Movement and exchange. Communication routes
Itinerary 5
Movement and exchange. Communication routes
Transhumance is one of the oldest cultural and economic activities attested in protohistoric times in the MolisanApennines; seasonal migration was then practiced by the Samnites who travelled the ancient paths in beaten grass accompanying flocks and herds towards the green pastures. The development of the network of tratturi (sheep tracks) was later maintained by the Romans who structured the road network to support the passage of shepherds on public paths and to connect the urban centres of the empire with the periphery. The transhumance of livestock followed strict routes and times: in autumn the mountain meadows of Abruzzo and Molise, which would soon be covered by snow, were abandoned and the warmer ones of the Apulian Tavoliere were reached; in summer the path was the opposite and the fragrant high-altitude pastures were preferred to the sultry furrowed plains. The Aragonese are responsible for the definition of the modern tratturo system: in 1447, Alfonso I of Aragon established the “Dogana per la mena delle pecore in Puglia” through which the complex economic system of transhumance was regulated and organized. Until the 20th century, products, prayers, practices, stories, and knowledge migrated to these grassy paths 60 Neapolitan steps wide (approx. 111 m). A precious heritage tha
On the Tratturo: the Decumanus
Itinerary 5
On the Tratturo: the Decumanus
To take a step on the ancient pavement, to make your journey coincide with the thousand-year-old crossings, to walk on the tratturo that in Saepinum becomes the Decumanus, the main urban road. This is the extraordinary harmony that can be perceived within the Archaeological Park of Sepino, in which anthropic landscapes have shaped the passage of time, offering contemporary travellers perspectives on ancient cultures in motion. The tratturo between Pescasseroli andCandela traces a 211 km long route; in the stretch located on the slopes of the Matese mountains it connects the urban centres of Saepinum and Bovianum and other secondary settlements dedicated to rest and refreshment, production and processing, devotion and prayer. But in Saepinum the sheep track enters the municipium, runs through it and becomes a city, becoming an entrance that leads to other destinations, other journeys, other encounters. Movements and exchanges marked by the coming and going of people who, following the path of transhumance, have developed economic, religious and cultural practices, leaving the signs of their journey. Proceed, therefore, slowly on the paving that has welcomed the passage of peoples to find the sequences of time and the stories that are part of our cultural heritage.
Stories of travels and coins
Itinerary 5
Stories of travels and coins
Despite the attention that everyone pays to the economic heritage carried in their pockets, losing a coin is a widespread timeless custom. The discovery of these dispersed artifacts indicates the passage through places, the origins of travellers and the consequent intersection of cultures. The two oldest numismatic finds from Saepinum can be retraced to other territorial contexts that in pre-Roman times had contacts with local communities. The first one is a silver didrachm from the mid-third century BC, minted in Taranto. On the obverse it bears the head of a crowned nymph and on the reverse a young man crowning a horse, the initials TA and a dolphin on a tripod. The other coin of the type of King Prusias of Bithynia, a Roman province on the Anatolian peninsula, can be dated at the end of the second century BC. In recent excavations conducted in 2023, numerous other coins from the Republican and late Republican periods were found. There are several coins from the mint of Rome attributable to the second and first centuries BC, and to the imperial period. From the early medieval period there is a gold tarì from the mint of Salerno, while the late medieval denarii belong to different areas of numismatic issue. A Horse of Charles V is the oldest document in the collection, which brings us into the transformations of the first half of the sixteenth century.
Following the mountain paths: the Cardo
Itinerary 5
Following the mountain paths: the Cardo
From the slopes of the Matese mountains flow luxuriant springs of clear water that gradually flow downstream, generating an articulated interweaving of water systems that cross and feed the plain below. A vertical movement that has traced a particular river morphology on which people have modelled passages, passes and paths in order to connect the highland areas with the valley, the residential areas and production centres, the spaces for prayer and those dedicated to exchange.The need to establish relationships of proximity between the different production areas has favoured the foundation of settlements located in easily accessible contexts, such as those located in the plains. Starting, in fact, from the fourth century BC, the area becomes a resting space for flocks and a suitable place for the market, not surprisingly located at the intersection of two important road routes: the valley route is transformed into the major urban axis, the Decumanus; the artery descending from the mountain side, directed towards the plain where the Tammaro river flows, is the Cardo. On this road flocks were herded to the nearby mountain pastures or the opposite valley side was reached, which gave access to the Adriatic coast. Connections and junctions that have intertwined territories, enriching communities with cultural contaminations.
Objects of everyday life: seals and glass
Itinerary 5
Objects of everyday life: seals and glass
Ceramic objects are among the finds that are most frequently found in archaeological contexts, therefore they represent the chronological line that allow us to tell the biography of places. Also in Saepinum, through these finds it is possible to learn more about the contexts of production and diffusion of everyday materials used by the inhabitants of the town. Different types of table ware such as plates, cups, chalices and bowls produced in Aretine sigillata, Italic sigillata, African red slip ware and South Gaulish sigillata refer to the early imperial period. In this era, moreover, the spread of techniques for the production of glassware has led to a greater circulation of these materials. Together with ceramic objects, these glass artifacts are among the most used containers in domestic use: in Saepinum we find bottles with dual purposes, for transport and for the table, a splendid brown mould-made cup, small jars intended to contain ointments orsauces and a series of balsam bottles used for personal hygiene. Numerous other finds pertaining to construction and craft activities have been found inside the sewers; these are tools and utensils such as chisels, pliers and pincers, metal awls and scrapers, weights, metalworking elements, locks and many more.
The centre of exchange: the Forum
Itinerary 5
The centre of exchange: the Forum
Starting from the pre-Roman period, the relationship between the settlements on the higher ground and those located in the valley gradually changed; with the stable occupation of the area, the settlement in the plain established itself as a space for exchange and meeting. Inside the emporium, probably originally protected by a wooden palisade, the buildings constructed near the two main roads took on monumental architectural forms to fulfil increasingly complex functions and respond to the needs posed by the new urban entity of the Augustan age. The Forum of Saepinum, corresponding to the area originally used for the resting of flocks, becomes the place to attend political rallies and triumphal processions, it is the utilitarian space used for contracting business, paying homage to the imperial family or deserving local personalities, placing political, social and administrative issues under divine protection. The Roman town maintained its vitality until the fifth century AD, then the gradual abandonment led to the collapse of the main public buildings and the narrowing of the inhabited areas. The population takes refuge again on the higher grounds but the large paved square is not completely abandoned: in it there are signs left by peoples up to the last century who, retracing the tratturo and the mountain route, have added their own stories.
Wearing beauty: the fibula of Aoderada biva
Itinerary 5
Wearing beauty: the fibula of Aoderada biva
In the period of greatest decline, the area located down in the valley was slowly depopulated but not completely abandoned. The Lombard chronicler Paolo Diacono reports, in fact, the concession of the plain of Saepinum by the Dukes of Benevento in favour of a Bulgarian colony that arrived in the seventh century AD. In this historical phase, the area of the Forum and that of the theatre became burial places; however, there are numerous sporadic finds found at the site, evidence of the peoples who came to the Roman city and chose to settle among the ruined buildings. In particular, on an open-ring bronze fibula, with a pair of facing quadrupeds at the ends, it is possible to recognize a female Germanic name, Aoderada biva (in deo) inscribed on the entire surface. And so, from a pretty accessory worn to secure long robes, we know the name, tastes and fashions among peoples in the early Middle Ages.
AGRO-PASTORAL CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE
The story of peoples and communities
THE DEPTH OF THE WOODS
Landscape and nature
WATER AND SKY
The cult of Mefitis and the seasons
THE BEAUTY OF THE CONSTRUCTED
reconstructed and reconfigured
MOVEMENT AND EXCHANGE
Communication routes