Juvanum Twenty-two Centuries Later By Elio Moschetta The pantomime of the excavations at
'Aclepiade' (Asclepius) administered to the emperor a "mithridate" (small doses of poison to build up immunity) that cures dozens of illnesses. The Romans, however, trusted traditional medicines for centuries. Thus every PATER FAMILIAS (father of a family) could treat his own family and, why not, also his slaves. Doctors who treat the lower classes come from the Greek school in their MEDICATRINA (clinic/hospital), and we know that doctors in ancient Rome were favoured by Augustus. Every legion has a MEDICUS LEGIONIS (Doctor of the Legion) and for lengthy confinements to bed there was the VALETUDINARIUM IN CASTRIS, a large military field hospital. According to A. Madonna, (local archeologist) various surgical instruments have been found in Juvanum, such as SCALPRI (scalpels), SPECULI (speculae) and UNCI (hooks). Maybe the Romans even reached China whilst searching for ivory and other luxury goods for which the patricians would have paid a fortune. L’OPUS CAEMENTICUM, (cement work) a mixture of mortar and crushed stone, constituted the nucleus of the walls at Juvanum, which then were covered with bricks. The vaults of the basilicas must have been cemented with mortars. Water from the spring, known until last year as the Madonna’s Spring, (FONTANA DELLA MADONNA), was used not only for mixing (the cement) and for the building trade in general, but also for domestic use. Appropriate water pipes carried the water into the houses, and to maintain the constant downwards slope of the sections on level ground there were raised conduits secured by arches. In the baths of the CALIDARIUM (hot bath) the water could be heated by means of the IPOCAUSTI (hypocausts), empty spaces found under the pavements at Juvanum. If every inhabitant of Rome had at their disposition a thousand litres of water a day, at Juvanum the range of the FONTANILE (fountain/spring) provided almost the same quantity. Juvanum wanted to revive the ancient cults and restore the religion and the Gods of Ancient Rome, but we do not know for certain either the name of the sacred centre, or which divinity was honoured there. Archeologically it is documented that on the hill of the Roman City, is the
crossroads of the valley bottom route linking the Aventino and Sangro rivers,
and the mountain route joining Torricella Peligna to Montenerodomo. Construction
of the theatre on the eastern slopes of the hillside, enclosed by the
surrounding wall, accentuated the importance of Juvanum’ The entire complex of the monuments of the city and the apse room, seat of the cult dedicated to the Imperial Household (AUGUSTALES), denote the availability of ample funds, as various inscriptions show for its restoration. The discovery of china, glass and personal luxury ornaments testify to the personal wealth of the inhabitants of Juvanum, but due to the "disaggregation"/scattering of data, it is not possible to proceed to typing the objects, that is to give them a "market value" or a cultural value for each single finding. With all probability we can conclude that Juvanum, even before the temples were built, was a place of CULT, maybe dedicated to WATER. Later a Pagan God ruled in the temple. (A person named) Bayer proposes the presence of a sanctuary to HERCULES, like in other Samnite centres. We have before us a complex picture of a "scene" which constitutes one of the most fundamental forces created in the story of the city: MYTH. Certainly, that which we are told is not historical truth; it is a truth of another nature, which we can define as PARAHISTORY. Its stimulating effects on the thoughts of the Romans, avid consumers of myths, seem to have been as significant as those of their history, of which they were so proud. Hercules became a very popular God and he has been identified in all Mediterranean countries. This is the reason why many variations and new adventures were added to his myth. There is no epic poem that narrates his deeds, but he is a very important person in many tragedies. Amongst the Etruscans he was known as ERCLE and he was considered to be one of the Gods of war and of WATER. © Amici di TorricellaTranslation courtesy of Dr. Marion Apley Porreca |