Septimius Severus: Joyous Times at the Circus Maximus

[Curtisimo]

Roman Empire
Septimius Severus
AR denarius, Rome mint, struck AD 206
(2.9 gm, 19.5 mm)
Obv.:  SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right
Rev.:  LAETITIA TEMPORVM, the spina of the Circus Maximus decorated as a ship facing left, with the turning posts at its prow and stern, a sail mounted on the central obelisk, and the spina's other monuments visible in between; above the ship, four quadrigas racing left; below, seven animals: an ostrich at left and a bear at right; between them a lion and a lioness chasing a wild ass and a panther attacking a bison
Ref.:  RIC 274; BMC 343.
Ex Paul Tinchant Collection (1893-1981)(auctioned under the pseudonym “Robert J. Graham”), Jacques Schulman Auction 243, lot 1972 (June 8-10, 1966); Ex Roma Aeterna Collection, Gut-Lynt Auction 13 Part II, lot 1638 (October 1, 2023)

Over the last few years I have been working on a project to collect a representative series of interesting denarii from the time of Julius Caesar to the death of Severus Alexander. For this sub-collection I am looking for coins that are interesting for reasons that go beyond the grade. You can read more about my progress on write ups below.

Curtisimo’s Imperial Denarii

In this article I will be discussing a coin of Septimius Severus that shows the spina of the Circus Maximus. Because I can’t help myself, I’m going to start with outlining my research on the history of the Circus and then discuss what it is we are looking at on the coin itself.

The Pre-Historic Circus

Fig. 1: The site of Rome before the Romans. The Palatine Hill is in the center. The site of the future Circus Maximus is in the valley on the bottom left which is bisected by the small stream.

Before the city of Rome was established, the landscape was far more dramatic than it is today. The hills were much taller relative to the valleys and the slopes were much steeper. This is what made the hills of Rome a promising site for the early Romans (in addition to the proximity of a fording location on the Tiber).

The site of the Circus Maximus lies between the Palatine and Aventine hills (see bottom left of Fig. 1). There was a stream that ran through the valley and drained into the Tiber [6-8]. The valley was much lower in elevation at this time and was prone to frequent flooding.

There were several cults to gods and goddesses in the valley that were so old that the Romans of the late republic had completely forgotten their origins and nature. One of these deities was the goddess Murcia who gave her name to the valley. Another was Consus. It was in his honor that the earliest games of the circus were dedicated: the Consualia. Consus was probably the god of grain storage [8]. 

Livy states that Romulus instituted Consualia as a diversion in order to abduct the Sabine women [9]. Because of the stream and the marshy ground conditions in the Murcia valley, it seems unlikely that any pre-6th century BC games held chariot races or any other type of race that required laps. Despite what Livy tells us about the royal origins of the Circus under Romulus, the early games at the site were probably nothing more elaborate than farmers celebrating the stored harvest by racing one another on horses or in their mule carts. This most likely explains the mule cart race that persisted into the Imperial period.

The Archaic to late Republican Circus

Fig. 2: Model of Rome in the 6th century BC from the same vantage point as Fig. 1. The Circus Maximus is on the bottom left. Note the channelization of the stream down the center of the circuit.

Analysis done at the site of the Circus Maximus suggests that the ground surface went from 2 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) in 600 BC to 7.5 m.a.s.l. by the early 400s BC (a rise of 18 feet!)[7]. Some of this would have been from natural silting from the Tiber but much of it would have been intentional human fill [6][7]. We know that the level of the forum was raised prior to the construction of the Cloaca Maxima in the 6th century BC and it seems that not long after a similar drainage project was undertaken at the site of the Circus Maximus. A major part of the project would have been to create an open-air canal, the so-called Cloaca Circi, to channel the waters of the existing stream. The outlet of this canal can still be seen along the Tiber about 100 feet downstream of the Cloaca Maxima.

This is when a recognizable Circus would have started to take shape. It is probable that the new canal ran roughly through the center of the valley and formed the first central barrier (called both euripus and spina in later sources) of the Circus. This would have required bridging the canal at both ends to allow chariots room to turn. Fig. 2 does a good job of showing what this might have looked like.

Spectators originally stood or sat along the slopes of the adjacent hills. Livy credits the first seating arrangements to the Roman regal period of the late-500s BC and says;

“Then for the first time a space was marked for what is now the ‘Circus Maximus.’ Spots were allotted to the patricians and knights where they could each build for themselves stands-called ‘fori’ —from which to view the Games. These stands were raised on wooden props, branching out at the top, twelve feet high” [1]

Dionysus of Halicarnassus adds the interesting detail that the areas for these fori were divided among the thirty curiae [2]. The curiae made up the oldest division of the Roman assembly and were probably loosely organized around prominent clans or group leaders from the smaller villages that grew together to form Rome.

So what we have is a cleared track with an open canal forming the center barrier and designated areas where Roman clan leaders were allowed to build private viewing platforms on wooden stilts. We can get an idea what this early seating around the circus would have looked like by examining Etruscan tomb paintings from ca. 500-490 BC at Tarquinia.

Fig. 3: Top left: Detail drawing showing an Etruscan depiction of spectator seating at an athletic event ca. 490 BC [8]. Top Right: Tomb of the Bigas at Tarquinia. Along the top of the wall, athletic events are shown (including chariot races) with seating platforms similar to Livy’s description of fori shown at both ends.
Fig. 4: Bottom: my reconstruction of what the fori might have looked like. These wooden structures would have marked the humble beginnings of what would come to be the largest stadium ever built, ancient or modern. 

Throughout the entire Republican period the Circus was probably made up of a series of temporary and semi-permanent structures that frequently changed and never fully formed a complete circuit around the track. Wooden starting gates were added in 329 BC [8] and various minor monuments are mentioned throughout the period.

The Imperial Circus Maximus

Fig. 5: Model of Rome in the early 300s AD from the same vantage point as Fig. 1 & 2.

In the Republican period, the Circus was still prone to occasional flooding, such as in 363 BC when games in progress had to be stopped, and in 204 BC when games were almost relocated to an alternate location [8].

Julius Caesar can be credited with giving the Circus its definitive shape and dimensions. To counter flooding, the ground on which Caesar’s Circus was constructed was raised to 9 m.a.s.l. and artificially leveled [7]. That is an impressive 5 feet in elevation difference from the early Republican Circus. Caesar constructed massive 10’ x 10’ ditches in front of the stands to help manage flood waters and to protect the crowd from wild animals. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, Augustus and Agrippa finished the project and added the central obelisk of the spina.

The bottom section of the Imperial Circus was built with stone while the upper two sections were constructed of wood. The great fire of Nero in AD 64 started in a shop attached to the Circus and burned much of the building and the rest of the city as well. Another fire during the reign of Domitian convinced Trajan to reconstruct the entire building in a grand fashion out of masonry faced with marble. Therefore it is under Trajan that the Circus Maximus reached its final grandeur as seen in Fig. 5 and reflected on the coins of Septimius Severus.

Interpreting the Coin Design
This coin shows a spectacle put on by Septimius Severus as part of the Secular Games in AD 204. This event was mentioned by Cassius Dio per below;

“The entire receptacle in the amphitheatre had been constructed so as to resemble a boat in shape, and was capable of receiving or discharging four hundred beasts at once; 5 and then, as it suddenly fell apart, there came rushing forth bears, lionesses, panthers, lions, ostriches, wild asses, bisons (this is a kind of cattle foreign in species and appearance), so that seven hundred beasts in all, both wild and domesticated, at one and the same time were seen running about and were slaughtered. For to correspond with the duration of the festival, which lasted seven days, the number of the animals was also seven times one hundred.” [4]

This account is somewhat contradictory and confusing but there is little doubt that the event described is what we see on the coin. The depiction of the animals and an analysis of Dio’s text has been well covered in other places such as @Limes thread here.

What I would like to do for the rest of this write-up, is to build on the history of the Circus presented above and explore the physical features we see on the coin.

The Boat

Fig. 6: Left: LAETITIA TEMPORVM Aureus (photo courtesy of Roma Numismatics). Right: the Torlonia relief showing Roman merchant ship (ca. AD 160-215)[10].

On examination of the coins it seems clear that they depict a Roman cargo vessel (see Fig. 6). Dio states that “the entire receptacle” of the Circus was constructed in the form of a ship. The coins give this impression as well by showing the various monuments of the spina within the ship. However, because the spina was over 1000 feet long and the largest cargo ships were only about 150 feet long it seems that Septimius Severus built an elongated approximation of a cargo ship, though even then it probably didn’t take up the whole spina. 

One fascinating detail shown on both the coins and the relief is the inclusion of the swan at the stern of the ship. This feature is more clear on the aureus of Fig. 6 but I believe it is also shown as the far right detail within the boat on my denarius. This was a common feature on Roman cargo vessels and was thought to provide good luck to the ship.

The Obelisk

Fig. 7: Left: Drawing by Antonio Tempesta done before AD 1630 showing the obelisk after it was moved to Piazza del Populo. Right: view of Obelisk (Author’s photo).

The Flaminian Obelisk was brought to Rome from Egypt by Augustus and set up in the Circus Maximus in 10 BC. It was originally erected by Seti I ca. 1300 BC at Heliopolis with the carving complete by his son Ramses II the Great.

On the coins, it appears to have been converted to serve as the mast of the ship.

At an unknown date the obelisk was toppled and damaged, perhaps during the Gothic Wars of the mid-500s AD. It remained buried until it was rediscovered in 1587 and moved to the Piazza del Populo under the direction of Sixtus V. Fig. 7 shows the obelisk in the early 1600s after it was placed in the piazza and at right is my own photo of the obelisk as it appears now.

The Metae

Fig. 8: Left: Terracotta relief showing the metae of the Circus Maximus in the 1st century AD. (British Museum). Right: A meta from a local circus that was re-used as part of the crypt of the Church of San Ponziano in Spoleto.

The metae were the turning posts of the Circus (singular: meta). They were first mentioned in 174 BC but probably date back to the very beginning of the Circus as a racing arena. There were two groups of three metae clustered together and placed on a semi-circular podium at either end of the spina. These turning posts would serve as inspiration for later Roman monuments, such as the Meta Sudans.

The odd conical shape is noteworthy. The main theories I am aware of to explain the design are that the metae are modeled after Roman survey equipment, or are related to the finials placed on top of Etruscan funerary monuments [8].

Neither of these theories seem very convincing to me from what I have read. A theory that I haven’t found put forward in detail, but that is hinted at in the model shown in Fig. 2, is that the original metae were small clusters of trees that were left undisturbed when the track was cleared. In fact, Ovid, in the Metamorphosis, makes a direct connection between the shape of the metae and cypress trees [5].

If this is true then, once the trees began to die naturally, the Romans replaced them with conical columns as a more permanent stand in. Over time the embellishment of these conical columns could have been influenced from a number of sources, including Etruscan models.

On the coins, the meta can be seen near the bow of the ship and to the left of the “swan” at the stern.

Other Monuments

Fig. 9: Relief of the Circus Maximus (late 200s AD)

There were many monuments located on the spina of the Circus. My denarius shows monuments to the left and right of the central obelisk that are not clear enough to distinguish. However, by looking at the fabulous aureus shown in Fig. 6 we can get an idea of what the engraver might have intended these to be. 

One likely candidate for the monument to the right of the obelisk would be the bronze fountain of 7 dolphins that served as a lap counter. Augustus installed these in 33 BC to commemorate his naval victory over Sextus Pompey. During the imperial period, the spina was divided into several large water basins (perhaps recalling the earlier canal).

The monument to the left of the obelisk probably shows the 7 eggs that were suspended between two columns and also served as lap counters. This was the older method of counting laps and is first mentioned in 174 BC [8]. The eggs were in honor of the equine gods Castor and Pollux who were said to have been born from eggs. After each lap an attendant would remove one of the eggs.

A Somber Epilogue for the Circus Maximus 
Over 1,000 years after the first iterations of the Circus took form, the city of Rome went into a sharp decline following the disastrous Gothic Wars of the mid 500s AD. With no one to maintain the complex series of drains the Romans built to make construction in the valley possible, the ancient stream reasserted itself. The Circus was buried under alluvial sediment and what was left above the surface deteriorated rapidly. The modern ground level is now an astonishing 43 feet above the pre-Roman valley floor [7].

In the below sketch from Etienne Duperac ca. 1575 we see that the track of the crumbling Circus was used as farmland. The new course of the ancient stream winds its way through the medieval fortifications on the right on its way to the Tiber at left. Note that when this drawing was done the Flaminian Obelisk was stilled buried here.

Even today, the water table in the Valley of Murcia is quite high making excavation difficult. This means that the remains of the Circus Maximus we see today don’t do justice to the grandeur of, what remains to this day, the largest stadium ever built.

The Paul Tinchant and Roma Aeterna Collections
I was delighted to discover the wonderful provenance for this coin. It was from the collection (or stock?) of the well known dealer Paul Tinchant who retired in the 1960s. His collection was sold by Jacques Schulman under the pseudonym “Robert J Graham.” I have read that this was an inside joke due the the practice, at the time, of assigning this name to bids received by phone or proxy. It was purchased at that time by the collector whose collection was recently sold under the name Roma Aeterna Collection.

References 
[1] https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0026%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D35

[2] http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/dionysius_of_halicarnassus/3d*.html

[3] https://www.cointalk.com/threads/laetitia-temporvm-but-what-animals-are-they.362183/

[4] https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cassius_dio/77*.html

[5] https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph10.php#anchor_Toc64105567

[6] Hopkins, John; THE CLOACA MAXIMA AND THE MONUMENTAL MANIPULATION OF WATER IN ARCHAIC ROME; University of Texas, 2007

[7] Marra et al. Holocene aggradation history of the Murcia alluvial valley: Insights into early Rome’s paleoenvironmental evolution; Quaternary International 628, 44–53; 2022

[8] Humphrey, John; Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing, 1986

[9] https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0151%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D9

[10] https://www.ostia-antica.org/portus/forum-vinarium-torlonia.htm

[11] https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D36%3Achapter%3D24

Are you still here? If so please post your;

• Coins of Septimius Severus
• Coins showing the Circus Maximus
• Coins showing Roman buildings
• Coins of the Secular Games
• Coins showing chariots 
• Coins showing animals that were used in the arena
• Anything you think is relevant
   

Edited November 6, 2023 by Curtisimo

[Roman Collector]

Informative write-up about an iconic reverse type!

[David Atherton]

Utterly fantastic. One of the few coins outside my collecting niche I'm very envious of!

[Qcumbor]

Still there, yes, and wanting more stories like that.
Uncle Curtis, please, more !!! 🙂 !!!

Here's a Septimius Severus denarius you might recognize, since it's ex @Curtisimo's collection, showing a volatile, possibly beheaded during the games, who knows ! 😄 

Thanks Curtis for another great post

Q

[Limes]

Very interesting write up @Curtisimo, thanks! And thanks for mentioning me 🙂

I really like that you show the history behind the circus from the archaic times untill its final phase when it was in utter neglect. Although little remains today, the mere size of the area is still impressive, when I visited it back in 2015. Our hotel was near the piazza, where the obelisk still stands. I cant find the photos right now unfortunately. 

Here's my crude issue of the circus, but with Caracalla as caesar on the obverse. These coins were struckby Septimius for both Geta and Caracalla.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Limes

[maridvnvm]

I have only owned one of these and I could only afford it because the reverse die was so worn.

[Prieure de Sion]

5 hours ago, Curtisimo said:

In this article I will be discussing a coin of Septimius Severus that shows the spina of the Circus Maximus.

Fantastic informative and well written article! Thanks for that @Curtisimo ! 

[CPK]

Great coin and write up! Thank you!

[Heliodromus]

Great write up of the history of the Circus. Thanks!

[Al Kowsky]

7 hours ago, Curtisimo said:

Roman Empire
Septimius Severus
AR denarius, Rome mint, struck AD 206
(2.9 gm, 19.5 mm)
Obv.:  SEVERVS PIVS AVG, laureate head right
Rev.:  LAETITIA TEMPORVM, the spina of the Circus Maximus decorated as a ship facing left, with the turning posts at its prow and stern, a sail mounted on the central obelisk, and the spina's other monuments visible in between; above the ship, four quadrigas racing left; below, seven animals: an ostrich at left and a bear at right; between them a lion and a lioness chasing a wild ass and a panther attacking a bison
Ref.:  RIC 274; BMC 343.
Ex Paul Tinchant Collection (1893-1981)(auctioned under the pseudonym “Robert J. Graham”), Jacques Schulman Auction 243, lot 1972 (June 8-10, 1966); Ex Roma Aeterna Collection, Gut-Lynt Auction 13 Part II, lot 1638 (October 1, 2023)

Over the last few years I have been working on a project to collect a representative series of interesting denarii from the time of Julius Caesar to the death of Severus Alexander. For this sub-collection I am looking for coins that are interesting for reasons that go beyond the grade. You can read more about my progress on write ups below.

Curtisimo’s Imperial Denarii

In this article I will be discussing a coin of Septimius Severus that shows the spina of the Circus Maximus. Because I can’t help myself, I’m going to start with outlining my research on the history of the Circus and then discuss what it is we are looking at on the coin itself.

The Pre-Historic Circus

Fig. 1: The site of Rome before the Romans. The Palatine Hill is in the center. The site of the future Circus Maximus is in the valley on the bottom left which is bisected by the small stream.

Before the city of Rome was established, the landscape was far more dramatic than it is today. The hills were much taller relative to the valleys and the slopes were much steeper. This is what made the hills of Rome a promising site for the early Romans (in addition to the proximity of a fording location on the Tiber).

The site of the Circus Maximus lies between the Palatine and Aventine hills (see bottom left of Fig. 1). There was a stream that ran through the valley and drained into the Tiber [6-8]. The valley was much lower in elevation at this time and was prone to frequent flooding.

There were several cults to gods and goddesses in the valley that were so old that the Romans of the late republic had completely forgotten their origins and nature. One of these deities was the goddess Murcia who gave her name to the valley. Another was Consus. It was in his honor that the earliest games of the circus were dedicated: the Consualia. Consus was probably the god of grain storage [8]. 

Livy states that Romulus instituted Consualia as a diversion in order to abduct the Sabine women [9]. Because of the stream and the marshy ground conditions in the Murcia valley, it seems unlikely that any pre-6th century BC games held chariot races or any other type of race that required laps. Despite what Livy tells us about the royal origins of the Circus under Romulus, the early games at the site were probably nothing more elaborate than farmers celebrating the stored harvest by racing one another on horses or in their mule carts. This most likely explains the mule cart race that persisted into the Imperial period.

The Archaic to late Republican Circus

Fig. 2: Model of Rome in the 6th century BC from the same vantage point as Fig. 1. The Circus Maximus is on the bottom left. Note the channelization of the stream down the center of the circuit.

Analysis done at the site of the Circus Maximus suggests that the ground surface went from 2 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) in 600 BC to 7.5 m.a.s.l. by the early 400s BC (a rise of 18 feet!)[7]. Some of this would have been from natural silting from the Tiber but much of it would have been intentional human fill [6][7]. We know that the level of the forum was raised prior to the construction of the Cloaca Maxima in the 6th century BC and it seems that not long after a similar drainage project was undertaken at the site of the Circus Maximus. A major part of the project would have been to create an open-air canal, the so-called Cloaca Circi, to channel the waters of the existing stream. The outlet of this canal can still be seen along the Tiber about 100 feet downstream of the Cloaca Maxima.

This is when a recognizable Circus would have started to take shape. It is probable that the new canal ran roughly through the center of the valley and formed the first central barrier (called both euripus and spina in later sources) of the Circus. This would have required bridging the canal at both ends to allow chariots room to turn. Fig. 2 does a good job of showing what this might have looked like.

Spectators originally stood or sat along the slopes of the adjacent hills. Livy credits the first seating arrangements to the Roman regal period of the late-500s BC and says;

“Then for the first time a space was marked for what is now the ‘Circus Maximus.’ Spots were allotted to the patricians and knights where they could each build for themselves stands-called ‘fori’ —from which to view the Games. These stands were raised on wooden props, branching out at the top, twelve feet high” [1]

Dionysus of Halicarnassus adds the interesting detail that the areas for these fori were divided among the thirty curiae [2]. The curiae made up the oldest division of the Roman assembly and were probably loosely organized around prominent clans or group leaders from the smaller villages that grew together to form Rome.

So what we have is a cleared track with an open canal forming the center barrier and designated areas where Roman clan leaders were allowed to build private viewing platforms on wooden stilts. We can get an idea what this early seating around the circus would have looked like by examining Etruscan tomb paintings from ca. 500-490 BC at Tarquinia.

Fig. 3: Top left: Detail drawing showing an Etruscan depiction of spectator seating at an athletic event ca. 490 BC [8]. Top Right: Tomb of the Bigas at Tarquinia. Along the top of the wall, athletic events are shown (including chariot races) with seating platforms similar to Livy’s description of fori shown at both ends.
Fig. 4: Bottom: my reconstruction of what the fori might have looked like. These wooden structures would have marked the humble beginnings of what would come to be the largest stadium ever built, ancient or modern. 

Throughout the entire Republican period the Circus was probably made up of a series of temporary and semi-permanent structures that frequently changed and never fully formed a complete circuit around the track. Wooden starting gates were added in 329 BC [8] and various minor monuments are mentioned throughout the period.

The Imperial Circus Maximus

Fig. 5: Model of Rome in the early 300s AD from the same vantage point as Fig. 1 & 2.

In the Republican period, the Circus was still prone to occasional flooding, such as in 363 BC when games in progress had to be stopped, and in 204 BC when games were almost relocated to an alternate location [8].

Julius Caesar can be credited with giving the Circus its definitive shape and dimensions. To counter flooding, the ground on which Caesar’s Circus was constructed was raised to 9 m.a.s.l. and artificially leveled [7]. That is an impressive 5 feet in elevation difference from the early Republican Circus. Caesar constructed massive 10’ x 10’ ditches in front of the stands to help manage flood waters and to protect the crowd from wild animals. After Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC, Augustus and Agrippa finished the project and added the central obelisk of the spina.

The bottom section of the Imperial Circus was built with stone while the upper two sections were constructed of wood. The great fire of Nero in AD 64 started in a shop attached to the Circus and burned much of the building and the rest of the city as well. Another fire during the reign of Domitian convinced Trajan to reconstruct the entire building in a grand fashion out of masonry faced with marble. Therefore it is under Trajan that the Circus Maximus reached its final grandeur as seen in Fig. 5 and reflected on the coins of Septimius Severus.

Interpreting the Coin Design
This coin shows a spectacle put on by Septimius Severus as part of the Secular Games in AD 204. This event was mentioned by Cassius Dio per below;

“The entire receptacle in the amphitheatre had been constructed so as to resemble a boat in shape, and was capable of receiving or discharging four hundred beasts at once; 5 and then, as it suddenly fell apart, there came rushing forth bears, lionesses, panthers, lions, ostriches, wild asses, bisons (this is a kind of cattle foreign in species and appearance), so that seven hundred beasts in all, both wild and domesticated, at one and the same time were seen running about and were slaughtered. For to correspond with the duration of the festival, which lasted seven days, the number of the animals was also seven times one hundred.” [4]

This account is somewhat contradictory and confusing but there is little doubt that the event described is what we see on the coin. The depiction of the animals and an analysis of Dio’s text has been well covered in other places such as @Limes thread here.

What I would like to do for the rest of this write-up, is to build on the history of the Circus presented above and explore the physical features we see on the coin.

The Boat

Fig. 6: Left: LAETITIA TEMPORVM Aureus (photo courtesy of Roma Numismatics). Right: the Torlonia relief showing Roman merchant ship (ca. AD 160-215)[10].

On examination of the coins it seems clear that they depict a Roman cargo vessel (see Fig. 6). Dio states that “the entire receptacle” of the Circus was constructed in the form of a ship. The coins give this impression as well by showing the various monuments of the spina within the ship. However, because the spina was over 1000 feet long and the largest cargo ships were only about 150 feet long it seems that Septimius Severus built an elongated approximation of a cargo ship, though even then it probably didn’t take up the whole spina. 

One fascinating detail shown on both the coins and the relief is the inclusion of the swan at the stern of the ship. This feature is more clear on the aureus of Fig. 6 but I believe it is also shown as the far right detail within the boat on my denarius. This was a common feature on Roman cargo vessels and was thought to provide good luck to the ship.

The Obelisk

Fig. 7: Left: Drawing by Antonio Tempesta done before AD 1630 showing the obelisk after it was moved to Piazza del Populo. Right: view of Obelisk (Author’s photo).

The Flaminian Obelisk was brought to Rome from Egypt by Augustus and set up in the Circus Maximus in 10 BC. It was originally erected by Seti I ca. 1300 BC at Heliopolis with the carving complete by his son Ramses II the Great.

On the coins, it appears to have been converted to serve as the mast of the ship.

At an unknown date the obelisk was toppled and damaged, perhaps during the Gothic Wars of the mid-500s AD. It remained buried until it was rediscovered in 1587 and moved to the Piazza del Populo under the direction of Sixtus V. Fig. 7 shows the obelisk in the early 1600s after it was placed in the piazza and at right is my own photo of the obelisk as it appears now.

The Metae

Fig. 8: Left: Terracotta relief showing the metae of the Circus Maximus in the 1st century AD. (British Museum). Right: A meta from a local circus that was re-used as part of the crypt of the Church of San Ponziano in Spoleto.

The metae were the turning posts of the Circus (singular: meta). They were first mentioned in 174 BC but probably date back to the very beginning of the Circus as a racing arena. There were two groups of three metae clustered together and placed on a semi-circular podium at either end of the spina. These turning posts would serve as inspiration for later Roman monuments, such as the Meta Sudans.

The odd conical shape is noteworthy. The main theories I am aware of to explain the design are that the metae are modeled after Roman survey equipment, or are related to the finials placed on top of Etruscan funerary monuments [8].

Neither of these theories seem very convincing to me from what I have read. A theory that I haven’t found put forward in detail, but that is hinted at in the model shown in Fig. 2, is that the original metae were small clusters of trees that were left undisturbed when the track was cleared. In fact, Ovid, in the Metamorphosis, makes a direct connection between the shape of the metae and cypress trees [5].

If this is true then, once the trees began to die naturally, the Romans replaced them with conical columns as a more permanent stand in. Over time the embellishment of these conical columns could have been influenced from a number of sources, including Etruscan models.

On the coins, the meta can be seen near the bow of the ship and to the left of the “swan” at the stern.

Other Monuments

Fig. 9: Relief of the Circus Maximus (late 200s AD)

There were many monuments located on the spina of the Circus. My denarius shows monuments to the left and right of the central obelisk that are not clear enough to distinguish. However, by looking at the fabulous aureus shown in Fig. 6 we can get an idea of what the engraver might have intended these to be. 

One likely candidate for the monument to the right of the obelisk would be the bronze fountain of 7 dolphins that served as a lap counter. Augustus installed these in 33 BC to commemorate his naval victory over Sextus Pompey. During the imperial period, the spina was divided into several large water basins (perhaps recalling the earlier canal).

The monument to the left of the obelisk probably shows the 7 eggs that were suspended between two columns and also served as lap counters. This was the older method of counting laps and is first mentioned in 174 BC [8]. The eggs were in honor of the equine gods Castor and Pollux who were said to have been born from eggs. After each lap an attendant would remove one of the eggs.

A Somber Epilogue for the Circus Maximus 
Over 1,000 years after the first iterations of the Circus took form, the city of Rome went into a sharp decline following the disastrous Gothic Wars of the mid 500s AD. With no one to maintain the complex series of drains the Romans built to make construction in the valley possible, the ancient stream reasserted itself. The Circus was buried under alluvial sediment and what was left above the surface deteriorated rapidly. The modern ground level is now an astonishing 43 feet above the pre-Roman valley floor [7].

In the below sketch from Etienne Duperac ca. 1575 we see that the track of the crumbling Circus was used as farmland. The new course of the ancient stream winds its way through the medieval fortifications on the right on its way to the Tiber at left. Note that when this drawing was done the Flaminian Obelisk was stilled buried here.

Even today, the water table in the Valley of Murcia is quite high making excavation difficult. This means that the remains of the Circus Maximus we see today don’t do justice to the grandeur of, what remains to this day, the largest stadium ever built.

The Paul Tinchant and Roma Aeterna Collections
I was delighted to discover the wonderful provenance for this coin. It was from the collection (or stock?) of the well known dealer Paul Tinchant who retired in the 1960s. His collection was sold by Jacques Schulman under the pseudonym “Robert J Graham.” I have read that this was an inside joke due the the practice, at the time, of assigning this name to bids received by phone or proxy. It was purchased at that time by the collector whose collection was recently sold under the name Roma Aeterna Collection.

References 
[1] https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0026%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D35

[2] http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/dionysius_of_halicarnassus/3d*.html

[3] https://www.cointalk.com/threads/laetitia-temporvm-but-what-animals-are-they.362183/

[4] https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cassius_dio/77*.html

[5] https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph10.php#anchor_Toc64105567

[6] Hopkins, John; THE CLOACA MAXIMA AND THE MONUMENTAL MANIPULATION OF WATER IN ARCHAIC ROME; University of Texas, 2007

[7] Marra et al. Holocene aggradation history of the Murcia alluvial valley: Insights into early Rome’s paleoenvironmental evolution; Quaternary International 628, 44–53; 2022

[8] Humphrey, John; Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing, 1986

[9] https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0151%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D9

[10] https://www.ostia-antica.org/portus/forum-vinarium-torlonia.htm

[11] https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D36%3Achapter%3D24

Are you still here? If so please post your;

• Coins of Septimius Severus
• Coins showing the Circus Maximus
• Coins showing Roman buildings
• Coins of the Secular Games
• Coins showing chariots 
• Coins showing animals that were used in the arena
• Anything you think is relevant
   

Excellent writeup by Curtis ☺️! I've had a serious interest in the Severan Dynasty for many years, & my collecting focus has been with their provincial coinage. The reverse types on Severan provincial coins are varied, but the eagle is the most common. Two of my favorite Septimius Severus coins are pictured below.

 

 

[Heliodromus]

8 hours ago, Curtisimo said:

The Flaminian Obelisk was brought to Rome from Egypt by Augustus and set up in the Circus Maximus in 10 BC. It was originally erected by Seti I ca. 1300 BC at Heliopolis with the carving complete by his son Ramses II the Great.

It's an incredible feat of engineering that the Roman's we're able to do this .. transporting obelisks weighing hundreds of tons (Flaminian Obelisk estimated at 260 tons) across the Mediterranean!

There's a little detail on the types of ship used to do this in this WikiPedia article, as well as a note of a canal having to be dug from the Nile to the site of the Obelisk in one case!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obelisk_ship

 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

An even bigger obelisk was brought by Constantius II to Constantinople and placed in the hippodrome there. Interesting that in the 350's the Romans still had the technology to accomplish this feat.

[maridvnvm]

I still find it baffling that they could flood the colosseum to hold mock sea battles (naumachia) using specially designed flat bottomed ships, with an island in the centre to allow the sailors to land and fight hand to hand.

[Heliodromus]

1 hour ago, Ancient Coin Hunter said:

An even bigger obelisk was brought by Constantius II to Constantinople and placed in the hippodrome there. Interesting that in the 350's the Romans still had the technology to accomplish this feat.

Yes - obelisks (or columns - e.g. for Pantheon) is next-level, but even transporting smaller blocks of marble would have been no joke, e.g. all the Porphyry from Egypt, or even shorter distances such as from Carerra to Rome. Were the Byzantines still doing this ?

Edited November 6, 2023 by Heliodromus

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

1 hour ago, Heliodromus said:

Yes - obelisks (or columns - e.g. for Pantheon) is next-level, but even transporting smaller blocks of marble would have been no joke, e.g. all the Porphyry from Egypt, or even shorter distances such as from Carerra to Rome. Were the Byzantines still doing this ?

Yes the Byzantines got porphyry from the quarries around Aswan in the extreme south of Egypt, just as folks had done for millennia. Probably as late as 8th or 9th century actually.... edit: or maybe a bit earlier after all Egypt fell to the Arabs in the late 630's.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Ancient Coin Hunter

[DonnaML]

What a fantastic post, @Curtisimo!

I don't think I'll ever be able to find an example of this coin that I can afford. But I do have an old 17" x 12.75" engraving of the Circus Maximus as it was in ancient Rome, by someone named Basil Kennett (1674-1715; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Kennett), published in Amsterdam in 1704, with the title "Circi et Quinque Ludicrorum Circensium, ex Priscis Monumentis Graphica Deformatio Onuphrii Panvinii..." How accurate it is in light of modern knowledge, I have no idea. But I do like the scenes of everything from beast fights to gladiatoral matches to what look like gymnastics, boxing, and wrestling exhibitions! (Click twice to enlarge the photo.)

To me, the metae at either end of the spina are not representations of cypress trees, but are clearly ICBMs, the vanguard of Rome's advanced nuclear defense system inherited from the Atlanteans.

Edited November 6, 2023 by DonnaML

[Heliodromus]

6 hours ago, maridvnvm said:

I still find it baffling that they could flood the colosseum to hold mock sea battles (naumachia) using specially designed flat bottomed ships, with an island in the centre to allow the sailors to land and fight hand to hand.

They certainly knew how to put on a show!

The water must have come from the nearby aqueduct, but I've seen conflicting claims about whether the flow from the aqueduct would have been enough to have directly filled the arena (to a few feet deep) rapidly enough... There is some evidence of a holding tank close by that could have been been used.

I wonder if the audience were allowed to stay when it was being filled, or perhaps it was done overnight if a multi-day event. Would seem more magical if they didn't see it filling, and also I'd imagine the boats may have needed some reassembly which would spoil the effect if seen.

This can't have been done too many times since it must have been pre-hypogeum, which was added by Domitian.

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Heliodromus

[Tejas]

Another fantastic write-up. I really enjoyed that. I only wished I had known all the details before my last visit to Rome. 

Here is a Septimius Severus denarius from my collection that shows a chariot. 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Tejas

[Tejas]

...

and a denarius of Domitian that refers to the Secular Games of the year AD 88.

Does anybody know what the object between the herold and the stela is?

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Tejas

[Curtisimo]

6 hours ago, maridvnvm said:

I still find it baffling that they could flood the colosseum to hold mock sea battles (naumachia) using specially designed flat bottomed ships, with an island in the centre to allow the sailors to land and fight hand to hand.

I agree that it is pretty amazing what they were capable of doing. Especially considering it was all in the name of mass entertainment.

I came across some interesting information on this as I was researching the history of the Circus. Before the archaic period, the land the Colosseum was built on was a seasonal, shallow lake.

When the Romans drained the area that the Colosseum was built on they tied into the same channel that drained the Circus Maximus. If the Romans timed it out they were probably able to do a lot of the flooding just by blocking the drain before it entered the Cloaca Circi and letting the “lake” fill up naturally.

When I visited the lower section of the Colosseum in 2018 I noticed what appeared to be several drainage channels that crisscrossed in all directions.

There was also quite a bit of water flowing under the building that you could see through grates in the floor even though it was not raining. I was interested enough to take a video of it. I can only assume that water still tends to make its way to this location and has to be drained through the modern water system.

[Ryro]

Hmm, this feels like a trap to get everyone's favorite @dougsmit to come out of hiding and share his emense knowledge... and coins of Septy!

Hopefully it works, and even if not AMAZING acquisition, my friend! That is an insane bucket list coin and am incredibly enjoyable write up. Thanks. 

Here are a few favorite Septimius Severus coins that own me:

...

And one that I gifted to Doug due to a compliment he'd once paid me, though when he got it he swore it had BD (I don't think it did and sure wouldn't have sent it to him had I thought it did, just funky patination I hope). It's Septimius as Herakles!!! I've not come across a replacement as of yet:

[Curtisimo]

18 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

Informative write-up about an iconic reverse type!

Thanks RC!

18 hours ago, David Atherton said:

Utterly fantastic. One of the few coins outside my collecting niche I'm very envious of!

Thanks David. That is high praise coming from such a focused and disciplined collector! 🙂

17 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

Still there, yes, and wanting more stories like that.
Uncle Curtis, please, more !!! 🙂 !!!

Here's a Septimius Severus denarius you might recognize, since it's ex @Curtisimo's collection, showing a volatile, possibly beheaded during the games, who knows ! 😄 

Thanks Curtis for another great post

Q

You are too kind my friend. That is a nice coin. I’m glad that it found a good home in your collection. 🙂 

16 hours ago, Limes said:

Very interesting write up @Curtisimo, thanks! And thanks for mentioning me 🙂

I really like that you show the history behind the circus from the archaic times untill its final phase when it was in utter neglect. Although little remains today, the mere size of the area is still impressive, when I visited it back in 2015. Our hotel was near the piazza, where the obelisk still stands. I cant find the photos right now unfortunately. 

Here's my crude issue of the circus, but with Caracalla as caesar on the obverse. These coins were struckby Septimius for both Geta and Caracalla.

This is a wonderful example with a really great reverse. I thought about targeting this type for Caracalla but ultimately I couldn’t pass up the chance at this example for Septimius Severus.

Your coin is one of the examples I looked at that made me more confident that the monuments we see on the denarii are, from left to right:

Metae —> Eggs —> Obelisk —> Dolphins —> Metae —> Swan

Thanks for sharing and thanks for the kind words!

13 hours ago, maridvnvm said:

I have only owned one of these and I could only afford it because the reverse die was so worn.

This is a nice coin with good centering, worn die or not. I like it. Thank you for sharing.

13 hours ago, Prieure de Sion said:

Fantastic informative and well written article! Thanks for that @Curtisimo ! 

Thank you Prieure! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂 

12 hours ago, CPK said:

Great coin and write up! Thank you!

Thank you Connor! 🙂 

12 hours ago, Heliodromus said:

Great write up of the history of the Circus. Thanks!

16 hours ago, Limes said:

I really like that you show the history behind the circus from the archaic times untill its final phase when it was in utter neglect.

Thank you!

I think it is fascinating to be able to trace a building’s history across 2500 years. It’s amazing to think that the Circus started out in such a humble manner as this,

to reach the unparalleled grandeur of this,

and finally declining into such a sad state as this.

I took this last photo in 2018. You can barely see the medieval tower on the far left looking ludicrously tiny inside the footprint of the ancient giant.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Curtisimo

[Curtisimo]

17 hours ago, Al Kowsky said:

Excellent writeup by Curtis ☺️! I've had a serious interest in the Severan Dynasty for many years, & my collecting focus has been with their provincial coinage. The reverse types on Severan provincial coins are varied, but the eagle is the most common. Two of my favorite Septimius Severus coins are pictured below.

 

 

Your portrait coins are always amazing, Al. I think your Syrian tet is probably my favorite of the portraits in your collection.

Thank you also for the kind words!

11 hours ago, DonnaML said:

What a fantastic post, @Curtisimo!

I don't think I'll ever be able to find an example of this coin that I can afford. But I do have an old 17" x 12.75" engraving of the Circus Maximus as it was in ancient Rome, by someone named Basil Kennett (1674-1715; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basil_Kennett), published in Amsterdam in 1704, with the title "Circi et Quinque Ludicrorum Circensium, ex Priscis Monumentis Graphica Deformatio Onuphrii Panvinii..." How accurate it is in light of modern knowledge, I have no idea. But I do like the scenes of everything from beast fights to gladiatoral matches to what look like gymnastics, boxing, and wrestling exhibitions! (Click twice to enlarge the photo.)

To me, the metae at either end of the spina are not representations of cypress trees, but are clearly ICBMs, the vanguard of Rome's advanced nuclear defense system inherited from the Atlanteans.

I really like your collection of antique engravings. It makes me want to branch out a bit for my library as well! I love how all of the monuments of the spina are called out. I would assume this is based on an in-depth reading of the various sources. In terms of accuracy of modern knowledge I was actually surprised by how little archaeological work has been done in and around the Circus Maximus. Maybe some of that is how challenging the site is with the water table, but I would still have expected the Circus to be higher on the priority list than it apparently is.

11 hours ago, DonnaML said:

me, the metae at either end of the spina are not representations of cypress trees, but are clearly ICBMs, the vanguard of Rome's advanced nuclear defense system inherited from the Atlanteans.

Hahaha, those crafty Romans hiding their secrets in plain sight. Let’s hope some future archeologists doesn’t handle them too roughly if they are ever dug up! 🙂 

10 hours ago, Tejas said:

Another fantastic write-up. I really enjoyed that. I only wished I had known all the details before my last visit to Rome. 

Here is a Septimius Severus denarius from my collection that shows a chariot. 

 

 

10 hours ago, Tejas said:

...

and a denarius of Domitian that refers to the Secular Games of the year AD 88.

Does anybody know what the object between the herold and the stela is?

 

 

 

These are absolutely wonderful coin Tejas! The Domitian type is high on my list and yours is a beautiful example. Thanks for sharing and thanks for the kind words.

5 hours ago, Ryro said:

Hmm, this feels like a trap to get everyone's favorite @dougsmit to come out of hiding and share his emense knowledge... and coins of Septy!

Hopefully it works, and even if not AMAZING acquisition, my friend! That is an insane bucket list coin and am incredibly enjoyable write up. Thanks. 

Here are a few favorite Septimius Severus coins that own me:

...

And one that I gifted to Doug due to a compliment he'd once paid me, though when he got it he swore it had BD (I don't think it did and sure wouldn't have sent it to him had I thought it did, just funky patination I hope). It's Septimius as Herakles!!! I've not come across a replacement as of yet:

Thanks Ryan! I love all of your examples.

I actually message with Doug every now and then and I couldn’t help myself from showing him this one as soon as I got a photo of it.

I do hope you are right and he drops by to show us some of his excellent Severan coins.

 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

It's an excellent writeup and a very neat type.  I have pretty few coins of Severus.  I think my last one was purchased in the 1990's or early 2000's.

[Curtisimo]

On 11/6/2023 at 11:13 PM, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

It's an excellent writeup and a very neat type.  I have pretty few coins of Severus.  I think my last one was purchased in the 1990's or early 2000's.

Thank you for the kind words. Feel free to post your examples if you have a mind to. 

Here is one of my Septimius Severus coins that I just recently re-photographed. I also don’t have very many Septimius, or Severan coins for that matter.