A ''favissa'' is a cultic storage place, usually a pit or an underground cellar, for sacred utensils and votive objects no longer in use. ''Favissae'' were located within the sacred temple precincts of the various ancient

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

civilizations. Archaeologists have found such pits in Ancient Egypt, the

Roman world The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...

and in the Phoenician and Punic world.

Etymology

The term is derived from the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

or related to the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''fovea'' "pit". During the time of ancient Rome, the term ''favissa'' referred to a cylindrical underground storage space, specifically designed to house votive objects. These repositories were typically located outside the main sanctuary but within the sacred grounds known as '' temenos''. The Roman ''favissa'' served a similar purpose as the Greek treasury, functioning as a dedicated space for storing valuable offerings and dedicatory items.

Roman ''favissae''

Similar to other ancient religions, the Romans had a tradition of offering relatively inexpensive objects made of materials like bronze, lead, tin, or common clay as votive offerings to the temple deities. Over time, the quantity of these votive objects became excessive, necessitating their removal. However, it was crucial for priests to ensure these offerings remained within consecrated ground and were not profaned. To address this, temple priests took charge of removing the objects; they deliberately broke intact items before burying them within the temple grounds. Care was taken to choose locations which were not easily accessible, thus minimizing the risk of

profanation Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...

. An example of such a structure is found in the Favissae Capitolinae, designed to house all the votive objects from the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus located on Rome's

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. Th ...

. The prevalence of "favissae" is particularly notable in

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...

, where they were commonly found in significant places of worship. One notable example is the ''favissa'' discovered on the Mannella hill in Locri Epizefiri in

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

. Although devoid of its contents, this ''favissa'' can be dated back to the fifth century BC. As time passed, the use of ''favissae'' gradually diminished, to the extent that their significance had been completely forgotten by the

imperial era The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

References

Sources

* * * *{{Cite book , last1=Walde , first1=Alois , url=http://archive.org/details/walde , title=Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch , last2=Hofmann , first2=Johann Baptist , publisher=Carl Winter , year=1938 , location=Heidelberg , pages=467 , language=German , author-link=Alois Walde Votive offering Phoenician religion Ancient Roman religion Archaeological terminology

Etymology

Roman ''favissae''

See also

References

Sources