[Authors and titles are listed at the end of the review.]
Amanda Claridge will always be remembered for her extraordinary ability to challenge convention and orthodoxy in the study of Roman art history and archaeology. Her resolve was made possible by her extensive knowledge of the ancient city of Rome, which in turn would be an unparalleled resource for the British School at Rome during her long tenure there as Assistant Director (1980–1994). Scholars who were fortunate enough to have worked or studied with her, or even meet her briefly, will attest that these interactions served as the catalyst for new discoveries and novel approaches to Roman topography, sculpture, and antiquarian studies.
In the last lines of the volume presently under review, Susan Walker eloquently states, “One of Amanda’s many skills was to bring together people who had the potential to help each other and advance archaeological knowledge: this paper is intended as a tribute to that remarkable talent” (pg. 214). Although Walker is referring to her own contribution, the words “this paper” could easily be replaced with “this edited volume.” The number of impressive contributors and variety of topics presented in this edited volume serve as a fitting tribute not only to Claridge’s wide-ranging academic interests but also to her impact on the present and future state of the field and its community at large.
The volume begins with a warm and intimate obituary by Janet DeLaine[1] along with a full list of Claridge’s publications, a tabula honoraria, and an introduction by the volume’s editors. From there, the volume is divided into three parts, each intended to represent the main strands of Claridge’s oeuvre, including the architecture and sculpture of Rome and its surrounds (Part 1), her fieldwork at Castelporziano and archaeological investigations of the Vicus Augustanus Laurentinus (Part 2), and her research on antiquarianism, collecting practices, and the reception of Rome (Part 3). The three parts are not equal in length or breadth, with nine contributions for Part 1, three for Part 2, and five for Part 3. The second section on Castelporziano is the shortest and least cohesive. However, this is also one of the several ongoing research projects that were cut short by Claridge’s untimely death, and it is evident (though not stated explicitly) that the survey data from the Laurentine Shore project not already published[2] will be integrated into a future publication.
In Part 1. “Architecture and sculpture of Latium and Rome,” authors tackle long-standing issues and debates concerning monuments in Rome and its surrounding region. They are presented in chronological order, beginning with the Republican period and ending with Late Antiquity. This section brings together a formidable list of scholars who investigate topics on architectural ornamentation and metrology (Smith, La Rocca, Bruno, Pensabene), topography (Coates-Stephens, Goalen, Kay and Pomar, Liverani), and site histories (La Rocca, Coates-Stephens, DeLaine, Goalen, Kay and Pomar, Liverani) that integrate synchronic and diachronic perspectives, at times in granular detail. Two chapters in particular stand out as unique and novel contributions. The first, by Robert Coates-Stephens, analyzes the often-overlooked information provided by late-antique Chroniclers to reassess two now-lost monuments, the Colossus of Nero and Domitian’s Pantheon. In his discussion of the literary sources for the latter, Coates-Stephens makes a compelling case that the Domitianic structure featured a concrete dome. His premise is as plausible as it is bold, and it importantly proposes that the architectural innovation of the Hadrianic Pantheon was made possible thanks to the ingenuity of the architects and engineers who contributed to its predecessor. Matthias Bruno’s chapter also stands out in its singular assessment of an inlaid column recovered from the Fossa Traiana at Portus (Ostia). The column, broken into at least three fragments, was composed of a core of bigio africanato onto which carefully sculpted, tessellated fragments of marmor luculleum were affixed by means of at least 70 metal dowels and paste adhesives. Although both stones were sourced from quarries near Teos, the sources for marmor luculleum were nearly exhausted by the early 2nd century AD, a time roughly coinciding with the column’s deposition in the Fossa. Bruno demonstrates that the overwhelming prestige associated with marmor luculleum drove artisans to craft this artifact in place of a monolithic column, marrying two different brecciated marbles to create an illusion that is an unicum in the archaeological record and no doubt would have been a showpiece in its own time had it reached its destination.
Part 1 also features a subsection, which includes an introduction and two papers that support Claridge’s well-known doubts concerning the traditional orientation of the Temple of Apollo Palatinus. Although Claridge was awaiting permission to carry out a small-scale, targeted excavation that would hopefully settle the debate, the results of her recent collaborations on this project are published here. Martin Goalen elucidates the decisions made with Claridge in the realization of a plan and elevation for her 2014 article on the Temple of Apollo.[3] Stephen Kay and Elena Pomar then present the results from a geophysical survey conducted across an open area on the Palatine northeast of the temple, which were unfortunately but not unexpectedly inconclusive. Whereas many specialists will be familiar with Claridge’s stance and thus find the contributions to this subsection valuable, those not as familiar with the topography of Rome may find these papers to be dense and difficult to follow without Claridge’s article in hand. The references that DeLaine lists in her introduction will be of considerable use to those who are new to this material.
Authors in Part 2, “Castelporziano and the Vicus Augustanus Laurentinus” address topics related to Claridge’s work on the littoral villa-landscape of the ager Laurens, an area that stretches from Ostia to Antium. Apart from their focus on the same geographic area inspired by Claridge’s research, there is little congruence between the papers that each examine the historical development of the region under Augustus (Purcell), the supply of ceramic building materials to villas and the Vicus from the late Republican to Severan periods (DeLaine), and the results of a topographical survey with DEM and LiDAR images (Pakkanen and Claridge). Readers otherwise unfamiliar with this region may wish to approach Part 2 by beginning with Pakkanen and Claridge’s chapter, which provides an overview of the area’s geophysical landscape. It is not evident why editors placed this chapter at the end rather than the beginning of Part 2. A clearer introduction to the area, with one or two plans for reference, would have greatly improved this section for a more general readership. Even so, this does not detract from the quality of the papers, especially DeLaine’s, which provides new insights gathered from stamped bricks and tiles. Whereas an extensive analysis of previously compiled datasets with two long tables and appendices might risk a dry and uninspiring commentary, her chapter is engaging and informative. It enriches our present understanding of production and distribution patterns for brick and tile between industries in Rome and its surrounding territories, and how this changed over the longue durée. Her attention to stamps of the imperial slaves Castus, and Eleutherius and Sinda, as well as those of Faustina, the latter of which account for 79% of the material from the villas during the Aurelian period, carries important implications for our understanding of the contributions and agency of slaves and women in the imperial household.
The volume’s final section, Part 3, “Rome and the antiquarians”, provides separate case studies that invite reconsideration of the methodologies used by antiquarians and attitudes toward historical antiquarianism itself. Two chapters on Pirro Ligorio draw an interesting comparison between Ligorio’s and Claridge’s unconventional approaches toward Roman topography (Campbell) and reveal how Th. Mommsen’s initial dismissal of Ligorio’s corpus has led scholars to overlook epigraphic records that could be of considerable historical consequence (Fowlkes Childs). Two further chapters, one focusing on an over-life-size bronze statue (Evers and Fidanza) and the other on a sculpted head of a satyr (Bartman), trace the origins, iconographies, transformations, and restorations of these pieces through the meticulous analysis of archival documentation and antiquarian sources. Elizabeth Bartman’s contribution is particularly incisive in its attempt to demonstrate how the satyr head in question may be a version, or even one of the famed Centaurs made by Aphrodisian sculptors and found at Hadrian’s Villa. The last chapter, by Susan Walker, presents in detail how a chance find made by Claridge led to a discovery that links Walker’s research on the Wilshere collection with Charles Wilshere’s family estate. Aside from the information gleaned from newly uncovered records, Walker demonstrates the value of bringing together work conducted by local historical societies with archives held by national and international institutions, like the North Hertfordshire Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, and the Vatican Libraries. Together, the contributions in Part 3 like Claridge demonstrate that a better understanding of the antiquarians can produce a clearer and more comprehensive view of ancient Rome.
The volume editors deserve particular praise for including contributions from individuals who were drawn from the full range of Claridge’s network of friends, former students, and close colleagues; they also represent different career stages and (with the volume editors included) achieve near parity in gender representation. The few typographical errors in the volume are relatively inconsequential (likely attributed to the typesetter rather than the authors) and do not detract from the content. The volume is a true testament to Claridge’s work, but it is not as accessible as much of her scholarship. Several of the chapters do not stand well on their own, as they require substantial familiarity and understanding of her work and collaboration with others. Even so, many of the contributions no doubt will become part of required reading lists on their respective topics.
One final point worth noting is the active presence of Amanda Claridge herself throughout the volume. Nearly all of the chapters begin or end with a personal reflection by the authors about how Claridge shaped, guided, and/or contributed to their intellectual development and working relationships. By explaining the chosen methodologies or inspirations that underpin the authors’ research, these reflections make the individual and collective contributions to the volume even stronger. They are heartfelt, sincere, wonderfully candid, and are a unique addition to an edited volume in Claridge’s memory that attests to her continued influence on Roman studies.
Table of Contents
Addresses of editors and contributors
An obituary of Amanda Claridge (1949-2022) with her bibliography (Janet DeLaine)
Tabula honoraria
Introduction to this volume (Zena Kamash, Glynn J. C. Davis, Janet DeLaine and Charlotte R. Potts)
Part 1. Architecture and sculpture of Latium and Rome
Mouldings in early religious architecture in Latium and the construction of identity (Stephen Smith)
The Round Temple in the Forum Boarium: some notes (Eugenio La Rocca)
The Colossus of Nero and the Pantheon in the Chronicle tradition (Robert Coates-Stephens)
Su un fusto di colonna intarsiato in bigio africanato dalla Fossa Traiana (Ostia) (Matthias Bruno)
Architectural decoration in the Roman provinces: notes on local traditions and their relationship with ‘official’ art (Patrizio Pensabene)
The Temple of Apollo Palatinus
A. The Temple of Apollo: an unfinished project (Janet DeLaine)
B. Reconstructing the Temple of Palatine Apollo (Martin Goalen)
C. Geophysical survey of the Temple of Palatine Apollo (Stephen Kay and Elena Pomar)
The Basilica Apostolorum: success and failure of the early Christian ambulatory basilica (Paolo Liverani)
Part 2. Castelporziano and the Vicus Augustanus Laurentinus
The archetype of the imperial estate? Augustus and the Ager Laurens (Nicholas Purcell)
The supply of brick and tile to the Vicus Augustanus Laurentinus and the surrounding villas on the Laurentine shore (Janet DeLaine)
Mapping the sand dunes and modelling Rome’s maritime façade at Castelporziano (Jari Pakkanen and Amanda Claridge)
Part 3. Rome and the antiquarians
Pirro Ligorio’s Paradosse and the location of the Forum (Ian Campbell)
Jupiter Dolichenus and religious change in Rome in the late 1st c. A.D.: a re-evaluation of CIL VI 422* and Pirro Ligorio’s reputation as a forger (Blair Fowlkes Childs)
The Barberini bronze of Septimius Severus: the Pope, his antiquarian, the artists and the engineer (Cécile Evers and Giovan Battista Fidanza)
Last Laugh: the Wallace’s ‘Laughing Faun’ revisited (Elizabeth Bartman)
Wilshere Avenue: from Hertfordshire to Rome in the later 19th century (Susan Walker)
Notes
[1] The obituary was first published in Papers of the British School of Rome 90 (2022, online), reprinted in the volume with minor changes and additions.
[2] E.g., Claridge, A. and H. M. Rendell. 2010. The evolution of Rome’s maritime facade: archaeology and geomorphology at Castelporziano [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1000127
[3] Claridge, A. 2014. “Reconstructing the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill in Rome,” in C. Häuber, F. X. Schulz and G. M. Winder (edd.), Reconstruction and the historic city: Rome and abroad – an interdisciplinary approach (Beiträge Wirtschaftgeographie München 6) 128–52.