ancient Roman culture The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day ...

, the ''olla'' (archaic

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''aula'' or ''aulla'';

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: , ''chytra'') is a squat, rounded pot or jar. An ''olla'' would be used primarily to cook or store food, hence the word “

olla An olla is a ceramic jar, often unglazed, used for cooking stews or soups, for the storage of water or dry foods, or for other purposes like the irrigation of olive trees. ''Ollas'' have short wide necks and wider bellies, resembling beanpots or ...

" is still used in some

Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...

for either a cooking pot or a dish in the sense of cuisine. In the

typology Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...

ancient Roman pottery Pottery was produced in enormous quantities in ancient Rome, mostly for utilitarian purposes. It is found all over the former Roman Empire and beyond. Monte Testaccio is a huge waste mound in Rome made almost entirely of broken amphorae used fo ...

, the ''olla'' is a vessel distinguished by its rounded “belly,” typically with no or small handles or at times with

volute A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an Ion ...

s at the lip, and made within a Roman sphere of influence; the term ''olla'' may also be used for

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

and Gallic examples, or

Greek pottery Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...

found in an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

setting. In ancient Roman religion, ''ollae'' (plural) have ritual use and significance, including as

cinerary urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

s. In the study of

Gallo-Roman art Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

, an ''olla'' is the small pot carried by Sucellus, by the mallet god often identified with him, or by other gods.

Cookery

''Olla'' is a generic word for a cooking pot, such as would be used for vegetables, porridge, pulse and such. The 1st-century BC scholar

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...

gives an "absurd" etymology that derives the word for vegetables, ''olera'' or ''holera'', from ''olla''; although as a matter of scientific

linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

the derivation may be incorrect, it indicates that cookery was considered essential to the pot's function. Isidore of Seville said that the word ''olla'' derived from ''ebullit'', "it boils up," and describes a ''

patera In the material culture of classical antiquity, a ''phiale'' ( ) or ''patera'' () is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has a bulbous indentation (''omphalos'', "bellybutton") in the center underside to facilitate holding it, in ...

'' as an ''olla'' with the sides flattened out more broadly. It was a word of ordinary usage, and does not appear in

literary works Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

, Horace, and

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

. Unlike the ''aenum'' or cauldron, which hung over the fire from chains, the ''olla'' had a flat bottom for resting on a hot surface, though it might also be placed directly on logs or coals in rustic cookery. The kitchen reconstructed at the House of the Vettii from Pompeii shows a large ''olla'' set on a

tripod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...

on the stove.

Funerary use

''Ollae'' were used for funerary purposes from earliest times. In Italic

inhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s, ''ollae'' might be placed with the body in the tomb as

grave goods Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body. They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...

, sometimes with a ladle or dipper. A tomb from a 7th-century BC necropolis at

Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the Falisci, who called it "F ...

yielded an ''olla'' decorated with a pair of horses and a Faliscan inscription. From the 3rd century BC ( Mid-Republic) into the 2nd century AD of the Imperial era,

cremation Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre is ...

was the most characteristic means of disposing of a body among the Romans. ''Ollae'' shifted function to hold cremated remains for entombment, a practice of Etruscan as well as Italic burials. The remains of those of modest means might be contained in earthenware ''ollae'' placed on the shelves of an ''ollarium'' or

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "''colu ...

Sacrificial use

After the performance of an animal sacrifice, a designated portion of the entrails ''(

exta The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

)'' was placed either in an ''olla'' and boiled, or in oldest times on a spit and roasted, as part of the "cuisine" of sacrifice. The ''exta'' were the

victim Victim(s) or The Victim may refer to: People * Crime victim * Victim, in psychotherapy, a posited role in the Karpman drama triangle model of transactional analysis Films and television * ''The Victim'' (1916 film), an American silent film by ...

's liver, gall, lungs, and the membrane covering the intestines, with the heart added after 275 BC. The ''olla'' was one of the characteristic implements of sacrifice, and appears in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s as such, particularly in the Gallic provinces. The vessel is mentioned, for instance, in

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

's account of a sign ''(

prodigium The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence on ...

)'' that manifested divine displeasure: the official presiding over the sacrifice himself poured the cooking liquid out of the ''olla'' in order to inspect the remaining entrails, which were intact except for the mysteriously liquified liver.

Arval Brethren

''Ollae'' figured in the rituals of the Arval Brethren, the "Brothers of the Fields" who constituted a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

of priests dating from Rome's archaic period. The ''exta'' of the victims used in their sacrifices were placed in an ''olla'' and cooked. Examples of these earthenware pots have been uncovered by archaeologists in the

sacred grove Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...

s of the Arvals. Their rudimentary technique suggests the great antiquity of the religious traditions associated with them. After conducting their rites, the Arval priests opened the door to the temple, and cast the ''ollae'' down the slope leading up to it. Sucellus MAN St Germain

Silvanus and the Mallet God

The name of the woodland god Silvanus appears in inscriptions within the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Gallia Narbonensis with representations of a mallet, an ''olla'', or both. The mallet is not a regular attribute of Silvanus, and may be borrowed from the Celtic mallet god sometimes identified with Sucellus.Peter F. Dorcey, ''The Cult of Silvanus: A Study in Roman Folk Religion'' (Brill, 1992), pp. 57–59.

References