Was Nero's Domus Aurea as big as the ancient sources claim?

A history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2015

I really enjoyed reading Golden House of an Emperor: How archaeologists are saving Nero’s fabled pleasure palace by Federico Gurgone  in the September/October issue of Archaeology Magazine about the restoration of Nero's Golden House, the Domus Aurea,  I especially appreciated the pictures as both times I have attempted to tour the Domus Aurea I have been thwarted.  In 2005, there was a sign at the entrance saying the site would open in the afternoon but when I went back to the entrance at the designated time, no one was around.  The second time I returned to Rome in 2009 I was told the Domus Aurea was deemed unsafe to visit and closed for repairs.

High vaulted ceilings of the Domus Aurea must have given a feeling of insignificance
to visitors.  Photographed by Mauro Orlando © 2015.  Reproduced with permission
via cc by-nc-nd 2.0.

According to the article, the structure suffered extensive damage from vineyards that were planted atop Nero's buried  palace in the 18th century.  A large public park was also built over the site in 1871 and enlarged by Benito Mussolini in the mid 20th century.  All of the plants and trees' roots have broken the ancient mortar between the stones of Trajan's baths sitting atop the palace and chemical compounds released by the roots have seeped down into underlying structures as well.

Just the sheer weight of all the plants is placing a strain on the palace's structures even though the innovative flat arches and brick-faced concrete support structures are among some of the strongest of the ancient world.  The article mentioned a laurel tree that weighed over 30,000 pounds when it was removed and I remember standing by one about that size when I was there.

I was under the impression that most of the beautiful frescoes that inspired the artists of the Renaissance had crumbled from the walls but I see by the pictures in the article some are actually still intact!

Delicate floral patterns and mythological beings on a white background seen in frescoes of the Domus Aurea inspired decor throughout the Roman Empire including the Temple of Isis in Pompeii.  Photographed by Francois Spilliaert © 2011.
Reproduced with permission via cc by-NC 2.0.

I think there are a lot of misimpressions about the Domus Aurea that architectural researchers hope to clear up once they have an opportunity to explore the remains more thoroughly.  The construction of the Domus Aurea is one of the key events leading to the downfall of the Roman emperor Nero.  The size of the structure alone was used to accuse Nero of causing the great fire of 64 CE so he could build a spacious new palace and "live like a human being".  But was the structural portion of his original Domus Aurea really that big?

In his 1981 journal article "The Domus Aurea Reconsidered", P. Gregory Warden points out that the Domus Aurea was essentially a landscape park in which the architectural components were subordinated to a greater landscape design.  Although earlier scholarship tried to estimate an overall size of 80 hectares of land, Warden suggests the complex covered a much smaller area about half that size.  He also points out that architectural remains in the Esquiline wing, essentially the only extant portion of the palace, indicate it is not even entirely Neronian.  He claims the eastern section is Flavian in date.

Furthermore, much of the Domus Aurea was actually rebuilt over Nero's original palace, the Domus Transitoria as shown in the Archaeology article.  I originally read this in a book and was surprised since it appears to contradict claims that he cleared the center of Rome for his own use, contrary to ancient propaganda.  The expansive gardens, animal menagerie and artificial lake adjacent to the palace did consume quite a bit of property but they were open to the public sort of like Central Park in New York.

In his 1960 text, "The Golden House of Nero", scholar Axel Boëthius distinguished between peristyle and portico villas and described the Domus Aurea as the portico type.  Warden summarizes Boëthius' views:

"Lavish portico villas of the 1st century A.D., with spectacular views of the mountains or seacoast, are commonly shown in Campanian paintings.  They had also been built by emperors before Nero, although, of course, never in Rome.  Nero, however, did much more than import a landscape villa into the heart of Rome; the audacity of his design, or at least the design of his planners, Severus and Celer, was that he imported the landscape as well.  He took advantage of the devastations of the great fire of 64, combined new land with Imperial possessions, probably usurping some private holdings and public monuments as well, turned them all into a large park.  The entire complex, as Boethius noted, was much more than a villa, or architecturally perhaps much less; it was a landscape park in which the villa was but a component.  Buildings, perhaps more correctly termed "pavilions," would have been scattered about, and the individual sections would have been linked conceptually rather than physically." - P. Gergory Warden, The Domus Aurea Reconsidered

With this type of arrangement, determining the size of the actual Domus Aurea has proved challenging.  Warden says there has been too much reliance on a topographical study by C.C. Van Essen published in 1954.  Since that time, whenever a new structure was found within the area described by Van Essen as the Domus Aurea, structures have been accepted as such based on topography alone.

"However, if we examine these fragments of what is purported to be the Domus Aurea, we find a confusing diversity of construction techniques and architectural styles." Warden says.

One such example is the nymphaeum found at the intersection of the Vile del Monte Oppio and the Via delle Terme di Traiano.  Although designated as part of the Domus Aurea, the nymphaeum is not aligned with the Domus Aurea and none of the brickwork appears to be Neronian.

"The nymphaeum is roofed with an elaborate system of groin vaults," Warden explains, "In the entire Esquiline wing of the Domus Aurea there are only two groin vaults, considered the earliest existing examples of their kind, and they are found in the eastern part of the building, a section whose date, as we shall see, is problematical'.

I realize most of us are not architects, so, what is a groin vault?  In his excellent lecture, "Construction Revolution - Arches and Concrete", part of the Great Courses series Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon, Professor Stephen Ressler of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, explains that a groin vault is the shape formed when two barrel vaults intersect.  He then demonstrates how the Romans used concrete poured over a wooden frame to create a groin vault.  (Professor Ressler uses models throughout his course to demonstrate construction processes and I find them quite helpful to understand various Roman engineering techniques.)

Groin vaults were used extensively in the construction of Trajan's Market particularly the aulus portion but were not characteristic of Neronian architecture or the western portion of the Domus Aurea.  Warden also notes that all three of the brickstamps found at the nymphaeum are Trajanic in date.

Warden contends that nothing north of the Esquiline wing can be safely attributed to the Golden House.  Apparently buildings to the east of the site of the artificial lake have been found to be from a later date as well.

Lavishly decorated vaulted ceiling in the Domus Aurea circa 1999.  Photographed by Jacqueline Poggi © 1999.
Reproduced with permission via cc by-nc-nd 2.0

Warden admits there are many Neronian-era structures on the Palatine but thinks they should probably be attributed to the Domus Transitoria although a cryptoporticus linking them may have been built in conjunction with the Domus Aurea.

In 2009, Roman archaeologists excavating the Domus Aurea found remains of what they think may have been Nero's famous rotating dining room on the Palatine Hill.

"The rotating dining room had a diameter of more than 50ft and rested upon a 13ft-wide pillar and four spherical mechanisms that rotated the structure.  

The mechanism was a feat of Roman engineering, and moved thanks to the spheres beneath the wooden floor of the room, kept in constant movement by water being forced against them. Quite how this worked is still being researched. 

Experts believe the dining room could be up to 60m long, but have so far uncovered several supporting pillars, one 4m in diameter, as well as a perimeter wall. 

Archaeologist Maria Antonietta Tomei told how it was the circular shape of the building and the stone spheres that led the team to believe they had found the rotating dining room."  - Nick Pisa and Claire Bates, Roman Emperor Nero's legendary rotating dining room uncovered by archaeologists, The Daily Mail, September 30, 2009.

But, If you read Suetonius' biography of Nero, his distinction between structures within the Domus Transitoria and the subsequent Domus Aurea is a bit hazy.

"There was nothing more ruinously wasteful however than his project to build a palace extending from the Palatine to the Esquiline, which he first called ‘The Passageway’, but after it had burned down shortly after completion and been re-built, ‘The Golden House’. The following details will give a good idea of its size and splendour...Inside there was gold everywhere, with gems and mother-of-pearl. There were dining rooms whose ceilings were of fretted ivory, with rotating panels that could rain down flowers, and concealed sprinklers to shower the guests with perfume. The main banqueting hall was circular with a revolving dome, rotating day and night to mirror the heavens." - Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Nero, Book Six: XXXI 

Furthermore, Warden says literary sources point to Neronian builders focusing their efforts on areas other than the Palatine.

"There are also undoubtedly remains of Neronian structures to the south, on the edges of the Caelian in the area of the Temple of the Deified Claudius," Warden writes, "These Neronian works ...are considered to have been more like facades and porticoes with elaborate hydraulic works than buildings proper."

So, according to Warden, an analysis of the topology would indicate the Domus Aurea was centered on the artificial lake and hugged the slopes of the surrounding hills where structures there were hardly more than theatrical facades for elaborate landscape effects.

View of the Colosseum, once Nero's artificial lake, from the Domus Aurea.  Photographed by Jean-Pierre Dalbera © 2011
Reproduced with permission via cc by 2.0.

Then Warden tackles issues with differences in construction and the chronology of extant remains.

He points out that the most obvious differences in the remains on the Esquiline are the fact that the western section of the complex is primarily rectilinear with a porticoed southern facade and relatively traditional while the eastern half of the complex is structurally complex with its octagonal room with flat arches and a domed concrete ceiling with oculus, groin-vaulted subsidiary rooms and an apsed nymphaeum.

Innovative flat arches and concrete domed ceiling with oculus of the spacious
octagonal reception room of the Domus Aurea.  Photographed by Jacqueline Poggi © 1999.Reproduced with permission via cc by-nc-nd 2.0

The two sections are also fused awkwardly and there is a distinctive difference in mortar color from one section to the next.

"Some of the brickwork of the Esquiline wing is very similar to brickwork in the Colosseum," Warden observes. "...at least some of the brickwork of the Esquiline wing is probably Flavian in date.  The crucial question is whether the later brickwork represents minor alterations or an entire building phase."

The degree of decoration may also point to later construction in the eastern section.

"...the concrete dome of the octagonal room still shows signs of the planks of the wooden armature onto which it was cast.  Further, there is no evidence that the concrete of the dome was ever stuccoed or revetted.  While this eastern section may never have been finished, the western section was not only completed but also fully decorated, and it was also extensively restored in later, probably Flavian times."

Although Nero dedicated the Domus Aurea before his death, it, like many buildings in antiquity that were dedicated before completion, may not, in fact, have been completed.  Suetonius, in his biography of Otho, mentions that Otho put aside 50 million sesterces for the completion of the Domus Aurea.  This would indicate that it was not finished at the time of Nero's death.

Detail of a fresco in the Domus Aurea.  Photographed by Francois Spilliaert © 2011.
Reproduced with permission via cc by-NC 2.0

Cassius Dio recounted that Galeria, the wife of Vitellius, found the place too gloomy for her taste and that Vespasian preferred the Horti Sallustiani instead.    Pliny the Elder notes that the famous sculpture of the Laocoon, reported found in either the Termae Traiani or the Domus Aurea, resided in the palace of Titus.  Since this structure has never been identified, some scholars think the eastern part of the Domus Aurea may have been identified as the Domus Titi.

The Trojan Priest Laocoon and his sons attacked by sea snakes because Laocoon had tried to warn
the Trojan citizens of the danger of bringing in the wooden horse.  This sculptural group was found
"in the palace of Titus" in the general area of the Domus Aurea in 1506.  Photographed by
Mary Harrsch at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City © 2005

Warden points to one more literary source indicating a portion of the Domus Aurea was, in fact, Flavian.

"The complex spatial planning of the eastern half would accord well with our view of Flavian architecture, and in support of a Flavian date there is one more piece of evidence. Eusebius, writing at the beginning of the 4th century A.D., mentions in a long list of Flavian monuments a certain Mica Aurea, the remains of which have not been identified. It has been suggested by A.M. Colini, on the basis of the name, that the Mica Aurea could have been a pavilion or a section of the Domus Aurea which was restored under Domitian."

As an architectural historian, Warden raises the question that if the eastern section of the Esquiline wing of the Domus Aurea is not the work of Nero's famous architects, Severus and Celer, but is instead the work of Domitian's architect, Rabirius, historians should perhaps not view the original Domus Aurea as the revolutionary structure marking the turning point of Roman architectural engineering when concrete replaced opus quadratum as the material of choice "to express newer and freer definitions of interior space".

As a student of Roman politics, I think this entire discussion makes me wonder if most of the hype around Nero's lavish lifestyle was just one more example of imperial Roman propaganda used to villify yet another deposed emperor!

References:

Gurgone, F. (2015, August 10). Golden House of an Emperor. Retrieved August 15, 2017, from http://www.archaeology.org/issues/187-1509/features/3562-golden-house-of-an-emperor

Warden, P. (1981). The Domus Aurea Reconsidered. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, 40(4), 271-278. Retrieved September 7, 2015, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/989644

Boëthius, A. (1960). The golden house of Nero: some aspects of Roman architecture. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Ressler, S., Ph.D. (2015, September 10). Construction Revolution - Arches and Concrete. Lecture presented as part of the course Understanding Greek and Roman Technology: From Catapult to the Pantheon produced by The Great Courses.

Pisa, N. and Bates, C. (2009, September 30). Roman Emperor Nero's legendary rotating dining room uncovered by archaeologists, The Daily Mail.

Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Nero, Book Six: XXXI 

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

The Ubians

A history resource article by Mary Harrsch © 2007


I was watching my DVD set of HBO's Rome with a feature activated called "The Road to Rome". This feature displays explanatory notes about references made in the character's dialog or activities that characters are engaged in or watching.

In the episode where Vorenus and Pullo are taking an advance guard to Rome to post a notice that Caesar is on his way, the auxilliary troops that are with them are dressed in furs and carrying slashing swords. The information posted about them was that they were Ubians, a tribe of Germano-Celtic people that allied with Rome and that Caesar employed as bodyguards.

Romeo Model of a Germanic Warrior (54mm) beautifully rendered by artist Sergey Popovichenko

I had not studied anything about them before so I researched them on the web. I found an interesting article about them on The History Files website.

"The Ubii tribal name is an easy one to break down. Without the '-i' plural suffix, the proto-Germanic forms of the word are 'uba' and 'ubaraz', meaning 'up, over, above'. This was retained in Old High German as 'oba', meaning 'up, over’. The tribe seemingly were above everyone. As this wasn't meant in a geographical sense by the middle of the first century BC, it was either meant as an expression of superiority or it related to their original homeland, perhaps at the top of the Jutland peninsula. Given the German habit of using place names for tribal names, this would make sense geographically." - The History Files

It points out that Caesar's foray across the Rhine was supposedly in response to a plea from the Ubians to defend them against the Suevians (also spelled Suebians).

"As recorded by Julius Caesar in his work, Commentarii de Bello Gallico, the Tencteri and Usipetes tribes are driven out of their tribal lands in Germania by the militarily dominant Suevi. This probably places them on the middle Rhine. They force their way into the lands of the Belgic Menapii, also attacking the Condrusi and Eburones tribes. Feigning a withdrawal to lure out the Menapii, the Tencteri and Usipetes defeat them, capture their ships and occupy many of their villages for the winter. 

Caesar, alarmed at this threat to the north of territory in Gaul that he has already conquered, takes a force into the region. After much diplomatic effort and some delays, he attacks the Germanic tribes and drives them back into Germania with heavy losses. Both tribes follow the east bank of the Rhine upstream and find refuge with the Sicambri. They remain settled in these lands for much of the remainder of their existence. Caesar crosses the Rhine to follow them and to show the Germans that Romans are not afraid to stage a counter-invasion. Another reason is that a portion of the cavalry of the Usipetes and Tencteri had not been present at the recent battle. Instead they had proceeded to the territories of the Sicambri to join this tribe, remaining defiant, while uniquely amongst the peoples across the Rhine, the Ubii petition Caesar for help against the oppressive Suevi who until recently have been ruled by the powerful Ariovistus. 

A model of Caesar's Rhine bridge at the Museo nazionale della civiltà romana in Rome, Italy.
Photograph by Jona Lendering cc by-nc-sa 4.0.

 Several other tribes submit to Caesar, but the Sicambri withdraw from their territories on the advice of the Usipetes and Tencteri. Caesar remains in their lands for a few days before burning down their villages and taking their corn. He moves his forces into Ubii territory to show solidarity with them against the Suevi threat before returning to Gaul.

Having left a strong guard with the Treveri following the conclusion of their revolt, Caesar again crosses the Rhine to deal with their German supporters. The Ubii reaffirm their loyalty to him while Caesar discovers that the auxiliaries that had joined the Treveri had been sent by the Suevi. They are drawing together units of infantry and cavalry from all across their vast domain and, having learned of Caesar's approach, they withdraw to the vast wood called Bacenis (a thick forest of beech trees which has been equated with the Harz), which separates the Suevi from the Cherusci. Unwilling to follow them, Caesar fortifies the bridge that connects to the Ubii and stations twelve cohorts there." - The History Files

Wikipedia also had this information:

"They [the Ubians] were transported in 39 BC by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa to the left bank [of the Rhine]. This was apparently at their own request, as they feared the incursions of the Suevi.

A portrait bust of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa at The Louvre
in Paris, France.  Photo by Mary Harrsch © 2008

Agrippa founded the city of Cologne as their capital, whose Latin name Colonia Agrippensis is the origin of the current form. The Ubii remained loyal allies of Rome, and were instrumental in crushing the Batavian rebellion in 70. They seem to have been so thoroughly Romanized that they adopted the name Agrippenses in honour of their “founder”, and their later history is submerged in that of eastern Gaul as a whole."

The Oppidum Ubiorum was founded in the first century BC, on a site that had seen occupation since the Neolithic period, but it was Rome that turned it into the city of Cologne.  Public domain image courtesy of The History Files.

Gravestone of an Ubian bodyguard for Nero.  Image courtesy of
Wikimedia Commons.

The Ubians remained loyal to Rome into the 4th century CE with many serving as personal bodyguards to the emperors.  Archaeologists have recovered a gravestone of one such body guard for the emperor Nero.

I also found this interesting legend related to the Ubians:

"The Dogs of St. Cassius

The majestic Minster of Bonn rises high above the surrounding houses. In olden times, when the tribe of the Ubians was still dwelling in that part of the country, a heathen temple stood on that very site. It had been an important place of worship for the whole Rhine valley. The Ubians offered their numerous human sacrifices there.

Some time ago the big altar of the ancient temple was excavated, and is still preserved under the name of Ara Ubiorum. Many prisoners of war and poor slaves have been slain on this mouldering stone.

When St. Helena, mother of Constantine, came to Bonn, the old heathen temple was burnt to ashes. The pious empress destroyed many sanctuaries of the idolaters, and hewed down the gigantic oaks of the sacred forest near. She built a Christian church in the same place, and dedicated it to St. Cassius.

After some time this church was enlarged and embellished. A high tower with slender spires crowned the lofty fane, and big bells hung in the steeples. For long centuries they rang in good and evil days.

Portrait Sculpture of the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine at the Capitoline Museum in
Rome, Italy.  (This 4th century CE sculpture was once thought to be Agrippina The Younger,
the mother of the Emperor Nero)  Photographed by Mary Harrsch  © 2009

In the lapse of time they saw war and peace, joy and woe passing by. They mingled their deep solemn tones with the joyful cries of the populace, when the German Emperor, Frederick the Beautiful, and Charles, Father of Bohemia, marched in splendid procession to the Minster to be crowned.

Whenever the electors of Cologne, who chose Bonn as their residence, were singing high mass in the church below, the bells joined in the Te Deum with their melodious peals.

Originally the Minster was the collegiate church of Saints Cassius and Florentius, who were Roman legionaries of the legendary all-Christian Theban Legion. The legion's garrison, according to legend, was in the Egyptian town of Thebes. Roman Emperor Maximianus Herculius ordered the legion to march to Gaul and assist in subduing rebels from Burgundy. At some point during their march, the legion refused to follow the emperor's orders either to kill fellow Christians or to worship Maximianus Herculius as a god. As a result, a large number of legionaries were martyred in Agaunum, now named Saint Maurice-en-Valais after Saint Maurice. According to legend, Saints Cassius and Florentius, who were under the command of Saint Gereon, were beheaded for their religious beliefs at the present location of the Bonn Minster.  Image courtesy of  Hans Weingartz, Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0-DE

But when the French had pitched their tents in Bonn and the brave warrior Brandenburg lay outside its gates, the Minster bells rang in woeful shrill sounds, for their steeple was set on fire.

Often when a thunderstorm threatened to burst the clouds, the bells gave their clear warning, and rang loudly as if they would drown the roaring of the thunder.

At midnight a thunderstorm round the old Minster is an awful thing. The legend records that as soon as the first growling of the thunder is audible, the idolaters who had dominated the minds of the Ubians during long centuries with their grim rites rise from their ancient burial places that surround the Christian church. United with the gods of darkness, they rage with shrill howlings round the grey building, where now the remains of St. Cassius are resting. They hate the pious saint whose martyrdom converted thousands of heathens.

Busts of Saint Cassius and Saint Florentius at the Bonn Minster.  Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

In vindictive anger they fill the air with burning brimstone, thicken the clouds, and direct lightnings towards the quiet Minster, to devour it with fire. But the saint himself watches over his tomb.

All at once the bells ring, though no human hand has touched the ropes, and sound clearly above the infernal noise below. The spirits of the heathens cry out. "Woe to us, the saint watches, the dogs of Cassius announce us. Woe to us, the dogs of Cassius are barking!"

With these cries and with terrible maledictions they vanish into the night. For a little while the thunder is still heard in the distance, but soon a deep stillness envelops the high Minster once more. Undamaged and as serene as ever, it stands pointing majestically towards heaven.

Time however, which has destroyed so many of the old customs, has hushed the dogs of Cassius into silence The bells of the Minster sound no more of their own accord at the approach of a thunderstorm at midnight.

Yet let us hope that in spite of this, the saint watches from heaven over his town, and will preserve his sanctuary for many years to come. "

A Kindle preview of an interesting look at Drusus the Elder, one of the Roman conquerors of Germania:



Other suggested reading:

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