At the banquets of ancient Rome, there was no skimping on dinnertime entertainment. And, according to a recent study, sport for elite guests included something rarer, too: winemaking as a form of theater.
used alcohol production for show in what is now believed to be the among the most lavish wineries in the ancient world. This makes the 2nd-century villa only the second known to have used wine in this way, said lead study authorThe villa has “this amazing level of decoration and luxurious appointments in it that we never see in ancient wineries,” Dodd said.The discovery highlights the use of wine as a form of power for the privileged in one of the ancient world’s bloodiest empires.
Formal excavations of the villa ruins have been going on since the late 18th century, but the first evidence of the winery did not emerge until 2017. Archaeologists were originally looking for the entrance to the roughly 60-acre site when they found an “unexpected surprise,” said Dodd, who wrote the paper while working at the British School at Rome.
By Poletto’s estimations, the dining complex could seat 25 to 27 guests, with the winemaking spectacle taking place perhaps twice a year as “a unique opportunity and an absolutely high honor that served not only as a reward to the invitees, but also, in my opinion, a way for the emperor to highlight [and] reinforce his power.”Banquets at the Quintilii might have been organized ahead of political elections, Poletto thinks; a way to manipulate results behind the most regal of doors.
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