Cultural Change in the Religious Sphere of Ancient Umbria Between the Sixth and the First Century BCE by Arianna Zapelloni Pavia
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Cultural Change in the Religious Sphere of Ancient Umbria between the Sixth and the First century BCE by Arianna Zapelloni Pavia A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Classical Art and Archaeology) in the University of Michigan 2020 Doctoral Committee: Professor Nicola Terrenato, Chair Professor Elaine Gazda Professor Christopher J. Ratté Professor Celia Schultz Professor Tesse Stek, Leiden University Professor Greg Woolf, University of London Arianna Zapelloni Pavia [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0003-0536-704X © Arianna Zapelloni Pavia 2020 “Eppure resta che qualcosa è accaduto, forse un niente che è tutto” (E. Montale) To my mother and father ii Acknowledgments When I finished my master’s thesis, I knew that I was not done with ancient Umbria and that some of the research questions that my work on the Large Substructure of Ocriculum had raised still needed to be addressed. My first thanks go to Professor Marco Galli, who encouraged me to take action and to realize that my desire to continue my studies abroad was not just a whim but a necessity in order to accomplish my dreams/goals. This research project was born when my interest in the sacred landscape of Umbria intersected with the intellectual vivacity of the faculty and students of the Interdepartmental Program in Classical Art and Archaeology and the Department of Classics at the University of Michigan. I would like to thank first and foremost my advisor Prof. Nicola Terrenato, who over the years has been a professor, advisor, colleague, and friend. Our conversations on Roman expansionism have been an inspiration for my research and those on how to cook a pizza have kept me sane. Professor Celia Schultz’s comments and careful reading of my work have made me a better thinker and writer. It was in her class that I first presented my ideas on Umbrian votive offerings, and her enthusiasm and support helped me turning these ideas into research questions. I would also like to thank the other members of my committee: Professor Elaine Gazda and Professor Chris Ratté, for their encouraging comments, Professors Greg Wolf and Tesse Stek, whose research has tremendously shaped my work. I am truly fortunate to have such a group of experts as my mentors. Special thanks also go to Professor Monika Trümper, whose advice on my work and, in particular, on the organization of the data have been tremendously beneficial for my research. iii This work would not have been possible without the unwavering support of the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio dell'Umbria and the Polo Museale dell’Umbria. I am deeply thankful to the archaeologists Dottor Giorgio Postrioti, Dottoressa Elena Roscini, Dottoressa Gabriella Sabatini, and Dottor Giovanni Altamore and to the technical staff, in particular Enrico Bizzarri and Luca Bartolini, not only for facilitating the obtainment of the study permits but also for assisting me in my research and study trips across the region. I am similarly grateful for the support that Dottoressa Luana Cenciaioli, director of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell’Umbria, has shown for my work. Since the time I was a Master’s student in Rome till now, she has always been open to discussing the archaeology of the region with me and allowed me to study the material preserved in the museum. The time I spent in Umbria has been full of stimulating conversations with scholars and students. Dottoressa Laura Bonomi Ponzi, previous Director of the Soprintendenza Archeologica dell’Umbria, Professor Simon Stoddart, Dottoressa Maria Romana Picuti, Dottoressa Anna Riva, and Dottoressa Mafalda Cipollone have been an invaluable source of practical advice and encouragement. The students of the Università di Perugia, in particular Enrico Ciafardini and Benedetta Sciarimenti, made me feel at home during the months I spent in Perugia and kindly offered me a desk in their office. My experience in Umbria would not have been the same without the help of all these people. At the University of Michigan, I met many wonderful people who have supported me along the way, dealt with my ups and downs, and filled my life with warmth and laughter. To my cohort, Matt Naglak, Craig Harvey, and Caitlin Clerkin, who struggled with me and have always been a source of encouragement and motivation. I am so grateful they were there when my adventure in IPCAA began. I especially thank Vishal Khandelwal, Paolo Maranzana, Gregory iv Tucker, and Matteo Milesi for always being there for me, even from afar, and for navigating with me the mysteries of American social and academic life. Your friendship means the world to me, and I am truly lucky to have crossed paths with you. I owe an enormous thank to a group of strong women who, at different times, have brightened my days in Ann Arbor, Silvia Penati, the best yoga buddy I could have asked for; Amelia Eichengreen, confidant and colleague; Sabrina Righi, Giusy Augimeri and Caterina D’Assergio, always there to comfort me with food and positive thoughts; Silvia Stassi, Filomena Silvestri and Chiara Iuliucci, who have never been far away, despite there is an ocean and several hours of time difference between us. Last but not least, I would like to thank the Italian community, “chaired” by Guglielmo Audiberti. In this group of people, I found a home away from home, and I will never be thankful enough for that. I wish to extend my gratitude to Alexander Hoer, who travelled with me to Umbria, helped me with the data collection, and gave me insightful perspectives on my work. Thank you for being such a source of intellectual inspiration, for keeping me grounded, and loving me regardless of how messy I can be. No words can express how thankful I am for my family, who surrounds me with great love, support, humor, and strength. My grandmothers, Giuliana and Saveria, who have left us but whose enormous love still live in our hearts, my aunt Orietta and my uncle Alberto, my brothers Saverio, Tommaso, and Andrea, my dad’s wife Gioiella, and my nephews Mattia and Max, who always give me a good reason to smile. Above all, I wish to thank my parents whose guidance and unconditional support knows no distance. The end of this journey would not have been possible without you. v Table of Contents Dedication ii Acknowledgements iii List of Tables ix List of Figures x List of Appendices xxiv Abstract xxv 1. Introduction 1 Chronology and geographic scope 7 Chapter 2. Cultural Change in the Sanctuaries of Central Italy 9 Introduction 9 Cultural Change and the Roman conquest 10 Cultural change in ancient Umbria 17 Cultural change in the religious sphere of central Italy 19 Cultural change in the religious sphere of ancient Umbria 32 Overview 36 Chapter 3. For an Archaeology of Religion and Ritual 37 Introduction 37 Archaeology of religion 38 Archaeology of ritual 41 Votive religion 48 Votive offerings in central Italy 52 Votive offerings in ancient Umbria 54 Overview and Looking forward 58 Chapter 4. History of the Umbrian Territory 60 Introduction 60 The boundaries of ancient Umbria 63 The existence of an Umbrian identity: an ongoing debate 71 Umbria’s geography 79 The history of pre-Roman Umbria 80 Sixth-fourth century BCE 82 Sacred spaces 87 Late fourth-early first century BCE: The Roman conquest of Umbria 88 vi Fourth and third century BCE 89 Second and first century BCE 94 Discussion and Conclusions 96 Chapter 5. A Micro-scale Approach to the Archaeology of Umbrian Cult Places 105 Introduction 105 Methodology notes 108 5.1. Southern Umbria 109 5.1.1. Grotta Bella 109 5.1.2. Pantanelli sanctuary 117 5.1.3. Monte San Pancrazio sanctuary 122 5.1.4. Monte Torre Maggiore sanctuary 126 5.1.5 Monte Moro sanctuary 134 5.1.6. Monte Santo sanctuary 140 5.2. Umbrian valley 145 5.2.1. La Rocca sanctuary 145 5.2.2 Monte Subasio sanctuary 151 5.3. Northern Umbria 156 5.3.1. Monte Ansciano sanctuary 156 5.3.2. Monte Acuto sanctuary 159 5.4. Apennine Umbria 165 5.4.1. Colle Mori sanctuary 165 5.4.2. Cancelli sanctuary 172 5.4.3. Campo La Piana sanctuary 178 5.4.4. Monte Pennino sanctuary 183 5.4.5. Sanctuary of Cupra at Colfiorito 185 Discussion 194 Chapter 6. Conclusions: A Macro-scale Approach to the Archaeology of Umbrian Cult Places 198 Introduction 198 Umbrian pre-Roman sanctuaries in context 201 Topographical aspects 201 Architectural aspects 203 Function of pre-Roman sanctuaries 205 Towards an understanding of the ritual function of Umbrian votive offerings 212 Display of votive offerings 217 Umbrian sanctuaries between the late fourth and the early first century BCE 220 Votive offerings in the Hellenistic period 220 Anatomical votives revisited 222 Continuity and abandonment of pre-Roman cult places 227 Monumentalization of Umbrian sanctuaries: architectural features 232 Monumentalization of Umbrian sanctuaries: possible agents 236 vii Overview and Looking forward 239 Appendices 243 Bibliography 506 viii List of Tables Table 1.1. Chronology of Italic religion . ix List of Figures Figure 1.1: Modern Umbria (in red) and location of the Umbrian sanctuaries analyzed in this dissertation. 8 Figure 5.1: Graph showing the type distribution of the Grotta Bella votive figurines between the sixth and the fourth century BCE 111 Figure 5.2: Graph showing the type distribution of the Grotta Bella figurative votive offerings between the late fourth and the early first century BCE. 116 Figure 5.3: Graph showing the type distribution of the Pantanelli votive figurines between the late sixth and the fourth century BCE.