Archaeology

For the earliest periods the evidence is predominantly archaeological, and here we are in a stronger position. Not only is the material evidence more rewarding than the literary evidence because of its bulk and contemporaneity, we also know more about aspects of the material culture of this period than we do about subsequent periods because of the intensity of excavation, and the nature of the preservation of material (C. Smith 1996a for a survey). One important element of the archaeological evidence which is also borne out by the literary sources, and has a significant impact on archaic religion, is the intimate relationship between Rome and its hinterland Latium. The community of language (Latin), the overwhelming similarity of archaeological material, and indeed the contemporaneity of urban development - most towns build temples, monumental houses, and walls at roughly the same time - suggest that one may supplement the archaeological record at Rome, where massive subsequent building in antiquity and of course until the present day has obscured the earlier regions of the city, with information gathered from the surrounding region.

In brief, the more or less uniform material of the tenth and ninth centuries bc, largely found in burials, is supplemented in the eighth century by imports either of

Material, or of ideas, originating in the east and carried to Italy as part of the movement of peoples which was stimulated by the Phoenicians and carried on by the diaspora of Greeks in the colonization period. By the later eighth and seventh centuries, this had led to rising levels of luxury in the material record, particularly in burials which have been called “princely” (tombe principesche) and are some of the most famous features of Latin archaeology; the great tombs of Praeneste just outside Rome being prime examples. This period is also characterized by the beginning of practices of votive deposition which are visible to archaeology. As we move into the later seventh and sixth centuries, we find fewer burials and more evidence of public and private building throughout Latium, and this includes the emergence of substantial temples across the region. One way of beginning to understand this change is to see a shift away from expenditure on elaborate funerals, which are singular events, into monumental display (but cf. chapter 5). There is no lack of competition between the wealthy aristocrats, but this is channeled increasingly into activities which emphasize communal goods, and make permanent marks on the landscape of Latin settlements. By the beginning of the fifth century, this shift is complete, but the subsequent period is extremely problematic archaeologically, with significant gaps which may reflect the rather unsettled period of the fifth and fourth centuries. Nevertheless, unless fire or other disaster intervened, the sixth-century building achievements remained. As one example, it would appear that the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus at Rome, which was destroyed in Sulla’s march on Rome in 83 bc, was essentially the same as the one built late in the sixth century (L. Richardson 1992: 221-4).

It is notable and perhaps significant that there is a similarity of material between burials and votive deposits, and in the case of a particular type, the miniature statuette of a human with a hand outstretched in the act of offering, it is likely that this object represents cult activity. We also find models of cakes which may represent food offerings, and from the eighth century onward we find remains of animals which had presumably been sacrificed and eaten, and the accoutrements of wine drinking, a custom imported from the east (Bouma 1996). In the seventh century, we see that identical architectural frieze decorations are found in temples and in domestic settings (C. Bruun 1993). By the classical period, we can demonstrate that there is huge overlap between the individuals who hold political office and those who hold priestly office. In the fifth century at Rome, efforts were made to confine both kinds of office to a hereditary aristocracy, the patricians - efforts which were ultimately unsuccessful (Szemler 1972; Raaflaub 1986). It is likely that in the early period, we see predominantly elite behavior in the material record, and what this behavior seems to show is that the close association of political power with religious authority is of long standing. It is not simply a lack of available options that brings this continuity from sacred to secular, but rather an absence of that division. Archaic Rome and Latium was a world full of religion, if not of gods.

It is also important to stress that individual sites demonstrate continuity of religious practice over very long periods. There are a number of major temple complexes which are preceded by a sequence of votive deposits. One example is San Omobono at Rome, about which we shall have more to say below, and where the religious connection is preserved through a Christian church to the present day. Another excellent example is at Satricum, where it would appear that religious activity may have begun around 800 bc around a natural spring, and then developed with successive votive deposits and a sequence of religious buildings, culminating in a major and impressive temple, which included the dedication stone with the now famous inscription to a Publius Valerius by his suodales. The temple is dedicated to Mater Matuta, who is the partner of Fortuna in the S. Omobono site, and is surrounded by buildings which may be dining halls rather than private dwellings (C. Smith 1999). Certainly the existence of communal dining spaces in relation to cultic space is paralleled in the Greek world, and the curiae of Rome, early divisions of the Roman people, dined together and worshiped together (Palmer 1970; C. Smith 2006). Once again, though, we are reminded that the continuity of cult, as well as similarities across Latium, make Rome’s religion as complex and highly developed across time and space as was its social and political development.