Lucus Pisaurensis is a sacred grove or

lucus In ancient Roman religion, a ''lūcus'' (, plural ''lūcī'') is a sacred grove. ''Lucus'' was one of four Latin words meaning in general "forest, woodland, grove" (along with ''nemus'', ''silva'', and ''saltus''), but unlike the others it wa ...

of ancient Pisaureum, modern

Pesaro Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...

in Italy. It is just outside the coastal ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of Pesaro, between the Colle della Salute and the Collina in Santa Veneranda. It is in the

Pesaro e Urbino The Province of Pesaro and Urbino ( it, Provincia di Pesaro e Urbino, ) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pesaro. It also borders the state of San Marino. The province is surrounded by San Marino and Emili ...

Province of

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

, a pre-''

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

'' region of the

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divid ...

and

Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...

peoples.

Discovery

The eighteenth-century Italian aristocrat

Annibale degli Abati Olivieri Annibale degli Abati Olivieri (17 June 1708 – 29 September 1789) was an Italian archaeologist, numismatist and librarian, considered the founder of the Biblioteca Oliveriana, Pesaro. An aristocrat without heirs, he was the author of works of arc ...

discovered the grove in 1737. He reported this in a manuscript published in 1738, ''Pisaurensia Marmora'', ("Marble of Pesaro-Umbria"), a manuscript written by 18th Century Italian aristocrat Annibale degli Abbati Olivieri Giordani, was published in 1738. Olivieri said that he found the grove in a field by the ''Chiostro di Santo Gaetano dei Conti''. He called the site ''Lucus Pisaurensis'' (Sacred Grove of Pesaro) and gave a brief description of his findings. Olivieri wrote that he planned to publish a future work called ''De Luco Sacred Veterum Pisaurensium'' ("The Sacred Grove of Ancient Pisaurensis"), once excavations were completed. This was never published and interest in the ''lucus'' disappeared after Oliviera's death. Oliveri unearthed in the field fourteen votive stones or ''cippi'', carved of sandstone with Sabine inscriptions in Umbrian-Estrucan; a number of terracotta and sandstone artifacts; clay & copper coin; and a small bronze object inscribed ''Libra''. The votives were inscribed with names of various Sabini-

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 ** Etrusca ...

gods:

Salute A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...

Fide The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...

, Lucina, Marica,

Feronia Feronia may mean: * Feronia (mythology), a goddess of fertility in Roman and Etruscan mythology * ''Feronia'' (plant), a genus of plants * Feronia Inc., a plantations company operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Feronia (Sardinia) ...

, Juno Regina; as well as the later Roman Gods: Iunos, Diana and

Mater Matuta Mater Matuta was an indigenous Latin goddess, whom the Romans eventually made equivalent to the dawn goddess Aurora, and the Greek goddess Eos. Her cult is attested several places in Latium; her most famous temple was located at Satricum. In Rome ...

. He also found a terracotta borderline marker, inscribed " ''δ Δ δ luci coiirii CI LX'' ". ''Luci Coiiri'' means 'Coerian Grove' and the Roman numerals are thought to reference land measurements. Olivieri found other artifacts on his estate, all of which are housed in the

Biblioteca Oliveriana The Biblioteca Oliveriana is a public library located in the Palazzo Almerici on via Mazza in the town of Pesaro, region of Marche, Italy. It shares the building with the Museo Oliveriano, an archaeology museum with which it shares a common hi ...

and Museo Oliveriano, a museum and library in Pesaro founded by him. Among these are bronze and clay coinage, carved sandstone stela from 7th C. B.C. depicting ''

naumachia The naumachia (in Latin , from the Ancient Greek /, literally "naval combat") in the Ancient Roman world referred to both the staging of naval battles as mass entertainment, and the basin or building in which this took place. Early The first ...

'' (mock naval battles) and a bronze ''Tabula Fabrorum'' with a relief of the Etruscan goddess

Menrva Menrva (also spelled Menerva) was an Etruscan goddess of war, art, wisdom, and medicine. She contributed much of her character to the Roman Minerva. She was the child of Uni and Tinia. Although Menrva was seen by Hellenized Etruscans as their cou ...

(found at Palazzo Barignani).

21st century

The grove was rediscovered and archaeological interest in the site renewed during excavations in the 21st century.Gabriele Stroppa, "First to Pisauro Tombstone'', New Research in Fragments, n. 12, Pesaro 2008 It has been suggested that the site was a meeting place for different groups of people.

Discovery

21st century

References

See also

Further reading