Weekend of the Empty and Ancient and the Full and Bustling

July 12th 2009 (Sunday)

Much to say…it has been a busy busy weekend.

Yesterday we took an “optional fieldtrip” out to the Villa dei Quintili and the Appian Road towards the edge of Rome. I think about half the people from our program ended up going, and I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive that we would be repeating one of the hellishly fast and hot tours of the first week. I was pleased to find I was wrong!

The trip was headed up by the trench leaders Chris and Jeff, and one of the interns Matt (who had dug on a site off the Appian road so knew the area pretty well). They gave us interesting bits of information and plenty of time and space to wander around the Villa.

Little history here: the Quintili brothers were very wealthy, popular, and favored under Marcus Aurelius. They built this HUUUUGE villa on the Appian Way, a major road leading to Rome on which many grand villas were located. They had a massive bath complex as well as an extensive residential area. The villa has been an amazing thing for archaeologists, parts are breathtakingly well preserved, there has been some serious restoration done on other parts, and most of it has yet to be uncovered. Amazing. The main heated pool of the baths is almost fully intact, the arched windows go up well over two stories, and while the arched ceiling is gone, you can see it must have been immense.

We exited out the modern back of the complex, but it was probably the front in ancient times. We had to pass through the Nymphaeum (spelling is probably wrong, sorry), which was an open feature that most grand villas had. All it was was to display waterfalls, massive cascades of water, splashing fountains, spouts and streams, all open to display for anyone passing or entering the villa. It was a way to display culture, art, and keep an area cool.

Side note: the Quintili brothers were known for hosting some badass parties. Enter through a waterfall courtyard, up a long series of rooms and banquet chambers, one dining hall for winter, one for summer, and into the baths. The last pool, described above, was basically like the biggest hot-tub ever. Picture a tubbing part with enough room for nearly 100 tipsy people. “Wine, women, and ancient drugs” kind of party, as described by Matt.

We exited on to the Roman Road, Via Appia. We walked down in for about 45 minutes, following it towards Rome, and a little Café where Matt knew the owners. On the way you pass all sorts of tombs to important ancient Romans, walk on some of the original stones of the road that have grooves from carts and chariots still embedded in them, and some of the fanciest villas anywhere in the world. Only the VERY rich live along here, but walking past the perfectly manicured entryways, lined in flowers or statues, peeking through the majorly intense security gates…hardcore. With my first billion I’ll buy a house there.

We also passed an adorable group of small children selling fresh vegetables outside a field. They were none of them above about eight years old, had adorable British accents, and were running our equivalent of a lemonade stand. So. Friggin. Cute. They patiently explained that two of them lived there, and the rest were there “on holiday,” that they had been selling for two days and would be back tomorrow, that they had to go home Tuesday, and that carrots were three cents each. Then they allowed us to take pictures. I bought some carrots that still had dirt on them, was assured they were picked yesterday, and, may I say, were very good carrots.

Wandering down the road continues. We stopped for lunch at Matt’s café, which was quite good, and the owner was very friendly.

Then! I got to go to my catacombs! The Catacombs of San Sebastian were maybe another 10 minute walk, so most of us figured “why not?” We got to go in, but you have to go with a guide, who leads you through the lighted pathways under the ground. We went only a bit over 12 meters under, the lowest was 24 meters down. We didn’t see any remains and very few funerary remnants, but some sarcophagi were still down there, and just walking through the small tunnels was intense. Probably another post in and of itself…the rooms are tiny, the burial shelves smaller, everything is damp and dripping. But the maze that it is didn’t quite scare me…maybe because I knew there was light and a guide…but there was an ambiance. Not quite sad, not haunted, just that there was much life in here, so much emotion, all packed into these small halls and low doorways.

Another walk and a crowded bus ride and we were back at our apartment. Some confusion and continuing social dramas later, we didn’t go out as had been a possible plan. But the day was long, relaxing, and lots and lots of fun!

Today (Sunday, the day after the above) my roommate Cindy and I had decided to use as a shopping day. Sundays there is a huge flea market that I had instructions how to find, and there is a massive sale on in all of Rome this weekend that I wanted to take advantage of. I have done no shopping…and thought maybe I could do some indulging…

Well…after waiting for other roommates, finally getting out the door, finding our tram, realizing that the other two roommates that had come along had thought we were doing something totally else, finding the tents as the tram drove past them (something we later found, we shouldn’t have worried about), getting off the tram, and walking back to the tents, I was entering “grumpy Lucy land”. But the flea market totally turned me around.

Picture tents and booths as far as you can see, people loudly busking their wares and the deal of the moment, people haggling, digging through mounds of clothes piled on fold-out tables, booths of jewelry, used clothes, outlet clothes, socks, hats, bags, tee-shirts, CD-s, DVDs, converters, computer drives, kitchen wares (from butcher knives, to pans, aprons, towels, whisks, cutting boards, whatever), food, shoes, kids clothes, a pet shop, bras and underwear, toys, antiques, postcards, paintings, and people, people, people, and you might start to get the picture. It was crowded, bustling, and fantastic!

I didn’t feel like a tourist, just like a girl shopping for deals. Haggling is permitted, nobody cares if you paw through a pile of clothes for 30 minutes, there is nothing like a place to try on clothes, so you either pull it on over what you are wearing or take pot-luck. The people in charge of the booths still mostly had a smattering of English, but didn’t feel that anyone was trying to give me “tourist prices.” If a booth proprietor didn’t speak English, everyone was so cheerful and friendly and willing to make it work that it didn’t matter at all. I had SUCH a good time. I love second hand shopping, and my mom would have been proud at my digging through tables like a pro. She taught me well. (Added bonus of some clothes, light shirts to combat the heat! Yay. Plus two that will be interesting, a striped one with no back, and an orange one that doesn’t fit right, but I may be able to alter so that it does.)

By the time Cindy and I found our way out again…we just kept walking trying to find the end….honestly it just kept going…we decided just to walk for home and skip the normal shopping. My internal bargain hunter is conflicted: Rapture over getting a deal of 3 shirts for 10 euro, and tragedy over missing the sales in the stores I oogle on the way to the grocery store every day. But tired feet won out.

We walked home along the Tiber, crossed a busy street in search of a landmark, found a miniature park between two branches of a major road, came across a Hindi wedding in a church, had to detour around the square with the Trevi fountain (it was cordoned off…apparently some guy had been climbing on it with what may or may not have been blood all over his chest. The brit we got the scoop from seemed skeptical), got cheap pizza from the kebab shop on our street (where we were briefly annoyed by a tourist lady who was pursuing the stereotype of “I didn’t get what I ordered (even though I ordered wrong) but it can be fixed by simple saying the same words over and over in a louder voice”), and came home.

Marvelous!

For those who care: the dig this week was full of dirt, rocks, and some minor scholastic disappointment. I did get to work finds, cleaning and measuring marble with our finds expert Sara (pronounce Sal-ah, very soft letters) who is FREAKING ADORABLE and taught me oodles about marble and the things we find on site. I also used my knowledge of the periodic table of elements to help her translate a word from Italian to English, points to someone who gets the word. More on all that as the week goes on I’m sure.

Expect also a rant on air-conditioning + evil apartment managers, dig organization, and why people can’t all get along.
Oh! And: Guess who might be going to Sweden!?!?