Monte Testaccio

Monte Testaccio, the "Mound of Sherds", is the modern Italian name of an artificial hill composed entirely of sherds, located in the south part of the Emporium. The name was derived from the Latin word for sherd, testa. The hill measures 180 x 250 meters, and is 36 meters above the modern street level. It is a dump of amphoras that had arrived from Ostia and Portus. The oldest sherds are from the middle of the second century, the latest from the middle of the third. Of course there may be older sherds in the heart of the mound.

A view of Monte Testaccio. Photo: Wikimedia, Tyler Bell.

The first to study the amphoras was Heinrich Dressel, a pupil of Theodor Mommsen. At the end of the 19th century he developed a typology of amphoras that is still being used. His study of the stamps and painted texts on amphoras was groundbreaking in the study of the Roman economy. The amphoras had been used to transport olive oil that came mainly from the south of Spain, and for that reason much later research was carried out by Spanish archaeologists.

A slope of Monte Testaccio. Screenshot from the movie Monte Testaccio by gabytheguide.

Most of the amphoras had a capacity of 70 liters. They had a globular shape, and the type is known as Dressel 20.

Mosaic of a ship with Dressel type 20 amphoras.
Ostia, Square of the Corporations, statio 52. Photo: SO IV, Tav. 182.

The amphoras could have been used for transport again, or for a different purpose. The dumping, which was apparently more economical, must be related to the nature of the amphoras or their contents. Perhaps problems arose from spoiled residues. Also, finely ground sherds were used as a component of concrete, but in this case an unwanted chemical reaction would take place between the oil residues and lime.