Archaeologists from the University of Tokyo have uncovered possible traces of the Villa of Augustus during excavations at Somma Vesuviana.

Somma Vesuviana is a town and commune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. During the Roman period, the area was a resort for rich patricians of Rome, or for rich estate owners who constructed large villa complexes.

Excavations in the Nola area during the 1930’s uncovered a large Roman villa interpreted as the Villa of Augustus, which has been subject to ongoing archaeological investigations since 2002.

The villa actually dates from the 2nd century AD, however, more recent studies have discovered traces of a building in a lower context that dates from around the reign of Augustus.

Image Credit : UTokyo Foundation

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius), was Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is credited as being the founder of the Roman Empire and the Principate system of government which lasted until the Crisis of the Third Century.

According to accounts by Tacitus and Suetonius, Augustus died in a villa located on the northern side of Mount Vesuvius, which was later consecrated as a temple for his Imperial cult.

Archaeologists used radiocarbon dating and a physical and chemical analysis of the volcanic pumice layers covering the earlier building, the results of which confirmed that the building predates the Vesuvian eruption in AD 79 which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The eruption released a deadly cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km, ejecting molten rock, pulverised pumice, and hot ash at 1.5 million tons per second. Excavations within the building have uncovered pieces of walls and roof tiles that collapsed due to pyroclastic flows as the volcanic material travelled down the northern side of the volcano.

According to a press statement by the University of Tokyo: “This suggests that even the northern foothills of Mount Vesuvius, where the effects of the AD 79 eruption were said to have been less severe than the southeastern region of the mountain, were also affected by the eruption with destructive power.”

To further support the supposition of the building being the Villa of Augustus, the team conducted the same physical and chemical dating of volcanic material on adjacent buildings associated with the early villa complex.

Furthermore, radiocarbon dating of charcoal collected from the ruins of a “kiln”-like structure has dated the material to the early 1st century AD. The discovery of 1st century AD amphorae within the ruins indicate that the “kiln”-like structure was later converted into a warehouse before the eruption.

Studies of the 2nd century building has also revealed that it reused architectural features from the earlier building, demonstrating a transition from “disaster” to “reconstruction” in the area around Mount Vesuvius.

Header Image Credit : UTokyo Foundation

Sources : University of Tokyo

This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily

Underwater archaeologists from Södertörn University, in collaboration with the CEMAS/Institute for Archaeology and Ancient Culture at Stockholm University, have conducted an investigation of the wreck of the royal flagship Gribshunden.

A diving club first discovered the wreck in the 1970’s at a depth of 10 m (33 ft), but unaware of the significance, the identity of the wreck wouldn’t be confirmed until 2013.

The wreck is internationally significant as the world’s best-preserved ship from the Age of Exploration – a proxy for the vessels of Christopher Columbus and Vasco da Gama.

The Gribshunden was the flagship of Hans (John), King of Denmark, which after a large explosion in 1495, sank at anchor near the town of Ronneby, Sweden.

The ship was enroute to Kalmar from Copenhagen and was carrying the king for a summit with the Swedish council. At the time of the explosion, the king was ashore and suffered no injury, however, one contemporary account records 150 crewman dying in the tragic accident.

The Gribshunden sunk to a depth of just ten metres, meaning that the rigging was still above the water level and was partially accessible. Salvers boarded the ship and used rudimentary diving equipment to salvage some of the high-status belongings of the king and retinue.

Underwater archaeologists have recently conducted a non-intrusive survey of the wreck site using photography and 3D photogrammetry. This has provided new data for a digital reconstruction of the wreck and further insights into the ship’s superstructure.

Furthermore, the survey has provided details into the armaments still onboard and the present state of preservation of the timbers from the wreck structure.

According to a paper on the study: “The main focus of the investigation concerned the ship’s superstructure, and it can be stated that there are a large number of timbers and building parts which, after further reconstruction and interpretation, will give a more detailed picture of the ship’s superstructure”.

Header Image Credit : Rolf Fabricius Warming

Sources : Stockholms universitet

This content was originally published on www.heritagedaily.com – © 2023 – HeritageDaily