A vast deposit of ancient treasures was discovered in the Tiber River

from votive offerings dedicated to the temple of Asclepius on the Tiber Island to a floating mill from the Gothic wars

From the earliest times until the end of the nineteenth century, small boats could navigate from the river's mouth and travel upstream along the Tiber for a long distance, thanks to the modest flow of the river and the regularity of its water level in every season. Merchants from the sea and those from inland populations met near the Tiber Island, a natural ford on the river, even before the founding of Rome (753 BCE).

The Tiber Island before the foundation of Rome.

We can imagine how many goods passed through here in antiquity, as well as during the Middle Ages when Rome's monuments were stripped. A great deal of architectural material was loaded onto rafts and transported to new construction sites for churches and Roman palaces, or to other locations in Italy. An example is the transport of marble and travertine necessary for the construction of the Duomo in Orvieto, which traveled over 100 km up the Tiber River.

Cathedral of Orvieto

Over time, loads often shipwrecked along with the boats transporting them, becoming true wrecks hidden by the riverbed silt, which surfaced during the Tiber dredging. Here are some examples:

Two Roman iron anchors, one dated to the 3rd century BCE and the other to the 2nd century CE, were recovered near the remains of the port in the Pietra Papa bend.
The construction of the embankment walls along the river after 1870 yielded thousands of everyday objects, including a female marble head, a copy of Praxiteles' Knidian Aphrodite, near Ponte Rotto (broken bridge), now housed at the Palatine Antiquarium.
The head belonged to a Roman copy of the statue of Knidian Aphrodite by Praxiteles, dated around 360 BCE, the first female nude in Greek art. It is called "Knidian" because the inhabitants of Knidos, in Asia Minor, purchased the statue to adorn the naos of the small temple dedicated to Aphrodite Euplea. The statue also appeared on Knidos coins.
In 1855, near Ponte Garibaldi, a beautiful bronze statue of Dionysus was found, possibly an original from the late Hellenistic period of the Trajanic era in the 2nd century CE. This discovery is of considerable value given the small number of large bronze originals preserved from antiquity. The waters had preserved it from deterioration, saving the white marble eyes, as well as the lips and nipples covered in copper. The god is depicted standing nude with a type of hairstyle with a crown and grapevine leaves, holding his characteristic thyrsus (staff) in his left hand, on which he leans.
In 1856, also near Ponte Garibaldi, another bronze statue of Dionysus emerged, with long hair falling over his shoulders. He has an ivy crown and holds the thyrsus and a kantharos.
Between 1877 and 1890, around 50,000 coins from different eras and particularly well-preserved or gold were found in the Tiber's depths.
In 1890, during dredging operations near Ponte Palatino, a marble statuette from the 1st-2nd century CE was found. It depicts a small lanternarius, a slave who had to light the way for his master in the evening. In this case, it is a five or six-year-old child, asleep and sitting on a rock. He holds the ring of a lamp placed on the ground in his right hand.
The statuette is a Roman copy of a Hellenistic work, originally placed on a tomb. Its purpose was to light the eternal night of death for the master with the faint light of the lantern. Evidently, the child was overcome by sleep while keeping watch over his master's tomb.

Statuette of a sleeping child (Cucullus) with a lamp. White marble. 1st-2nd Century CE Rome, Tiber (Palatine Bridge). National Roman Museum (Baths of Diocletian). Rome. Italy.
In 1891, near Ponte Garibaldi, a Roman marble statue of Apollon from the Hadrianic or Antonine period (117-195 CE) was fished out. It was a copy of a Greek original from 450 BCE, thus after Phidias.
In the 1950s, a medieval wreck loaded with valuable architectural finds, including bas-reliefs and marble statues, was located downstream of Saint Paul.
Recent underwater investigations conducted by the Archaeological Superintendence of Rome located the wreck of a floating mill near the Fabricio Bridge, which sank around 1855.
The invention of floating mills dates back to the time of the wars against the Goths (6th century CE) when, due to the cutting of the aqueducts, the Romans were forced to use the Tiber's current to power the millstones. This characteristic floating structure, large square barges with rotating blades, was part of the Roman landscape until the eve of the Tiber's embankment works after 1870.

On right, a floating mill (XIX century)

Art historian Hans von Hülsen wrote:

If the Tiber were drained today and thoroughly explored with every caution, it would be revealed as a great warehouse of ancient works of art of every kind.

Today, many of the artifacts accidentally found on the bottom of the Tiber River are visible at the National Roman Museum. Among them, there are many that come from the depths around the Tiber Island, where the Temple of Asclepius was located. Those who received grace from Asclepius would make votive offerings (reproductions in terracotta or stone of the diseased body parts that were believed to have been healed), duly inscribed and hung on the walls of the temple as a sign of their gratitude.
The custom of offering anatomical ex-votos to the gods, to invoke their help in times of particular need, or to thank them for favors received, is attested in all civilizations. Already in Crete during the First Palace period, ex-votos reproducing parts of the human body appeared. In Greece, they were especially dedicated to Asclepius, in the god's sanctuaries in Athens, Epidaurus, and Cos.
In Italy, especially in Etruria and Rome, this practice developed in the 4th-3rd century BCE. The oldest terracottas found near Tiber Island, dedicated to the god Asclepius, are dated to the 3rd century BCE. These ex-votos depict external body parts such as eyes, ears, breasts, phalluses, hands, feet, and internal parts such as intestines and uteri. Generally, it is noted that for external parts the reproduction is faithful, as the artist could easily observe the human body; however, when internal organs are depicted, anatomical accuracy is altered.

Terracotta ex-voto in the shape of intestines (3rd-2nd century BCE) found near Tiber Island in Rome. National Roman Museum, Rome.

The Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Tiber Island (Basilica S. Bartholomaei in Insula) is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome. It was founded at the end of the 10th century by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor called the bloodthirsty. It contains the relics of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, and is located on Tiber Island.

The Basilica of St. Bartholomew

Between 2006 and 2007, an archaeological excavation was carried out in the area of the crypt with six columns of the church. Approximately 3.50 meters below it, two rows of large tuff blocks were discovered from one of the temple courtyards. In the center of this area (as it still is today), there was a marble well that reaches a water vein at approximately 9 meters depth. The decorated well in the early medieval period establishes continuity with the source of health-giving water in the ancient temple.
The excavation has identified for the first time the remains of the sanctuary of Asclepius inaugurated in 289 BCE. It was one of the most important sacred sites of Repubblican and Imperial Rome of which all trace seemed lost.

The Basilica of St. Bartholomew and its underground

The marble well is nine meters deep and the water level rises depending on the seasons. We know that it was made to embellish by Otto III.

The marble well in the center of the nave of the church originally was in one of the courtyards of the Temple of Asclepius

View of the inside the marble well
The ropes used to draw water leave visible marks at the top of the well, which have made the writing unreadable.

The ropes used to draw water leave visible marks at the top of the well, which have made the writing unreadable.

Asklepios (Asclepius) was adored by the Greeks as the god of medicine. He was also the patron god, and reputed ancestor, of the Asklepiades (Asclepiades), the ancient guild of doctors. His sons, Machaon and Podalirius, treated the Greeks during the siege of Troy.

Asclepius treats a sleeping patient, 4th century BCE

According to legend, Asclepius was the son of Apollon and the Trikkaian (Triccaean) princess Koronis (Coronis) and daughter of the mythical king of the Lapiths, Phlegyas. His mother died in labour and when she was laid out on the pyre, Apollon cut the unborn child from her womb. From this Asklepios received his name which means "to cut open." But, according to the legend, when Koronis was pregnant, Apollon left a corvus , the crow (korônê in Greek) to guard her so that no one would approach her, but during his absence, she met Ischys and allowed herself to be loved. The corvus flew to Apollon to report. The god, offended, decided to change the color of the corvus' feathers from white to black and killed her with an arrow (in another version, he had her killed by the goddess Artemis, Apollon's sister). Hermes extracted the small Asclepius from her womb, and his father entrusted him to the centaur Kheiron (Chiron) who instructed him in the art of medicine.

Apollon and Coronis by A. Elsheimer, 1606-1608. Oil on copper, 126 x 174 cm. Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Having become a true master in the practice of medicine, he dared to bring the dead back to life, and Zeus, enraged, struck him down with a lightning bolt for having violated divine laws. After his death, Apollon asked Zeus to place his son among the stars. Thus, Asclepius and the serpent were placed in the sky, depicted in the constellations of Ophiochus (the Serpent Holder).

Asclepius or Asklepios, 2nd century CE, Capitoline Museums (Musei Capitolini), Rome

The other attributes of Asclepius were the book scroll, the bundle of poppies, and the serpent. According to legend, a serpent brought him the miraculous herb that was used to resurrect Hippolytus, the son of Theseus. There are several reasons why the serpent was chosen as the symbol of the god Asclepius:

The serpent periodically sheds its skin, which can be seen as a sign of eternal youth or rebirth;
Asclepius, at least originally, was an underground oracular deity, and the serpent, which goes underground in winter, represents the chthonic energy of the earth;
It was known that only the constant use of snake venom could save someone from a snakebite, thus acting as a vaccine. It is no coincidence that in Greek, the term pharmakon has the dual meaning of poison and medicine.

He began to be worshiped as the god of medicine, whose primary attribute was the staff with a serpent coiled around it, a symbol that has become associated with the medical profession.

The Rod of Asclepius as a Medical Symbol

In the Iliad, Homer refers to Asclepius as Amymonos, which in Greek means infallible, without blemish. According to the author, he was mortal and was trained in the medical arts by the centaur Chiron.
He was born in Epidaurus in the Peloponnese, where his cult became established, and where a school of medicine was founded. Although it was still anchored in magical practices, this school laid the groundwork for a more scientific discipline.

A temple of Asclepius

In ancient Greece, it was believed that simply sleeping in a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius could cure any illness. Every temple had at least one serpent, which came from the sanctuary of Asclepius in Epidaurus, where his priest-physicians practiced their art and raised serpents. These serpents were considered sacred animals to the deity, symbolizing renewal, as the serpent changes its skin. Killing a serpent in a temple of Asclepius was considered a great sacrilege.
No new temple dedicated to him in the pan-Hellenic world could be without a serpent from Epidaurus, as it was believed to personify the god of medicine.

Tiber Island

The same occurred in Rome, where the god, known to the Romans as Aesculapius, arrived in the form of a serpent. This legendary event is said to have happened following the outbreak of a terrible plague in 293 BCE. After consulting the Sibylline Books, the Roman Senate decided to build a temple dedicated to the god in an isolated place, to separate the sick from the rest of the population until the end of the epidemic. The Tiber Island is particularly suitable for medical activities and is the appropriate place for quarantines, as it is accessible only by boat. Thus, a delegation of ten men was sent to Epidaurus to obtain the statue of the god (Livy, X, 47; Pliny, Nat. Hist., XXIX, 16). It appears that on that occasion, a serpent came out of the shrine and boarded the Roman ship. On the return journey, as the boat carrying the statue ascended the Tiber, the serpent, symbolizing the god, left the ship, swam towards Tiber Island (Metamorphoses, Book XV, Ovid); there it landed and disappeared into the vegetation, miraculously ending the epidemic. A temple was erected precisely at the spot where the reptile disappeared, and on its remains, the church of St. Adalberto (later of St. Bartholomew) was built. His cult was introduced to Rome on Tiber Island in 291 BCE.

Tiber Island

Tiber Island or Insula serpentis Epidauri is a fundamental element in the history of Rome: being a ford for crossing the Tiber, it guaranteed communication. This area thus became a zone of exchange and commerce as early as the 9th century BCE, as evidenced by the discovery of ceramic fragments dating back to that period. Various legends tell the origins of the island which, when observed from a distance from the banks of the Tiber, resembles a ship sailing on the river:

According to Livy, Strabo, and Plutarch, in the 1st century BCE, the island was transformed into a stone ship to commemorate the trireme that brought the serpent of Aesculapius to Rome;
Tiber Island is said to have formed from a large ship that became stranded in the middle of the river and was subsequently filled with sand and debris by the current;
its origin was linked to the grain of the Tarquins, collected in their lands and thrown into the Tiber on the day the hated Etruscan dynasty was expelled from Rome (509 BCE); in this case, too, river deposits would have accumulated on the precious cereal, favoring the formation of a small strip of land.

Tiber Island. An engraving by Nicolaus van Aelst (16th century) based on a drawing by E. du Pérac.

Tiber Island appears as a stone ship. The bow of the ship faces the sea (southeast), and the existing marble reliefs are visible. On the island, to the left, you can see the ancient hospital and the Temple of Asclepius (Esculapio), while to the right, there are the temples of Jupiter Lycaeus (Giove Licaone) and Faunus (Fauno) at the northwest end. An Egyptian obelisk completes the design, suggesting the idea of a mast necessary for a true vessel.

In order to know more, you can visit:
- Wikipedia: [1, 2]

This page was last update on 17 July 2024

Information:

Address: BASILICA OF ST. BARTHOLOMEW - Piazza S. Bartolomeo All'Isola, 22, 00186 Rome
Time period: 289 BCE

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