A solid gold bust of Septimius Severus

Gold, like bronze and silver, is a commodity that over the centuries was melted down time and again by whoever possessed the precious mineral and wanted to transform it for his own use. This is why large bronze statues are so rare and the examples we have in our museums these days generally come from underwater archaeology where they were hidden from view. Large gold objects are even more rare.

[Picture from Gareth Harney on Twitter]

This brings me to this solid bust of Emperor Septimius Severus made end 2^nd/beginning 3^rd century AD. It was found in 1965 among the ruins of ancient Plotinopolis, a city founded in the early 2^nd century by Emperor Trajan who named it after his wife Pompeia Plotina. Plotinopolis was actually built on top of the Thracian and Hellenistic town of Didymoteicho which the Romans sacked in 204 BC.

The city was ideally located on the banks of the Bulgarian Maritsa River that becomes the Evros River when it enters eastern Greece. The surrounding plain was very fertile and controlled a branch of the Via Egnatia.

Today Plotinopolis is called Kale after the Turkish word for castle as it lies south of Edirne, Turkey although only 20 km north of Soufli in the Thracian Province of Greece.

The magnificent gold bust of Septimius Severus can be admired at the Archaeological Museum of nearby Komotini – certainly worth the detour!

A private museum becomes a family feud

The private museum is in fact a collection of works of art held by the Torlonia family in Italy, the largest privately owned marbles and paintings in the world.

The value of its 620 marbles, the villa and its painting gallery has been estimated at nearly two billon Euros. It belonged to Prince Alessandro who had mainly moved these artifacts to the basement of his villa to collect dust. What a shame!

[Picture Credit: La Stampa]

Anyway, the fact remains that with the death of the prince, the heirs are fighting over these treasures and the matter went to court. The judge’s decision was not to disperse the goods, certainly not among the heirs, and to take into account that this is a unique Italian artistic heritage.

Most of the artifacts result from archaeological excavations made by the family on their own land but also count pieces that were “purchased” from noble families in need of cash. Prime items are, for instance, the colossal head of Apollo of Kanachos, the Athlete of Myron, the relief of Portus which was the immense port of Rome, and the sarcophagus of Hector. Experts have labeled this collection as being more important than that of the Capitoline Museum or the Vatican Museum.

Prince Carlo Torlonia would like to see these works of art exhibited together in a museum with his name while the other heirs would gladly sell it even if it were to be dispersed among interested parties in the United States. It has been confirmed that in 2016, for instance, at least thirty experts came to Rome to asses the works.

Pending to shed some light on this unhappy situation, the Italian judge has for now stopped the succession procedure.

Italy’s patrimony is at stake, of course, but after all art belongs to everybody and there should be a way to make these rare works of art available to all.

The Gold of Macedon. Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki

As an exception, I am including this booklet about the gold collection from Macedonia which is an important section of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (The Gold of Macedon, ISBN 978-960-214-269-1).

Not only is this booklet a very useful tool while visiting this grand collection but it also provides a clear insight into the technology and use of gold, especially in the wake of Alexander’s conquests that triggered the circulation of huge amounts of this precious metal in the ancient world.

Of course, the presence of gold was known throughout the Mediterranean from early antiquity onward and, as a start, the museum as well as the book present a very useful map of the main gold mines. This is followed by an overview of the various uses for gold, from jewelry and coins to pure decorative items.

The third chapter is treating the technology involved from its mining, to the array of techniques developed in creating gold objects and in the process of gilding. Several examples are given, including drawings to illustrate the complexity of handling this malleable ore with splendid detailed photographs.

The booklet and the exhibition ends with the immense richness of the Macedonian cemeteries. Besides functional objects, there is a true wealth in artifacts that accompanied the dead into the afterlife no matter whether they were interred in simple pit-graves, cist-graves, or in elaborated tombs and sarcophagi. Noteworthy is the Macedonian cemeteries of Sindos (121 graves), Pydna (some 2,500 graves), Aghia Paraskevi about 500 burials), Nea Philadelphia (180 graves), Katerini, Aenea, Lete, Stavroupolis, Europos, Cassandreia, etc. But the major part of this collection comes from the Derveni cemeteries, northwest of Thessaloniki which yielded countless refined objects among which the world-famous Derveni Crater occupies a place of honor (part of Tomb B that yielded over one hundred objects alone).

This booklet not only provides an extremely useful insight into the exquisite artwork produced by the craftsmen of the 4^th and 3^rd centuries BC but it also gives an exceptional view of the wealth available after Alexander’s death.

Into the Plains of the Danube River

After their fierce battle at Mount Haemus (modern Shipka Pass in Bulgaria at 1150 meters), i.e. the major thoroughfare from Philippopolis to Gabrovo and Veliko Tarnovo, the road was open for the Macedonians.

Alexander’s next goal was the Triballi who lived south of the Danube. On his way north, he crossed the Lyginus River (modern Yantra) near Veliko Tarnovo. It is here, according to Arrian, that the bulk of the Thracians sought refuge on an island in the river as soon as the Macedonians had passed through. When the young king heard the news, he reacted in a way that became so characteristic for him in the years to come: he retraced his steps to face the enemy head-on. He managed to dislodge the unsuspecting Thracians and ran them down. As a result, 3,000 of them were killed but many escaped through the dense woods.

At this point, Alexander was only three days' march away from the Danube. On his way through the broad fertile Danube plain, he captured several Triballi strongholds before reaching Odessos, modern Varna on the Black Sea. Today, these flats are covered with endless fields of sunflowers, and colorful patches among the gold of the harvested cornfields. One may wonder whether sunflowers were cultivated back in antiquity but it turns out that the plant is native to North America and thus arrived much later.

Odessos is one of the many colonies founded by Miletus around 585-550 BC which functioned according to the Greek administrative pattern (see: The many colonies of Miletus). It was an important trading hub exchanging goods with Asia Minor and the Greek islands as well as with the Thracians living inland. Odessos proudly resisted the siege of Philip in 339 BC but on this occasion was taken by Alexander. The town flourished later on when Lysimachos ruled over Thracia after Alexander’s death.

Today’s treasure of Varna is to be found in its Archaeological Museum with the precious artifacts recovered from the so-called Varna Necropolis. This burial site counted 294 graves from 4600-4200 BC and has yielded some of the world’s oldest gold which is exquisitely exhibited – a must-see!

This is just a parenthesis as Alexander marched on to dislodge the Triballi and the Thracian tribes who with their wives and children had taken refuge on Peuce Island at the mouth of the Danube.

Palmyra’s Lion of Al-lat restored

The statue of a lion holding a crouching gazelle from the 1^st century AD was one of the two hundred sculptures located at the Museum of Palmyra that were destroyed by IS as only four of them survived the 2015 attack intact.

We have to thank Polish archaeologists and renovators for their rescue mission one year later. They collected as many fragments and as much rubble they could. They filled 80 cases with the antiquities and moved them to Damascus in order to restore whatever they could.

[Picture from The First News]

Their reward is this spectacular reconstruction of the three meter tall Lion of Al-lat that stood in front of the museum after it was discovered in 1977 by Polish archaeologists. It must have felt as their child and they are, of course, extremely proud to have been able to piece the battered lion together again.

Much and much more work is still required to restore whatever possible from the heaps of debris taken from the museum to Damascus.

Palmyra itself is a totally different story as many of the monuments have been blown to bits, including the ancient Temple of Baal, the small Temple of Bel-Shamin, the Monumental Arch, the Roman Theater, the Tetrapylon, and the Tower Tombs. Elsewhere in statues have been defaced and members cut off.

There is hope to bring ancient Palmyra back to what it was before the war but I fear that this goal will never be reached – in spite of being on the World Heritage list of the UNESCO.

Why cleaning pays off

The National Archaeological Museum of Florence housed a marble statue that was labeled as representing Queen Leda of Sparta as a Roman copy from the 1^st century AD of the original Greek created around 300 BC.

[Before and after cleaning/restoration. Credit: Friends of Florence]

However, the statue was pretty dirty and it was decided to clean it and carry out the necessary restorations. Well, the authorities were in for a surprise since the statue turned out to be Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love sculpted in splendid white marble from Paros.

The restoration revealed that the head, although antique, does not belong to the body of the statue and is made from a different material. At some point, probably in the 18^th century, the arms were added as was customary at that time to embellish broken antique statues. Also previous restorations and repairs were removed and replaced with the same types of materials used in antiquity. Another close study found original traces of paint on her robe and red ocher and gilding in her hair.

An old photograph dating from the late 1800s shows that the statue stood in the garden loggia of the Museum and that is where it probably accumulated most of the dirt.

From atop her beautifully carved 19^th century wooden base, it now shines again upon the visitors to this lovely museum. See also: A splendid Collection of Greek Bronze Masterpieces and Greek art at its best in two separate exhibitions).

Exploring Troy and surroundings

What a lovely idea to actually walk the newly created Troy Culture Route between Çanakkale and Assos in northwestern Turkey. The route is 120 km long and the cherry on the cake will be a stop at Troy itself.

Like other trails in Turkey, this is a unique way for trekkers and bikers to enjoy the landscape but also community life of the villagers on the way. The first leg will actually start in Troy and end in Assos offering a wide array of archaeological, historical, cultural and natural assets.

The trail will be signposted but a route map complemented with a guide book will be useful tools for those who do not want to handle GPS or internet applications.

Interestingly, Çanakkale is an excellent ferry arrival harbor from across the Dardanelles, the ancient Hellespont and not far away from the point where Alexander made the crossing. The itinerary will pass the villages of Tavaklı, Babadere, Kösedere, Tuzla, Gülpınar, Kocaköy, Bademli, Koyunevi, Balabanlı, Bektaş, Kuruoba, Korubaşı, Behramkale and the ancient harbor of Assos (an excellent opportunity to enjoy the archaeological site).

It is evident that Turkey is trying to attract more tourists, especially the adventurous ones. It may be a tempting idea for our next holiday destination taking the opportunity to pay a well-deserved tribute to Achilles at his burial mound with Alexander in mind?