Romania 2013 - Part III

The highlight of the Colloquium was the excursion to Constanța.  The coastal town to which Ovid was exiled (after his affair with Emperor Augustus' daughter, Julia) was, according to his own description, bleak.  Today it is a resort area - Ovid was always a trendsetter!

Ovid looking dour in Constanța (Tomis)

It took a long time to get to Constanța, even though it is a mere 200 km from Bucharest.  But we wanted to visit Tropaeum Traiani as well.  It always amazes me how very far off the beaten path some of the Roman outposts are.  The distinguishing feature of Tropaeum Traiani is the monument which  commemorated Trajan's victory over the Dacians.  The original monument fragments are displayed in the museum at Adamclisi, and a modern reconstruction now stands on the site.  It can be seen from miles away and was a reminder of Roman superiority.

Tropaeum Traiani

Original sculptures in the museum at Adamclisi

Original reliefs in the museum at Adamclisi

As always happens on these excursions, I am torn between the Roman sites and the natural history.  I decided I needed to get a better camera with more control after missing a terrific shot of a green and blue lizard because of auto-focus!

Lacerta viridis

We finally arrived in Constanța, and stayed at the lovely Hotel Palace on the harbor.  To compensate for my lack of view, the door to the bathroom was decorated with seashells between two panes of glass!

Ovid may have complained endlessly about the waves and wind at Tomis, I found them romantic and refreshing:

The next day we went to Histria in the Danube Delta. This turned out to be quite an excursion!  There are remains here as far back at the Greek archaic period, which makes is a good place to study continuity.  The museum was fabulous, and when I found a sculpture comparable to my research poster project (The Missouri Dove Girl), the staff not only found publications and bibliography for me, but even allowed me to visit the storeroom!

As I walked to the archaeological site, I heard THIS SOUND.  And I said to myself, "If that's not a HOOPOE, I'm handing in my Junior Ornithologist card!"  And sure enough, the place was overrun with hoopoes*, which flew from the walls of the ancient city, into the fields and back again.  This is known in the ornithology biz as a "life bird!"

We ended up back in Bucharest in time to grab a late dinner, and the next day the participants scattered to their respective homes in 15+ different countries.  I went to Austria to continue my research (and my job search!).



*and storks, hawfinches, European ground squirrels, crested larks, butterflies, pipits and six-inch stinging centipedes.

Romania 2013 - Part II

Our northwesternmost destination was Deva, where we visited an outdoor lapidarium, played with kitties, paid homage to Decebalus and were entertained by a group of dancers performing for Children's Day.

Look at all the different types of stone and marble!

Obligatory cat picture - what would the internet be without cats?

Decebalus, King of the Dacians - until his suicide in 106 CE

We returned to Bucharest via the oldest stone church in Romania, built from plundered Roman stones and via the World War I Monument in Târgu-Jiu, featuring sculptures by Romanian born artist Constantine Brâncuși.

Basilica Densus

Brâncuși's Gate of the Kiss (note bride!)

All in all on our 60-hour trip to Transylvania we traveled 800 km in a bus that averaged about 30 mph, admired the river landscape when it wasn't littered with multi-colored plastic bags and bottles, visited four museums, heard thirteen more lectures, ate at a medieval restaurant, visited the church and the Brâncuși monument, and made it back to Bucharest in time to catch about seven hours of sleep before our excursion to the Black Sea!

End of Part II.

P.S. Apparently SOMEONE was allowed to take pictures of the Dacian bracelet hoard!

Click for Creative Commons license - Source: Wikipedia

Romania 2013 - Part I

Most Americans will associate Romania with two things: Dracula or Nadia Comaneci. I associate Romania with the Black Sea, Ovid's exile, and Trajan's Column.  Romania was once the Roman province of Dacia which Trajan conquered, and for this reason the 13th Colloquium of Roman Provincial Art was held in Bucharest, Alba Julia, and Constanța.

A colloquium in Romania paid for by the LSU Office of Research and Development and the School of Art may sound romantic, but it was so stressful!  From 8:00 am to 8:00 pm the 100 or so participants attended lectures - up to 17 lectures a day (!) - on all aspects of Roman provincial art given in whatever language the lecturer to present his or her research (German, English, French, Italian).  This left little time for eating and sleeping.

My poster on the Missouri Dove Girl attracted attention and useful feedback.  I'll write it up for the proceedings.

After two days of intensive conferencing, 60 or so participants were packed into two buses and off we went to Transylvania - not to visit Dracula's castle ("Every castle is Dracula's castle" according to the locals!) - but to visit the museum at Alba Julia (ancient Apulum).  We were greeted by legionary soldiers ("the last of their unit!") and there was a special exhibit for us about the Romans, Dacians, and Celts.

We were allowed to see (but not photograph) a hoard of gold bracelets which were under high security and were packed away as soon as we had all seen them.  Some fascinating pieces in these small museums - I'm always impressed by their collections of Roman art that you never see in textbooks.  These outposts really were little copies of Rome. Just look at this gorgeous statue of Hecate, goddess of the crossroads from Sibiu:

One can't say the same for the modern interpretation of Roman art.  There is a bronze statue of Trajan in front of the art museum in Bucharest which has been the focus of some controversy. It's a nice likeness of Trajan from the neck up.  But he's holding a very stiff Lupa Romana in his arms (the Lupa Romana is everywhere in Romania - and the founder of the webpage Ubi Erat Lupa was with us on the tour) - only this version leaves out the twins Romulus and Remus. Instead, a serpent-like appendage protrudes from the back of Lupa's head.  Reminiscent of the Chimera of Arezzo, it's supposed to represent the dragon of Dacia. The sculpture is very controversial and rightly so. 

Just search "bronze Trajan Bucharest" for some interesting reviews of the installation!

End of Part I.