The Excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti, Volume II: The Small Finds

179 Pages·1994·9.657 MB·English

by  Alastair Small, C. J. Simpson, Richard Reece, J. J. Rossiter

The Excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti
Volume II
The Small Finds
Between 1977 and 1984 the excavations of a Canadian archaeologi-
cal team at San Giovanni di Ruoti in southern Italy uncovered a
series of three Roman villas dating from the first to the sixth centu-
ries AD. The multi-volume report on the excavation will provide
the first comprehensive overview of the social and economic life of
a Roman villa in southern Italy. Volume II constitutes a catalogue
raisonne of the small finds, covering all categories of non-ceramic
personal, domestic, and industrial artifacts recovered from the site.
C.J. Simpson, a member of the Canadian excavation team, pro-
vides detailed descriptions of the individual artifacts, their dates of
manufacture, and their use, and discusses the evidence they yield
for domestic and daily life. The artifacts range from hairpins and
brooches to iron knives used for slicing and chopping. Coins and
lamps found at the site are evaluated in separate contributions by
R. Reece (Institute of Archaeology, University College, London)
and J.J. Rossiter (Department of History and Classics, University of
Alberta). The book includes several useful appendices, notably one
by Vito Volterra (Department of Anthropology, McMaster Univer-
sity) on the analysis of millstones. The 400 items listed in the cata-
logue are illustrated by drawings or photographs.
This volume presents one of very few accounts of the household
artifacts found at an estate centre remote from urban Rome. It pro-
vides an important resource for specialists seeking to date similar
objects, and adds much interesting detail to our picture of the rural
economy of Italy in late antiquity.
C.J. Simpson is Associate Professor of Classics at Wilfrid Laurier
University.
PHOENIX
Journal of the Classical Association of Canada
Revue de la Socéité canadienne des etudes classiques
Supplementary Volume XXXIV
Tome supplémentaire XXXIV
C.J. SIMPSON
The Excavations of
SAN GIOVANNI DI RUOTI
Volume II
The Small Finds
with contributions from
R. Reece (Coins)
J.J. Rossiter (Lamps)
and appendices by
O. Colacicchi Alessandri (gold amulet no. 369)
V. Volterra (millstones)
Artifact drawings by R. Aicher and C. Mundigler
ALASTAIR M. SMALL and ROBERT J. BUCK
General Editors
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
© University of Toronto Press Incorporated 1997
Toronto Buffalo London
Printed in Canada
ISBN 0-8020-0631-0
Printed on acid-free paper
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Small, Alastair
The excavations of San Giovanni di Ruoti
(Phoenix. Supplementary volume; 33 = Phoenix.
Tome supplémentaire, ISSN 0079-1784; 33)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: v. 2. The small finds / C.J. Simpson
with contributions from R. Reece (Coins), J.J. Rossiter (Lamps).
ISBN 0-8020-0631-0 (v. 2)
1. San Giovanni di Ruoti site (Italy).
2. Ruoti (Italy) - Antiquities, Roman.
3. Excavations (Archaeology) - Italy - Ruoti.
I. Buck, Robert J., 1926- . II. Title.
III. Series: Phoenix. Supplementary volume
(Toronto, Ont.); 33.
DG70.S238S53 1994 937'.7 C94-931383-1
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the
Canadian Federation for the Humanities, using funds provided by the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
FOR NIC AND KATE
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CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES x
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi
PREFACE xiii
ABBREVIATIONS xvii
Introduction 3
Phases and dates of occupation 4
The organization of the Catalogue 5
The current disposition of the minor objects 5
Format of Catalogue entries 5
The minor objects as dating evidence 6
The minor objects as evidence for daily life 7
Constraints 7
The tables 8
The middens 9
Catalogue 21
I. Articles of adornment, dress, or toilet 21
Hairpins 21
Combs 25
Brooches 26
Finger rings 28
Earrings 29
Bracelets/armlets 29
Beads 30
Buckles and other articles of dress 30
Ligulae 33
Tweezers 33
Mirror 33
viii Contents
II. Articles associated with textiles 34
Sewing needles 34
Loom weights 35
Spindle whorls 37
Circular or irregularly shaped weights 37
III. Articles associated with the processing of food 38
Querns 38
Stone mortars 39
Large stone basins 41
Metal bowl 41
IV. Articles associated with writing 41
Styli 41
Stylus cases 42
Seal box 43
V. Articles associated with weighing 43
Weights 43
Steelyard 44
VI. Tools (knife blades and other implements) 44
Stone objects 44
Bone objects 44
Metal blades 45
Implements used in woodworking 47
Implements possibly associated with leatherworking 48
Implements associated with agriculture 48
Other implements 48
Tools and implements of unknown use 49
VII. Furnishings, fastenings, and fixtures 49
Furniture attachments 49
Objects of bone 49
Objects of copper alloy 50
Keys and lock fittings 51
Hinges 51
Staples and similar objects 52
Loop-headed spikes 52
Split pin / ring staples 52
Miscellaneous fixtures and fittings 53
VIII. Articles associated with leisure, religious, and other activities 54
Gaming pieces 54
Flute fragment 54
Metal sculpture 55
Terracotta objects 56
Amulet 56
IX. Articles associated with equitation 57
Cheekpiece 57
Strap fittings 57
Spurs 57
X. Weaponry 58
Projectile head 58
Contents ix
XI. Objects currently unidentifiable 58
Copper alloy objects 58
Iron objects 59
Other objects 59
Bibliography 60
Concordances 65
Small Find numbers: Volumes II / I 65
Small Find numbers in ascending order 67
Appendix 1
Conservation of the amulet by O. Colacicchi Alessandri 70
Appendix 2
The inheritance of Stephen and the non-ceramic artifacts at San Giovanni di Ruoti 73
Appendix 3
Provenancing of ancient Roman millstones by V. Volterra 75
COINS by R. Reece 83
Coins and the economy in the later phases of San Giovanni 83
Catalogue 86
Bibliography 87
LAMPS by ].]. Rossiter 89
Introduction 89
Catalogue 90
Group 1: Italian lamps of Bailey Types A to G 90
Group 2: Italian lamps of Bailey Types O and P 92
Group 3: Italian lamps - miscellaneous fragments (first to second centuries AD) 93
Group 4: Italian globule lamps (Bailey Type K) 93
Group 5: African lamps of Atlante Form VIII / Hayes Type I 94
Group 6: African lamps of Atlante Form X/ Hayes Type II 95
Group 7: Campanian Red Ware lamps of Bailey Type Siii 97
Group 8: Lucanian Buffware lamps of Bailey Type Siii 98
Group 9: Miscellaneous Late Roman lamps 99
Bibliography 100
ILLUSTRATIONS 103