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The ''Casa Romuli'' ("Hut of Romulus"), also known as the ''tugurium Romuli'', was the reputed dwelling place of the legendary founder and first king of
Images of Villanovan hut-urn
8th century BC in the Roman Kingdom Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Roman mythology Romulus and Remus Palatine Hill Etruscan architecture
The ''Casa Romuli'' ("Hut of Romulus"), also known as the ''tugurium Romuli'', was the reputed dwelling place of the legendary founder and first king of Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Romulus (traditional dates 771–717 BC). It was situated on the south-western corner of the Palatine hill, where it slopes down towards the Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and l ...
, near the so-called "Steps of Cacus". It was a traditional single-roomed peasants' hut of the Latins, with straw roof and wattle-and-daub
Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung a ...
walls, such as are reproduced in miniature in the distinctive funerary urns of the so-called Latial culture
The Latial culture ranged approximately over ancient Old Latium. The Iron Age Latial culture coincided with the arrival in the region of a people who spoke Old Latin. The culture was likely therefore to identify a phase of the socio-political self ...
(ca. 1000 – ca. 600 BC).
In Roman records
Over the centuries, the ''casa'' was repeatedly damaged by fire and storms, but carefully restored to its original state on each occasion. Destruction by fire is recorded for 38 BC, as a result of a ceremony held inside the ''casa'' by the ''pontifices
A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was lat ...
'' ("College of High Priests"), presumably a burnt sacrifice to Romulus in his deified state as the god Quirinus
In Roman mythology and religion, Quirinus ( , ) is an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, ''Quirinus'' was also an epithet of Janus, as ''Janus Quirinus''.
Name
Attestations
The name of god Quirinus is recorded across Roman sou ...
, during which the altar-fire probably ran out of control. The last recorded fire was in 12 BC, on the death of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, right-hand man of the first Roman emperor, Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
(ruled 30 BC – AD 14). On this occasion, the ''casa'' was apparently set on fire by some crows which dropped pieces of burning meat, again snatched from an altar, onto the thatched roof. It has been speculated that a ''tugurium Faustini'' ("the cottage of Faustini") on the Palatine recorded in the time of the emperor Constantine I the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterranea ...
(ruled AD 312–337) was in reality the still surviving ''casa Romuli''.
A second ''casa Romuli'' is recorded in the classical sources, on the 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. ...
, likely a replica of the original. It is last mentioned in AD 78.
To date, archaeologists have been unable to definitively associate the ''casa Romuli'' with any extant remains. A strong candidate is the largest of a group of dwellings whose foundations were unearthed in the appropriate location during excavations in 1946. The dwelling's foundations were cut into the tufa
Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitate out of water in unheated rivers or lakes. Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less porous) carbonate deposits, which are known as travertin ...
bedrock, with an ovoid 4.9m X 3.6m perimeter. Six post-holes arranged in a circle of which one in the centre were presumably to accommodate the supporting struts for walls and roof respectively. Organic material found in the site has been dated to the Italian early Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
(ca. 900–700 BC).ArcheoGuida ''Casa Romuli''
See also
* Romulus and Remus * Lupercal *Latins (Italic tribe)
The Latins (Latin: ''Latini''), sometimes known as the Latians, were an Italic tribe which included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome (see Roman people). From about 1000 BC, the Latins inhabited the small region known to the Romans a ...
References
{{reflistAncient sources
* Dio Cassius ''Roman History'' (ca. AD 230) * Dionysius of Halicarnassus ''Roman Antiquities'' (ca. 10 BC) *Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
'' Parallel Lives'' (ca. AD 100)
* Vitruvius
Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...
'' De architectura'' (ca. 25 BC)
Secondary sources
* Cornell, T.J. (1995) ''The Beginnings of Rome'' * Platner, S.B. (1929) ''A topographical Dictionary of ancient Rome'' * Pensabene, P. (1990–1991). "Casa Romuli sul Palatino", ''RendPontAcc'' 63: 115–162.External links
Images of Villanovan hut-urn
8th century BC in the Roman Kingdom Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Roman mythology Romulus and Remus Palatine Hill Etruscan architecture