The Servilia Tomb: an Architecturally and Pictorially Important Roman Building

Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2018) 10:1207–1223 DOI 10.1007/s12520-016-0450-9 ORIGINAL PAPER The Servilia tomb: an architecturally and pictorially important Roman building S. E. Jorge-Villar1,2 & I. Rodríguez Temiño3 & H. G. M. Edwards4 & A. Jiménez Hernández3 & J. I. Ruiz Cecilia3 & I. Miralles5,6 Received: 13 October 2016 /Accepted: 5 December 2016 /Published online: 26 December 2016 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016 Abstract One hundred and eleven samples from the impor- periods, or that the frescoes have been subjected to unrecorded tant Servilia Roman tomb have been analysed for the first time restoration. We conclude that Raman spectroscopy is a valu- by Raman spectroscopy, resulting in a complete characterisa- able analytical technique for the unambiguous identification tion of the pigment palette used for its remarkable wall paint- of mixtures of both organic and inorganic compounds, to ings: 73 different pigment mixtures have been identified for study the degree of mineral crystallinity and for identifying the composition of its 11 colours and their tonalities. Dyer’s treatment. These data are relevant for the holistic interpreta- weld, an ancient organic yellow pigment, which was de- tion of the artwork in its historical, economical and social scribed by Vitruvius, has been identified and characterised context. for the first time in Roman wall paintings. Distinctive Raman spectroscopic signals which differentiate between hae- Keywords Roman Necropolis of Carmona . Pigment matite and caput mortuum (a violet colour from haematite treatment . Dyer’s weld . Lazurite . Caput mortuum . Raman which has been subjected to thermal treatment) are also re- spectroscopy ported. The use of the very expensive lazurite for a balance relates the importance of this otherwise ordinary instrument with psychostasia (the human soul weighing process) and is Introduction not found elsewhere in the tomb. The distribution of white minerals alone or in admixture is not related to any particular The Necrópolis Romana de Carmona (Roman Necropolis of colouring pigment or figure; this possibly indicates that there Carmona), Sevilla (Spain), which dates from the first century was no specific use for each white mineral and that several BC to the second century AD, is a funerary complex which craftsmen worked on the paintings, perhaps in different was discovered in 1868–1869 and first opened to the public as an archaeological site in 1885. This archaeological site is characterised by a type of burial which consisted of cremation * S. E. Jorge-Villar ashes kept in urns and placed inside family-unit hypogeal [email protected]; [email protected] chambers which could be accessed through a rectangular door-like opening. Alternative tomb constructions are also found in the necropolis with more complex floor plans in 1 Área de Geodinámica Interna, Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Burgos, C/ Villadiego s/n 09001, Burgos, Spain which the rectangular door-like openings leading to the hypogeal chambers were replaced by large patios dug into sur- 2 CENIEH, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, 09002 Burgos, Spain rounding rock, such as those found in the Elefante, Postumio 3 Conjunto Arqueológico de Carmona, Sevilla, Carmona, Spain and Servilia tombs (Rodríguez Temiño et al. 2012). 4 Division of Chemical and Forensic Sciences, Faculty of Life This typological division of contemporaneous tombs is as- Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, UK sociated with the presence in the municipium of Carmo of a 5 Experimental Station of Arid Zones (CSIC), Almería, Spain wealthy minority that maintained social and cultural ties with 6 Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, the Italic elites to whom they were presumably related Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium (Caballos Rufino 2007). Although already highly 1208 Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2018) 10:1207–1223 Romanised, the native population lacked this cultural connec- 2013; Gutman et al. 2016; Mazzocchin et al. 2004, 2010; tion with the Italian peninsula. The connection was particular- Paradisi et al. 2012). In the study presented here, we were ly apparent in the copying of motifs in wall paintings unable to use portable instruments for in situ analyses and (Mostalac Carrillo 1999). The largest tomb at the archaeolog- were permitted only minimal sampling, for which micro- ical complex is the Servilia tomb, named for the sculpture and Raman spectroscopy was the selected technique for analyses. pedestal found in it bearing the inscription Serviliae L(vcio) Furthermore, the fact that Raman spectroscopy gives specific f(iliae) (CILA-02-03, 00870). Dating to the first century AD, molecular information and is able to differentiate between it was the mausoleum of the wealthy Servilii family. The tomb polymorphs (such as calcite and aragonite), isomorphs (calcite is thought to have been built by LvcioServilioPollio(CIL II and dolomite) and mixtures containing both organic and inor- 5120), a prosperous oil merchant who held several local mag- ganic components made this technique the preferred choice. istracies and enjoyed the favour of the imperial nobilitas The primary objective of this work is to study the materials (Caballos Rufino 2007). The tomb is an outstanding building used as pigments in the wall paintings of the very important in terms of its architectural features and wall paintings, Roman tomb of Servilia in order to determine the different consisting of a 24 by 17.6 m atrium carved into the rock and compounds present and the combinations that were used to surrounded by columns. In the centre of this atrium, there is a configure the colour palette. During this study, we have dis- small impluvium measuring 2.95 by 1.75 m. There is a corri- covered the use of a novel organic pigment which to our dor carved into the rock along the northwest wall, with open- knowledge has not been described hitherto in wall paintings ings to the patio through doors and windows; the corridor but which has been mentioned by Vitruvius in De architectura connects with two funerary chambers sited on the southwest libri decem (B The Ten Books of Architecture^; Vitr. 7.14.2) as side, the larger one possibly designed to harbour sarcophagi a commonly used dyestuff for other purposes. and the second one possibly designed for funerary urns. To access this area, there is a large lounge, also carved into the rock, topped with a 4.2-m dome, connected with the patio by three cavities that could originally have been windows or per- Experimental haps doors (Abad Casal and Bendala Galán 1975;Rodríguez Hidalgo 2001; Ruiz Cecilia et al. 2011). Materials The chamber walls and patio of this remarkable building have schematic drawings with flowers, birds and garlands, but Samples were collected from the Servilia tomb (Figs. 1 and 2). it is in the corridor leading to the funeral chamber where a rare The sampled paintings are located in the funerary chamber painted scene was found. Although most of this stretch of wall and in the northwest corridor, located on the right side of the has unfortunately been lost, it is still possible to discern a funerary chambers. The wall paintings, which are deteriorat- scene depicting a kneeling woman weighing something in a ed, are still in their original underground position under a libra (balance) held in the hand of a figure that today is almost primitive ceiling, and since they are not isolated from an at- entirely gone. The woman is being fanned with a palm leaf by mospheric environment, most of them showed evidence of a servant (Abad Casal and Bendala Galán 1975). bacterial colonisation, which facilitated the detachment of An analytical study of the Servilia tomb pictures will pro- the painting layer from the substrate mortar. vide a better understanding of the iconographic models used by the higher social classes of the Roman municipium of Carmo and their relationships with their Italian equivalents, particularly those from Campania, as well as highlight a Hellenistic influence which can be perceived in this tomb. Furthermore, understanding this funerary building and its pictures is vital for the general comprehension of Roman funerary paintings and the relevance of using exotic pigments, as well as the symbolism of their hierarchical usage in specific images. Several different analytical techniques have been used to study the elemental and molecular composition of the materials used in Roman wall paintings, such as FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, XRD, SEM-EDX, synchrotron radi- ation spectroscopy, chromatography, optical microscopy and reflectance spectroscopy (Apostolaki et al. 2006; Baraldi et al. Fig. 1 Panoramic view of the Servilia tomb at the Necrópolis Romana de 2006, 2007; Duran et al. 2010; Edreira et al. 2003; Fermo et al. Carmona (Sevilla, Spain) Archaeol Anthropol Sci (2018) 10:1207–1223 1209 Fig. 2 Floor plan of the Servilia tomb showing the location of the panels We analysed six different panels located in the corridor and in the tomb chambers, all of which exhibited deterioration: Panel 1: a column located at the beginning of the corridor that is not protected from weathering by the overlying roof. The only pigment remaining is a green colour at the base of the column. Panel 2: exhibits the most interesting and complex paint- Fig. 3 Panel 2 showing a woman weighing something on a balance and ing, depicting a woman weighing a non-visible object on being fanned with a palm leaf a balance (libra) held by a shadowy human figure (Figs. 2 and 3). Behind the woman, two hands can be seen hold- ing a palm leaf. On the left side of this scene, there is a A scalpel was used to excise the paint surface, either direct- piece of furniture similar to a table with a cushion on top ly from the walls or from the museum pieces, collecting just a (Fig. 2). few grains of the pigment in each case, which were then stored Panels 3 to 6 are all located inside the funerary chambers.

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