How can an entire city/civilization become “lost,” such that it needed to be “rediscovered?” What does that tell you about the values of the society active during the period in which the civilization became “lost?” What does it tell you about the society that rediscovered it? How were they able to make sense of what they discovered?
hIDDEN BENEATH ONE'S FEET
A very simple example of this rediscovery is the Roman Forum. The Forum had contained several temples, meeting halls and the Roman Senate building, most of which was "lost" over a long period of time because that particular area became unused due to plague and the accumulation of layers of mud and silt, so that much of the Forum was underground. One building was a perfect example, as it had two doors meant for ground entry at different levels on the same face of the building, very large and damaged columns, and a broken staircase leading up to the lower of the two doors. At first, several Roman Christians had attempted to salvage the columns by pulling them down with chains, but the lower half of the building had been covered in silt. This is why the columns are damaged, because the people had pulled so hard on the chains around the columns. This is also why the second door was built, at what was the street/ground level at that time, and the building was re-purposed as a Christian house of worship. Later, people began excavating the area and "rediscovered" the Forum. Would all of this have been very obvious seen through pictures? No, because there was no context with the rest of the Forum, the other buildings that had been damaged or buried and their purposes. Walking through the Roman Forum allows the viewer to see the history of the buildings in their facades relative to one another, and thus the changes in civilization and society over time.
-Sam
-Sam
Lost and Found
The long lost and rediscovered Roman Forum
The best example of rediscovering our past on this trip, as Sam stated above, was the Roman Forum. This especially hit home in regards to rediscovering the past for me (Sunny) because in my hometown of Las Vegas, NV, within the Caesar's Palace casino are the "Forum Shops." Ironically, although I knew about this shopping area for so long, I had never known why it was named as such. And through the trip I was able to visit the actual Forum on which it was based.
The Forum was actually lost as layers of silt and mud stratified and caused the Forum to become buried. Because it was abandoned, it was actually used as a marble quarry to help build other structures such as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. One can only imagine how astounding the area was before it was plundered and left in ruins.
We thought it was quite interesting that the civilization before us took advantage in exploiting the site, while their successors did everything in their power to preserve the area. Imagine the Italian government taking down some of the old Roman structures to build new structures--there would be an outcry! It shows a great shift in ways of thinking from society to society. It shows there has been a transition towards a greater emphasis on history and previous cultures over time. Because it is one thing to simply rediscover the past, and it is another to preserve it for future generations to "rediscover."
This kind of epiphany can be realized without traveling to Rome. However, it would not have been realized so profoundly nor would not have caused for deep exploration of thought unless we made the trip. The astounding fact that something as monumental as the Forum could be lost and then pillaged can be known by reading, but not truly understood without seeing it with one's own two eyes.
-Kunal and Sunny
The Forum was actually lost as layers of silt and mud stratified and caused the Forum to become buried. Because it was abandoned, it was actually used as a marble quarry to help build other structures such as St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. One can only imagine how astounding the area was before it was plundered and left in ruins.
We thought it was quite interesting that the civilization before us took advantage in exploiting the site, while their successors did everything in their power to preserve the area. Imagine the Italian government taking down some of the old Roman structures to build new structures--there would be an outcry! It shows a great shift in ways of thinking from society to society. It shows there has been a transition towards a greater emphasis on history and previous cultures over time. Because it is one thing to simply rediscover the past, and it is another to preserve it for future generations to "rediscover."
This kind of epiphany can be realized without traveling to Rome. However, it would not have been realized so profoundly nor would not have caused for deep exploration of thought unless we made the trip. The astounding fact that something as monumental as the Forum could be lost and then pillaged can be known by reading, but not truly understood without seeing it with one's own two eyes.
-Kunal and Sunny
Rediscovery and Repurposing
Our last day in Rome was spent seeing some of the most amazing areas of ancient Rome. One of the most interesting parts was how many of the temples and buildings had been repurposed over time which probably lead to why it was so necessary to rediscover the original intentions of the building. Several of the places we saw had been modified and used for the Christian faith. With everything I have learned about the ancient Roman Colosseum I had never know that at one point a cross had been placed inside. Our tour guide had told us, that while Christians were persecuted during this time, they were never persecuted in the Colosseum. Another building in the Ancient Forum had been repurposed into a church, we could even see the door was not at ground level any more. We learned that they had tried to take the marble pillars down to use to build a new church, but they were unsuccessful. The first people to stumble upon the Forum had used it as a marble quarry and that is probably the reason it took time to rediscover Rome and all of the ideas that civilization had. All the repurposing that had been done probably made it more difficult to understand what the original purpose of the building was and lead to the need to rediscover.
-Becca
-Becca
REdiscovering destruction
As Becca mentioned above, on our last day in Italy we were able to experience what were, in my opinion, some of the most breathtaking places of Rome - the Colosseum and Roman Forum. What surprised me most about these two places was the apparent disregard for the buildings' history as a part of the ancient world up until modern discovery. From what I understood from our tour guide, the people using the Forum as a marble quarry didn't even pause to wonder why all these intricately carved slabs of marble were all buried in the ground. Obviously, they didn't get that way by themselves. Even though much of the Roman Forum was buried, I was still surprised that it was human destruction that had caused most of the damage. This was similar in the Colosseum, where our tour guide told us that all the holes in the stone were actually from people drilling to mine the lead deposits. It made me sad to discover that these amazing archaeological sites could have been even more preserved, if only the people before us had paused to rediscover these sites rather than simply abusing and repurposing them.
-Juliette
-Juliette
New isn't always better
As certain societies lose influence in the world, they quickly become irrelevant and forgotten. This was the case for the Romans after their downfall. As other civilizations and regions became more important to the then modern world, the Roman ruins were abandoned. For centuries, they were lost, buried underground. In order for this society to be rediscovered, it took curiosity and a drive for knowledge and understanding of old worlds. For the Medici family and Florence, they needed to discover new techniques or "renew" old ones to build their structures, in particular the Duomo. Brunelleschi needed to learn the Roman techniques used to construct a dome large enough to complete Santa Maria del Fiore. Pictured at the left is the Pantheon, which is the longest standing domed structure in the world. It is believed that Brunelleschi studied this to help him decide how to build the Duomo. He was able to make sense of it based off of his previous architectural knowledge and incorporating their methods of using arches in structures to create stability. Using old techniques helped him to complete this amazing feat, as opposed to creating all new methods.
-Anthony
-Anthony
Rediscovery
Rediscovering past buildings, paintings, and evidence of an ancient world is much more than just finding lost pieces of work. Rather, it illustrates a type of culture that Italians and even Europeans as a whole hold dear. New isn't always better, and Italy is a great example of a culture that acts to maintain the preservation of culturally historic buildings, art, and other belongings that defined the Florentine Renaissance era. In America, as a society, we typically tear down buildings that are old or too difficult to restore; however, the Florentines are constantly restoring and renovating buildings and pieces of art. These acts of restorations demonstrate exactly the values the culture respects and adores.
-Kaitlyn
-Kaitlyn