooed with animal motifs including creatures with horns that transformed into flowers. Although Herodotus described the widespread use of cannabis by Scythian nomads, the seeds found in the tomb of the Ice Princess were only coriander, probably used to disguise the smell of the body.

In January 2007 a timber tomb of a blond chieftain warrior was unearthed close to the Mongolian border. Like the other individuals, the man was tattooed and he wore a well-preserved sable coat. What looks like scissors were found among his grave goods. Additional tombs were found as recently as the summer of 2012.

Detail of horseman on the Pazyryk carpet, 400 BCE, courtesy of Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

The Pazyryk carpet 400 BCE, courtesy of the Hermitage Museum and Wikimedia Commons.

Detail of deer on Payryk carpet, 400 BCE, courtesy of the Hermitage Museum and Wikimedia Commons.

Funerary chariot found in a Pazyryk burial courtesy of Charles Recknagel and the Hermitage Museum.

Closeup of a felt saddle pad from a Pazyryk burial mound courtesy of Charles Recknagel and the Hermitage Museum

A saddle found in the Pazyryk tombs, showing the same kinds of tassels that can be seen on the saddles depicted in the Pazyryk carpet courtesy of Charles Recknagel and the Hermitage Museum.

Wooden table found in a Pazyryk burial mound courtesy of Charles Recknagel and the Hermitage Museum

A gilded wooden figurine of a deer from the Pazyryk burials, 5th century BCE courtesy of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia and Wikimedia Commons.

Fifth century BCE bridle with wooden Hellenistic motifs, Pazyryk Culture, courtesy of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia

Wood and leather finial of a griffin with a stag in its beak, Pazyryk Culture, 5th century BCE, courtesy of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia

Mask with Antlers for a Horse Head, Pazyryk Culture, 5th century BCE, courtesy of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia

This plaque in the shape of a griffin standing on the defeated ibex served as decoration of the headdress of a noble warrior. The entire composition is raised in relief from a sheet of gold. The griffin's head is hollow. Its figure seems enormous as compared with that of the ibex. The ibex is depicted with its hind quarters twisted upwards, which is typical of Altaic art. The griffin's body was richly decorated in a cloisonne technique, but the insets have not survived. This composition is similar to that of the leather object found in the Pazyryk Barrow No. 2 in Altai. The ibex's posture and the decorative devices are identical to the depictions on the saddle covers from the Pazyryk Barrow No. 1. Thus this splendid aigrette can be attributed to the 5th to 4th century BCE. Besides, we see that the whole composition, particularly the griffin, was produced under the influence of the Achaemenid art, courtesy of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Leather, fur, and gold foil headdress, Early Iron Age, Pazyryk Culture, courtesy of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia

If you enjoyed this post, never miss out on future posts by following me by email!