Person: Espinosa Espinosa, David
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First Name
David
Last Name
Espinosa Espinosa
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Geografía e Historia
Department
Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología
Area
Historia Antigua
Identifiers
3 results
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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Item On the Orientation of Two Roman Towns in the Rhine Area(Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, 2016) Espinosa Espinosa, David; González García, A. César; García Quintela, Marco V.The aim of the present paper is to extend the archeoastronomical study sample on the orientation of Roman cities to the analysis of a number of cases in the Rhine area. The starting point is a study of the orientation of Augusta Treverorum (present day Trier; Goethert, 2003). Goethert assumed that the orientation of the decuma- nus maximus was towards sunrise at the autumn equinox, on September 23 rd as the dies natalis of the city. This event would deliberately coincide with the anniversary of the birth of Augustus, and would have de- termined the establishment and orientation of the new urban layout. However, our in situ measurements of the orientation of the urban network at several sites of the Roman town rule out this hypothesis. We find an orientation that is more in line with those documented for other Roman cities and camps elsewhere in the Roman provinces (González-García et al., 2014; Rodríguez-Antón et al., 2016). Moreover, measurements made in the Lenus Mars temple indicate a recurrent phenomenon of cultural hybridization. Here the temple, located outside the city walls on the west bank of the river Moselle, combines a possibly Celtic orientation with Roman symbolic beliefs. In reality, the alleged orientation towards the dies natalis of Augustus is veri- fied for Cologne. There are a number of circumstances that make this choice logical for a city that was initial- ly planned as the capital of the Augustan province of Germania and the seat of an ara of imperial worship.Item Urban Planning and Ritual Action in Colonia Ulpia Traiana (Xanten, Germany): Understanding a Non- Solar Orientation Pattern(Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, 2018) Espinosa Espinosa, David; González García, A. César; García Quintela, Marco V.There is increasing evidence to suggest that cosmological factors were applied in the planning and orientation of Roman towns, at least under Augustus. Among others, this is the case of Colonia Augusta Praetoria Salassorum (Aosta) in Italia, Colonia Urbs Iulia Nova Carthago (Cartagena) in Hispania Citerior Tarraconensis, Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum (formerly Colonia Copia Felix Munatia, Lyon) in Gallia Lugdunensis, Colonia Augusta Treverorum (Trier) in Gallia Belgica, and Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (formerly Ara Ubiorum, Cologne) in Germania Inferior. For the sake of strengthening the sample of cities studied, and identifying orientation patterns from a chronological and astronomical perspective, a number of public structures from Colonia Ulpia Traiana (Xanten) in Germania Inferior were measured. This town was a Roman colony, founded in A.D. 98 by Trajan with a contingent of veteran soldiers and a group of Germanic people. The result was the establishment of a typical Roman settlement with an orthogonal urban grid, whose planning and orientation took cosmological factors into account. In this case, in contrast to the previous examples, we propose that the decumanus maximus was not oriented directly according to the solar arc, but that instead it was possibly linked with other celestial bodies. In addition, the Gallo-Roman temple supposedly dedicated in this town to the Matronae or the Matres was oriented according to the major lunar standstill (“lunistice”). Therefore, this study aims to present the first results regarding the urban orientation of Colonia Ulpia Traiana according to a non-solar pattern, and attemps to provide a preliminary explanation for it from a cultural perspective.Item Pro consensu et concordia civium: Sensoriality, Imperial Cult, and Social Control in Augustan Urban Orientations(SENSORIVM. The Senses in Roman Polytheism, 2021) González García, A. César; García Quintela, Marco V.; Espinosa Espinosa, DavidOne of the most stunning visions that people in the Roman Empire looked at would have been the alignment of the sun with certain public structures of Roman towns in relevant moments of the religious calendar. Some of these moments would have been related to astronomical events such as solstices and equinoxes, which were connected with political and religious principles during the reign of Augustus. In this regard, the application of cosmological criteria in the orientation and planning of Roman towns has been identified in some case studies, such as Augusta Praetoria Salassorum in Italia, Carthago Nova in Hispania, Lugdunum in Gallia Lugdunensis, Augusta Treverorum in Gallia Belgica, and Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (previous Ara Ubiorum) in Germania Inferior. In all of them, the apparent movement of the sun across the sky along the year would have been chosen to mark (during the dawn or sunset) important public festivals linked to the human and agricultural cycles, as well as with several deities from the Roman pantheon. The intention behind this practice would have included commemorating specific public events that were deeply significant for the population, but also favoring prosperity and maintaining the political and religious cohesion of the communities. In order to achieve this purpose, the sensory perception and emotional experience would have played a decisive role. The fact, for example, that every 23rd of September and 21st of December (as is the case of Ara Ubiorum, Carthago Nova and Augusta Praetoria Salassorum) the first rays of sun aligned with the urban layout would have caused an extraordinary impact and theatrical effect in the consciousness of the people. Both dates and the psychological implications aroused, associated with the dies natalis Augusti and Capricorn (sign that chaired in Lugdunum the concilium of Tres Galliae every 1st August), would have been instrumentalized by Augustus for strengthening his position at the head of the Empire, as well as promoting the conservation of the new political order.