I GRANDI CONTENITORI PER LO STOCCAGGIO DI DERRATE DAL SANTUARIO DELLE CURIAE VETERES A ROMA

Abstract

Large containers for the storage of food appear in the archaeological contexts of central Tyrrhenian Italy from as early as the Protohistoric period. Over time, the use of these objects becomes increasingly important in various contexts, including sacred activities. Indeed, the presence of such artifacts in sanctuary areas is not unusual. In these sites they were used in ordinary activities (conservation and storage of solid and liquid foodstuffs) and, given their size and pivotal permanent use, they became an integral part of the functional furniture of the sanctuaries.
The Archaic and Republican layers of the civic sanctuary of the Curiae Veteres, where – according to tradition – the citizens that Romulus had divided into curiae celebrated the sacra (common meals), have returned a significant quantity of fragments that can be linked to this category of material. Although these are objects have not been found in their original position, their study has made it possible to obtain valuable information on the role played by these artefacts in the context of daily life of the sacred area thanks to the overall numbers of finds and the use of techno-typological and metrological approaches. An accurate analysis of the stratigraphy has also made it possible to carry out “long-term” analyses on some of these objects, which after an initial phase of life, sometimes appear to be reused to perform functions that differ from their original intended use, partly as a result of their construction costs.