Museo Archeologico
The
museum is well arranged, although the extensive explanatory panels are
in Italian. These fill in the gaps that are inevitable in a small town
like Amelia that has suffered the dispersal of its most important
archaeological remains. At least the reassembled statue of Germanicus
(see below), which was for many years in the Museo Archeologico
Nazionale of Perugia and has now been returned to form the highlight
of the collection.
The ground floor houses pre-Roman exhibits while the 1st and 2nd floors represent the Roman municipium of Ameria.
Ground Floor
Grotta Bella
A photographic exhibition
depicts this cave on Monte Aiola, Avigliano Umbro, north of Amelia,
which was inhabited from the 12th century BC. It was discovered in
1902 and excavated by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici
dell'Umbria in 1970-2. It was inhabited in neolithic times and then
used as a cult site from the 7th - 1st century BC. The evidence for
the cult use is in the form of votive objects found during the
excavations [some of which are exhibited in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Perugia.]
Finds from Pantanelli (6th - 2nd centuries BC)
These finds came from the site of a necropolis and an associated sanctuary that were excavated at the end of the 19th century at
Pantanelli (southeast of Amelia). The type of tombs from the earliest period and existence of imported ceramic fragments among the grave goods suggest that the existence of a ruling élite in the region at that time, and point to its extensive
interaction with the nearby Etruscan city of Volsinii (Orvieto) and with the
relatively sophisticated Umbrian community at Todi.
 Votive offering (4th century BC) |
Finds from the Site of the Consorzio Agrario (7th - 2nd centuries BC)
The Consorzio Agraria (agricultural co-operative) of Amelia stood on Via Rimembranze, near the place at which the fragments of a statue of Germanicus (see below) and other Roman remains had been found in 1963. When the Consorzio was demolished in 2001, the remains of a necropolis were discovered. Most of the tombs had been violated, but the remaining grave goods, many of which are of high quality, showed it to have been in use over a long period.
These grave goods include painted Faliscan pottery, jewellery (much of it gold) and a number of bronze objects, including mirrors. Two objects, both of which date to the 4th or 3rd century BC, are particularly eye-catching:
a small, cylindrical "cista" (a container for sacred objects) with a lid decorated with a figure of a cow; and
- an askos (vase or other container for liquid) in the form of a kneeling doe.
Temple at Santa Maria di Canale (3rd - 2nd centuries BC)
The museum has photographs of the remains of a temple built of tufa blocks that are now incorporated into a farmhouse at
Santa Maria in Canale, near the ruined 15th century Rocca di Canale
outside Montecastrilli (north of Amelia). It also displays a replica of a fragment from a double-sided Umbrian inscription (late 4th century BC) that was found nearby, which seems to record a dedication to a deity, perhaps
Jove. This suggests that the site was used for cult purposes before its monumentalisation. (The original fragment in in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples).
First Floor
Neo-attic altar (1st century BC)
Exhibit 90
This lovely cylindrical marble altar is of uncertain provenance, although it was in the Abbazia di San Secondo (see walk) in the 16th century. It bears a relief of four dancing figures, including a flautist and a satyr, possibly Pan.
Boundary Marker (1st century BC)
Exhibit ??
Statue of Germanicus (ca. 30 AD)
 Image courtesy of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell' Umbria |
Fragments
of a remarkable bronze statue of Germanicus, the adopted son of the
Emperor Augustus, were found in 1963 in Via Rimembranze, outside Porta Romana (see walk)
on what was
probably an army parade ground. After their skillful reassembly on a
steel frame, Germanicus now stands some two metres high in an impressive exhibit at the end of the room.
Germanicus was a fine soldier who was killed in what is now Germany in 9 AD. He is seen in full armour exhorting the troops. His breastplate is decorated with a relief in which Achilles murders Troilus, the youngest son of King Priam, outside the walls of Troy. The statue probably dates to the reign of Germaincus' younger brother, the Emperor Tiberius (14-37 AD), who is sometimes accused of his murder.
Capital (1st century AD)
Exhibit 91
This capital [in the room to the right of Germanicus] was found in
Amelia in 1963 along with the fragments of Germanicus. The four sides
of the capital are identical: each has an armed soldier in deep relief
at its centre.
Inscribed Thesaurum (1st century AD)
Exhibit ???
This marble trough was found outside Amelia. The Latin inscription on the front reveals it to have been a thesaurum (a container used in a temple to receive
offerings) that was donated by a member of the prominent Roscia family. It would originally have had a lid, but this is missing, and it seems to have been adapted to serve as a fountain.
Exhibits 69 and 70
These architraves were found at different times (respectively 1914 and 1839) near the church of Sant' Elisabetta (Santa Lucia - see the walk). They are inscribed respectively:
Sex[tus] Avie[...]; and
Sex[tus] Sex[tus] Aveini[...].
They probably recorded donations by members of the gens Aviena that relate to a public building, perhaps a theatre.