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Published: December 19th 2004
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Forum Romani
Leigh’s feet touching ground level around 600 BC and left hand at ground level from One of the most fascinating things about Rome is how, generation after generation, the population builds their structures on top of previous construction. Street level is now about 53 feet above its level in 250 BC. You generally have to descend a number of stairs to get to the entrance of a church built in the 11th-12th century, as the street level has simply grown up around it. Many of these old churches are still operational.
My favorite example of this is a church called St Clemente. Archaeologists were aware that there had been a previous church constructed under the current church, so they excavated an area under the current structure. When they dug under the church, which is from the 12th century, they found the other church that had been constructed in the 4th century underneath. That church had fallen into disrepair, been filled in with dirt and debris and then it became the floor of the 12th century church…..But it gets better! Underneath the 4th century church is a 3rd century temple to the god Mythra.
After Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, the worship of Mythra fell by the wayside and the
San Clemente
Leigh standing in front of a wall that was added in the 12th century to the 4th century church. Notice the piece of swirly masonry above her head that was probably from an old statue or column. temple was “bulldozed” under to create a floor for the first church. You can actually go down, down, down; start at the 3rd century level, view the Mythra temple with its stone benches and sacrificial alter; then go up a level to the 4th century church and then up to the 12th century church. When you exit the 12th century church, you head up a flight of stairs to get back to today’s street level.
The 4th century church had a beautiful design, with long hallways surrounded by stone arches. When the 12th century St Clemente church was being built, some of the open areas between the arches in the 4th century structure had to be filled to ensure the new church above would be supported. The workmen who filled in the arches just picked up whatever they could find from previous ruins, so the walls are made up of old stones and bricks (probably from different centuries) and pieces of old statuary.
The Romans are great scavengers. If you have seen pictures of the Coliseum in Rome, you know that much of the top layer is missing. There was an earthquake that demolished one portion of the
San Clemente
Mythra temple under St. Clemente with alter and stone benches still intact. structure, but what most people don’t realize is that the bulk of the stones that are missing were simply scavenged to build other structures (thanks mainly to the Popes over the centuries). What a shame.
The priests would sacrifice a bull and then eat part of the raw meat as their annual ritual here. Our guide suggested that she thinks probably both the bull and the participants had been doped up prior to the ceremony. There is a room right next to this one where they “prepared” themselves and she has her idea of what “preparing” meant.
New subject:
The actual doors from the original Senate House of the Roman Republic era were moved in 330 AD to San Giovanni in Laterano . You can walk right up and touch the actual doors, and in many cases walk on the original stones, that were touched by Julius Caesar, Cicero, Emperor Augustus - possibly even Cleopatra when Caesar brought her to Rome to be his queen (dumb move on Caesar’s part). Most people then certainly didn’t want Cleopatra as their queen but Caesar was hoping to knock her up and deliver a new heir (another dumb move), even
San Clemente
4th century church under St. Clemente though he was already married.
Ah well, in keeping with that piece of history, you can also see the exact spot where Caesar’s body was burned after his assassination. People still bring fresh flowers and lay them on his funeral pyre, although he died about 42 BC.
The intermingling of ancient, old and new in Rome is just amazing. As you walk the city streets, you pass ruins still being excavated (always down below street level), columns still standing just anywhere or broken and lying by the side of the street, obelisks brought (ripped off) from Egypt during the years 100 BC to 100 AD by the conquering Romans, ancient fountains with running water that you can drink today (no worries if you forget to bring your water bottle) and triumphal arches from the days of the Roman Empire. In areas where some of the original stones of the early Roman roads are still in place, you can see the ruts in the road made by chariots. It truly is in-your-face history.
Okay, my last fun bit of history. Do you think throwing coins into a fountain is a modern invention? At one of the museums,
San Clemente
Current church - St. Clemente
there is a display of ancient coins and, in that room, there is a tube holding a collection of old coins. The tube contains artifacts that were discovered in an old well during the 1800s. At that time, archaeologists found ancient cast bronze coins at the bottom level of the well (probably dating from around the 8th century BC), then higher up they found coins from the 6th -4th century BC, coins of the Roman Empire from around the time of Jesus’ life, and so on. The tube demonstrates the various levels and the stacks of coins found there.
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