“Horace's Villa” Brickstamps and the Brick Production of the Central Anio

D.4. THE “HORACE’S VILLA” BRICKSTAMPS AND THE BRICK PRODUCTION OF THE cENTRAL ANIO rIVER VALLEY BY GIORGIO fILIPPI D.4.1. INTRODUCTION it unlikely that products exclusively destined for one’s own everyday use were marked in this way. If With the notable exception of “Horace’s Villa,” our this were the case, the stamp by itself would not be knowledge of the stamped brick and tile production sufficient to identify the owner of the villa where it of the central Anio valley is still filled with too many was found.3 In contrast, other scholars claim that the gaps to permit anything more than a preliminary stamps—both of a public character as well as those account. made for the producer’s own use—can indicate “the ownership of the object being built, referring to the The lack of a valid interpretative model for all building to which the bricks belong and for which stamped bricks that have survived from antiquity they were made.” 4 and the numerous unanswered questions1 draw our attention to two essential aspects of this kind of source material. We must bear both aspects in mind, The place and date of production and of use if we are to use stamped bricks and tiles correctly for Since we have few data relative to the place and time in a historical reconstruction of archaeological sites and which stamped bricks were made, sold, and used, the of the territory: the stamp’s meaning as well as its study of the context in which the stamps were found location and date of production. can contribute the most to their proper interpretation. Therefore, a serious historical analysis must be based on an ensemble of documentary sources (literary, The meaning of the stamp and the partial nature of archaeological, and topographical). the written text The stamped brick or tile attests the ownership of D.4.2. HISTORY OF THE fINDS the object at the moment of its production. From the beginning, the epigraphic text was partial, because— Publication of the first brickstamp from Horace’s for obvious limitations of space—it necessitated a Villa (CIL XIV.4092.13=CIL XV, 1972a) choice of how much to communicate to the person In 1887 Hermann Dessau published in CIL XIV a who was supposed to read it. Scholars have offered rectangular stamp, with letters in relief, carrying various explanations for the meaning and custom the text [---] Naevi, preserved by the German Latin of stamping bricks. In particular, some consider philologist Alexander Riese (1840-19). The entry gave the provenance as the ruins which were 1. We do not know if all the producers stamped their thought to belong to the Sabine villa of Horace near bricks, what percentage of the bricks were stamped, Roccagiovine. and what meaning the stamps had to those who made them. D. Manacorda, “L’interpretazione della villa. Dai Sestii agli imperatori,” in Settefinestre. Una villa interpretativo,” in I laterizi di età romana nell’area schiavistica nel’Etruria romana I, ed. A. Carandini nordadriatica, ed. C. Zaccaria (Rome 1993) 9- (Modena 1985) 101-106; D. Manacorda, “Appunti 14; D. Manacorda, “I diversi significati dei bolli sulla bollatura delle merci in età romana,” in The laterizi. Appunti e riflessioni,” inLa brique antique Inscribed Economy, Journal of Roman Archaeology et médiévale. Production et commercialisation d’un Suppl. Vol. 6, ed. W. V. Harris (Ann Arbor matériau. Collection de l’École Française de Rome 1993) 37-54; E. M. Steinby, “L’organizzazione 7, eds. P. Boucheron, H. Broise, and Y. Thébert produttiva dei laterizi: un modello interpretativo (Rome 000) 17-159. per l’instrumentum in genere?” in The Inscribed 3. Steinby 1993b (as n. ), 14. Economy, Journal of Roman Archaeology Suppl. Vol. 6, ed. W. V. Harris (Ann Arbor 1993) 139-143; 4. In such a case, “è in linea di principio da escludere E. M. Steinby, “Ricerche sull’industria doliare nelle una loro comparsa sul mercato,” Manacorda 000 aree di Roma e di Pompei: un possibile modello (as n. ), 13-133, 139, 141. 197 GIORGIO FILIPPI In 1891, the same stamp was inserted by Heinrich evidence strongly suggests that it must have been the Dressel into the fifth chapter of CIL XV, among the villa in the Vigne di S. Pietro at Licenza. fragmentary or poorly interpreted lateres urbani. The entry recorded two stamps, both with a lacuna at The supplementation of the text—i.e., the addition of the beginning of the text and both carrying the same the praenomen Manius to the edition of CIL, which text, NAEVI. The first (1972a) was discovered near reports a lacuna—has been made possible by Pasqui’s Licenza at “Horace’s Villa” and was taken by Riese excavations of 1911-14,10 whose finds are housed in to Frankfurt. The second (197b=CIL XIV.4090.73), the Museo Oraziano in the Orsini Palace at Licenza described by Stevenson, came from the territory of (fig. 1). Now, for the first time in the 90 years since Grottaferrata and was kept in the museum of the the conclusion of Pasqui’s work, our epigraphical monastery there. knowledge is extended. Regarding the first stamp, since the name of the site In 196 Giuseppe Lugli published the excavation of Horace’s Villa at Licenza is “Vigne di S. Pietro,”5 results from the villa, utilizing the unpublished it is necessary to clarify the reason for the different catalogue compiled by Pasqui. However, Lugli’s toponym reported in CIL, which gives the find spot entries do not agree with the Pasqui manuscript and as the colle del poetello. are the result of an erroneous interpretation of the data.11 In 1857 Wilhelm Henzen and Pietro Rosa hypothesized that Horace’s Villa was located in a place called Pasqui’s catalogue, published for the first time in “Colle del Poetello” near Roccagiovine,6 where there this report by Frischer (see G.1.1), includes (in are remains of a Roman villa.7 Their argument was Category F: Construction Material) 1 brickstamps based on the alleged derivation of “poetello” from the that were housed in the museum at the conclusion of Latin poeta. In 1886 this hypothesis was demolished the excavations (fig. 1).1 by Tito Berti, who pointed out that “poetello” in the local dialect simply meant “hillock” (“poggierello” A direct study of the material, which is presently in standard Italian).8 preserved in the storehouse of the Soprintendenza Archeologica per il Lazio,13 has permitted us to To solve the long-debated question about the exact verify that, of the four examples cited by Lugli as location of Horace’s Villa, archaeological excavations certain identifications of the stamp in CIL XV, three were undertaken from 1911 to 1914 on the Vigne di are erroneous. Moreover, of the remaining six stamps S. Pietro site in Licenza.9 The connection of Horace’s property with both Roccagiovine and Licenza can be 10. Since, as will be seen, the documentation of Pasqui’s explained by the fact that it was situated quite close excavations was changed in the publication of to these two towns. Lugli, until now the new acquisitions have not entered the scholarly literature. E. M. Steinby Although a certain amount of confusion remains about hesitantly considers our stamp (197a) a variant of CIL XV.1315, in Indici complementari ai bolli the exact find spot of the brickstamp, the available doliari urbani (CIL XV.1) (Rome 1987) 136, 401. 11. F. Fedeli Bernardini and B. Amendolea, “Il Museo 5. Mari 1994, 66 n34. Oraziano di Licenza. ‘Dov’era e com’era’,” Atti del Convegno di Licenza (19-23 aprile 1993) 6. G. Henzen, “Villa d’Orazio,” Bullettino dell’Istituto (Venosa 1994) 163-199; A. M. Reggiani, “Angiolo di Corrispondenza Archeologica 7 (1857) 30-3; Pasqui e l’istituzione dell’Antiquarium della Villa P. Rosa, “Notizie intorno alla Villa di Orazio,” di Orazio,” Atti del Convegno di Licenza (19-23 Bullettino dell’Istituto di Corrispondenza aprile 1993) (Venosa 1994) 01-04. Archeologica 7 (1857) 105-110. 1. Lugli 196, col. 568. 7. Mari 1994, 65 n30. 13. Storehouse at the Santuario di Ercole Vincitore 8. T. Berti, La villa di Orazio (Rome 1886) 4-6. (Tivoli). I thank Dr. Maria Grazia Fiore for having 9. For the history of the excavations, see Frischer, granted me the opportunity to inspect the material B.4. on September 4, 00. 198 D.4. THE “HORACE’S VILLA” BRICKSTAMPS AND THE BRICK PRODUCTION OF THE CENTRAL ANIO RIVER VALLEY recorded by Lugli as having a rectangular form and as have visited.17 The second is incised on a roof-tile unpublished, one has a semi-circular form, another is fragment that comes from the archaeological area of circular with a central disk and three can be identified San Cosimato.18 from CIL XV.14 D.4.3. CATALOGUE The recent excavations conducted by the American Academy (1997-001) have brought to light seven D.4.3.1. Terminology and criterion of the brickstamps belonging to two types that had been publication of the stamps discovered earlier (indicated on table 1 with the abbreviation VH).15 Altogether, 7 stamps are known Figure 2 shows the system for classification of from Horace’s Villa. Of these, we have performed bricks and roof-tiles. After the typological naming of autopsy on 6. They belong to ten distinct types, of the object and the codification of the fragment, the which four were hitherto unpublished (table 1). words “+ cut” mean that the piece (brick or tile) has a side that is sawed and may therefore have been used Because of the rarity of the CIL XV 197 a compl.

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