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José Remesal Rodríguez, Heinrich Dressel y el Testaccio. Nuevos datos sobre los materiales y la formación del Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, XV, Barcelona, Universitat de Barcelona, 2022, 826 pp. [ISBN 9788491688488]

2023; Complutense University of Madrid; Volume: 41; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5209/geri.86525

1988-3080

Pedro Paulo A. Funari,

Classical Studies and Legal History

Heinrich Dressel was a pioneering scholar, epigraphist, archaeologist and historian at once, showing how the interaction of different disciplines may produce unique original data and interpretation.José Remesal focuses on the Testaccio, at the same time the most productive archaeological site for the study of the instrumentum domesticum (ordinary artefacts), and a challenging endeavor for the huge amount of evidence it produces.The introduction (pp.15-26) gathers all the information about the olive-oil amphorae found at Testaccio, including map of producing kilns in Baetica, amphora epigraphy (painted inscriptions, stamps, graffiti), Dressel 20 and 23 shapes, historiography.The book is divided in two parts, starting by a detailed discussion of the study of the hill before Dressel by Gomonde, Reifferscheid, Bruzza and Descemet.Father Bruzza (1813-1883) was pioneer in collecting and drawing amphora stamps.Bruzza used different ways for studying stamps, painted inscriptions and graffiti: notebooks, lists and then cards.Charles Maurice Descemet (1813-1893) was the first to propose a comprehensive study of the instrumentum domesticum, sponsoring a specific and never carried out corpus (Corpus Ceramographiae latinae antiquae).Descemet was generous offering to Dressel and the German Institute all material he collected.Dressel already in the Grammar School, Gymnasium, in Berlin, in 1868 wrote the conclusive essay in Latin, stating his desire to study the paraphernalia of any sort (supellex omnis generis).This scholarly endeavor was taken as most pleasant (iucundius).Returning to Rome, after the BA, Dressel started to study ordinary inscriptions from the new Testaccio quarter, since 1872.This move intensified in the next few years, until his Berlin move in 1885 to the Coin or Numismatics section.The study of the Testaccio and the publication of amphora inscriptions were ground-breaking.Dressel studied the hill dividing it in several sectors, an innovative field practice.Dressel was also very original in the study of inscriptions: stamps, graffiti and painted inscriptions.He was able early on to ground-breaking interpretive proposals, such as the hill as a planned dump, the origin of most amphorae from southern Spain (ancient Baetica, Andalucía), relating to Spanish trade, Roman tax system and beyond.Dressel was intuitive and bright in his insights, as when he proposed that the names in the genitive in tituli delta were people working for the fiscal administration.The digs in the Testaccio led to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL XV) publication (1891).Testaccio was mentioned but not fully explored for several decades: Rostovtzeff, Frank or Etienne may here be mentioned.Remesal describes Testaccio today, considering the huge evidence collected by its systematic excavation since the late 1980s.Remesal then deals with the present-day discussions about the epigraphic evidence: stamps, painted inscriptions, graffiti, as well as others, such as matrices Gerión.