A massive stone water basin of unknown purpose has been discovered in the ancient site of Gabii, 11 miles east of Rome. Most of it dates to around 250 B.C., but there is evidence that some parts were built at an earlier date. It is one of the earliest examples of Roman monumental architecture that isn’t a temple or a defensive wall.
Mogetta, the chair of Mizzou’s Department of Classics, Archaeology and Religion, said monumental architecture is about more than realism — it’s also a powerful tool for political expression.
“This discovery gives us a rare look at how the early Romans experimented with city planning,” he said. “Its location — at the center of the city near the main crossroads — suggests it may have been a monumental pool that was part of the city’s forum, or the heart of public life in Roman towns. Since archaeologists still don’t fully know what the early Roman Forum truly looked like, Gabii provides an invaluable window into its development.”
The ancient city of Gabii was one of Rome’s main rivals in its early days when it was ruled by kings. By the 5th century B.C., Gabii was a close ally of the Roman Republic. It was declined in the 1st century B.C. and was largely abandoned by 50 B.C. It was repopulated on a much smaller scale under the Roman Empire, but there was little new construction and all references to it on the historical record cease after the 3rd century.
No modern city was built over it and the land lay fallow for millennia, so excavations have been able to uncover the original street layouts and foundations of structures going back to its earliest days. This makes Gabii a unique source of archaeological evidence of how Latin cities developed in the 1st millennium B.C.
Next summer, Gabii Project archaeologists will continue excavating what has accumulated in the basin over time and the area around it—featuring a large stone-paved area. In the future, they also plan to investigate a mysterious “anomaly” near the basin site. Initially revealed through thermal imaging scans, it could possibly be a temple or another type of large civic building.
“If it’s a temple, it could help us explain some of the artifacts we’ve already found in the abandonment levels of the basin, such as intact vessels, lamps, perfume containers and cups inscribed with unusual markings,” Mogetta said. “Some of these objects may have been deliberately placed there as religious offerings or discarded in connection with the ritual closing of the pool around 50 C.E.—thus underscoring the crucial role played by water management in ancient cities.”
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