Papers by Gabriele Soranna
Fra tutela e ricerca, Indagini Archeologiche in territorio Amerino, a cura di Elena Roscini, 2022
This contribution is a preliminary report of the new excavation season (2016-2019) at Poggio Gram... more This contribution is a preliminary report of the new excavation season (2016-2019) at Poggio Gramignano, an archaeological site located in Lugnano in Teverina (Umbria). This is a multi-year project, a partnership between the University of Arizona, Yale University, Stanford University and the Municipality of Lugnano in Teverina, that continues previous reasearches begun over three decades ago, from 1982. The new excavation campaigns aim to better understand the Roman villa and its surrounding area, with particular focus on the late Roman infant cemetery discovered within the storage magazines.
Il presente contributo intende apportare nuovi dati su resti antichi di canidi rinvenuti a Roma. ... more Il presente contributo intende apportare nuovi dati su resti antichi di canidi rinvenuti a Roma. Nello specifico vengono analizzati gli elementi rinvenuti in alcuni contesti provenienti dall'Area II del progetto di scavo condotto lungo le Pendici Nord-Est del Palatino dall'Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" dal dal 2001 al 2017. I frammenti identificati provengono da UUSS riconducibili ad un arco cronologico compreso tra il periodo medio-repubblicano (IV-III sec. a.C.) e quello tardoantico (VI-VII sec. d.C.), anche se appaiono maggiormente attestati dall'epoca imperiale piena (II sec d.C.): rivelano dimensioni attribuibili a diverse taglie e probabilmente razze, in base alle informazioni morfometriche. Tra essi diversi sono gli esemplari riconducibili a cani di piccola taglia o da compagnia mentre non mancano casi di brachimelia. Altrettanto attestate nel campione, infine, appaiono evidenze di patologie legate ad età, soprattutto di natura articolare ...
Con questo lavoro si intende esaminare un campione di depositi provenienti dallo scavo condotto l... more Con questo lavoro si intende esaminare un campione di depositi provenienti dallo scavo condotto lungo le Pendici NE del Palatino dalla Sapienza Università di Roma dal 2001 e selezionato dall'Area II. Il campione faunistico presentato rientra in un insieme più consistente, oggetto di studio, ed abbraccia un intervallo cronologico molto ampio dal periodo romano mediorepubblicano (IV-III sec. a.C.) a quello medievale (XII-XIII sec. d.C.). Esso risulta supportato da una cronologia stratigrafica ben definita grazie al materiale ceramico rinvenuto e può apportare importanti aggiornamenti sul piano archeozoologico e biometrico al panorama urbano di Roma. La frequenza e le proporzioni delle specie presenti, soprattutto quelle domestiche consumate per l'alimentazione, restituisce un quadro ben allineato allo scenario urbano della città rivelando alcune interessanti variazioni nel periodo tardoantico. La fauna selvatica appare attestata in quantità marginali così come l'avifauna e...
Scienze dell'Antichità, 2019
The conclusion of the researches carried out on the north‐eastern slopes of the Palatine from the... more The conclusion of the researches carried out on the north‐eastern slopes of the Palatine from the Sapienza - Università di Roma, within some of the sectors investigated since 2001 (Areas II‐III), has allowed to acquire relevant information on the Curiae Veteres, the sanctuary that according to the literary tradition occupies the corner of the hill since the middle of the 8th c. BCE. Eight centuries later, around the middle of the 1st c. BCE, an Early Republican well inside the Curiae, is filled. The preliminary analysis of the stratigraphy and of the artifacts indicate that its obliteration involved some ritual activities, which have significant compari‐ sons with other urban contexts (area of the Forum of Caesar, Largo Magnanapoli) similar for function and chronology. Among the artifacts used during this closing ceremony a conspicuous number of cream ware jugs seems to play a prominent role. These objects keep some painted inscriptions likely to refer to their owners. The continuation of the study of stratigraphies and deposits will have significant repercussions on our knowledge of the sanctuary in the 1st c. BCE and, from a more general point of view, on the history of archeology of cult and on the dynamics of production and exchange known for the Late‐Republican city.
De Grossi Mazzorin, Fiore, Minniti (a cura di) 2019, Atti 8° Convegno Nazionale Archeozoologia, Lecce 11-14 Nov. 2015, 171-182 , 2019
Con questo lavoro si intende esaminare un campione di depositi provenienti dallo scavo condotto l... more Con questo lavoro si intende esaminare un campione di depositi provenienti dallo scavo condotto lungo le Pendici NE del
Palatino dalla Sapienza Università di Roma dal 2001 e selezionato dall’Area II. Il campione faunistico presentato rientra in un
insieme più consistente, oggetto di studio, ed abbraccia un intervallo cronologico molto ampio dal periodo romano mediorepubblicano
(IV-III sec. a.C.) a quello medievale (XII-XIII sec. d.C.). Esso risulta supportato da una cronologia stratigrafica ben
definita grazie al materiale ceramico rinvenuto e può apportare importanti aggiornamenti sul piano archeozoologico
e biometrico
al panorama urbano di Roma. La frequenza e le proporzioni delle specie presenti, soprattutto quelle domestiche consumate
per l’alimentazione, restituisce un quadro ben allineato allo scenario urbano della città rivelando alcune interessanti
variazioni nel periodo tardoantico. La fauna selvatica appare attestata in quantità marginali così come l’avifauna e l’ittiofauna,
comunque fornendo spunti interessanti per riflessioni di natura sociale ed economica. Seppur minima, infine, rispetto all’entità
del campione, anche l’attestazione di molluschi, marini e terrestri, contribuisce a rendere più sfaccettato il quadro faunistico
nel cuore monumentale di Roma.
This work is attended to examine a zooarchaeological sample from the deposits excavated on the NE slope of hill Palatine by the University of
Rome La Sapienza since 2001, and particularly from Area II. This faunal sample belongs to a larger assemblage, currently under study by the
Author, and spans the Mid-Republic (4th-3rd c, BC) to the middle Ages (12th-13th AD). It relies on a well-defined stratigraphic chronology
obtained from pottery and might provide relevant updating on zooarchaeological and biometrical issues concerning the urban scenario of
ancient Rome. Frequency and ratio of identified taxa, in particular those of the domestic species mainly exploited for meat, show a framework
fitting well into the urban context of Rome and the results from previous researches, revealing though some intriguing variations during
the Late Antiquity. Wild taxa appear marginal as well as birds and fishes, but offering interesting results about social and economic issues.
Despite being minimal, finally, even evidence of marine and land shells help to outline the variety of animals that reached the ancient Rome.
It is provided an overview of bone manufacture during the Republican period in Rome. Bone working... more It is provided an overview of bone manufacture during the Republican period in Rome. Bone working played an important role within ancient production systems, endowing objects with multiple values, from mundane to symbolic purposes in everyday life and funerary practices. Bone elements, selected from butchery waste, undergo several processing stages until the final finishing. While finished objects shed light on typology and chronology, processing waste yields clues onto the working operations, tools and methods involved. As for the Republican period, little evidence occurs so far within the urban scenario, being mainly associated with funerary and votive contexts: objects only rarely hint at local manufactures, suggesting that products and workmanship were imported from Etruria during 6th – 5th centuries BC and from Greek cities since 4th ‐ 3rd BC. In this respect, preliminary evidence of bone processing collected from the excavation on the NE slope of the Palatine could supply new data on bone manufactures in Rome during the Early‐to‐Mid Republican periods.
The poster provides an overview of bone manufacture during Republic in Rome. Bone working had an ... more The poster provides an overview of bone manufacture during Republic in Rome. Bone working had an important role in the manufacturing scenario, endowing objects with multiple values, from a strict functional use in entertainment, luxury and cosmetics to symbolic purposes in everyday life and funerary practices. Bone elements were carefully selected from butchery waste and underwent several processing stages: after an initial preparation which included splitting and softening, the element was roughly shaped prior to sustaining the final finishing. While finished objects might provide data on typological seriation and, in turn, chronology, waste from processing yield significant clues onto the working operations involved or the tools and methods employed. As for the Republican period, little evidence seems available so far within the urban scenario, being mainly associated with funerary contexts, whilst more abundant data have been collected in later contexts: objects from the former period would only rarely hint at local manufactures, suggesting instead products and subsequently workmanship imported from Etruria during VI-V centuries BC and from Greek Cities since IV-III BC onwards. In this respect, preliminary evidence of bone processing collected from the Palatine North-East Project could supply new data on bone manufactures in Rome during Early-to-Mid Republic.
Key words: bone, processing stages, waste, local manufacture, Etruria, Greece, Palatine
This paper provides new data about canid remains unearthed in Rome during Antiquity. In particula... more This paper provides new data about canid remains unearthed in Rome during Antiquity. In particular have been investigated specimens identified in deposits sampled from Area II of Palatine NE Slope Research Project, being carried by University La Sapienza of Rome since 2001. A wide chronological period from Mid-Republic (IV-III BC) to Late Antique (VI-VII AD) is concerned, although they appear to refer mostly from Mid Empire (II AD) onwards: they show dimensions ascribed to different sizes and perhaps breeds according to biometrics. In the sample some individuals belong to small-size dogs or “lap-dogs” and examples of brachymelic limb development are also apparent. Similarly was detected evidence of pathologies mainly age- or joint-related, associated with movement or caused by trauma.
Key words: dog, sizes, lap-dog, brachymelia, pathology.
The work (in italian) focuses on wine processing from harvest to bottling. The main phases are in... more The work (in italian) focuses on wine processing from harvest to bottling. The main phases are investigated by analyzing the specific working areas, their building features and archaeological implications. Taking the ideal process in mind, two case-studies are investigated as for archaeological evidence: Hellenistic-Roman Sicily and Early-Mid Roman Ager Falernus (Caserta- South Italy), renowned for its wine, with the aim of reviewing the evidence published to date and creating a research framework.
With respect to the identified assemblage, domesticate taxa represented by far the larger part. S... more With respect to the identified assemblage, domesticate taxa represented by far the larger part. Sheep-goat held a predominant role presumably exploited for meat and by-products like wool and milk. Pig exploitation, similarly, was oriented towards meat production. Subordinate appeared the evidence about cattle which were probably exploited mainly for draughting; chicken, then, was well attested in most of the trenches while equid bones were completely marginal.
In comparison, wild fauna was attested minimally at the site, consisting mainly of rabbit-hare, deer and rats.
The assemblage, therefore, may hint at a self-sustaining agro-pastoral economy of a small rural farmstead not greatly involved in larger trade routes.
Covered by limestone blocks, two male goats were retrieved in peculiar dispositions: one with his... more Covered by limestone blocks, two male goats were retrieved in peculiar dispositions: one with his head cut off and deposited farther East along with a pottery lamp and bearing a coin in his mouth; the other one, younger by a few months, was disposed of on his back oriented towards West. Great part of their meat-bearing joints was actually missing, thus, according also to taphonomic marks, they might have had their throat cut across for the ritual’s sake. The proximity of foundation walls belonging to a building may hint at a possible association with the ritual of dedication and foundation known as lustratio.
Conference Presentations by Gabriele Soranna
ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WERE FOUR CROCODILES…: evidence and faunal analysis of an uncommon assembl... more ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WERE FOUR CROCODILES…: evidence and faunal analysis of an uncommon assemblage found in Rome during Late Antique period.
The poster aims at focusing onto the uncommon finding of an exotic species retrieved in Late Antique contexts during a research project undertaken by La Sapienza University of Rome onto the NE slope of Palatine hill in Rome. Despite being mentioned into Roman written records among the exotic taxa that were exhibited to Rome for the shows inside the Circus or the Amphitheatre and being often portrayed along with hippos in mosaics or frescoes as symbol of the Nile scene, the crocodile, as for elements recovered from excavations, has appeared rather a rarity among exotic taxa identified in faunal analyses dated to imperial period in Rome. From a 4th century A.D. context elements belonging mainly to the head allowed to estimate at least 4 mostly juvenile individuals: to them several osteoderm plates are also associated. Various butchery marks inflicted onto the cranium show finally a more complex picture (text in italian)
KEY WORDS: crocodile, late antique, Nile scene, juvenile, butchery marks
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Papers by Gabriele Soranna
Palatino dalla Sapienza Università di Roma dal 2001 e selezionato dall’Area II. Il campione faunistico presentato rientra in un
insieme più consistente, oggetto di studio, ed abbraccia un intervallo cronologico molto ampio dal periodo romano mediorepubblicano
(IV-III sec. a.C.) a quello medievale (XII-XIII sec. d.C.). Esso risulta supportato da una cronologia stratigrafica ben
definita grazie al materiale ceramico rinvenuto e può apportare importanti aggiornamenti sul piano archeozoologico
e biometrico
al panorama urbano di Roma. La frequenza e le proporzioni delle specie presenti, soprattutto quelle domestiche consumate
per l’alimentazione, restituisce un quadro ben allineato allo scenario urbano della città rivelando alcune interessanti
variazioni nel periodo tardoantico. La fauna selvatica appare attestata in quantità marginali così come l’avifauna e l’ittiofauna,
comunque fornendo spunti interessanti per riflessioni di natura sociale ed economica. Seppur minima, infine, rispetto all’entità
del campione, anche l’attestazione di molluschi, marini e terrestri, contribuisce a rendere più sfaccettato il quadro faunistico
nel cuore monumentale di Roma.
This work is attended to examine a zooarchaeological sample from the deposits excavated on the NE slope of hill Palatine by the University of
Rome La Sapienza since 2001, and particularly from Area II. This faunal sample belongs to a larger assemblage, currently under study by the
Author, and spans the Mid-Republic (4th-3rd c, BC) to the middle Ages (12th-13th AD). It relies on a well-defined stratigraphic chronology
obtained from pottery and might provide relevant updating on zooarchaeological and biometrical issues concerning the urban scenario of
ancient Rome. Frequency and ratio of identified taxa, in particular those of the domestic species mainly exploited for meat, show a framework
fitting well into the urban context of Rome and the results from previous researches, revealing though some intriguing variations during
the Late Antiquity. Wild taxa appear marginal as well as birds and fishes, but offering interesting results about social and economic issues.
Despite being minimal, finally, even evidence of marine and land shells help to outline the variety of animals that reached the ancient Rome.
Key words: bone, processing stages, waste, local manufacture, Etruria, Greece, Palatine
Key words: dog, sizes, lap-dog, brachymelia, pathology.
In comparison, wild fauna was attested minimally at the site, consisting mainly of rabbit-hare, deer and rats.
The assemblage, therefore, may hint at a self-sustaining agro-pastoral economy of a small rural farmstead not greatly involved in larger trade routes.
Conference Presentations by Gabriele Soranna
The poster aims at focusing onto the uncommon finding of an exotic species retrieved in Late Antique contexts during a research project undertaken by La Sapienza University of Rome onto the NE slope of Palatine hill in Rome. Despite being mentioned into Roman written records among the exotic taxa that were exhibited to Rome for the shows inside the Circus or the Amphitheatre and being often portrayed along with hippos in mosaics or frescoes as symbol of the Nile scene, the crocodile, as for elements recovered from excavations, has appeared rather a rarity among exotic taxa identified in faunal analyses dated to imperial period in Rome. From a 4th century A.D. context elements belonging mainly to the head allowed to estimate at least 4 mostly juvenile individuals: to them several osteoderm plates are also associated. Various butchery marks inflicted onto the cranium show finally a more complex picture (text in italian)
KEY WORDS: crocodile, late antique, Nile scene, juvenile, butchery marks
Palatino dalla Sapienza Università di Roma dal 2001 e selezionato dall’Area II. Il campione faunistico presentato rientra in un
insieme più consistente, oggetto di studio, ed abbraccia un intervallo cronologico molto ampio dal periodo romano mediorepubblicano
(IV-III sec. a.C.) a quello medievale (XII-XIII sec. d.C.). Esso risulta supportato da una cronologia stratigrafica ben
definita grazie al materiale ceramico rinvenuto e può apportare importanti aggiornamenti sul piano archeozoologico
e biometrico
al panorama urbano di Roma. La frequenza e le proporzioni delle specie presenti, soprattutto quelle domestiche consumate
per l’alimentazione, restituisce un quadro ben allineato allo scenario urbano della città rivelando alcune interessanti
variazioni nel periodo tardoantico. La fauna selvatica appare attestata in quantità marginali così come l’avifauna e l’ittiofauna,
comunque fornendo spunti interessanti per riflessioni di natura sociale ed economica. Seppur minima, infine, rispetto all’entità
del campione, anche l’attestazione di molluschi, marini e terrestri, contribuisce a rendere più sfaccettato il quadro faunistico
nel cuore monumentale di Roma.
This work is attended to examine a zooarchaeological sample from the deposits excavated on the NE slope of hill Palatine by the University of
Rome La Sapienza since 2001, and particularly from Area II. This faunal sample belongs to a larger assemblage, currently under study by the
Author, and spans the Mid-Republic (4th-3rd c, BC) to the middle Ages (12th-13th AD). It relies on a well-defined stratigraphic chronology
obtained from pottery and might provide relevant updating on zooarchaeological and biometrical issues concerning the urban scenario of
ancient Rome. Frequency and ratio of identified taxa, in particular those of the domestic species mainly exploited for meat, show a framework
fitting well into the urban context of Rome and the results from previous researches, revealing though some intriguing variations during
the Late Antiquity. Wild taxa appear marginal as well as birds and fishes, but offering interesting results about social and economic issues.
Despite being minimal, finally, even evidence of marine and land shells help to outline the variety of animals that reached the ancient Rome.
Key words: bone, processing stages, waste, local manufacture, Etruria, Greece, Palatine
Key words: dog, sizes, lap-dog, brachymelia, pathology.
In comparison, wild fauna was attested minimally at the site, consisting mainly of rabbit-hare, deer and rats.
The assemblage, therefore, may hint at a self-sustaining agro-pastoral economy of a small rural farmstead not greatly involved in larger trade routes.
The poster aims at focusing onto the uncommon finding of an exotic species retrieved in Late Antique contexts during a research project undertaken by La Sapienza University of Rome onto the NE slope of Palatine hill in Rome. Despite being mentioned into Roman written records among the exotic taxa that were exhibited to Rome for the shows inside the Circus or the Amphitheatre and being often portrayed along with hippos in mosaics or frescoes as symbol of the Nile scene, the crocodile, as for elements recovered from excavations, has appeared rather a rarity among exotic taxa identified in faunal analyses dated to imperial period in Rome. From a 4th century A.D. context elements belonging mainly to the head allowed to estimate at least 4 mostly juvenile individuals: to them several osteoderm plates are also associated. Various butchery marks inflicted onto the cranium show finally a more complex picture (text in italian)
KEY WORDS: crocodile, late antique, Nile scene, juvenile, butchery marks