Agro-pastoral civilization and culture. The story of peoples and communities
Itinerary 1
Agro-pastoral civilization and culture. The story of peoples and communities
There are ties that cross time, that define eras and represent civilizations. Bonds that man has transformed into the action of returning, and sometimes of staying, in the places that had already been inhabited before and were chosen again to rebuild communal spaces. In the temporal sequences that identify the city built on the tratturo (sheep track), the link established with the land and with the resources it secured becomes apparent through the economic systems adopted by the different peoples who have inhabited Saepinum. Over the centuries, following agricultural, pastoral and mercantile practices, people have reached, stopped, and traveled the trade routes, halting their lives in this territory, bringing their own cultural experiences and the identity values that they possessed. Walking along the road network we discover Saepinum and its unique and enchanting historical context, which preserves the overlapping signs left by agro-pastoral civilizations and shows the multiple expressions of an inherited story of which we are still a part.
The Samnite laundry and dye workshop
Itinerary 1
The Samnite laundry and dye workshop
From the second century BC, the Samnite settlement located in the valley began to define itself as a place of transit, rest and market. This stable occupation favoured an initial building development that also included the construction of craft environments suited to wool processing. The passage of the flocks, in fact, did not represent only a mere action of crossing the area but involved a careful management of the economic activities intended for the elaboration and treatment of the products of the supply chain. The remains of a fullonica (laundry and dye workshop), located below the structures visible to the north of the Forum can be ascribed to this chronological horizon. The building was used for the finishing of textiles that had to be degreased after spinning and weaving work, or that just had to be de-stained and cleaned. The presence of the craft workshop attests to the consolidation of local entrepreneurial interests related to sheep farming and affirms the economic role of the centre built on the tratturo.
Weaving tools
Itinerary 1
Weaving tools
On the transhumance routes, the production of yarns and fabrics is attested through the discovery of many objects fromthe domestic sphere. The creation of yarn made from wool or vegetable fibres such as linen and hemp, can be traced from the discovery of spindles, the perforated weights placed at the end of a wooden stick in order to create support and balance. The fibres were fixed on the top of the spindle and by rotating the stick, the yarn took shape by winding itself in a skein. Subsequently, the material was placed on the vertical loom: the warp was stretched by hooking groups of threads to the truncated pyramidal terracotta weights on which measurements, decorations, or signs could be engraved. Using a mobile shuttle, the women wove the weave which, once completed, was sewn with large bone or bronze needles.
Through Porta Bojano
Itinerary 1
Through Porta Bojano
In pre-Roman times, the Samnites moved their flocks seasonally on the ancient paths of beaten grass in search of pastures more suitable for production; this custom was acquired and strengthened by the Romans who maintained the horizontal transhumance on the tratturo (sheep track) between Pescasseroli and Candela, as well as the vertical movement in closerproximity that led to the Matese mountain range. In the vicinity of the roads there were taverns, customs, centres of control placed to collect taxes and to protect the passage of herds, products and people. At the Porta Bojano, a precious epigraphic document of the second century AD is engraved on the right abutment of the structure. Before entering walled town, the imperial rescript recalls a conflict that took place between the authorities of Saepinum and Bovianum with the herdsmen of the imperial flocks who, passing on the sheep track, complained of harassment and of theft of livestock. A clear warning left to remind the reader of the intervention of the praetorian prefects and as a reprimand for the magistrates of the two cities, useful to command respect for the correct procedures in herding practices.
Sumptuous furnishings for a Roman domus
Itinerary 1
Sumptuous furnishings for a Roman domus
Owning luxurious objects inside the homes was functional to give a valuable welcome to one’s guests and, at the same time, served to affirm one’s rank and social status. This white marble trapezophorum (pedestal), found in the domestic rooms adjacent to the Forum, served as a central support for a floor or a table. On one of the sides the bust of a woman is carved in relief, with a sumptuous and intricate hairdo that is attributable to oriental artistic taste. On the opposite side, a bovine head is framed by an infula, the accessory woolen bands wrapped around the horns and falling down the sides of the animal’s muzzle that marked the consecration to the gods. The particular decoration and grandeur of the object confirm that the table support must have been part of the rich furnishings of a Roman aristocratic domus that was located in the urban insulae.
Reinhabiting places
Itinerary 1
Reinhabiting places
With the advent of the Aragonese in the Kingdom of Naples, the economic practice of long-distance transhumance of livestock was once again regulated thanks to the restoration and delimitation of the Regi Tratturi that traverse the ancient lands of Samnium and the Capitanata. With the recovery of agro-pastoral economies in modern times, Saepinum is experiencing a new building phase and people are slowly returning to inhabit places that have long been in ruins. On the pre-existing Roman periods, seasonal wage workers and permanent settlers build rural houses and animal stables using materials recovered from ancient structures. In these rural dwellings it is possible to recognize the elements of this recent past: cellars, kitchens and ovens for cooking and heating, sheds for provisions, stables for livestock, water wells, fountains and drinking troughs have maintained the characteristics of rural life and evoke ancient practices and gestures belonging to a peasant civilization.
The flask in the medieval journey
Itinerary 1
The flask in the medieval journey
To this day, containers for transporting liquids are among the objects that best represent the idea of movement, travel, exploration. They have a very ancient origin and spread throughout the Mediterranean area in similar shapes produced from materials of organic or artificial origin. Among the most common types that have come down to us, the terracotta water bottle is a tool designed to be easily anchored to the belt or to be carried over the shoulder thanks to the support of a lanyard. The container, commonly referred to as the “pilgrim’s flask”, has a lenticular shape, relatively small dimensions and a decoration that personalizes the object. The flask of a traveller from the late medieval period found in Saepinum has in fact a proto-majolica decoration, which covered both sides of the rounded body with floral motifs in shades of green, ochre and blue; the drink was poured out through the high neck while the two side handles allowed it to be transported.
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