Antonio Nibby; Conrad M. Stibbe; M. Kleibrink; Marijke Gnade
Condition
ruined
Publicaccess
yes
Satricum (modern Le Ferriere), an ancient town of Latium vetus, lay on the right bank of the Astura river some 60 kilometres (37 miles) SE of Rome in a low-lying region south of the Alban Hills, at the NW border of the Pontine Marshes. It was directly accessible from Rome via a road running roughly parallel to the Via Appia.[1]
According to Livy, Satricum was an Alban colony, and a member of the Latin League of 499 BC. In c. 488 BC it was taken by the Volsci.[2] In 386 BC a force made up of Volscians of the town of Antium, Hernici and Latins rebelled against Rome and gathered near Satricum. After a battle with the Romans which was stopped by rain, the Latins and Hernici left and returned home. The Volsci retreated to Satricum, which was taken by storm. In 385 BC the Romans planted a colony with 2,000 colonists at Satricum.[3] In 382 BC a joint force of Volsci and Latins from the city of Praeneste took Satricum despite strong resistance by the Roman colonists. In 381 BC the Romans levied four legions and marched on Satricum. There was a fierce battle which the Romans won.[4] In 377 BC a joint Latin and Volscian force encamped near Satricum. It was routed by the Romans and fled to Antium. A quarrel then broke out between the Antiates and the Latins. The former were minded to give up, while the latter did not and left. The Antiates surrendered their city and lands. The Latins burned Satricum in revenge, sparing only the temple of Mater Matuta.[5] In 348 BC the Volsci rebuilt the city. 346 BC Antium sent envoys to the cities of the Latins to try to stir a war. The Romans attacked Satricum. They defeated an army of Antiates and other Volsci which had been levied in advance. These fled to Satricum. The Romans besieged this town and 4000 of the enemy surrendered. The town was destroyed and burnt. The temple of Mater Matuta was spared a second time.[6] After this, the town is mentioned by ancient authors only in connection with the temple of Mater Matuta.[7]
Identification and history of research
Antonio Nibby[8] mistakenly identified ancient Satricum with the low hill at Borgo Montello, then known as the Tenuta di Conca, surrounded by tufa cliffs, 1.5km ESE of present-day Le Ferriere, on which were still scanty remains of walling in rectangular blocks of the same material. In 1896, the hill above Le Ferriere yielded remains of an archaic and early Classical sanctuary ascribed to Mater Matuta, during excavations begun under the direction of Prof. H. Graillot of the University of Bordeaux, member of the École française de Rome. After two weeks, this work was suspended by order of the Italian government, and then resumed under the supervision of Felice Barnabei,[9] Raniero Mengarelli, and A. Cozza. The objects discovered were brought to the Villa Giulia Museum at Rome.
After some cursory investigations during the 1950s, the site of Satricum was brought to light again in 1977, as a result of a concerted effort by the Italian authorities to rescue the antiquities in the Roman campagna that were acutely threatened by large-scale urbanisation and agricultural reform. The alarm was first made public by the exhibition Civiltà del Lazio primitivo at Rome (1976).[10] As a result, the Royal Dutch Institute at Rome was invited by the Comitato per l'Archeologia laziale to participate in a rescue project and to ascertain the state of preservation of the site.[11]
Since 1977, a comprehensive research program at the site has been carried out through annual excavation and study campaigns. This concerned, first of all, activities by the Royal Dutch Institute at Rome (C. M. Stibbe),[12] later joined by the Universities of Groningen (prof. M. Kleibrink) and Nijmegen (prof. J. de Waele). As of 1990, the project is being executed by the University of Amsterdam alone, under the direction of prof. Marijke Gnade. With her academic retirement, in 2024, the project returned to the aigis of the Royal Dutch Institute at Rome, where she was appointed Senior Fellow.
Results
Potsherding from Satricum, 1983.Antefix with Satyr and Maenad dancing from the acropolis, Temple of Mater Matuta, 490-470 BC
Several inscriptions bearing the name of Mater Matuta have now made undisputed the identification of the city on and around the acropolis directly to the south of today's Le Ferriere with ancient Satricum. There remains, however, some discussion on the equation, proposed by C.M. Stibbe, of Satricum with the legendary city of Suessa Pometia.
The sanctuary on top of the acropolis was re-excavated in 1978–1981. Metrological analyses by Prof. J. de Waele, published in 1981[13] convincingly demonstrated a succession of three building phases dated from the late 7th to the early 5th century BC. Further investigations in the subsoil showed a particularly large, rather isolated hut to have preceded them, possibly with a religious function. Evidence for a large number of other huts of various shapes testify to a concentrated use of the acropolis during Latial periods II-IV (1000 - 580 BC).
The three temples succeeding one another are characterized by Etrusco-Ionian, Campanian, and central-Italic traditions, respectively, in material, technology, and artistic background, evidencing the character of Satricum as a true crossroads of regionally competing, or successive, cultures. The discovery, in 1977, of the Lapis Satricanus re-used in the foundations of the last temple and bore the name Publius Valerius (possibly to be identified with Publius Valerius Poplicola) perhaps confirms to the political connections between Satricum and Republican Rome.[14]
The Archaic Period at Satricum is evidenced by a number of large courtyard buildings on and at the foot of the acropolis. To the NE, a network of large roads, amongst which a "Sacra Via", in combination with a dense urban build-up have been traced, documenting various phases from the 6th to 4th century BC.
Among the more surprising recent (1981) findings is a large necropolis dated to the 5th and 4th century BC, within the agger in the SW corner of the Archaic city. The material culture of the populace buried here, yielding i.a. a rare inscription on a lead miniature axe bearing the inscription iukus|ko|efiei shows strong connections with the Volscian traditions best known from the interior regions of the Apennine Peninsula. In fact, the discovery corroborates the historical traditions of the Volscians conquering Satricum in 488 BC. Tombs of this kind have successively been found both on the very top of the acropolis and intermixed with the remains of roads in the NW city area.
In addition to ongoing fieldwork, the storerooms and archives of the Villa Giulia Museum have gradually become accessible for advanced research. Thus the precise details are now known of the circumstances that led to the first excavation campaign by Graillot, the Italian government's intervention, and the subsequent neglect of the Satricum objects in the Villa Giulia. In addition, many object categories have now been properly studied and published (finds from the Archaic Votive Deposit, from the Orientalising and Archaic necropolises to the NE of the city, and the architectural terracottas of the sanctuary).
Site museum
The former iron mill and strawboard factory at Le Ferriere, situated at the foot of the ancient acropolis, has been renovated in recent years as part of the provincial "Parco Satricum" project to house the exhibition Satricum: Scavi e reperti archeologici, which opened in June 2014.[15][16] This on-going show displays about 700 artefacts illustrating the history of Satricum from its beginnings to its decline. It is the organizers’ intention to make the temporary exhibition space into an official site museum.
Support structure
In the Netherlands, the research project is supported, since 1981, by a private ngo, the 'Stichting Nederlands Studiecentrum voor Latium'(Foundation Dutch Study Center for Latium), and also, since 1994, by the Vereniging van Vrienden van Satricum (Association of Friends of Satricum), which holds a yearly popular congress, on the last Saturday in January, in Amsterdam: the 'Satricumdag' (Satricum Day). In Italy, various private initiatives are actively supporting the Satricum research.
Bibliography
Monographs, dissertations, congresses
C.M. Stibbe et al., Lapis Satricanus. Archaeological, Epigraphical, Linguistic and Historical Aspects of the New Inscription from Satricum, The Hague 1980
M. Maaskant-Kleibrink et al., Settlement Excavations at Borgo Le Ferriere (“Satricum”)I-II, Groningen 1987 and 1992
R.R. Knoop, Antefixa Satricana. Sixth-century Architectural Terracottas from the Sanctuary of Mater Matuta at Satricum (Le Ferriere), Wolfsboro/Assen 1987
M. Gnade, The Southwest Necropolis of Satricum. Excavations 1981-1986, Amsterdam 1992
D.J. Waarsenburg, The Northwest Necropolis of Satricum. An Iron Age Cemetery in Latium Vetus, Amsterdam 1995
B. Ginge, Excavations at Satricum, Borgo Le Ferriere, 1907-1910: Northwest Necropolis, Southwest Sanctuary and Acropolis, Amsterdam 1996
P.S. Lulof, The Ridge-Pole Statues from the Late Archaic Temple at Satricum (Le Ferriere), Amsterdam 1996
J.W. Bouma, Religio Votiva: the Archaeology of Latial Votive Religion, Groningen 1996
A.J. Nijboer, From Household Production to Workshops. Archaeological Evidence for Economic Transformations, Pre-Monetary Exchange and Urbanisation in Central Italy from 800 to 400 BC, Groningen 1998
M. Gnade, Satricum in the Post-Archaic Period. A case study of the interpretation of archaeological remains as indicators of ethno-cultural identity, Leuven 2002
Proceedings of the Satricum Centennial Congress (1887-1997) in: Mededelingen van het Nederlands Instituut te Rome/Antiquity, LVI (1997) 1-204
Lemma "Satricum" in the Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica, Classica e Orientale, Suppl. II.V (1997) 177-180
Popular books by the Netherlands Study Center for Latium
B. Heldring, Satricum. Een stad in Latium / Satricum. Una città del Lazio / Satricum. A Town in Latium, Hollandse Rading 1985 (rev. 1989) /Latina 1987, Meppel 1989
C. Stibbe, Satricum en de Volsken / Satricum ed i Volsci, Hollandse Rading 1985 / Meppel 1991
H. Versnel, Satricum en Rome. De inscriptie van Satricum en de vroeg Romeinse geschiedenis / Satricum e Roma. L'iscrizione di Satricum e la storia romana arcaica, Hollandse Rading 1985 / Meppel 1990
D. Waarsenburg, Satricum, Kroniek van een opgravìng / Satricum. Cronaca di uno scavo. Ricerche archeologiche alla fine dell'Ottocento, Tonden 1996 / Rome 1998
P.S. Lulof, R.R. Knoop, Satricum. Tempels en daken Meppel 1998
Exhibitions
Satricum una città Latina, Exhibition catalogue Latina 1982, Florence 1982
Nieuw licht op een oude stad. Italiaanse en Nederlandse opgravingen in Satricum, Exhibition catalogue Leiden/Nijmegen 1985, The Hague/Rome 1985
Area sacra di Satricum tra scavo e restituzione, Exhibition catalogue Albano Laziale 1985, Rome 1985
GnaeusMarcius Coriolanus was a Roman general who is said to have lived in the 5th century BC. He received his toponymic cognomen "Coriolanus" following his courageous actions during a Roman siege of the Volscian city of Corioli. He was subsequently exiled from Rome, and led troops of Rome's enemy the Volsci to besiege the city.
Ferentina was the patron goddess of the city Ferentinum, Latium. She was protector of the Latin commonwealth. She was also closely associated with the Roman Empire.
Mater Matuta was an indigenous Latin goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora and the Greek dawn goddess Eos. Mater Matuta was the goddess of female maturation, and later became linked to the dawn. Her cult is attested to in several places in Latium; her most famous temple was located at Satricum.
The Volsci were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the south, the Hernici on the east, and stretching roughly from Norba and Cora in the north to Antium in the south. Rivals of Rome for several hundred years, their territories were taken over by and assimilated into the growing republic by 304 BC. Rome's first emperor Augustus was of Volscian descent.
The Hernici were an Italic tribe of ancient Italy, whose territory was in Latium between the Fucine Lake and the Sacco River (Trerus), bounded by the Volsci on the south, and by the Aequi and the Marsi on the north.
Antium was an ancient coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An oppidum was founded by people of Latial culture, then it was the main stronghold of the Volsci people until it was conquered by the Romans.
The Battle of the Allia was fought c. 387 BC between the Senones – a Gallic tribe led by Brennus, who had invaded Northern Italy – and the Roman Republic.
The Lapis Satricanus, is a yellow stone found in the ruins of the ancient town of Satricum, near Borgo Montello, a village of southern Lazio, dated late 6th to early 5th centuries BC. It was found in 1977 during excavations by C.M. Stibbe.
Norba, an ancient town of Latium (Adjectum), Italy. It is situated 1 mile northwest of the modern town of Norma, on the western edge of the Volscian Mountains or Monti Lepini. The town is perched above a precipitous cliff with a splendid view over the Pomptine Marshes below; the highest point stands to ca. 460 meters above sea level.
Corioli was a town in ancient times in the territory of the Volsci in central Italy, in Latium adiectum.
Quintus Fabius Vibulanus, son of Marcus Fabius Vibulanus, was consul of the Roman Republic and one of the second set of decemviri.
Cori is a city and comune in the province of Latina, in the Lazio region of central Italy.
Postumus Cominius Auruncus was a two-time consul of the early Roman Republic.
Old Latium is a region of the Apennine Peninsula bounded to the north by the Tiber River, to the east by the central Apennine Mountains, to the west by the Mediterranean Sea and to the south by Monte Circeo. It was the territory of the Latins, an Italic tribe which included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome. Later it was also settled by various Italic tribes such as the Rutulians, Volscians, Aequi, and Hernici. The region was referred to as "old" to distinguish it from the expanded region, Latium, that included the region to the south of Old Latium, between Monte Circeo and the river Garigliano – the so-called Latium adiectum. It corresponded to the central part of the modern administrative region of Lazio, Italy, and it covered an area measuring of roughly 50 Roman miles. It was calculated by Mommsen that the region's area was about 1860 square kilometres.
The Roman–Latin wars were a series of wars fought between ancient Rome and the Latins, from the earliest stages of the history of Rome until the final subjugation of the Latins to Rome in the aftermath of the Latin War.
The Roman–Volscian wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Volsci, an ancient Italic people. Volscian migration into southern Latium led to conflict with that region's old inhabitants, the Latins under leadership of Rome, the region's dominant city-state. By the late 5th century BC, the Volsci were increasingly on the defensive and by the end of the Samnite Wars had been incorporated into the Roman Republic. The ancient historians devoted considerable space to Volscian wars in their accounts of the early Roman Republic, but the historical accuracy of much of this material has been questioned by modern historians.
Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus was a Roman statesman and general who served as consul six times. Titus Quinctius was a member of the gens Quinctia, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome.
The Roman-Aequian wars were a series of wars during the early expansion of ancient Rome in central Italy fought against the Aequi, an Italic tribe located to their east.
Attius Tullius was a well-respected and influential political and military leader of the Volsci in the early fifth century BC. According to Plutarch, who calls him Tullus Aufidius, his home town was Antium. Tullius sheltered the exiled Roman hero Gaius Marcius Coriolanus, then incited a war with Rome, in which he and Coriolanus led the Volscian forces. He appears in William Shakespeare's tragedy Coriolanus under the name of Tullus Aufidius.
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