Senses of the Empire: Multisensory Approaches to Roman Culture

248 Pages·2017·2.484 MB·English

by  Eleanor Betts

Senses of the Empire
The Roman empire afforded a kaleidoscope of sensations. Through a series of
multisensory case studies centred on people, places, buildings and artefacts, and
on specifi c aspects of human behaviour, this volume develops ground-b reaking
methods and approaches for sensory studies in Roman archaeology and ancient
history. Authors explore questions such as: what it felt like, and symbolised,
to be showered with saffron at the amphitheatre; why the shape of a dancer’s
body made him immediately recognisable as a social outcast; how the dramatic
gestures, loud noises and unforgettable smells of a funeral would have different
meanings for members of the family and for bystanders; and why feeling the
weight of a signet ring on his fi nger contributed to a man’s sense of identity.
A multisensory approach is taken throughout, with each chapter exploring at
least two of the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. The contributors’
individual approaches vary, refl ecting the possibilities and the wide application
of sensory studies to the ancient world. Underlying all chapters is a conviction
that taking a multisensory approach enriches our understanding of the Roman
empire, but also an awareness of the methodological problems encountered
when reconstructing past experiences.
Eleanor Betts is Baron Thyssen Lecturer in Classical Studies at the Open
University. Her research focuses on the multisensory interrelationships of the
human body, material culture and archaeological landscapes. Her particular areas
of interest are Roman urbanism and religion in Roman and Iron Age Italy
( primarily Picenum, modern Marche), with an emphasis on concepts and use
of space.

Senses of the Empire
Multisensory Approaches to Roman Culture
Edited by
Eleanor Betts
First published 2017
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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© 2017 selection and editorial matter, Eleanor Betts; individual chapters, the
contributors
The right of Eleanor Betts to be identified as the author of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
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without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Betts, Eleanor, 1973– editor of compilation.
Title: Senses of the empire : multisensory approaches to
Roman culture / edited by Eleanor Betts.
Description: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY :
Routledge, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016040967| ISBN 9781472446299
(hardback : alkaline paper) | ISBN 9781315608358 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Rome—Antiquities. | Rome–Social life and customs. |
Senses and sensation—Social aspects—Rome—History. |
Social archaeology—Rome. | Social archaeology—Methodology.
Classification: LCC DG78 .S37 2017 | DDC 937—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016040967
ISBN: 978- 1- 4724-4 629- 9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 315- 60835- 8 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
List of figures vii
List of tables ix
List of plates x
Notes on contributors xi
Acknowledgements xv
Introduction: Senses of empire 1
ELEANOR BETTS
1 The sounds of the city: From noise to silence in
ancient Rome 13
RAY LAURENCE
2 The multivalency of sensory artefacts in the city
of Rome 23
ELEANOR BETTS
3 Beyond smell: The sensory landscape of
the Roman fullonica 39
MIKO FLOHR
4 Soundscape of the street: Architectural acoustics
in Ostia 54
JEFFREY VEITCH
5 Sensory archaeologies: A Vindolanda smellscape 71
THOMAS J. DERRICK
6 A sense of grief: The role of the senses in the
performance of Roman mourning 86
VALERIE M. HOPE
vi Contents
7 Blood, fire and feasting: The role of touch and taste in
Graeco- Roman animal sacrifice 104
CANDACE WEDDLE
8 Babes in arms? Sensory dissonance and the ambiguities
of votive objects 120
EMMA- JAYNE GRAHAM
9 All that glitters: Roman signet rings, the senses and
the self 137
IAN J. MARSHMAN
10 Tuning into the past: Methodological perspectives in the
contextualised study of the sounds of Roman antiquity 147
ALEXANDRE VINCENT
11 Motion sensors: Perceiving movement in
Roman pantomime 159
HELEN SLANEY
12 Scents of place and colours of smell: Fragranced
entertainment in ancient Rome 176
JO DAY
Afterword: Towards a methodology for Roman
sensory studies 193
ELEANOR BETTS
Bibliography 200
Index 222
Figures
3.1 Fulling stalls in fullonica (VII.2.41), Pompeii 42
Source: Photo: Miko Flohr
3.2 Rinsing complex in fullonica (I.6.7), Pompeii 42
Source: Photo: Miko Flohr
3.3 Plan of f ullonica (VII.2.41), Pompeii 47
Source: Miko Flohr
3.4 Plan of f ullonica (I.xiii.3), Ostia 48
Source: Miko Flohr
3.5 Plan of f ullonica ‘of Stephanus’ (I.6.7), Pompeii 49
Source: Miko Flohr
3.6 Plan of f ullonica (V.vii.3), Ostia 50
Source: Miko Flohr
4.1 Portico di Pio IX , Building A (1.5.1–2), Building B (1.6.1),
northern cardo maximus and the surrounding area 56
Source: Jeffrey Veitch
4.2 Portico di Pio IX shop. Internal dimensions and acoustic properties 58
Source: Jeffrey Veitch
6.1 Funerary relief from Amiternum showing a funeral procession 88
Source: Drawing by Jerneja Wilmott; copyright Maureen Carroll
6.2 Relief from the tomb of the Haterii (Rome) 89
Source: Drawing by Jerneja Wilmott; copyright Maureen Carroll
7.1 Suovetaurilia from the so- called ‘Anaglypha Traiani/Hadriani’ in
the Curia Iulia, Forum Romanum, Rome. Probably Hadrianic 107
Source: Photo: Candace Weddle
7.2 Pouring wine on the head of the sacrificial victim. Panel from
the ‘Altar of Scipio Orfitus’, Rome, 295 C E . Musei Capitolini,
Rome 109
Source: Photo: John Pollini
7.3 A scene of extispicy. Part of a marble relief from Trajan’s
Forum. Rome, early second century C E , Louvre, Paris 112
Source: Illustration by Jasmine Parker
viii Figures
7.4 Fragment of a relief showing a post- sacrificial banquet,
probably of the Vestal Virgins. Rome, first century C E ,
Museo dell’Ara Pacis, Rome 114
Source: Photo: John Pollini
8.1 Terracotta votive figurines depicting infants in swaddling
bands from Vulci, Porta Nord, probably second century B CE .
Left: inv. 59759, h. 47.5 cm; Right: inv. 59760, h. 54 cm 121
Source: Bridgeman Images
8.2 Tufa statue of a woman (possibly the goddess Mater Matuta)
holding a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. Note how
the infant extends across her entire lap, its head cradled by
her flexed left hand. 2nd–1st century B CE . Museo Provinciale
Campano, Capua, Inv. no. 425, h. 1.07 m 123
Source: German Archaeological Institute (photograph by Hutzel)
12.1 Wall painting of l inea dives from Pompeii 178
Source: Drawing by Ella Hassett, after Maiuri, 1953, p. 126
12.2 Force pump 180
Source: Schmidt, W., 1899. H erons von Alexandria: Druckwerke
und Automatentheater, Leipzig: B. G. Teubner. Fig. 29
12.3 View of the tiers of seating in the Colosseum, assigned
hierarchically 188
Source: Photo: Conor Trainor
Tables
2.1 Distances of proxemic perception 29
Source: based on Hall, 1966, pp. 107–22
4.1 Absorption coefficients for modern building materials and
other materials that correspond with ancient materials 60
Source: Everest and Pohlmann, 2009, Appendix; SAE Institute,
2014, http://www.sae.edu/reference_material/pages/
Coefficient%20Chart.htm
4.2 Basic acoustic elements in shops, plus absorption coefficients
and reverberation time calculations 61
4.3 Predicative crowd noise for the Portico di Pio IX buildings 68
Source: based on population numbers in Packer, 1971