Itineraries

Our site of the Vicus ad Martis Tudertium shows up not only in some inscriptions (see this earlier post), but also in a few ancient and medieval itineraries, which are basically a kind of simple map for trips. Instead of representing the world in a more or less accurate two-dimensional image, itineraries are lists of places along a given route with the distance between each place given in Roman miles. (Of course you can combine these with what look to us more or less like maps, and then you get something like the Peutinger Tablet.)
Thanks to the internet tubes, several of these itineraries are available on-line:

• The Itinerarium Gaditanum ("Cadiz Itinerary") - in which "Martis" or "ad Martis" can be found near the end of the list, 16 (or 17 in one case) miles from Mevania (modern Bevagna) and 17 (or 13 or 18) miles from Narnia (yes, Narnia).
  
• The Tabula Peutingeriana ("Peutinger Tablet") - which is a distorted 2-D map with a number of itineraries put on it in a kind of semblance of geographical reality. (You can search for other versions too.) To find "ad Martis", scroll all the way to the right in the image I've linked to. You'll see Roma there, as a seated figure in a biggish circle. Can't miss it. Above Roma's head is a largish, red letter "A" and a bit above that an "M." Go left from the "M," to "U" then "N" then "E" then "C" (keep going and you'll get "Picenum" backwards). Under the "C" is one bit of writing. Ignore it. Under that, you'll see "vii ad Martis xvi." Careful observers will note that the next stop on this itinerary is neither Mevania nor Narnia.
  
• It's also in the Antonine Itinerary, but I can't find an on-line version of that.
  
• The stupid Bordeaux Pilgrim skipped us on his way from Rome to Milan, and took the eastern branch of the Flaminia.
  

Global Economy

So it turns out you can buy the same water here that we regularly drank in Italy. 'Course, the label's in English here.

Pottery Stamps

Over the course of the summer, we found three pieces of terra sigillata marked with stamps.

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First, an intact "CV" (closest to OCK 2275.5, AD 25-50, but with less space between the letters and the border of the enclosing rectangle):

Second, a partial stamp, showing the last two letters of "L.N.P." (OCK 1226.14, 15 BC - AD 5). The inital "L" seems to have been lost in the ridges (i.e., the stamping was poorly done):

Finally, the longest of the three, a "Surisc[us] | L. Non[i]" where the "u" and the "r" of "Surisc" run together in a "VR" ligature (OCK 1282.2, 10 BC+):

Upcoming Conference

A weekend of culture in Italy, the Giornate Europee del Patrimonio, will feature a small conference at S. Maria in Pantano on Saturday, 28 September at 5.30 p.m. More info here. Stop by if you're in the area.

Post-Dig Press

A second press release went out after the dig was finished. Find it here, here, and here.
A completely separate article may be found here.

Still here

Well, as expected, posting frequency took a nose dive as the dig got underway. I'm back at home now, so expect some updates as the summer goes on.

Todi Sotteranea

Lots going on at the site, but more on that later. Today we went underground in Todi, visiting some ancient channels underneath the city. And by "visiting" I mean going hunched over through 2,300-year-old passage-ways cut into the rock on which Todi sits. A few moments of discomfort for me at the start, I don't mind saying, but by the end, it was terrific.