State Formation and Urbanization in EIA Rome: Investigating the Role of the Exchange and Human-Environment Interactions

罗马 EIA 中的国家形成和城市化：调查交换和人类与环境相互作用的作用

• 批准号: 1259122
• 负责人: Nicola Terrenato
• 金额: $ 24.45万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-05-01 至 2015-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1259122&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: State; Formation; Urbanization; EIA; Rome

With support from the National Science Foundation, a multi-disciplinary international team directed by Dr. Nicola Terrenato will carry out archaeological research at a Tiber River site in downtown Rome around which the ancient city grew. Preliminary drilling has shown that the environment of the Tiber shore was extremely challenging for early Romans, with frequent flooding, silting and land sliding. Given the strategic significance of the harbor though, the inhabitants had to reclaim this area with infill, river walls and resurfacing over a course of two or three centuries in the early first millennium BCE. This was one of the first collective projects that the Romans undertook and it arguably signaled the first emergence of a state structure and of a city government. The excavations will reveal how and when this crucial human impact took place, while at the same time allowing a more precise reconstruction of the original environmental conditions when the city was founded. The site of S. Omobono is also characterized by the presence of a cult structure: a wooden temple whose façade was highly visible by the ships arriving in the harbor. It honored Good Fortune, a key deity for ancient Mediterranean traders. The excavation will explore some of the associated votive deposits, deep pits in which objects dedicated to the goddess were thrown, revealing important aspects of the religious life of the early city and exploring the connection between cult places and early markets. Thus the project will shed light on the interaction of multiple variables - economic, social and political - which contributed to the rise of this early and iconic state.The deep levels which will be exposed have been submerged in water since their original deposition, a situation that allows the conservation of organic materials, such as wood, leather, fabric and much else, which normally rot away and are lost forever. This rare kind of wet preservation will allow for the recovery of a unique range of artifacts and of other perishable materials (such as fruits or insects), which will significantly improve knowledge of early Mediterranean cultures and environments. New light will be thrown on aspects such as agricultural production, diet, craft activities and trade.It is well attested from goods found in tombs that merchants from Syria, Cyprus and Greece, among other Mediterranean commercial centers, would regularly visit Rome. Given the proximity to the harbor, evidence of trade is expected to be particularly rich at S. Omobono. Combined with the exceptional wet preservation and the presence of votive pits, the site is highly likely to yield a unique range of imported materials. Their sequence and quantification will definitively test the hypothesis that the formation of early states is accompanied by a sharp increase in long-distance commercial contacts.

在美国国家科学基金会（National Science Foundation）的支持下，由尼古拉·特雷纳托（Nicola Terrenato）博士领导的一个多学科国际团队将在罗马市中心的台伯河遗址进行考古研究。初步的钻探表明，台伯河沿岸的环境对早期罗马人来说极具挑战性，经常发生洪水、泥沙淤积和陆地滑动。然而，考虑到港口的战略意义，在公元前一千年早期的两三个世纪里，居民们不得不用填充物、河墙和重新铺设地面来收回这片地区。这是罗马人进行的第一批集体工程之一，可以说它标志着国家结构和城市政府的第一次出现。挖掘工作将揭示这一关键的人类影响是如何以及何时发生的，同时可以更精确地重建城市建立时的原始环境条件。S. Omobono遗址的另一个特点是存在一个邪教结构：一个木制寺庙，到达港口的船只可以非常清楚地看到它的外观。它是为了纪念好运，古代地中海商人的一个重要神灵。这次挖掘将探索一些相关的献祭沉积物，这些深坑里扔着献给女神的物品，揭示了早期城市宗教生活的重要方面，并探索了祭祀场所和早期市场之间的联系。因此，该项目将揭示经济、社会和政治等多个变量之间的相互作用，这些变量促成了这个早期的标志性国家的崛起。将暴露的深层地层自其最初沉积以来一直被淹没在水中，这种情况使得有机材料得以保存，如木材、皮革、织物和许多其他材料，这些材料通常会腐烂并永远消失。这种罕见的湿法保存将使一系列独特的人工制品和其他易腐烂的材料（如水果或昆虫）得以恢复，这将大大提高对早期地中海文化和环境的认识。农业生产、饮食、工艺活动和贸易等方面将出现新的亮点。古墓中发现的物品充分证明，来自叙利亚、塞浦路斯和希腊等地中海商业中心的商人会定期访问罗马。考虑到靠近港口，预计在S. Omobono会有特别丰富的贸易证据。结合特殊的湿保存和许愿坑的存在，该遗址极有可能产生一系列独特的进口材料。它们的顺序和数量将肯定地验证这样一种假设，即早期国家的形成伴随着长距离商业联系的急剧增加。