Italian
An ancient and ever new park: the archaeological park of the Colosseum in Rome
ROME. Recent archaeological excavations have revealed an area dedicated to the Horrea Piperataria, warehouses intended to store rare “Egyptian and Arab spices” useful both for preserving food and for the galenic preparation of medicines and ointments.
Pliny and Cassius Dio mention these particular warehouses in their works. Built by the emperor Domitian on the southwest slopes of the Velia, the hill located between the Esquiline and the Palatine, the warehouses can now be visited thanks to a new entrance located on the ancient Carinae alley, which has also been recently restored and made accessible to everyone.
“The Colosseum Archaeological Park inaugurates and opens to the public a new fascinating visiting space, after years of excavations and restorations,” said Alfonsina Russo, Director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, at the inauguration of the warehouses of Emperor Domitian intended to store spices and aromas from Egypt, Arabia, India, considered particularly precious, also for their pharmacological properties. The path offers the public a narrative that alternates the view of the archaeological structures with some immersive multimedia projections.
The Horrea Piperataria, the imperial warehouses for spices, were under strict surveillance by the authorities because they were considered the most precious products of the imperial monopoly, so much so that the Velia hill became the area where the medical centers of the imperial era were concentrated.
The multiple transformations undergone over time by the Velia hill led to the oblivion of the Horrea Piperataria, until they were rediscovered in 1915 by the archaeologist Maria Barosso.
A particularly important discovery because these warehouses are the only structure, in the complex logistics system of the Roman State, responsible for the supply and commercialization of precious spices.
Subjected to strict control by the imperial power, the precious spices, intended for pharmaceutical use, were stored in these special warehouses, which developed on at least 4 levels and constituted a large building, articulated around two open courtyards.
The Horrea underwent a significant restructuring during the age of Hadrian and further modifications were carried out under the Severan dynasty. The current covering was built in the thirties, making it difficult to identify the Horrea. The existence and identification of which were recently noticed by Dr. Maria Barroso, but it is thanks to the intervention of Dr. Alfonsina Russo and her staff that we can now appreciate their recovery and valorization. The Archaeological Park of the Colosseum is thus enriched by the discovery of a new, previously ignored space.
