Riflessioni sui materiali lapidei provenienti dall'area archeologica del Circo Massimo
In: Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma: 119, 2019
DOI: 10.1400/272794
This paper proposes the contextualization of some architectural fragments preserved in the Circus Maximus, after their due reconsideration and study, thus helping to define some parts of the monument such as the cavea and the spina. In particular, the analysis of the steps of the cavea has allowed us to reconstruct the dimensions and the aspect of the Circus in its decorative parts too, with marble transennae at the sides of the access ramps, decorated with moldings and with dolphins at the ends. Other fragments could be identified as elements and sculptures placed on the spina. In addition, the presence of three elements – a column of Egyptian granito tigrato, a basanite head of naophoros’ head imported from Egypt, and a fragment of a crocodile statue – leads to hypothesize the existence of an Isiac cult in the Circus Maximus, which became closely linked to imperial power under the Flavian emperors.