Saepinum. Sepulchral monument of Caius Ennius Marcus. In the foreground a poultry-pen.
Once upon a time when I was a young biker, I happened to be riding along the “Statale 87 Sannitica”, from Benevento to Termoli, and by chance came across a very peculiar place: a hamlet of small rural houses built within the perimeter of an archaeological site. The houses were built on the ruins of an ancient Roman 'pagus'. I witnessed chickens scratching about on the 'cavea' of a Roman theatre. Saepinum, an ancient Roman town, arose on the former Samnitic village Seipins, at the foot of the Matese mounts, the confluence of two major roads. It was a market-town, developed following the typical Roman city-planning guideline : 'cardo', 'decumanus', four gates in the city-walls (three of them still standing), 'forum' , 'basilica', 'thermae' , theatre… The archaeological site (near the present Sepino, in the locality named 'Altilia') is really remarkable, the country-houses, stables and sties were all built with salvage-stone. I returned to Sepino after many years. The archaeological site has slowly been restored, work is still in progress. Some of the old country-houses have been converted into a museum, some remain closed and uninhabited. The ancient wash-house is still used for washing clothes; within the perimeter of the town-walls one can see cultivated orchards and kitchen-gardens. Chickens can still be seen scratching about in the shadow of Caio Ennio Marso's mausoleum. Sepino was built by the Samnites along the tratturo that from Molise descended towards the plains of Puglia and Campania.
Size: 3771px × 2523px
Location: Sepino, Molise, Italy
Photo credit: © Ferdinando Piezzi / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: archaeological, archaeology, caius, ennius, excavations, grave, italy, marcus, molise, monument, roman, ruins, saepinum, samnites, sepino, sepulchral, site, tomb, town, transhumance, transumanza, tratturo
