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Excavations at Paestum 1982

1983; Archaeological Institute of America; Volume: 87; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/504797

1939-828X

Werner Johannowsky, John Griffiths Pedley, Mario Torelli,

Law, logistics, and international trade

Excavation was resumed in the extramural sanctuary in the "località Santa Venera" at Paestum. Earlier excavations had established the existence of a sanctuary on this site, but the identity of the divinity worshipped and the architectural and cultic history remained unknown. Unpublished material suggested continuity of use from the Greek period through the Lucanian occupation into Roman times. The site is also notable for its size and location—close to the wall and south gate of the city—and unusual architectural features revealed in the clearing of the site in fall 1981.Objectives in 1982 included: the discovery of strata undisturbed by earlier excavations; the recovery of an outline of the architectural history; the identification of the divinity worshipped at the site; and investigation of details of the cult. Excavation west of the Oikos temple had apparently been thorough, but within the temple and in (as well as in front of) the rectangular hall to the east, undisturbed levels were encountered. Architectural members of the Doric order suggest the existence of a temple or treasury on the site in the 6th c., followed in the 5th by the building of the rectangular hall, to which a colonnade was added in the 4th. The Oikos temple was built either in the 5th or the 4th c., while the interior of the rectangular hall was completely overhauled in the 1st c. B.C., and a piscina for fishfarming was built directly opposite in the early 2nd c. A.C.Reinterpretation of an inscription found on the site long ago suggests that the deity worshipped here in the 1st. c. B. C. was Bona Dea, thus linking a major cult at Rome with a city of Magna Graecia. The continuity of use of the Paestan site may indicate that the Greek divinity from whom Bona Dea may derive (Damia) was worshipped here, and that it is from Poseidonia/Paestum that Damia/Bona Dea was introduced to Rome.