Like its predecessors, the fourth volume of published conference proceedings on architectural terracottas attests the scope and importance of temple decoration for scholars interested in pre-Roman and early-Roman Italy and Sicily. The focus of this conference was handmade sculptural decoration consisting mainly, but not exclusively, of akroterial and pedimental sculptures and antefixes. This is a handsomely but economically produced collection of fifty papers and ten posters, with hundreds of high-quality maps, line-drawings, computer-generated reconstructions and black-and-white photographs (averaging ten per paper and five per poster), plus sixteen pages of colour plates. Readers can navigate through the volume using the table of contents, or with a second table of contents (pp. vii–ix) and collected abstracts (pp. 551–66) that list papers alphabetically by author. The majority of the papers are in Italian, with nine in English and two in German. There is an integrated bibliography but no index.
The material is organised geographically and chronologically, almost by necessity. Thematic coherence is one of the strengths of this volume, which is unusual for conference proceedings and is especially challenging for a body of work this large. The comprehensive subtitle ‘Images of Gods, Monsters and Heroes’ does not do justice to this rich compilation. While almost all the papers focus on material from a single site, and on the specific deities and figures represented in the terracotta decoration recovered there, several sub-themes run through the volume. It is disappointing that the editorial introduction summarises these themes and interconnections only in the broadest terms. That synthesis is left to the reader is, in my view, a missed opportunity. All of the contributors (both established and early-career scholars) are to be commended for their detective and reconstructive work; the collective value of their papers lies in evidence that is published here or substantively discussed for the first time, reconstructive drawings that place fragments in context, and computer-generated reconstructions of temple elevations and roof decorations.
The first section invites readers to reconsider the orientation of akroterial figures (Edlund-Berry) and the way in which these were actually attached to the ridge-pole (Winter). L. reports early developments in a project concerned with typology and chronology of roof types in the transitional Late Archaic period (late sixth–early fifth century b.c.e.). Several historical and thematic treatments explore changing expressions of power at this time, notably the development of the theme of triumph in public and funerary architecture of the sixth century b.c.e. (Torelli), the increasing prominence of themes related to combat in the early fifth century (Strazzulla and Willemsen), representations of Nike (or Victory) in the fourth to the first centuries b.c.e. (Känel), and the distribution of horse akroteria in Greece and Magna Graecia (Moustaka). In point of fact, equestrian and battle themes feature in temple decor both in Central Italy and, much later in the volume, in Campania (Osanna, Greco and Aversa) and Sicily (Ciurcina and Ferrara), but the reasons for the appearance of similar themes in diverse regions are left for the reader to consider. To round out this introductory section Rous traces the end of elaborate decorative programmes in the second century b.c.e. and the rise of mass-produced Campana plaques, arguing that the disintegration of the state partially accounts for this outcome.
Several authors raise new issues about familiar temples. The trio of papers on the Portonaccio temple at Veii addresses the surprising number of akroterial bases (Carlucci), the relation of their decoration to the figures that stood on them (Michetti) and the way in which they were attached to the roof (Maras). Previously ambiguous or unidentified subjects have been reinterpreted on the basis of comparative study, texts or new evidence. Menichelli identifies the akroterial combat scene from the temple of Mercury at Falerii as the fight between Achilles and Memnon through comparative analysis with Greek vases and literary references, while Bagnasco Gianni connects the winged horses of Tarquinia with Hercules' apotheosis. Allegorical treatment of Roman expansion into the Mediterranean in the early second century b.c.e. is also explored (Liberatore), and new excavations at the Cannicella necropolis sanctuary at Orvieto allow a confident identification of one of the akroteria as the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes (Stopponi). Ambrosini examines a winged victory in light of its likely provenance of Falerii Novi, while Gasparri resuscitates the identification of the enigmatic akroterial female figures from temple B at Himera as nymphs.
Scholarly detective work is at its best for papers that connect fragments from Italian temples with pieces dispersed in European museums and private collections. This is the particular focus of Rizzo's paper on sanctuaries at Cerveteri, but other authors discuss ‘re-unifications’ arising from expeditions to museum storerooms (Bellelli on Cerveteri, Mura Sommella on San Omobono, Monterosso on Leontini) and the implications for dating arising therefrom (De Tommaso, Paribeni & Sorge on the temple at Luni). Sirano considers fragmentary material from Teanum Sidicinum in relation to temple models also found there. In the same vein several authors have, quite literally, joined recently excavated material with previously known fragments at Capua (Vollaro) and Fratte (Pontrandolfo, Serritella & Monda).
The importance of this collection lies in the sheer volume of fragmentary evidence that is published, or at least more thoroughly examined for the first time. Such papers constitute the majority, and it is only possible to highlight briefly the work of these authors within the scope of this review. Bellelli examines the handmade akroterial figures from the so-called temple of Hera at Cerveteri, Jaia the aspects of the decorative programme of the late sixth–early fifth century b.c.e. temple to Sol Inidges at Lavinium, Belelli Marchesini & Biella the fragments of a terracotta relief showing either Actaeon or Meleager from Scarti di San Antonio near Civitavecchia, and Danner three shield fragments from the area of the Doric temple in the Triangular Forum in Pompeii. Material from recent excavations at Ardea features in two papers, one on fragments of pedimental sculpture featuring a divine assembly on Temple A (Rossi) and akroterial fragments from Temple B (Ceccarelli). The reader is also treated to the akroteria and frieze plaques in the necropolis at Gaudacinto (Moretti Sgubini & Ricciardi), a temple and basin complex at Bevagna (Romana Picuti), and the sanctuary on Monte Pallano in Abruzzo (Kane, Crawford & Agostini). R. and Sampaolo have gathered and catalogued the fragments relating to pediments and frontal decor at Capua and Cuma. The recently excavated trench on the acropolis at Gela containing numerous intentionally buried architectural terracottas is the subject of two papers (Greco and Ferrara) and will no doubt continue to be of central importance. ‘Monsters’ abound, with some types appearing at several sites. Opgenhaffen examines sirens and harpies, which occur frequently enough to warrant a lesson on how to tell them apart. Sphinx akroteria are common in Campania (Osanna, Greco, Lentini & Pakkanen), while gorgons appear throughout Italy and in various forms, as antefixes, akorteria and ridge-pole cover tiles (Dewailly & Santoriello, Aversa, Pelagatti & Lentini, Panvini and Conti).
Finally, and unsurprisingly, scrutiny of fragmentary material has prompted speculation about workshops and production. In the papers that touch upon the subject, the possibility is raised as a secondary consideration in the context of wider discussions about the identification or chronology of scenes and individual figures or details (Coen, Rafanelli and Landolfi, Micheli & Santucci).
The insightful discussion and high-quality illustration of so much material, not to mention the up-to-date bibliography, make this a volume worth owning. It constitutes a new point of departure for diachronic and thematic studies, inter-regional comparisons, and investigations of workshops and production for archaeologists and historians, as well as specialists concerned with architectural terracottas.
