| Title: | Celejski forum in njegov okras |
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| Authors: | ID Lazar, Irena (Author) |
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| Files: |  http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-VBBT1IRZ
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| Language: | Slovenian |
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| Work type: | Not categorized |
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| Typology: | 1.01 - Original Scientific Article |
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| Organization: | UPR - University of Primorska
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| Abstract: | The forum of the Roman Celeia had for long years been a topic of different theories and hypotheses and is still only partly researched (Lazar, 2003, 469). Its position was questionable and indeterminable for several centuries. Some even thought that the forum had not been in the same place the whole time and that its position had changed during the development of the town. A review of older finds and information, as well as archaeological investigation in the last decades, have shown that the centre of the Roman Celeia was based in the south-western part of town (Lazar, 2002, 85; Krempuš et al., 2005). In this district the architectural remains showed a characteristic Roman urban scheme with larger residential complexes - insulae, atrium housing and furnishing according to Italic models (Lazar 2008, 54). The forum space as the most important temple and civil centre of the Roman town also belonged to such a clearly defined urban concept. Speculations and conclusions about the position of the forum (Lazar, 2002, 85; 2003, 469) were confirmed by georadar measurements and rescue sounding by the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage's regional office Celje (fig. 1) in 2002 (Krempuš et al., 2005, 210). Measurements showed that the open forum space measured 180 x 360 paces and was probably surrounded by porticoes from the north and south, while the main temple lay in the west; the forum space was delimited in the south by the main radial road (decumanus) in east-west direction and in the east by the main road (cardo) in the north-south direction, which was decorated by porticoes (Lazar, 2002, 78, fig. 9; Krempuš et al. 2005, 212). The centre of the Roman Celeia lay directly next to the intersection of two main city communication routes. More about its appearance and architectural furnishing can be deduced from finds: architectural elements, reliefs and remains of detached statuary, which can be assumed to have decorated the forum complex as part of its public (area publica) and sacral area (area sacra). In the defence wall that the city received in Late Antiquity the remains of numerous reliefs, inscriptions and parts of full-figured statuary were immured. Two armoured statues that were hewn into torsos probably decorated the forum during the town's greatest prosperity. The quality of their making suggests that these were probably imperial statues (fig. 2). Monumental bronze statuary was also counted among public monuments. From Celje a bronze horse hoof is known (fig. 3), part of a monumental bronze statue. Numerous reliefs with images of deities and mythological creatures, which reflected the messages of the imperial cult, also belonged to the forum's decoration. The Celje lapidary keeps reliefs with depictions of the heads of Jupiter Amon, Medusa and Acheloos (Lazar, 2003,469; Casari, 2004, 132), which, according to their siye, making and quality, show that they were part of the same architecture (fig. 4). These arepieces that could have decorated the front of the portico or constituted part of the top railing on the wall delimiting the temple space of the forum from the civil, i.e. the temporal space. The western part of Celeia's forum was intended for the temple space. This is where the main city temple - probably the temple of the Capitoline Triad stood, devoted to the highest Roman deities Jupiter, Junona and Minerva. During excavations in 1898 (Riedl, 1900; Lazar, 1997, 159) workers stumbled upon marble entablature with rosette ornamentation, stylized acanthus and other vegetal elements; they can be defined as parts of the temple or the colonnade around the temple (fig. 5, 6). Remains of monumental statuary, parts of larger than life statues, were discovered already in the 18th century. Parts of an arm, knee, thigh and curlyhead from white marble belonged to different statuary (fig. 7-8), but, according to their dimensions, to statues two- or several times larger than life. The knee and part of the shin are most probably part of a sitting statue- perhaps Jupiter, who is usually depicted sitting in his throne. A delicate curved hand could have belonged to a female deity. Perhaps it formed a whole with a large female head (fig. 9, 10), which is kept in the depot of the Regional museum Celje and belonged to a statue of one of Jupiter's companions in the forum temple, Minerva or Junona. Of almost the same dimensions is the curly head of a young man, which, due to his youthful appearance, was soon given the name Apollo (fig. 11). Where this statue stood and to which deity it belonged is not clear, perhaps it was part of the temple in the south-east corner of town. Of course, we can also ask ourselves, whether the main temple in Celeia was truly devoted to the Capitoline triad or a place of worship of the imperial cult. The queries regarding the determination of Capitoline temples in Roman towns in the area of Croatia raised in recent times (Sinobad, 2008, 235) are worth examining and noting also in the case of Celeia. Considering this, the published material could have also been interpreted differently and at the same time the query to whom the so-called Herculesć temple with its dominant position over the town was really dedicated questioned anew. Of course, some of the presented conclusions and observations are still hypothetical. Nevertheless, the individual finds accumulated during the centuries, as also other unpublished finds are worth appraising in light of new research and their results. Especially the remains of monumental statuary, which is very rare and still in need of a wholistic review in Slovenia |
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| Keywords: | Celje, forumi, kapitolij, imperialni kult, reliefni okras, religija |
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| Publisher: | Centro di ricerche scientifiche della Repubblica di Slovenia |
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| Year of publishing: | 2008 |
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| Number of pages: | str. 349-360 |
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| Numbering: | Letn. 18, št. 2 |
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| PID: | 20.500.12556/RUP-5080  |
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| ISSN: | 1408-5348 |
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| UDC: | 904:711.61(497.4Celje) |
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| COBISS.SI-ID: | 1535187 |
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| Publication date in RUP: | 10.07.2015 |
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| Views: | 4113 |
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| Downloads: | 40 |
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