Discovery of Roman Sanctuary in the quarter of St. Theodore in Pula, Archaeological Campaign of 2008

U četvrti Sv. Teodora u Puli, 2008. godine obavljala su se zaštitna arheološka istraživanja na površini od približno 130 m², s prosječnom dubinom iskopa jedan metar. Prikupljena su, oprana i signirana 6.042 predmeta. Dokumentirano je 27 glavnih arheoloških slojeva koji obuhvaćaju raspon od tisuću godina. Nalazi su popisani po slojevima i grupirani prema vrsti (grafikon 1, grafikon 2). Najbrojniji su nalazi ulomaka kuhinjskog posuđa grube izrade iz razdoblja željeznog doba te ostatci prehrane - životinjske kosti i školjke. Kao reprezentativni uzorci slojeva, uzeta su tri sloja od kojih svaki predstavlja po jednu etapu u nastanku i razvoju grada: sloj 1-08 nastao u razdoblju 45. - 30. g. pr. Kr. (grafikon 3), sloj Pod 1-08 koji mu neposredno prethodi i odgovara razdoblju izgradnje hrama s ogradnim prostorom (grafikon 5) te sloj 8-08 koji obuhvaća dugo naseobinsko razdoblje od X. st. pr. Kr. do izgradnje hrama sredinom I. st. pr. Kr. (grafikon 4). Epigrafski zapisi na tegulama, ugrađenima u odvodne kanale (CINNIANA IVL PRI, SOLONAS, C·PASI·A·NA) i na amforama iz nasipnih slojeva nastalih pri izgradnji svetišta (ANIB[..], BARC, CASTIR FAB, C·HE[R], LICIN, LICINI (zrcalno), MAN[I], MENA·CRASS, P.EPI, PHIL[I] PVS, SABDA, SABDI, [..]DOB, [..]RT), značajan su element u datiranju građevina. Od osobitog je značaja indicija o ekonomskoj aktivnosti triumvira Licinija Krasa (M. Licinius Crassus) pri gradnji svetišta, do koje dolazimo tragom žiga MENA·CRASS. Dok su temelji hrama prokopani kroz kulturni sloj željeznog doba i čvrsto počivaju na stijeni, ogradni zidovi hramske terase podignuti su bez temelja na površini padine i potom zasuti nasipom. Razlika u temeljenju pokazuje da zidovi terase nisu nosili ništa osim vlastite težine i težine obostranog nasipa, dok su temeljni zidovi hrama predviđeni da ponesu vertikalno opterećenje kamene građevine. Drenažni slojevi vapnenog poda, lomljenog kamena i naopako okrenutih amfora imali su značajnu ulogu u odvođenju oborinskih voda prema Bunaru 2, smanjujući pritisak vode na nosive zidove terase (Zid 38-O4 i Zid 2-O4) i sprječavajući njihovo urušavanje. Hramska terasa je na taj način djelovala kao cisterna s nekoliko slojeva filtera, koja je usmjeravala oborinsku pitku vodu prema bunaru. Pretpostavka o položaju Herkulova svetišta poduprijeta je nalazom bloka vapnenca s reljefom toljage (slike 20, 21). Stratigrafski odnosi pokazuju da je građevinski kompleks iz kojeg potječe reljef toljage zapaljen i djelomično porušen neposredno prije postavljanja depozita amfora u trećoj četvrtini I. st. pr. Kr. (slika 18). Do tog je razaranja moglo doći prije osnutka rimske kolonije Pole 46. - 45. g. pr. Kr. ili najkasnije u njenim prvim godinama, za građanskog rata koji je izbio nakon Cezarova ubojstva 44. g. pr. Kr. Depozit amfora ukazuje se u tom svjetlu kao element obnove razorenog svetišta.Rescue archaeological excavation at the site in the quarter of St. Theodore in Pula was carried out in 2008, over an area of ca. 130 sq. m. Average depth of excavation was 1 m. A total of 6.042 archaeological finds were recovered, washed and labelled. Registered are 27 main archaeological layers documenting a time span of the site of a thousand years. The finds are grouped and listed according to layers and type (Graph 1, Graph 2). The most numerous are coarse kitchenware finds from the Iron Age layer and food remains - animal bones and sea shells. Three layers are considered to be representative, each of which represents one stage in the city’s foundation and growth: 1-08 layer dating from 45 to 30 years BC (Graph 3), Floor 1-08 layer which is immediately aforegoing, corresponding to the period of the erection of the temple and the temenos (Graph 5), and 8-08 layer corresponding to the long period from 10th century BC to the erection of the temple in the middle of the 1st century BC (Graph 4). Significant factors for dating of the buildings are epigraphic inscriptions on tegulae built into drainage channels (CINNIANA IVL PRI, SOLONAS, C·PASI·A·NA) and on amphorae from filling layers originating from the foundation of the sacral complex (ANIB[..], BARC, CASTIR FAB, C·HE[R], LICIN, LICINI (reversely), MAN[I], MENA·CRASS, P.EPI, PHIL[I]PVS, SABDA, SABDI, [..]DOB, [..]RT). Of special importance is the hypothesis on the triumvir M. Licinius Crassus’s economic activity in the building of the temple, corroborated by the MENA·CRASS stamp on an amphora. The foundations of the temple were dug through the Iron Age cultural layer and rested solidly on rock, while the walls of the temenos were constructed with no foundations on the slope of the hill and then filled up. This difference shows that the walls of the enclosing area were constructed only to carry the self-weight and the dike on both sides, while the foundation walls of the temple were constructed to carry the vertical loads and the weight of the stone building. The structure built up of the drainage layers of the lime f loor, rough cut stone and amphorae placed upside down played a significant role in the drainage of rain waters to Well 2, as well as decreasing the water pressure on the walls of the temenos (Wall 38-O4 and Wall 2-O4), preventing their collapse. In this way, the temenos of the temple served as a cistern containing multiple layers of filtration materials, draining rain waters to the well. The hypothesis of the existence of Hercules’ temple was testified by the found of limestone block bearing a club in relief (Fig. 20, 21). The stratigraphic relations on the site show that the building complex in which the relief of the club was found had been burnt and partially demolished immediately before placing the deposit of amphorae in the third quarter of the 1st century BC (Fig. 18). The demolishing of the object might have occurred before the foundation of the Roman colony Pola in 46 or 45 BC, or at the latest, in the first years of the colony’s existence, during the Civil War after Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC. The deposit of amphorae represents, in this case, an element of restoration of the demolished sanctuary