A ''favissa'' is a cultic storage place, usually a pit or an underground cellar, for sacred utensils and votive objects no longer in use. ''Favissae'' were located within the sacred temple precincts of the various ancient

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

civilizations. Archaeologists have found such pits in

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, the Roman world and in the Phoenician and

Punic The Punic people, usually known as the Carthaginians (and sometimes as Western Phoenicians), were a Semitic people who migrated from Phoenicia to the Western Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' ...

world.

Etymology

The term is derived from the

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

or related to the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''fovea'' "pit". During the time of ancient Rome, the term ''favissa'' referred to a cylindrical underground storage space, specifically designed to house votive objects. These repositories were typically located outside the main sanctuary but within the sacred grounds known as ''

temenos A ''temenos'' ( Greek: ; plural: , ''temenē''). is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy g ...

''. The Roman ''favissa'' served a similar purpose as the Greek treasury, functioning as a dedicated space for storing valuable offerings and dedicatory items.

Roman ''favissae''

Similar to other ancient religions, the Romans had a tradition of offering relatively inexpensive objects made of materials like bronze, lead, tin, or common clay as votive offerings to the temple deities. Over time, the quantity of these votive objects became excessive, necessitating their removal. However, it was crucial for priests to ensure these offerings remained within consecrated ground and were not profaned. To address this, temple priests took charge of removing the objects; they deliberately broke intact items before burying them within the temple grounds. Care was taken to choose locations which were not easily accessible, thus minimizing the risk of profanation. An example of such a structure is found in the Favissae Capitolinae, designed to house all the votive objects from the

Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, also known as the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus (; ; ), was the most important temple in Ancient Rome, located on the Capitoline Hill. It was surrounded by the ''Area Capitolina'', a precinct where numer ...

located on Rome's

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; ; ), between the Roman Forum, Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn (mythology), Saturn. The wo ...

. The prevalence of "favissae" is particularly notable in

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

, where they were commonly found in significant places of worship. One notable example is the ''favissa'' discovered on the

Mannella hill Mannella is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Chris Mannella (born 1994), Canadian soccer player *Enrico Pitassi Mannella Enrico Pitassi Mannella (Cerignola, 31 May 1882 – Rome, 1948) was an Italian general dur ...

Locri Epizefiri Epizephyrian Locris, also known as Locri Epizephyrii or simply Locri (), was an ancient city on the Ionian Sea, founded by Greeks coming from Locris at the beginning of the 7th century BC. It is now in an archaeological park near the modern tow ...

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

. Although devoid of its contents, this ''favissa'' can be dated back to the fifth century BC. As time passed, the use of ''favissae'' gradually diminished, to the extent that their significance had been completely forgotten by the imperial era.

References

Sources

* * * *{{Cite book , last1=Walde , first1=Alois , url=http://archive.org/details/walde , title=Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch , last2=Hofmann , first2=Johann Baptist , publisher=Carl Winter , year=1938 , location=Heidelberg , pages=467 , language=German , author-link=Alois Walde Votive offering Phoenician religion Ancient Roman religion Archaeological terminology

Etymology

Roman ''favissae''

See also

References

Sources