Daily Updates
Week Two: Sept. 29
29 September. Ariel Dowling reporting: We had another beautiful day of Tuscan weather. We began the day by traveling to Cosa, a city that translates to “thing” in Italian. The city was a Republican era colony of the Roman Empire, and it is unique for many reasons. Americans excavated the town in 1948 and it is a well-preserved Republican town. Unlike many other towns, there were no buildings constructed during the imperial period because the place was practically deserted. Since this town was made to emulate Rome from that time period, it gives archaeologists a good glimpse as to what Rome, and therefore most Republicans towns, looked like without the added features from the empire. We got to Cosa and went into the museum, where there were fantastic labels in English. The museum had good models of the other excavated sites so we could see what we were going to look at. Next we headed to the first site, a house called the House of the Skeleton because in the cistern under the impluvium (rain collecting pool) a human skeleton was found. That is definitely weird, and maybe there is a really cool story, or a dangerous murder behind it; we shall never know. The house looked nice, especially with the pretty garden, but the really amazing site was to come. We then headed to the Arx, the highest point of the settlement and where the main temples were placed. We gazed in awe at the remains of the temple, probably to Jupiter Optimus Maximus, one of the most important gods in Roman mythology. The ruins were amazing; some of the walls of the temple had survived, and the walls towered at least 50 feet over our heads. The magnitude was astonishing, especially because we had been looking at three foot tall ruins for a week. Also, the view from the site was incredible because the temple had been built on a promontory looking out over the ocean, and on all sides the temple was surrounded by cliffs that dropped down to the aquamarine water below. It was incredible how vivid the colors of the sea were; the temple must once have been magnificent. We ate lunch there because it was so gorgeous. Next we headed to the Republican forum of Cosa. The forum still had its comitium, a round, stepped area where all the adult males of the city use to meet to discuss political matters. Also, there were remains of the arches leading into the town center and hundreds of little office buildings surrounding the forum, making it seem almost alive. You could easily visualize the hundreds of people scurrying around, selling wares, conducting business, or discussing politics. After Cosa we headed to Tarquinia, where we had a mandatory outing to the beach and played in the ocean for two hours. There was no one else at the beach because it is much too cold for Italians at this time of year; we had the whole place to ourselves. We swam, tossed the Frisbee around, and played volleyball. It was a completely idyllic and beautiful afternoon; I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend a Monday! After our beach excursion we all handed in our first paper assignment and then had dinner. It was a great way to start our three day stay in Tarquinia!
29 September. Professor Ulrich lectures near the great polygonal walls of Cosa
29 September. The acropolis of Cosa
29 September. Brian takes notes
29 September. Exploring the temple on Cosa’s acropolis
29 September. Katharine
29 September. The temple, maybe to Jupiter Optimus Maximus
29 September. Sophia
29 September. The view from the acropolis
29 September. The group on the temple walls
29 September. A close up
29 September. A giant cistern
> 29 September. Archaeologists at work deciphering the temple
29 September. Another cistern, underneath the temple’s porch
29 September. Flora from Cosa
29 September. The urban sprawl of Tarquinia
29 September. At the beach in Tarquinia
29 September. At the beach in Tarquinia
29 September. At the beach in Tarquinia
29 September. Sunset in Tarquinia