Saepinum

History

The original town of Saepinum was located on a mountain far above the Roman town, with remnants of its Cyclopean masonry walls still visible. Captured by the Romans in 293 BC, the Roman town's walls constructed in opus reticulatum were erected by Tiberius before he became emperor, dating to between 2 BC and 4 AD, as indicated by an inscription.

Within the city walls, there are remains of a theatre and other buildings, including temples of Jupiter and Apollo. There still exists, by the gate leading to Bovianum, an important inscription of about 168 AD, relating to the tratture (see Apulia) in Roman days, forbidding the natives to harm the shepherds who passed along them.

Tombs from the 4th century found within the city walls indicate that Saepinum was largely abandoned by that time. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, Saepinum was taken in 882 by Saracens.

Archaeology

The archaeological area of Saepinum of approximately 12 hectares is surrounded by a wall in which four monumental gates open, located at the entrance to the two main road arteries, each flanked by two circular towers. The layout of the walls and the orientation of the gates are dictated by the layout of the pre-existing main road system of the site, which then formed the cardo and the decumanus.

The walls are extraordinarily well preserved. The gates were real monumental arches that celebrated Roman power and urban order, marking the passage into the city.

The walls are made up of a sequence of curtains, always rigidly rectilinear and of variable length, interrupted by circular towers arranged at a distance of 80 – 120 feet from each other.

Currently only part of the wall is exposed. Over the years, steps have been taken to restore and consolidate the structures brought to light, restoring some sections of elevation through the reuse of ancient collapsed material. In the sections not affected by the excavation, the route is marked by scattered cement cores and short sections of masonry. Overall, the city wall appears to be an accurate work of good military engineering. The material used is Matese limestone, cut into small blocks and shaped into the shape of small pyramids, with an undifferentiated, square or rectangular base. The facing of the curtains has a uniform thickness (approximately 1.80 m) and is woven with the reticulate technique, with a homogeneous cement mortar. The masonry is solid, with a height of approximately m. 4.80 and has a patrol path at the top. The quality of the weaving appears uniform and constant, and suggests a single construction phase. …