Gabii was an ancient city of Latium

Latium

Lazio is one of the 20 administrative regions of Italy, situated in the central peninsular section of the country. With about 5.7 million residents and a GDP of more than 170 billion euros, Lazio is the third most populated and the second richest region of Italy...

, located 18 km (11.2 mi) due east of Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 along the Via Praenestina

Via Praenestina

The Via Praenestina was an ancient Roman road of central Italy.It was initially called Via Gabina, from Gabii, the ancient city of Latium where it ended...

, which was in early times known as the Via Gabina.
It was on the south-eastern perimeter of an extinct volcanic crater lake

Crater lake

A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not...

, approximately circular in shape, named the Lacus Gabinus, and then during later times called the Lago di Castiglione, "lake of the fortification", after Castiglione, a mediaeval tower erected on the site of the ancient acropolis

Acropolis

Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...

, or arx, of Gabii. A necropolis

Necropolis

A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...

 is adjacent on that side of the lake. At present, the former lake is entirely agricultural land. The ruins of the ancient city project from the fields next to the cliffs overlooking it, on both sides of the via. A municipium in Roman times, Gabii is currently located in the frazione of Osteria dell'Osa 10 km (6.2 mi) from the comune of Montecompatri, of which it is a part, in the Province of Rome

Province of Rome

The Province of Rome , is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. The province can be viewed as the extended metropolitan area of the city of Rome, although in its more peripheral portions, especially to the north, it comprises towns surrounded by rural landscape.-Geography:The Province of Rome...

, Region of Lazio. The site is under new seasonal archaeological excavation.

Historical geography

To what degree the lake was sedimented in ancient times remains unknown. Some of the earliest huts are down in the crater. Two streams flowing north to south flanked the lake on the west: the Fosso del'Osa, and the east: Fosso di San Giuliano. These originated in another body of water, believed to be Lacus Regillus, on the south side of the road. The streams cut the road on either side of Gabii and were crossed by bridges; in other words, Gabii was constructed at a defensible location on an isthmus between two lakes. The isthmus was isolated by streams on either side. The quadrangle so formed contained its own water supply and straddled a major route on the east flank of Rome. It could not, as history demonstrated, be ignored by Rome. The two streams flow north to the Anio river

Aniene

-External links:* http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/horaces-villa/glossary/Anio.gloss.html*...

, which flows west into the Tiber river on the north side of Rome.

In 1846 Gell reported that the Osa came from "a large marshy plain, extending almost to the Via Labicana

Via Labicana

The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east southeast from Rome. It seems possible that the road at first led to Tusculum, that it was then extended to Labici, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have superseded the Via Latina as a route to the southeast,...

." Passing by Lake Gabino it was connected to the latter by "artificial canals", which were in the process of draining the lake:

The water of the lake has been very much lowered by this canal, and more draining is yet in contemplation, although there are already many square miles of uncultivated ground in the vicinity.

The draining of the lake was a project of the Borghese family, which had purchased it in 1614 from the Colonna family. Blewitt's handbook was able to report in 1850 (only four years later):

The lake was drained a few years ago by prince Borghese, who has converted it from the state of a pestilential marsh into a district of great fertility.

Near the river a small inn had been placed, the Osteria dell'Osa ("Inn of the Osa"), north of which was the main necropolis of Gabii. The habitation today has expanded into the center of a frazione

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

.

The marshy plain was the last trace of the quasi-legendary lake near which the Battle of Lake Regillus

Battle of Lake Regillus

The Battle of Lake Regillus was a legendary early Roman victory, won over the Latin League led by the expelled Etruscan former king of Rome. It is usually said to have occurred in 498 BC, but other dates have been proposed, including 499 BC, 496 BC and 493 BC.The battle may be entirely legendary,...

 decided whether the Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

 would continue or the kings of Rome would be restored by the intervention of the Latin League

Latin league

The Latin League was a confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near ancient Rome, organized for mutual defense...

, to which Gabii belonged. The site of the battle is still a matter of dispute, which, on the unwarranted assumption that the location of the battle reveals the location of the lake, has extended into a dispute over the location of the lake. To modern topographers the deep lake basin, now kept dry, and the aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

s that drew water, and still draw water, from its sources leave no doubt that the lake was located in the basin.
Lake Regillus varied in size and depth over the centuries but was certainly between the Via Labicana

Via Labicana

The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east southeast from Rome. It seems possible that the road at first led to Tusculum, that it was then extended to Labici, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have superseded the Via Latina as a route to the southeast,...

and the Via Praenestina

Via Praenestina

The Via Praenestina was an ancient Roman road of central Italy.It was initially called Via Gabina, from Gabii, the ancient city of Latium where it ended...

east of Finocchio and north of Colonna

Colonna (RM)

Colonna is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about 20 km southeast of Rome, on the Alban Hills...

 (ancient Labicum), the last remnant at Pantana Borghese having been drained by the Borghese family in conjunction with the restitution of the first part of the Acqua Alexandrina

Aqua Alexandrina

The Aqua Alexandrina was a Roman aqueduct located in the city of Rome.-History:It was constructed in AD 226 as the last of the ancient aqueducts in Rome. The Aqueduct was built under the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus to supply his enlargement of the Thermae of Nero...

 as the Acqua Felice under Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V

Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...

 in the years 1585-1587. The two roads joined on the outskirts of Rome. The Pantana was the low point; from springs on its hillside exuded the water that filled the lake. During the thousand years of the post-classical period a much smaller Rome (totally abandoned at one point under the Goths) had lived on a greatly reduced water supply due to the broken and unrepaired aqueducts.

Gabii had kept its lake until the completion of the Acqua Alexandrina in 226 AD. The Romans captured springs or mountain streams for drinking water; they never fed the waters of the marsh into the aqueduct. It led from springs over the Pantana through underground conduits on the south side of the Via Praenestina to the outskirts of Rome, where it was carried on arched conduits above ground into the city. The Acqua Felice had more altitude at this point. By 226 the lake must have receded enough to have left a corridor along the road, as the Romans would not have been able to sink a conduit under the swamp. Having its source water drained away, the lake receded drastically. The aqueduct is still in use. In 1915 it shunted some 22000 m³ (5,811,784.8 US gal) per day into the city of Rome. If these sources were not diverted, Lake Regillus would soon return.

Meanwhile the basin marks the location of the former lake. It is now entirely agricultural land, except that the community of Lago Regillo has been placed in it near Gabii. Osteria del Finocchio marks the western limit, as it is heavily settled and is on higher ground. Lake Regillus therefore cannot have been in the vicinity of Frascati

Frascati

Frascati is a town and comune in the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, being the location of several international scientific...

, regardless of where the battle was fought.

Prehistory

Scattered surface pottery has been found from the Middle Bronze Age outside the necropolis located below Castiglione, from which nothing can be deduced concerning the settlement at Gabii. The Late Bronze Age is missing. The Final Bronze Age is represented by minimal Latial I (1000-900 BC) material around the inside of the crater on the southern side, indicating low-density settlement at the water's edge there.

Definitive settlement at Gabii is believed to have begun with Latial IIA (900-830 BC) when the cemeteries of Castiglione, some 60 tombs of only IIA, and Osteria del'Osa, over 600 tombs primarily of II and III (900-630 BC), and some of IV (730-580 BC), began. Both of these necropoli are dated entirely before the foundation of Rome and well before the classical city of Gabii. The location of the settlements producing these cemeteries was an issue of some mystery until aerial reconnaissance revealed a string of six "Iron Age hamlets" on the isthmus and more along the ridge to the east. Latial IIA is regarded as pre-urban and IIB as proto-urban; that is, at some time during 830-730 BC the settlements acquired a common geopolitical identity. By the end of IV (580 BC) the name Gabii must have been in place as the name of the city, as by then the history was well into the events of its legends.

The most archaeological work has been done on the cemetery of Osteria dell'Osa. The tombs are divided into 14 groups, each exhibiting a set of distinctive traditions and each believed to represent one community of roughly 100 persons, round numbers. The earliest two, contemporaneous and dated to IIA, termed the northern and southern groups from their location within the cemetery, evidence the presence of a male warrior class. At the center of the cluster is a small set of male-only cremation burials, some in hut-urns. Around them is a greater group of inhumations of men, women and children. The richer cremation burials included grave gifts of miniaturized bronze tools and weapons and miniaturized pottery forms. The inhumations lacked weapons. Women were buried with jewelry and spindle-whorls (used in weaving).

The northern group (25 tombs) covered the mouth of the burial jar (dolium) with a travertine

Travertine

Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...

 slab, made ovicaprine food offerings, left serpentine fibulae, razors of quadrangular shape and spearheads with sockets for wooden handles. The pottery is decorated. The southern group (30 tombs) used an impasto

Impasto

In English, the borrowed Italian word impasto most commonly refers to a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface very thickly, usually thickly enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas...

 lid on the burial jars, left serpent-fibulae of a different-style, a razor of lunate shape and one-piece cast spears. The pottery is undecorated.

Urbanization of the area probably did not begin before the start of the second half of the 8th century BC. This process most likely finished by the end of the 7th century BC, and, at its height, the city's borders enclosed 0.75 square miles (1.9 km²).

Legend and legendary history

The early date of the prehistoric Gabii suggests that the Roman writers could have little traditional memory of its foundation or of who founded it. The surviving traditions are therefore in the legend

Legend

A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...

 category; there may or may not be elements of truth in them. The tradition is two-fold: Gabii was founded either by the Latin kings of Alba Longa

Latin kings of Alba Longa

The Latin kings of Alba Longa, also referred to as the Latin kings of Rome or Alban kings of Rome, are a series of legendary kings of Latium ruling mainly from Alba Longa. In the mythic tradition of the founding of Rome, they fill the 400-year gap between the settlement of Aeneas in Italy and the...

 (according to Vergil and Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...

) and therefore was aboriginal Latin in ethnic descent, or by the Sicels

Sicels

The Sicels were an Italic people who inhabited ancient Sicily. The Sicels gave Sicily the name it has held since antiquity, but they rapidly fused into the culture of Magna Graecia.-History:...

 as the Siculi, a substrate population of east Italy expelled by the Italics to Sicily. They became one of the three major indigenous tribes of ancient Sicily, giving their name to it.

The legend of a Siculian foundation of Rome comes from fragments of early Roman annalists, who asserted that the Siculi occupied several cities of Latium before the arrival of the aborigines (Latins): Rome, Tibur, Fescennium, Falerii, Antemnae, Caenina and a few others. Gabii is mentioned as one of them by Gaius Julius Solinus

Gaius Julius Solinus

Gaius Julius Solinus, Latin grammarian and compiler, probably flourished in the early third century. Historical scholar Theodor Mommsen dates him to the middle of the third century....

. According to him two Siculian brothers founded it and named it by combining their names, Galatus and Bins. Fanciful etymologies such as the above are not taken seriously but there is a sober case for a Sicilian and Siculian influence on early Latium. For example, the Cloelii claimed to be from Alba Longa

Alba Longa

Alba Longa – in Italian sources occasionally written Albalonga – was an ancient city of Latium in central Italy southeast of Rome in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC. In legend, Romulus and Remus, founders of...

 and used the cognomen

Cognomen

The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...

 Siculus. Prisons called lautumia were cut into the sides of the early Capitoline Hill

Capitoline Hill

The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...

. Syracuse used quarries, called latomiai, for a simuilar purpose. Most of the similarities can be attributed to an influence on early Rome from Greek Sicily; however, the case of a Sicul substrate also is possible.

Plutarch

Plutarch

Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...

 relates the legend that Romulus

Romulus

- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...

 and Remus

Remus

Remus is the twin brother of the mythical founder of Rome.Remus may also refer to:* Remus , a fictional planet in Star Trek* Remus , a moon of the asteroid 87 Sylvia...

 were raised by Faustulus

Faustulus

In Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infants Romulus and Remus, who were being suckled by a she-wolf, known as Lupa, on the Palatine Hill. He, with his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the children. In some versions of the myth, Larentia was a prostitute...

, the servant of Amulius

Amulius

In Roman mythology, Amulius was the brother of Numitor and son of Procas. He was the hostile uncle of Romulus and Remus' mother.-Myth:His brother, Numitor, was the King of Alba Longa. Amulius overthrew him and took the throne. Amulius forced Rhea Silvia, Numitor's daughter, to become a Vestal...

, in Gabii, where they learned everything from literature to the use of Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 weapons. From there they went on to found Rome.

War with Rome under Tarquinius Superbus

The Latin League

Latin league

The Latin League was a confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near ancient Rome, organized for mutual defense...

 (Latini) was brought under Roman jurisdiction by the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus

Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final King of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 BC that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is more commonly known by his cognomen Tarquinius Superbus and was a member of the so-called Etruscan...

. Addressing their council and claiming that, because all the Latin cities were founded from Alba Longa

Alba Longa

Alba Longa – in Italian sources occasionally written Albalonga – was an ancient city of Latium in central Italy southeast of Rome in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC. In legend, Romulus and Remus, founders of...

 and Servius Tullius

Servius Tullius

Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...

 had made a treaty by which Alba was ceded to Rome along with all its colonies, Rome had a legal claim over the Latins, he offered them protection from any chance devastation that should inflict their country and a share in Roman prosperity if they would resume the treaty, which they did. Thenceforward Latin troops fought beside Roman within the Roman army.

Gabii reneged from the Latin treaty with Rome for unknown reasons. Tarquinius' son, Sextus Tarquinius

Sextus Tarquinius

Sextus Tarquinius was a Roman prince, the third and youngest son of the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus . He is primarily known for his rape of Lucretia, daughter of Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus, wife of Collatinus....

, went to Gabii, pretending to be in revolt against his father and asking for assistance.

He was accepted, and after successfully commanding various military expeditions, he was appointed as the leading general of the army of Gabii. As general, he commanded a number of minor but successful skirmishes against Roman forces, with the complicity of the Roman king.

He sent a message to the king asking what to do next. Receiving the messenger in the garden the king said nothing at all (for which he might have been held liable later) but strolled around lopping off the heads of the tallest poppies with a stick. Sextus took this to be a message to destroy the aristocrats of Gabii. After Sextus had destroyed or exiled the chief men of Gabii by various means, soon afterwards the city of Gabii was surrendered to the Roman king without battle.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Dionysius of Halicarnassus

Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...

 states that Tarquin was lenient with Gabii, and their subsequent treaty, whose original text was written on a bullock's skin and draped over a wooden shield, was said by Dionysius of Halicarnassus to be still extant in his day in the Roman temple of Sancus

Sancus

In ancient Roman religion, Sancus was the god of trust , honesty, and oaths. His cult is one of the most ancient of the Romans, probably derived from Umbrian influences.-Oaths:...

.

After the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, Sextus fled to Gabii but was killed by the leaders of the city in revenge for his past actions.

History under Roman control

Gabii was an ally of Rome after 493 BC.

In the late Republican period, the city became depopulated due to the extensive use of the lapis Gabinus quarry, which was just under the archaic city. Cicero

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

 mentioned it in the 1st century BC as a small and insignificant place.

The Augustan poets used Gabii when demonstrating a city that had fallen from its old heights. From inscriptions we learn that from the time of Augustus

Augustus

Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

 or Tiberius

Tiberius

Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...

 onwards it enjoyed a municipal organization. Its baths were well known, and Hadrian

Hadrian

Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...

, who was responsible for much of the renewed prosperity of the small towns of Latium, appears to have been a very liberal patron, building a senate-house (Curia Aelia Augusta) and an aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

.

After the 3rd century, Gabii practically disappears from history, though its bishops continue to be mentioned in ecclesiastical documents till the close of the 9th century.

Cultural influences

Gabii's importance in the earliest history of Rome is also apparent elsewhere: the adoption of the cinctus Gabinus (a method of draping the toga that leaves both arms free) by the Romans for certain ceremonies, the unique role it played for the augur

Augur

The augur was a priest and official in the classical world, especially ancient Rome and Etruria. His main role was to interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds: whether they are flying in groups/alone, what noises they make as they fly, direction of flight and what kind of...

s as seen from the specific term ager Gabinus used by these priests (Varro, Ling. 5,33), and its presence in a Roman damnation formula.

Temple of Juno

The most conspicuous ruin remaining at the site of Gabii is a temple, generally attributed to Juno

Juno (mythology)

Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera...

, which had six Ionic

Ionic order

The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...

 or Corinthian

Corinthian order

The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...

 columns in the front and six on each side, excluding the back. The temple was composed of a single room (cella

Cella

A cella or naos , is the inner chamber of a temple in classical architecture, or a shop facing the street in domestic Roman architecture...

), and it was made of lapis Gabinus, a fire-resistant rock that was found in the quarries around Gabii and that also made its way into some of the buildings of Rome itself. The temple was situated in the middle of a podium, which had a colonnade of Doric

Doric order

The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...

 columns along the back and extending around the sides. This colonnade stood in front of rooms of unknown function, perhaps multi-functional, for such uses as temple shops. The temple was excavated and published by the Spanish School at Rome in the 1960s and 1970s.

The temple was constructed 150-100 BC. A painted inscription (IVN) on an antefix identifies it as a temple of Juno. Around the rear of the temple (on the cliff side), which faced and towered above the road, were about 55 pits for planting trees representing a sacred grove. The site began as sacred in the 7th century BC featuring such a grove in which one tree was especially worshipped. In the 4th century BC a small shrine was constructed next to the grove around and in connection with which caches of anatomical terra cotta

Terra cotta

Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...

 statuettes were found. This type of statuette modeled an organ or section of the human body and was given as a votive offering at a healing sanctuary, of which a great many have been found in Latium, in hope that divinity would turn its attention to healing the organ of the dedicator. Also found were some votive pedestals inscribed to Fortuna. A pavement was inscribed to Jupiter Jurarius ("of oaths"), indicating possible state functions of the site. There were two other shrines at the location.

The subsequent temple to Juno remained in use during the empire, after the town was abandoned.

Forum

To the east of the temple lay the supposed area of the forum, where excavations were made by Gavin Hamilton in 1792. Hamilton discovered a large cache of statues that were initially placed in the Borghese collection

Borghese collection

The Borghese Collection is a collection of Roman sculptures, old masters and modern art collected by the Roman Borghese family, especially Cardinal Scipione Borghese, from the 17th century on. It includes major collections of Caravaggio, Raphael, and Titian, and of ancient Roman art...

, although many of them subsequently were carried off to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 by Napoleon, and still remain in the Louvre. The statues and busts are especially numerous and interesting (38 in all); besides the deities Venus

Venus (mythology)

Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex,sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths...

, Diana

Diana (mythology)

In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...

, Nemesis

Nemesis (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Nemesis , also called Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia at her sanctuary at Rhamnous, north of Marathon, was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris . The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess: the goddess of revenge...

, etc., they comprise Agrippa, Tiberius

Tiberius

Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...

, Germanicus

Germanicus

Germanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...

, Caligula

Caligula

Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

, Claudius

Claudius

Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

, Nero

Nero

Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....

, Trajan

Trajan

Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...

 and Plotina, Hadrian

Hadrian

Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...

 and Sabina

Vibia Sabina

Vibia Sabina was a Roman Empress, wife and second cousin, once removed, to Roman Emperor Hadrian. She was the daughter to Salonina Matidia , and suffect consul Lucius Vibius Sabinus...

, Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus

Septimius Severus

Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...

, Geta

Publius Septimius Geta

Geta , was a Roman Emperor co-ruling with his father Septimius Severus and his older brother Caracalla from 209 to his death.-Early life:Geta was the younger son of Septimius Severus by his second wife Julia Domna...

, Gordian III

Gordian III

Gordian III , was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II. Very little is known on his early life before his acclamation...

 and others. The inscriptions relate mainly to local and municipal matters.

Tower of Castiglione

The citadel of Gabii is now marked by the ruins of the medieval tower of Castiglione.

Fieldwork since the 1990s

New fieldwork has been undertaken to the east of Gabii along the lines of the ancient city wall where a sanctuary has been excavated by Marco Fabbri close to one of the city's gates. Other work at the site has been carried out by Stefano Musco, the local inspector of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma (SAR). These excavators, led by Marco Fabbri, reported the discovery of an Archaic building that they identified as a 'regia' in March 2010 http://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/opencms/MiBAC/sito-MiBAC/Contenuti/MibacUnif/Comunicati/visualizza_asset.html?id=66828&pagename=224.

In 2007 the multi-institution Gabii Project http://sitemaker.umich.edu/gabiiproject, led by Nicola Terrenato

Nicola Terrenato

Nicola Terrenato is an Italian scholar of ancient Italy.Terranato was born in Rome.A Classical archaeologist teaching in the at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, USA, Terrenato's expertise includes the Romanization of Italy and the archaeology of Etruria...

 of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, was launched. It began its investigations by conducting a large-scale geophysical survey of the former urban center of Gabii. This survey had two prongs: a magnetometry survey and a core-sampling survey. The survey data revealed a regularized pattern of streets in the subsurface layers, together with archaeological deposits. The Gabii Project commenced large-scale excavations in two areas of the site in June 2009 http://www.fastionline.org/record_view.php?fst_cd=AIAC_2234 and will continue its campaign in 2010. In late March 2010 the Gabii Project reported http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100329-roman-sarcophagus-gladiator-lead-burrito/ the discovery, in 2009, of a half-ton lead encased inhumation burial that has tentatively been dated to the Late Roman period, perhaps the 3rd to 5th centuries A.D.

Sources

• Jeffrey A. Becker, Marcello Mogetta, and Nicola Terrenato. "A new plan for an ancient Italian city: Gabii revealed." American Journal of Archaeology
  American Journal of Archaeology
  The American Journal of Archaeology , the peer-reviewed journal of the Archaeological Institute of America, has been published since 1897...
  
  113.4 (October 2009):629-42.
• N. Terrenato, A. Gallone, J. A. Becker, and S. Kay. 2010. “Urbanistica Ortogonale a Gabii: Risultati delle nuove prospezioni geofisiche e prospettive per il futuro.” In Lazio e Sabina VI: Atti del Convegno. Sesto Incontro di Studi sul Lazio e la Sabina. Roma 4-6 marzo 2009, edited by G. Ghini, 237-48. Rome: Edizioni Quasar.
• J.A. Becker and J. Nowlin. 2011. "Orientalizing Infant Burials from Gabii, Italy." BABESCH 86:27-39.

External links