The Basilica at Roselle

The basilica of Roselle comes close to the description given by Vitruvius of his own basilica at Fanum. It was excavated in the 1960s and despite the very poor condition of the remains, it is still possible to draw some conclusions concerning the dimensions and proportions of the building.

The building goes back to the Augustan period. Its chronology comes close to Vitruvius' own basilica.

The lower diameter of the columns of the nave seems to be 2 1/2 feet. The two present column bases on the west foundation of the nave suggest an interaxial distance of the columns of 11 1/4 feet, wich is a multiple (4,5) of the column diameter. This interaxial distance is also proved by the niches in the south wall, the pilasters of which have the same interaxial distance. These pilasters correspond with the place of the columns of the nave. These niches were maybe the front of an elevated tribunal at the south end of the basilica. This tribunal was maybe accesible by a staircase from the west, while two doorways at the east and west end of the tribunal gave access to the interior of the basilica. The width of this tribunal brings the total length of the basilica on 112 1/2 f or 11 1/4 the interaxial distance of the columns (11 1/4 f) or 45 lower column diameters.
The relation of this tribunal to the interior of the basilica can best be illustrated by the interior of the basilica of Pompei, where we find a comparable disposition.

The dimensions of the north wall bring us to another feature of the early basilica. In the center of this wall we can see a niche 12 feet wide. If we may assume that the corresponding columns of the nave were placed at the same distance (as is the case in the south wall) it means that the two central columns of the north portico stood 12 f apart or 3/4 f more than the proposed interaxial distance for the other columns. We see the same at other basilicas where this was the place for a statue of the emperor or some local nobleman.

The width of the aisles (north, west and south) equals the interaxial distance (11 1/4 f) or - corresponding to the Vitruvian rule - 1/3 of the width of the nave. The internal length of the basilca was thus 9 x 11 1/4 f = 101 1/4 f or 40,5 lower column diameters.
Only the east aisle, with 12 1/2 f, is somewhat broader. Along the east wall a series of brick pedestals was found, which were clearly the remains of a portrait gallery.

The aedes Augusti is situated in the middle of the east wall. It lies 2 m higher than the nave and aisles of the basilica and was accessible by a staircase. Its internal width was 20 feet by a length of 30 feet.

Finally something must be said about the superstructure of this building. The internal collonade certainly had a second storey: the foundation of the collonade goes to a depth of 3,75 m below ground level and fragments of columns with a smaller diameter have been found on the spot.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

C. Laviosa, Rusellae, Relazione preliminare della quinta e della sesta campagne di scavi, in Studi Etruschi 33 (1965), pp. 107-108.
C. Laviosa, Rusellae, Relazione preliminare della settima e della ottava campagne di scavi, in Studi Etruschi 37 (1969), pp. 577-609.
C. Laviosa, Rusellae, Relazione preliminare della nona e della decima campagne di scavi, in Studi Etruschi 39 (1971), pp. 534-538.
C.V. Walthew, A Metrological Study of the Early Roman Basilicas, Lewiston-queenston-Lampeter, 2002.

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