Hadrian's Temple, Pergamon - The Substructure

In the building of the Roman empire, not all additional lands were acquired by military conquest.  For example, the tiny Hellenistic kingdom of Pergamon was bequeathed to Rome by the heirless ruler Attalus the III.  This occurred in 133 BCE during the Roman Republic.  During the time of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138 CE) a huge construction project was carried out on the Pergamon acropolis.  This included a temple complex as well as a remarkable amphitheater.   A lavish Asclepeion near the base of the Acropolis was also constructed.  Galen, the great Greek physician was born and practiced here.

Trajan's Temple has been partially restored using anastylosis principles.  The Acropolis and Asclepeion are both wonderful archaeological ruins to wander around to explore the architecture as well as the incredible views from the summit.

The focus of this essay is to examine the substructure of Trajan's Temple to demonstrate that the Romans 'built light', that is, used arches and vaulting, even in their substructures, to support their buildings.  This is in contrast to the Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek which is built on megalith shaped stones weighing up to 900 tons.  

On a tour of Turkey in the spring of 2014, one of the ancient ruins I most looked forward to see was the great Acropolis of Pergamon.  

Figure 1  Reconstruction of Ancient Pergamon - Wikipedia

Figure 1 is a reconstructed view looking northeast at the southwest side of Trajan's Temple.  Below the Temple are the entrances to the barrel vaults that support the terrace and south section of the Temple.

Figure 2  Photo of Amphitheater, vault openings, and barely visible remnant of Trajan's Temple.  Photo by the author.

Figure 3  Southeast side of remains of Trajan's Temple with vault entrances - photo by the author.

2015 PAAC Summer Survey

This summer the Annual Summer Survey was quite different from the one I attended in the past (2012).  Instead of the high plains of Eastern Colorado (Pawnee Buttes) this year the Survey was held north of the confluence of the Colorado and Eagle River.
PAAC volunteers supported members of the Colorado Wickiup Project and the Dominquez Archaeological Research Group (DARG) with their Ute Trails of Eagle County project.  Their research goal was to locate evidence of Ute occupation of the survey area.  Other archaeology both prehistoric and historical was also recorded.
Curtis Martin  was our Principal Investigator.  Other member were Sonny Shelton and Lucas Piontkowski.

This Survey was also different in that we used Trimble Geoexplorer data collection devices to collect all data from the artifacts as well as GIS information.  This dramatically increased our survey efficiency.  What was lost was spending time at a site getting to know the layout of the site, recording our finds with compass and polar graph paper.

Presentation of 2015 Summer Survey

Below is slideshow of some of the highlights of the Survey.

Sanisera Field School, May, 2015

This is a photo essay of our experiences at the Sanisera Field School located on the Spanish island of Menorca.  We spent a good part of May exploring the island's archaeological sights as well as excavating in the ancient Roman city of Sanisera.

Taula enclosure at Talati de Dalt, Menorca	Fifteen minutes after renting a car at the airport in Menorca we were walking in the Talayotic sanctuary  that you see to the left.  The Talayotic culture is unique to the two Balearic islands of Majorca and Menorca.  Their architectural  remains can be found all over the island.   As we drove from the airport on the east side of island to Ciutadella on the west side, we passed many directional signs to those archaeology sites or and often visited the ruins themselves.  The Taula, in the center (like a giant "T") is a megalithic structure only found on the island of Menorca.
Our "dorm" was about 75 meters from this beautiful plaza, an old hacienda with shared courtyard filled with tall trees and birds.  We frequently enjoyed cafe con leche right on the plaza and used their internet. About 30 meters from the plaza was a narrow alley that led to our lodging. Passing through the door off the alley we entered that beautiful shaded courtyard.  Various shops filled the main pedestrian streets, enticing us with their fresh produce and Menorcan wares.	Placa D' Alfons III Conqueridor
Entrance to Ramonell off of Carrer Mao	From Placa D' Alfons III Conqueridor on Carrer Mao, we enjoyed pedestrian tile or cobbled narrow streets leading to our dorm on Ramonell.
In this photo of Juana in the second storey room of our dormitory are seen the courtyard trees which greeted us each morning. We could look out over several sculptures, placed artfully across a neighbor's  garden, and hear birds calling.  Each day at the main dorm, Juana prepares breakfast, makes our bocadillo subs for lunch break at the dig site, and cooks a tasty  dinner.  She also acts as the dorm 'mother', washes bedding and always leaves bottled water for the students. She is enthusiastic, if sometimes tired sometimes from working without weekends off, and smiles often.	Juana - Our dorm 'Mom'
	At the ancient Roman City of Sanisera,  Joe uncovered a triangular shaped piece of white marble, about 30 cm on a side and 3 cm thick.  Fernando (Contreras - on the right) believes it to be the first piece of architectural marble uncovered on Menorca.   Llorenç (Alaport Martin, on the left) believes there is likely a burial under the marble.  A section of tegula (roofing tile) was found in the same location.  Please see the following Slideshow for more photos of the excavation site.
Llorenç sketches a tomba (tomb) burial in the Necropolis located a few meters from the excavation above.  More photos appear in the Slideshow below.
Natalie, looking very happy, after she uncovered a possible cover to a tomb.  See the Slideshow below for more photos of the students.
Karen displays something she just discovered.  Karen, do you know what this is so we can label this picture?
	Karen excavating in the Necropolis.  The students taking this class ( 008: Digging anthropology in the Sanisera Necropolis) spent a lot of time on their tummies)

Discovering Menorca

After a lively week in Madrid, chasing down art and archaeology museums, we hopped a flight to the Balaeric Islands.  Best known of the Balaerics are Mallorca (major) or the trendy Ibiza.  We had been accepted into an archaeological field school for 20 days in May 2015, on the lesser known yet more lovely Menorca (minor).

After renting a small car, we explored our first Talayotic site, perhaps a kilometer from the airport.  Talati de Dalt offered many features common to this 4,000 year old culture.  Dwelling Navetas and Taulas are unique to Menorca, and over 1500 prehistoric sites dot this small island, which is a pending World Heritage Site.  Menorca's density of archaeological sites compares to that of Montezuma County.

Staying at an apartamento in Cala Blanca (white cove) a few miles south of the student dormitories in ancient Ciutadella, we enjoyed an evening walking the coast and a seafood dinner there, not sure if we could even share the same room during the field school starting the next day.

This array of photos illustrates the beauty, charm and delectible cuisine we discovered in Menorca.  Other posts will describe life in a field school, the archaeological sites and other delights.

Introduction to Menorca

Odd as it may seem our first series of Posts will concern our recent travels to the island of Menorca in the Mediterranean.
Menorca lies off the coast of Spain about 250 kilometers SE from Barcelona.

Map showing location of Menorca in the Western Mediterranean

This beautiful Mediterranean island is noted by European travellers for its beautiful beaches, charming ancient cities and great food, especially fresh seafood.  The following slideshow gives you an idea of some of the delights of the island.  Included are views of the ancient Roman City of Sanisera - the location of the excavation site of the Sanisera Archaeology Institute field school.