AJA 114.1 January 2010

Civilization Under Construction: Depictions of Architecture on the Column of Trajan

Elizabeth Wolfram Thill

More than 300 depictions of architectural structures appear throughout the Column of Trajan, illustrating both Roman and Dacian fortifications and settlements. Despite the prevalence of architectural depictions on the column, there has been little attention specifically devoted to these important components of the frieze. While recent scholarship has focused on the composition and message of the column as a whole, for the most part this work has not contributed to the interpretation of architecture on the frieze. Previous discussions of the architectural representations have focused almost exclusively on reconciling the pictorial record with the archaeological record and on explaining away what has been seen as a series of mistakes in the architecture on the frieze. This article demonstrates that the many features traditionally interpreted as misunderstandings actually form consistent patterns that draw a purposeful contrast between a supposedly superior Roman culture and a primitive, barbarian Dacian culture.

Who was Diva Domitilla? Some Thoughts on the Public Images of the Flavian Women

Susan Wood


During the principates of Titus and Domitian, three women figure prominently in imperial coinage and sculpture: Titus’ daughter, Julia; Domitian’s wife, Domitia Longina; and a woman named Domitilla, who had died before the Flavians came to imperial power but who was deified early in the principate of Domitian. The identity of this third figure remains controversial. Both Titus’ mother and his sister bore that name, and both died before Vespasian became emperor. Numismatic evidence, on one hand, points to the mother of Domitian as the diva. Statius’ Silvae (1.1), on the other hand, appears to indicate that Domitian’s sister, rather than his mother, was the one who received consecration. Kienast and Hahn have advanced a plausible argument that Statius does not refer to either of these women in his poem but instead to the deified Julia, daughter of Titus. I argue that Diva Domitilla is Vespasian’s wife, the mother of Titus and Domitian. Her purely symbolic but significant role in official propaganda contrasts with the living women of Domitian’s principate, Domitia Longina and Julia Titi, both of whom held the title of Augusta and were perceived to be rivals for power and for the affections of the emperor. Domitian’s efforts to honor them equally and to present a public image of a harmonious imperial family provide a classic example of propaganda that failed.

Dialogues of Ancient Graffiti in the House of Maius Castricius in Pompeii

Rebecca R. Benefiel

Ancient graffiti have traditionally been studied as brief texts, but that is only part of the information they communicate. I propose a more comprehensive approach that considers their content and form and situates them more firmly within their physical and social environment. Engaging more closely with the spatial context of graffiti informs us about the ancient use of space and the human activity within it. It also allows us to see what else, besides text, was inscribed on the walls of Pompeii. The concept of the dialogue offers a flexible model of inquiry and provides a fresh perspective for examining the numerous graffiti of a residential space. From number games to drawings to clever compositions of poetry, the graffiti of the House of Maius Castricius reveal wide participation and a strong interest in the act of writing, a popular activity here and throughout Pompeii.

The Tarquinia Project: A Summary of 25 Years of Excavation

Maria Bonghi Jovino

This article offers a review of the major results of the Tarquinia Project, a comprehensive study of the site of Tarquinia that the University of Milan began in the early 1980s. The project comprises new excavation at the site, comparison of newly excavated with already-known material culture from Tarquinia, detailed study of buildings at the site, and an analysis of the settlement process. The project also includes the study of a variety of literary sources, including numerous references to the ancient topography of Tarquinia; it produced a series of chronological maps of the ancient settlements in the area that help illuminate the history of Tarquinia and the changing relationship of the city with its territory. The Tarquinia Project also includes speleological, geographical, topographical, geophysical, paleoanthropological, paleobotanical, and archaeometrical research. To provide a better understanding of the fieldwork and to present our most important conclusions, I include in this article some of the most recent, as yet unpublished, discoveries.

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