I was collecting bibliography yesterday and was impressed with the running theme of specimens found outside Italy. The Croatian finds don’t surprise me too much because of the Mazin hoard with its roman currency bar fragments (so called aes signatum, see #NotAllElephants). I’d tentatively relate the fragmentary nature of the find in Switzerland to a similar phenomenon. Martínez Chico is right to emphasize the military camp finds at La Palma from the Prow series and events of 2nd Punic War to explain eastern Iberian find patterns and I’d transfer that logic to all the yellow dots in Sicily. The green dots (series 14 and 18) on the Sicilian eastern coast remind me of the patterns noted by Jaia and Molinari 2011, i.e. the association of these early series with the fortification of the Tyrrhenian seacoast line.
The nice thing with building this sort of representation in Google Earth is I can keep adding to it as I come across more references.
ILL still hasn’t given up any treasures as of yet.
The other thing from this morning of note is that the Portuguese variant of RRC 18/1 has Apollo facing left on both sides. I’m concerned however that I don’t understand Martínez Chico assertion that there are two already known variants, A and B. As far as I can tell this is just about the photographer’s choice, but maybe I’m being dense….
It is demoralizing to see the same things on my to do list as yesterday. It isn’t that I didn’t do any of the things, I touched them all. It’s just they all need to be touched again. As is the nature of the work. Progress is the key.
Today
First steps on Aes Grave project – collect more bibliography
More Italy visit logistics
More AAH logistics
Book flights
More BM communications
Schaefer follow up
follow up with Lafayette
Not Today (but maybe tomorrow, or the day after)
Teaching requests for Fall 2023
Circle back to department about any Jan planning meetings
Set time table for any collaborative RRDP work/publication prep that needs to happen this semester: Chicago pub, INC pub, collaboration with RACOM, etc…
Circle back to Capito project
Consider ask for funding from Dean’s office
Begin Med school rec letter
record mini myth
find out what is on that v old harddrive and back up to cloud
Martínez Chico, David. “Reciente hallazgo de « aes grave » – as – en el Algarve (Portugal).” Revista Portuguesa de Arqueologia 20 (2017): 107-111. [pdf online]
A new « aes grave » coin is documented, dated approximately between 275 and 270 BC. C. Although it is part of a private collection, it is known that it was found in southern Portugal, specifically in Figueirinha (S. Marcos da Ataboeira, Castro Verde). An attempt is made to relate this finding to other coins also recovered in the Iberian Peninsula. It is concluded that this Roman coin must have been brought to the region after the outbreak of the Second Punic War.
Martínez Chico, David. “La moneda « aes grave » hallada en la península ibérica y su relación con la segunda guerra púnica.” Rivista Italiana di Numismatica e Scienze Affini 117 (2016): 21-33. [pdf online]
The sporadic diffusion of Roman coins of the “aes grave” type in the Iberian Peninsula is attested only after the outbreak of the Second Punic War and to a much lesser extent than the coin production in silver.
A cut “semis”, unearthed in Rheinau in 2011, is the first “aes grave” discovered on Swiss territory. This is a fragment of a coin minted after the monetary reform of 217 BC. J.-C., which reduced the weight of these pieces from 324 to 368 grams.[sic!] This currency did not arrive at the place of its discovery through monetary circulation, but through an exchange.
Hollstein, Wilhelm. “Ovids « Fasti » und das « aes grave » mit der Prora.” In « Noctes Sinenses »: Festschrift für Fritz-Heiner Mutschler zum 65. Geburtstag, Edited by Heil, Andreas, Korn, Matthias and Sauer, Jochen. Kalliope; 11, 59-67. Heidelberg: Winter, 2011.
Ovid leaves in Fast. 1, 229ff. interpret the Prora on the reverse of RRC 35/1 through the Janus on the obverse to indicate the arrival of Saturn in Latium. However, the coin dates to 241 BC, as do RRC 28/3, 35/2 and 35/3. BC, more precisely to the capture of Falerii and the victory in the naval battle of the Aegean Islands. As H. W. Ritter (=> 82-10324) has already seen, Janus on the front of 35/1 and Jupiter directing the quadriga on the back of 28/3 refer to the first victory, as well as Minerva on the front of 35/3 . The Prora on the reverse of the coins refer to the latter victory. On the obverse of 35/2 Saturn is not depicted as assumed by H. Mattingly (=> APh 3, p. 184, under H. Mattingly, 4th title), but because of the two victories Jupiter as the triumphant par excellence. The beardless Janus on the obverse of 28/3 represents the closure of the arch of Janus after defeating the Carthaginians.
Jaia, Alessandro M. and Molinari, Maria Cristina. “Two deposits of aes grave from the sanctuary of Sol Indiges (Torvaianica/Rome): the dating and function of the Roman libral series.” Numismatic Chronicle 171 (2011): 87-97. [on file – obviously it is like my favorite article of all time!]
Molinari, Maria Cristina. “Gli esemplari di « aes signatum » e « aes grave » dalla collezione del Medagliere Capitolino.” Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica Comunale di Roma 111 (2010): 15-53. [academia.edu] [jstor – photos slightly higher quality] Extremely important, esp. Appendices.
See also:
Molinari, Maria Cristina. “Un Ripostiglio Di ‘Aes Grave’ Proveniente Dai «Colli Vaticani» (Roma).” Bullettino Della Commissione Archeologica Comunale Di Roma 105 (2004): 115–22. jstor. [NOTE: The end in particular is very important for its discussion of find context and how it may related to a cult center. Bellona-Ma, Magna Mater]
Bruni, Stefano. “Sulla circolazione dell’« aes grave » di Volterra: nuovi contributi.” Rivista Italiana di Numismatica e Scienze Affini 100 (1999): 47-56. [ILL requested]
Reporting of the discoveries of Volterra coins, completing the contribution of F. Catalli (=> 47-08252), with particular regard to the northern borders of the city territory
Bar, Marc. “À propos du poids des plaques d’aes signatum, de leur nature et de leur fonction.” Rivista Italiana di Numismatica e Scienze Affini 95 (1993): 277-286. [ILL requested]
Burnett, Andrew. “The beginnings of Roman coinage.” Annali dell’Istituto Italiano di Numismatica XXXVI (1989): 33-64. [on file, obviously]
Ercolani Cocchi, Emanuela. Catalogo della collezione numismatica di Carlo Piancastelli. Aes grave. Moneta Romana repubblicana. Forlì: 1972. [next ANS visit]
From Donum:
no author set. “Aes Signatum and Aes Grave of the Morgan Collection” Coin Collector’s Journal, N.S Vol. 18, no. 6 (Nov.-Dec., 1951), pp. 125-129.
In the News of the excavations (1902, p. 217-218) I announced the discovery in the territory of Visrini (Catania) of a one libral standard uncia of Latium (astragalus [knuckle-bone]; Garrucci, pl. XL, fig. 40) and in that of Ragusa of two Latin quadranti (Head of Hercules – Prow of ship). These three pieces would have been the first specimens of aes grave found, or at least reported, in Sicily, and introductory, it should be noted, not by modern coin dealers, but in antiquity. Following the discoveries of 1902, I have noted others in the following years; and I have always used the greatest scruple in eliminating those pieces that have fallen on the antiques market, for which there may be
legitimate suspicion they were of modern import;whereas I have taken great account of those seen in the hands of country people. A as on the reduced libral standard comes from Castrogiovanni (Janus — Prow, see Garrucci, Table XXIX, 8), of which it was not possible for me to take the weight.From the territory of Nolo a semis of gr.40.5 (Head of Jupiter — Prow of ship).From a hoard of several aes grave, found according to some in Naxos, according to others, in Piazza Armerina, there were two uncia from Latium (astragalus – Globulus [knucklebone-dot]: Garrucci Pl XXXV11, 6; barley grain with globulus [dot] –Idem, Garrucci Table XXXIV, 6). Another quadrans similar to those announced in 1902 comes from the Ragusa area;finally, from the countryside of Catania a triens from Latium (Dolphin 3 dots— double thunderbolt 3 dots see Garrucci Plates XXXVII, 3). All of these pieces predate, and some by quite a lot, 268 BCE;they serve to highlight the history, still so uncertain, of the commercial relations between Rome, Latium and Sicily in the centuriesIV and III BCE. While the consular money of the III – I a.C. are very frequent in Sicily, aes grave had not been reported by anyone up to now, or at least it had gone unnoticed.
In the collection of the Archaeological Museum in Split, there is a copy of an aes grave of the Apolon/Apolon type (RRC 18/1). It belongs to the issue of the mint in Rome from 275 to 270 BC. It was found around 1901 in Jesenice. Any details about the context of the find are not known. Jesenice is a village at about 200 to 250 m above sea level, on the slope of Perun – the southern slope of the Mosor mountain. Along with other Hellenistic finds from the wider area of Jesenice, along the coast between Split and Omiš, this find could testify to the connection of the Illyrians with the Greeks from Isa and Faros, through the nearby Epeti, that is, with the first Roman merchants who most likely came to contact with the Illyrians. In addition to the aes grave from Jesenice, in the collection of the Archaeological Museum in Split, there are three more semis, fractions worth half of the aes grave. There are two bull/wheel types (RRC 24/4), issue from 265-242. ex. BC, and one of the Saturn/ship bow type (RRC 35/2), issue from 225-217. ex. Kr. Such an early Roman coin in the Illyrian area did not serve as money, but was most likely considered a valuable bronze object with a distinctive appearance, so it was stored as such, and was not used to make other bronze objects.
The Cesano 1940 (lake?) Nemi coin catalogue has not yet arrived from ILL, but it’s less than 24 hours so I must be more patient, maybe I’ll get to blog about that in a day or two.
My poking around brought to my attention that the UPenn Museum also was a major purchaser of artifacts from the late 19th century excavations at the sanctuary of Diana
Their online catalogue suggests just shy of 50 objects. The main agent in the acquisition of Nemi material for UPenn seems to have been Mrs. Lucy Wharton (Joseph) Drexel in 1897. That she acquired? (paid for?) along with the ‘fine art’ this weight leads me to believe its is just possible she (or the university agent) might have also brought back coins, even ugly ones.
Catalogue entry (a shame the exact dimensions including mass aren’t recorded)
UPenn also has a pretty decent coin collection, more than 20k specimens when all periods are included, of which the vast majority are Roman. While I cannot say I looked at all their coins, it seemed pretty clear from entries that provenance before 1929 was typically not recorded. My suspicion is that if they got Nemi sanctuary coins they didn’t record them as such. Archival paperwork on the Nemi acquisitions in the museum might answer those questions, but even better would be to fine the Savile photos that Crawford mentions (see earlier post.)
A collection of photos donated by Lord Savile to the British Museum illustrates a number of pieces not otherwise attested, which have been included in the list below, and there may well have been more.
He also says:
A number of pieces were published by E. J. Haeberlin in his Aes Grave as forming part of his own collection and a number of others as having been part of the stock of the dealer X. Pasinati in 1895.
Given the excellent quality of Haeberlin’s images; it should be possible to establish where at least some of these coins from the Pasinati’s stock ended up. I’m making a right pest of myself at the BM as C&M doesn’t seem to have the photos and I am now banging round the other departments asking questions and favors.
Transitioning between projects is so hard. It’s weird. I was so eager to be done with Dionysius and to give my full attention to the coins, but yet finding the most productive steps is harder than anticipated. The habit of worrying about whether my work is good enough and whether I can actually do it is also hard to break. What if I collect all this data and it is all meaningless? I’m a wee bit under the weather (yes, the covid test is negative, and yes I’ll test again before going to NYC this weekend), and that has my mood down I suspect. We’re finally in double digits on the enumeration and yes without a doubt real progress has been made. The running discipline is good to help reassure myself of that.
Today
First steps on Aes Grave project – collect relevant bibliography
More Italy visit logistics
More AAH logistics
Book flights
More BM communications
Schaefer follow up
follow up with Lafayette
Not Today (but maybe tomorrow, or the day after)
Teaching requests for Fall 2023
Circle back to department about any Jan planning meetings
Set time table for any collaborative RRDP work/publication prep that needs to happen this semester: Chicago pub, INC pub, collaboration with RACOM, etc…
Circle back to Capito project
Consider ask for funding from Dean’s office
Begin Med school rec letter
record mini myth
find out what is on that v old harddrive and back up to cloud
Dan’s photos are always SO good! If you go to his photo stream he has a few more of this same object from different angles. The detail I wanted to record other than just the existence of this object and its location is the center image, which to my eye in this photo looks like three seated women and I’d be tempted to read as a representation of the cult image.
Here’s another detail from another of Dan’s photos at a slightly higher resolution:
I’m interested in how different (less archaic) this representation is than that on RRC 486/1. I wish I could make out the attributes better on the terracotta model.
Update 23 March 2026:
revisiting this post, I feel I’m seeing new things. Is a child being lifted by the left hand woman onto the lap of the central woman? Is the right hand woman hold a bowl on her lap? Is there something on the bowl? The right hand woman seems to direct her gaze towards the child…
The lower corner details seem to show a naked man wrestling with a beast, similar to the hercules and the lion motif.
ILL delivered that article I mentioned yesterday on lamps in Lake Nemi, nothing really on coins. But, the authors notice a long period of ritual deposits in the lake itself and they consider this separate from the sanctuary of Diana which has a longer period of use (well into third century CE), whereas lamp deposits seem to concentrated and then taper off in the second century CE. They speculate that the deposits might have been a means of communicating with the underworld. Nevertheless I find it tantalizing that they mention coin finds along with the lamps suggesting the coins were also part of such ritual deposits in the lake. I wondered if the coins were also in Museo delle Navi Romane di Nemi as the lamps were there. I took a ‘tour’ of the museum using snapshots posted on Tripadvisor.
Just one shot of the coin displayStratigraphic time line. Notice those coins in the republican era!Hand crank device for bailing bilge waterComponent (reconstruction?) from Caligula’s ships on Lake Nemi, showing the same type of ‘ball bearings’ used in Nero’s revolving dining room
Cesano, S. L. “Scavi di Nemi-le monete.” In G. Ucelli, ed. Le navi di Nemi. Roma, 1940. p. 307-327.
I’ve ILL-ed it.
Yesterday, I sent off Dionysius for editorial feedback. That felt good. I hate how admin/logistics never feels like “real” work. I’m trying how best to prepare for my Rome trip and finally have some firm dates for collecting some more data. I don’t know what it makes most sense to work on until then…Do I start crunching data I already have? Or will that lead me down a primrose path or just make double the work? Perhaps more background reading…
Today
First steps on Aes Grave project
More Italy visit logistics!
More Rutgers coordination !
More Princeton coordination !
EES coordination!
BM communications
Follow up old student/tree sunset
Not Today (but maybe tomorrow, or the day after)
Teaching requests for Fall 2023
Circle back to department about any Jan planning meetings
Book flights
Set time table for any collaborative RRDP work/publication prep that needs to happen this semester: Chicago pub, INC pub, collaboration with RACOM, etc…
Circle back to Capito project
Consider ask for funding from Dean’s office
Begin Med school rec letter
record mini myth
find out what is on that v old harddrive and back up to cloud
Balbi de Caro 1993; all specimens in this volume including this one of RRC 41/1 are from the Medagliere Museo Nazionale Romano di Roma
The piercing here is fascinating as the piece weights far too much to be worn as a comfortable ornamental piece of jewelry (almost 2.5 pounds!). I wonder if it was intended for a dedication, say being nailed to the wall of a sanctuary or something similar.
These two little videos show how closely both the obverse and reverse of the Rome specimen and the BM specimen match. I’ve never seen two aes grave this close. Traditional wisdom is that molds were not re used, but perhaps this is evidence otherwise? Or could one or both be an imitation?!
The nose, chin, and overall profile have been aligned but notice the X behind the head cannot be alignedHere I’ve got the X to align and the helmet curve sort of aligns but the profile is now significantly off.
There is one more specimen in trade but it is SO stylistically different from the BM/Roma one’s I don’t know what to think. The reverse bears passing resemblance to the Gnecchi reverse.
—
Other amusements
Aestimata poena ab antiquis ab aere dicta est, qui eam aestimaverunt aere, ovem decussis, bovem centussis, hoc est decem vel centum assibus.
Festus (epitome Pauli), sv. aestimata
Penalties in ancient times are said to be measured in bronze; they valued these in bronze, a sheep a decussis, a cow centussis, that is 10 or 100 asses.
a rough translation of my own
A completely fanciful and wrong approach to Italic weights and measures, but perhaps of amusement (link).
This name logic was not only of interest to numismatists in the 19th century, but also to philologists concerns with naming practices (cf. Mowat 1871: 35). Support is derived from the patterns of numerous other nomen and cognomen; the coins are largely used as another epigraphic source.
Continuing with French scholarship I finally came to Babelon. Perhaps wholly unsurprising he is far more thorough and descriptive than any of the others and Grueber seems to owe much to him. There isn’t much new here but it is perhaps the clearest overview.
Why do I keep flogging this dead horse of a coin looking up wrong interpretations of bygone generations? A few reasons. It gets me reading widely and remembering to check various and sundry perspectives and in the past I’ve found my own thinking that seemed new to me, was in fact a resurrection of older ideas (wrongly?) dismissed. But I am getting a little bored of the gens Accoleia as it is taking me too far away from Nemi.
I’ve requested a copy of this article from ILL so hopefully I’ll have something more interesting for a future post.
Diosono, Francesca and Cinaglia, Tiziano. “Light on the water: ritual deposit of lamps in Lake Nemi.” Journal of Roman Archaeology 29, no. 1 (2016): 451-468. Doi: 10.1017/S104775940007224X
Abstract:
Following attempts beginning in Renaissance times, in 1927 the decision was taken to lower the level of Lake Nemi to the floor where the hulls of two ships belonging to Caligula lay, using pumps. These operations, conducted between 1928-1932, concluded in 1936 with the opening of the Museo Nazionale delle Navi Romane, where the ships were displayed. The ships were destroyed in 1944. But in addition to the materials belonging to the ships themselves, a number of other materials were gathered from the lake bed, including coins and bronze and terracotta objects. Lamps constitute the majority of these materials. The presence of nearly 250 lamps on the lake bed must be assumed to be due to a deliberate action that was repeated over time. The chronological span of almost all the lamps, from the middle of the 1st to the end of 2nd cent. A.D., is too long to argue for an isolated event. The different types and workshops represented also suggest that we are dealing with an act performed on numerous occasions, for each of which the materials were acquired on the retail market. That characteristic suggests that the lamps featured in an individual ritual practice, ending with their deposition on the waters of the lake.
—-
Yesterday, I tried a more research first, communications second approach to structuring my day. Unfortunately, that meant communications didn’t get moved forward. I regularly overestimate how much I can actually get done. Also, I had to attend a doc appt with a kiddo and that ate up the last 2.5 hours of my day, so maybe I should go a little easier on myself.Started today with a wee walk–any walk is a good walk.
Today
Keep up on the Dionysius (sent off to editors!!)
More Italy visit logistics!
More Rutgers coordination !
More Princeton coordination !
EES coordination!
Local colleague communications
push Nemi photo hunt forward
JCope filing
Not Today (but maybe tomorrow, or the day after)
Teaching requests for Fall 2023
Circle back to department about any Jan planning meetings
Book flights
Set time table for any collaborative RRDP work/publication prep that needs to happen this semester: Chicago pub, INC pub, collaboration with RACOM, etc…
Circle back to Capito project
Consider ask for funding from Dean’s office
Begin Med school rec letter
record mini myth
find out what is on that v old harddrive and back up to cloud
Days 5-6 were the weekend. And, now that I have a family, I have a better appreciation of the need to stop oneself from working every possible moment.
Grueber 1910 (see last post) cited Borasi 1898 and it is indeed it not only has a very nice sketch/transcription of the stone, but also a discussion of the earlier speculations on the coin including background to the historical dating of it and a little on what was known then on the cult of Bellona in the region. Perhaps fuel for deeper digging
Borasi and others keep mentioning a hybrid type with Augustus and RRC 486/1 and the legend “imp. Caes. Augus, tr. pot. iix.” as reported by Borghesi. I wondered if any of these hybrids have turned up more recently. I’ve not tracked one down yet, but I did come across TWO fun Spanish hybrid types using the obverse of RRC 407/2 and the reverse of RIC 1 404 (or 405). Kind of wild they use different dies but from the same types.
Not my most satisfying warm up writing, but good enough… on to the lists.
Today
Spend EVEN MORE time with Dionysius
More Italy visit logistics
More Rutgers coordination as needed
More Princeton coordination as needed
Dr. Liz letter
Not Today (but maybe tomorrow, or the day after)
Teaching requests for Fall 2023
Circle back to department about any Jan planning meetings
Book flights
Set time table for any collaborative RRDP work/publication prep that needs to happen this semester: Chicago pub, INC pub, collaboration with RACOM, etc…
Circle back to Capito project
Consider ask for funding from Dean’s office
Begin Med school rec letter
record mini myth
find out what is on that v old harddrive and back up to cloud
Grueber 1910 (repr. 1970): 569-570 has deliciously erudite footnotes! And yet, like so often he doesn’t explain the theories he’s dismissing. I know they are wrong and so does he, but what a lot of work to make others dig through. It makes me slightly more fond of Crawford’s dismissive asides as he condemns his predecessors. at least I know where he stands and where to look.
I use the 1970 reprint of Grueber as Crawford had a hand in its re issue and correction of errors of the 1910 edition, but if you don’t have it on your shelves or happen to be in need of it away from home, there is a digitized version of the original BMCRR.
Next time I am in Rome I must make a pilgrimage to this inscription in the baths of Diocletian in the section on oriental cults! Strange to think I must have walked by it half a dozen times in the past but not noticed its numismatic connection.
What does it mean? At first reading, It seems to be that this guy Eros wanted to make a dedication to Bellona and needed Accoleius and his colleague’s permission to do so. Our moneyer’s name is in the last line. Also notice the TALL Is which Grueber discusses as a means of indicating the long vowel sound. The stone itself is from Lanuvium.
Also of note for our current assumptions that this coin represents the cult image at Nemi, is that at two members of the same gens as the moneyer are attested at finds from the sanctuary at Nemi. One clearly played some role in local politics in the early first century CE. AND wait for it… our own dear Lord Savile scooped up this v stone (along with the vast majority of the coin finds from the excavations) and brought it to Nottingham! (I’ll be sure to pay my respects when I visit.)
The other attestation is from a list of names of uncertain function (see line five).
The Lanuvium makes sense once we look at the maps. Lanuvium is only about an hour and 20 minute walk away, and is the next nearest ancient community to the sanctuary after Ariccia.
There is only one instance of gens in epigraphy from Rome itself and that seems to have been a funerary inscription that was reused in the construction of the walls of the tomb of Caecilia Metella
Right. More to learned and share here obviously, but I’m done warming up, and am ready to tackle the to do list!
Today
Submit Signed Tow by 5 pm Jan 6
Spend MORE time with Dionysius
Contact more curators about feasibility of collections visits concurrent with this trip (progress)
BM/Rowan Follow Up
Rutgers Follow Up
Enter Dates of things in Family Calendar to avoid nasty surprises
Circle back to department about any Jan planning meetings
Book flights
Set time table for any collaborative RRDP work/publication prep that needs to happen this semester: Chicago pub, INC pub, collaboration with RACOM, etc…
Circle back to Capito project
Consider ask for funding from Dean’s office
Begin Med school rec letter
record mini myth
find out what is on that v old harddrive and back up to cloud
From Schaefer’s Archives (presumed forger’s die, now in Zurich money museum (see previous blog post)Röm. Republik: P. Accoleius Lariscolus Berlin 18202033 = 1882 Sandes = RRC Nr. 486,1 (datiert 43 v. Chr.); B. Woytek, Arma et Nummi. Forschungen zur römischen Finanzgeschichte und Münzprägung der Jahre 49 bis 42 v. Chr. (2003) 445-448. 558 (41 v. Chr.).
I love that I can use the Berlin catalogue as a digital index for Woytek. The pages here discuss the college of moneyers and why 41 BCE is a better date for them. It does not engage with typology, but rather mint structure.
Smyth 1856: 2 describes two specimens of RRC 486/1. He discounts an unattributed description of as the Caryatidae, and favors seeing it as the metamorphosis of the three Clymenidae, sisters of Phaeton, with the obverse being their mother, Clymene. He quotes in Latin a line from Havercamp. The view is over a hundred years old by the time Smyth paraphrases. AGNETHLER 1746: 72-73 (next set of images) makes explicit what Smyth only implies. The attraction of this interpretation is based on the moneyer’s cognomen LARISCOLUS being derived from larix: the larch tree. The idea was that the three figures are turning into these trees. Smyth rejects an idea he attributes to Cavedoni that the obverse represents Acca Laurentia and that the money is thereby associating he gens, ACCOLEIUS, with the mother of the Lares and more over implying a connection between his cognomen and these protective deities.
Public domain image of a European Larch
Given the conviction of all these forebearers, I found myself surprised no one had pointed me to an ancient account of this myth. I had hope when I turned to Rasche 1785 when he gave a Pliny reference…
But NO! that passage is about the triple nature of the larch, a rather clever means of creating a connection, I admit.
“the fir and the larch divide the process into three parts and produce their buds in three batches; consequently they also shed scales of bark three times…”
So what’s up? Well, outside of the numismatic bubble these sisters are typically called Heliades (a small point, but helpful for tracking down info!) and all of the accounts (as far as I can tell) have them turning into poplar trees if any type of tree is specified. Also their number isn’t fixed, as many as seven appear in some accounts (three is also a known number).
So how and when did our former colleagues reject this interpretation and land on the Diana as worshiped at Nemi…? A story for another day. This was enough of a pleasant warm up exercise and now onto the to-do list.
Today
Finalize Tow Proposal (DUE Friday, Jan 6, 5 pm)
Spend sometime with Dionysius
Send Letter of Recommendation (RE grad teaching)
Triage former student emails from over break
Contact more curators about feasibility of collections visits concurrent with this trip (progress!)
Contact Princeton and Rutgers about possibility of visits
Write BM about whether scans of Nemi photos can be had
Write Clare in case she’s seen these photos and is interested in those token images mentioned by Crawford
Not Today (but maybe tomorrow, or the day after)
Submit Signed Tow by 5 pm Jan 6
Spend MORE time with Dionysius
Teaching requests for Fall 2023
Circle back to department about any Jan planning meetings
Book flights
Set time table for any collaborative RRDP work/publication prep that needs to happen this semester: Chicago pub, INC pub, collaboration with RACOM, etc…
Circle back to Capito project
Consider ask for funding from Dean’s office
Begin Med school rec letter
record mini myth
find out what is on that v old harddrive and back up to cloud
follow up with Lafayette
Contact more curators about feasibility of collections visits concurrent with this trip
Liv Mariah Yarrow 