IMC 2019: Sessions

Session 1005: Transformation and Re-Use: Mythical and Material

Wednesday 3 July 2019, 09.00-10.30

Moderator/Chair:	Guy Halsall, Department of History, University of York
Paper 1005-a	The Archaeological Area of the Scipio's Tomb in Rome between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages (Language: English) Michela Stefani, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi Roma Tre Index terms: Archaeology - General, Archaeology - Sites, Daily Life, Economics - Urban
Paper 1005-c	'Brut sett Londen Ston': Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Archaeology of New Troy (Language: English) John Clark, Museum of London Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Historiography - Medieval, Local History, Medievalism and Antiquarianism
Abstract	Paper -a: The Scipio's Tomb, located on the Appian way in Rome, includes not only the famous hypogeum of the Scipios, but also other Republican and Imperial tombs and buildings. However, in this presentation I will focus on the exploitation of the site during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In the 5th century, the site was used for burial purposes, as evidenced by some late graves dug in the area, instead the site was exploited for productive aims between the 6th and 9th centuries, like testified by a tank in opus vitattum and two huge kilns. Paper -b: Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain owes debts to a wide range of historical and literary sources, but occasionally took its inspiration from the visible physical remains of the past. In the case of London, founded as New Troy by Brutus the Trojan, several of Geoffrey's more colourful inventions can be explained as his interpretations of archaeological reality. Later authors assigned further London landmarks, such as the Tower of London and London Stone, to events and characters in Geoffrey's History. This paper considers how medieval Londoners identified and interpreted the materiality of New Troy.