Posted on 12/04/2007 10:45:07 AM PST by Pyro7480
ROME (Reuters) - An ancient Roman wood and ivory throne has been unearthed at a dig in Herculaneum, Italian archaeologists said on Tuesday, hailing it as the most significant piece of wooden furniture ever discovered there.
The throne was found during an excavation in the Villa of the Papyri, the private house formerly belonging to Julius Caesar's father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, built on the slope of Mount Vesuvius.
The name of the villa derives from the impressive library containing thousands of scrolls of papyrus discovered buried under meters (yards) of volcanic ash after the Vesuvius erupted on 24 August 79.
Restoration of the throne is still ongoing with restorers painstakingly trying to piece back together parts of the ceremonial chair.
While other wooden objects have been dug out in nearby Pompeii, experts have never before found such a significant ceremonial piece of furniture. Previously such pieces have only been observed in paintings or made of marble.
"The find of ancient wooden furniture is not an absolute novelty in Herculaneum or Pompeii. Organic materials in fact were preserved in these cities because of the peculiar way in which they were submerged by the Vesuvius volcanic mud," said the head of the dig, Maria Paola Guidobaldi.
"But we have never found furniture of such a significant structure and decoration," Guidobaldi said.
Little is known about how the throne would have been used but the elaborate decorations discovered on the chair celebrate the mysterious cult figure of Attis.
The most precious relief shows Attis, a life-death-rebirth deity, collecting a pine cone next to a sacred pine tree. Other ornaments show leaves and flowers suggesting the theme of the throne is that of spring and fertility.
The cult of Attis is documented to have been strong in Herculaneum the first century AD.
(Reporting by Antonio Denti, writing by Eleanor Biles, editing by Silvia Aloisi and Paul Casciato)
GGG ping!
We had a wooden throne when I was a kid.......
cool!
in the Neighborhood where I grew up in the Bronx, we had lots of Bald Guidos.
Good find.
Info for Freepers:
Want to see a life-size recreation of “The Villa of Papyri”...
right here in the USA?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Villa
“In 1974, Getty opened the Getty Villa as his second museum in a re-creation
of the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, as well as incorporating
details from several other ancient sites.”
Be sure to call ahead to know when the Getty villa (not the new museum
overlooking I-405!) is open and for parking arrangements.
AND DO HURRY...before the Greek and Italian guvmints reclaim a fair
number of artifacts.
AND I do recommend the NEW Getty Center overlooking the I-405...
call and check before trying to visit.
Right on, Badger! Also, we really thought we had some great digs when there was a second and smaller throne beside the larger one.
We didn’t have a two-holer. We didn’t want to show off or wealth.........
My bro's favorite was to pass by and make some wierd sound or say...."See any spiders". Heh Heh Heh...
very cool find ..
and oh yeah,, memories galore on that pic, we were so poor we had to burn the outhouse door for firewood. winter was the pits..
some treasures have been found from beneath where they once sat..
A piece of a throne found in an ancient Roman settlement near Naples is shown in a photo released December 4, 2007. An ancient Roman wood and ivory throne has been unearthed at a dig in Herculaneum, Italian archaeologists said on Tuesday, hailing it as the most significant piece of wooden furniture ever discovered there. (Archaeology Superintendent of Pompeii/Handout/Reuters)
I remember when we got a “new” outhouse made from used lumber that came from and old house that was abandoned. It had a “real” door that locked! No more cold wind in the wintertime! Man, we thought that was just the greatest thing!....................
lol ... that and a pail of corncobs, yur all set! :)
I would challenge calling this a throne.
Kings sit on thrones, and the Romans were quite literally death on kings.
It is possible this was some sort of ritual object and could be called a throne, but based on some of the pictures it really looks more like a somewhat elaborate chair.
That must be the airy model. The wind can whistle up your canyon in that one!
A must see for anyone interested in the Classics. If you are anywhere close to Malibu, make an appointment. I believe it is free, but by appointment only. My wife and I were there in early October and it was amazing. It is probably the best collection of Etruscan antiquities in America.
Our “old” one must have been 50 years old if it was a day........
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Thanks Pyro7480. Homerus Formusbaea ping. |
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