#samnite

[thatshowthingstarted]

Temple-Theater of Monte San Nicola, Casertano, Italy

Discovered accidentally by Nicolino Lombardi while flying in his ultralight helicopter, the Temple-Theater reveals a compelling story of historical intrigue dating back to the late Ancient Roman Republican period, possibly around the 2nd-1st century BC.

This remarkable archaeological site, hidden for centuries beneath overgrown vegetation, has sparked scholarly debate about whether the complex was built by Roman architects or indigenous Italic tribes like the Samnites.

Situated at an elevation of 410 meters in the scenic Sannio area, the presence of nearby tombs suggests that it fell out of use by the 2nd century AD. If the dating is accurate, the construction of the temple-theater coincided with Rome's victories over rivals such as Carthage and conflicts with local enemies.

Positioned strategically to overlook key northern routes, the complex likely represented Rome's growing power in the region.

Similar to the Samnite theater at Pietrabbondante, this structure symbolizes Rome's control over the Italian landscape, reflecting ancient rivalries and ambitions.

[thana-d]

I always get excited about drawing.😭✨

[ningirida]

ROME & ROMANCE RESOURCES

The Anthropological Masterlist is HERE.

Rome was a European civilization that, at its peak, extended into many European, Asian, and African regions. Its impact has heavily influence many modern cultures.

ANCIENT ROME ─ “Ancient Rome (Roman Republic, Roman Empire, etc) was a Roman civilization that lived from the 8th century B.C.E. to 476 C.E., dissolving at the fall of the Western Roman Empire. They lived in much of western and eastern Europe at the peak of the Roman Empire.” ─ Roman Culture & History (Lectures 11-14) ─ Life of the Romans ─ The Founding of Rome

GALLIA AQUITANIA ─ “Gallia Aquitania was a region of the Roman Empire. It was located in southwest France.” ─ Aquitaine Information ─ Aquitaine Culture

GALLO-ROME ─ “Gallo-Roman is a term used to describe Gaulish culture under the rule of the Romans.” ─ Gallo-Roman Phonology

HISPANIA GALLAECIA ─ “Gallaecia, or Hispania Gallaecia, was a Roman province. It was located in modern-day Galicia.” ─ Gaels in Galicia

ROMAN BRITAIN ─ “The Romano-British period was a British period of time when large portions of Great Britain were under control of the Roman Empire, from 43 C.E. to 410 C.E.” ─ Roman Britain Information ─ Roman Britain Culture ─ Roman Britain History

Romance languages, or Latin languages, are the languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. The cultures that Romance languages are native to have many cultural and linguistic influences to Ancient Rome. The Italic people were one of the most prominent Latin tribes that went on to form the Ancient Roman civilization, and from that, the Romance cultures branched out from them.

ARAGON ─ “The Aragonese people are a Romance people. They are native to the Aragon region in northeastern Spain.” ─ Aragon Information ─ Aragonese Language (in Aragonese)

THE CANARY ISLANDS ─ “The Canary Islands is a group of Spanish islands that belong to Spain. It is off the coast of Morocco.” ─ Canarian Spanish

CATALAN ─ “The Catalan people are a Romance people. They are native to Catalonia.” ─ Catalan Information ─ Catalan Language

ETRUSCA ─ “The Etruscan civilization was an Italic civilization that lived from 900 B.C.E. to 27 B.C.E. They lived in Tuscany.” ─ Etruscology ─ Etruscan Art ─ Etruscan Language

ITALY ─ “The Italian people are a Romance people that share the Italian culture. They are native to Italy.” ─ Italian Culture ─ Italian History ─ Italian Dictionary

OSCO-UMBRIAN ─ “The Osco-Umbrian group is an extinct Italic language group. They were native to southern and central Italy.” ─ Osco-Umbrian History (in Italian)

PORTUGAL ─ “The Portuguese people are a Romance people that share the Portuguese culture. They are native to Portugal.” ─ Portuguese Folktales ─ Portuguese History ─ Portuguese Language

ROMANIA ─ “The Romanian people are a Romance people that share the Romanian culture. They are native to Romania and Moldova.” ─ Romanian Culture ─ Romanian History ─ Romanian Grammar

SABINE ─ “The Sabines were an Italic people that lived until the 1st century B.C.E. They lived in the central Apennine Mountains in the Italian Peninsula.” ─ Rape of the Sabine Women (Pages 9-13)

SAMNITE ─ “The Samnites were an Italic people that lived from the 6th century B.C.E. to 298 B.C.E., when they were Romanized. They lived in the land of Samnium.” ─ Samnite Information ─ Samnite Culture (in Italian) ─ Samnite Religion

SARDINIA ─ “The Sardinian, or Sards, people are a Romance people. They are native to Sardinia.” ─ Sardinian Culture (in Italian) ─ Sardinian Dictionary

SPAIN ─ “The Spanish, or Spaniard, people are a Romance people that share the Spanish culture. They are native to Spain.” ─ Spanish Culture ─ Spanish History ─ Spanish Language (in Spanish)

VENETI ─ “The Veneti, or Heneti, people were an Indo-European people that lived from 900 B.C.E. to 182 B.C.E., when they slowly become Romanized. They lived in northeastern Italy.” ─ Venetic History (in Italian)

[myshiningpath]

Samnite fresco from a tomb in Nola, Italy

[romegreeceart]

Neighbors - and often - enemies of Rome

[barbucomedie]

Bronze Triple-Disc Breastplate from Ruvo, Southern Italy dated between 400-300 BCE on display at the British Museum in London, England

This type of armour was worn by Samnite warriors and would have been matched with a backplate, side-plates and hinged shoulder plates. Livy notes that the Samnites wore two “types” of armour on the battlefield, half of them in silver and half in gold coloured armour. It was also noted that their Roman opponents did not “shine” as brightly as the Samnites in battle though this may be a romantic depiction of them in the literature.

Photographs taken by myself 2016

[rupertbbare]

Samnite bronze helmet and neckguard circa 450 BC. Samnites were ancient Italian enimies of rome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samnites

[archaicwonder]

Samno-Attic Bronze Helmet, Late 5th-Early 4th Century BC

This type of helmet is so-called because of its close association with the Samnite warriors of central and southern Italy, and its derivation from the Greek Attic and Chalcidian type helmets. The form of any helmet was first and foremost functional, and its evolution was entirely dependent on the type of warfare fought and the cultural and artistic traditions of those who utilized it. Greek and Italic helmets of the fifth and fourth centuries BC, such as this example, evolved with new features to adapt to changing tactics in warfare, with the increasing importance of lighter equipment and tactical flexibility. This prompted the development of open-faced helmets, which gave the soldier greater visibility and ventilation with the inclusion of apertures for the ears. The Samno-Attic helmet was essentially a further development of the Chalcidian/Attic type that saw the disappearance of the nasal guard and a more spherical dome.

This incredibly well preserved Samno-Attic helmet retains its high-flung wings and hinged cheek-pieces, both remarkably still joined to the headpiece by the original rivets. The contoured dome was hammered from a single thick sheet, with fine carination bifurcating to a peak at the centre visor.  The surface throughout displays an exuberant dense green patina that has developed over the last two millennia.  The face is fully open, but for a short peaked vestigial nose-guard.  This stylistic innovation gave the soldier greater visibility and ventilation, allowing for tactical flexibility and increased mobility.  The helmet flares at the back along the short protective neck-guard and curves upwards to arched apertures to accommodate the soldier’s ears.  The entire periphery, including the cheek-guards, is edged with small regular perforations which would have been threaded through to join a protective leather liner.

The helmet’s specific features indicate that it belongs to the earliest versions of the type, from the late fifth to early fourth century BC. The early examples are usually undecorated, emphasizing the helmet’s inherent beauty and simplicity of form. Some examples contain crest fixtures, removable holders in the form of bronze tubes or springs, sometimes hidden behind the wings or affixed transversely across the dome, which would originally have held brightly coloured feathers. A fresco from Nola, dating to the fourth century BC, depicts Samnite soldiers wearing Samno-Attic helmets featuring a variety of different crests (National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Inv. 9363).

Helmets of this type have been found predominantly in southern Italy, in Samno-Lucanian inhabited areas of the fifth to third centuries BC. They are closely associated with the Samnite panoply, which consisted of a triple-disc or muscled cuirass, a belt and greaves, several examples of which have been found in Campania and Puglia. The Samno-Attic helmet represents the most frequently depicted headgear in Samno-Lucanian tomb paintings and Campanian pottery wares. Controlling a large swathe of Italy, from coast to coast, the Samnites were a confederation of local native Italic tribes that migrated south from central Italy in the late fifth to early fourth century BC, moving into the coastal plains and eventually occupying the entire region from Campania to the southern tip of the Italian peninsula.  In doing so, they mingled with other regional peoples and became highly influenced by Greek colonists who had already settled in the area.  Their armour reflects this conflation of styles. The Samnites were formidable warriors and they proved to be one of early Rome’s great rivals. Reflecting their military prowess and perhaps out of respect, or fear, the Romans referred to them as belliger Samnis, the warrior Samnites. In fact, the Samnites fought three bloody wars against the Roman Republic, in 343-341 BC, 326-304 BC and 298-290 BC, until they were finally quashed by the expanding Roman state.  It has been suggested that the disappearance of the Samno-Attic helmet and other culturally distinct features from the third century onwards was a marked feature of Rome’s domination of Italy.

Samno-Attic helmets can be found depicted in contemporary regional South Italian art, especially vase painting. For instance, three warriors armed in such helmets are shown on a red-figure hydria from Campania, attributed to the Ixion Painter and now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Inv. 1970.238, dating to the late fourth century BC). A soldier dons this type of helmet on the celebrated ‘Warrior’s Return’ fresco in the National Archaeological Museum, Paestum (Inv. 5626, early fourth century BC). Similar helmets are displayed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples (Inv. 5741), the Louvre (Inv. 1129 C6968), and the Mougins Museum of Classical Art (Inv. 591). All are dated to the fifth to fourth century BC.