Research Symposium

BIO

Hi I'm Sadie! I'm majoring in Classical Archaeology and minoring in Museum Studies, hoping to work on Roman artifacts either in the field or in museums. Last year I was able to study aboard in London through FSU and have recently traveled to Rome for the first time! I adore learning about ancient history as I feel the connection to people 2,000 years ago and people today is a lot stronger than many believe. I hope to show more people how engaging history can be and help further the field of Classics.

Examining Roman Spolia Found at Cosa

Abstract

This research delves in the various kinds of Spolia found at the Roman archaeological site Cosa, Italy, using data gathered by Dr. Andrea De Giorgi and his team over many years. The largest type of data used for this poster is from the image database. Spolia is a Latin term used by modern archaeologists to define the reuse of art or architectural elements over time by a people. A modern example would be thrifting a chair to recycle the wood into a table. Ancient builders were resourceful and used accessible materials to produce or supplement their projects. The city of Cosa was founded in 273 BCE and over time grew into a multicultural hub. The archaeology team has focused on the bath complex in recent years and has found many different examples of spolia. The foundation of the outer walls of the building contains stones and materials that had previously had a different architectural function. Over the course of this poster, I will show the kinds of spolia used at the site and what they tell us about the Romans who lived there.

Keywords: archaeology, history, classics