Archaeologia Adriatica, Vol. 2 No. 1, 2008.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
Salus, Hercules and Sources of Water. The Example of Pula
Alka Starac
; Arheološki muzej Istre
Sažetak
Archaeological excavations were carried out in the period 2005-2007 in the northeastern corner of the urban nucleus of Pula, in the quarter of St. Theodore by the gate of St. John of the Nymphea. The naturally occurring site of potable water at the base of the city hill was used as a source for drinking water and as the starting point for the city water system. The concentration of archaeological data about various cults related to water, cleanliness, and health in the region of only a hundred square meters indicates the sacral importance of the broader water supply zone in antiquity. The inscription Iit X/1 5, from the third quarter of the 1st century BC, testifies to the existence of a shrine to Hercules in this area. In the 2005-2007 archaeological excavations, the foundations were discovered of a sacral
complex, a temple with a courtyard and enclosing arcade that belong to the same period and could be considered to be related to the cited inscription. Hercules was a deity with healing powers, related to springs and thermal baths. Another god of health, Salus, is mentioned on a mosaic in the cult niche of an urban dwelling excavated in 2005 in the quarter of St. Theodore. The trapezoidal floor of the niche was covered with a mosaic of white and black cubes. An altar and shells are depicted, with the legend: SALVS / [P?…….C]R (fig. 3). Traces of rust can be seen, created by water dripping from iron bars or nails. The stratigraphic relations at the site show that the mosaic was made during the construction of the house, in the third quarter of the 1st century BC. It remained undamaged up to the 5th century, when it was covered over, together with other openings in the same wall. The house leant against and was built parallel to a thermal baths structure of public character. A fragment of a marble slab with the inscription: [---]cel[ius? ---] / [sestertium quadringenta milia] / [---P?], found in the water supply channel within the thermae, demolished and filled in the 5th century, can be related to the construction of the water system in the baths. The temple with its courtyard, thermal baths, and house with a shrine in honour of Salus, represents a unique urban complex of the second half of the
1st century BC, mutually connected by a carefully planned water supply and drainage system, and cults of cleanliness and health.
Ključne riječi
Hercules; cult; Salus; thermal baths; water
Hrčak ID:
37046
URI
Datum izdavanja:
23.5.2009.
Posjeta: 2.534 *