For this week’s blog, I was asked to explore two archaeological sites, Thamugadi and Pikillacta, and compare and contrast them.
First, the site of Thamugadi, or Timgad, was a Roman colony founded in 100 CE by the emperor Trajan. The colony was a home for retired legionaries in the region of North Africa (Algeria). It was planned with a grid-like pattern and as a large square legionary camp that was divided into 12 equal blocks. This was unusual because the city of Rome is not planned at all; it is very organic. The reason for the grid pattern was to control the flow of traffic and to invoke a military presence. It was also planned this way to represent the hierarchal order within the colony; the centre for the elite, and going down the social classes the further outward. This was to maintain status and roles within society (the centre was for administrators). There was a basilica, curia (senate house), temple, a 4,000 seat theatre, public baths and two main avenues (cardo and decumanus). Some of the structures in the colony emulated those from the city of Rome and may have been integrated to recognize the authority and power of the Roman Empire.
Around 200 CE, with a population of 15,000, Thamugadi had sprawled to accommodate the growth of the Empire. Eventually, the site was completely abandoned in 7th century CE. Most of the ruins are well preserved, the Arch of Trajan being one of the most prominent.
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| Thamugadi (Timgad)
(accessed January 30, 2013).
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| Arch of Trajan-Thamugadi http://www.robertabarresi.com/timgad2.jpg (accessed January 30, 2013). |
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| Thamugadi (Timgad)
(accessed January 30, 2013).
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The other site Pikillacta, is located in Cuzco, Peru in the Lucre Basin. Pikillacta was part of the Wari Empire, though, unlike Thamugadi, the function of the site is still unknown. Based on the architecture of the site, it may have been used as an administrative and/or military centre.
Similar to Thamugadi, Pikillacta has a large rectangular plan and a grid-like pattern that is also well preserved. Patio groups, niched halls and smaller, conjoined buildings are similar characteristics among Pikillacta and other Wari sites (such as Viracochapampa), and like the Roman Empire’s colonies, may be symbols of empirical power.
This site, unlike Thamugadi, is incomplete. Of the four sectors, only Sector 2 was completed and actually occupied.
Pikillacta has narrow gates, high walls, and walk-ways that force one to walk a certain path which gives the impression of a militaristic function to the site. This is similar to Thamugadi because both were created with militaristic attributes and situated in strategical locations to serve administrative or empirical purposes; such as Pikillacta’s location intercepting the main route from Bolivia and northern Peru and both sites’ location near fertile regions. Pikillacta also has a hierarchal arrangement that is very transparent: there are 2 large patios with their respective niched halls, then smaller plazas and patios elsewhere, which may have been used to give a similar representation of elitism as the public baths in Roman cities or colonies.
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| Pikillacta
(accessed January 30, 2013).
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| Pikillacta (note wall remnants)
(accessed January 30, 2013)
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Pikillacta underwent an expansion, perhaps from an expansion of the Wari empire (similar to the expansion of the Roman Empire), that was abandoned.
Overall, more is known of Thamugadi than Pikillacta, which means more interpretation is necessary to determine Pikillacta’s true function. Despite this, both sites serve a purpose in revealing their respective cultures and empires.
That's all for now!
I'm off.
Sources:
Bélisle, Véronique. “Pikillacta: The Wari Empire in Cuzco.” Journal of Latin American Anthropology 11, no. 2 (2006): 434-436.
(accessed January 29, 2013).
McEwan, F. Gordon. “The Function of Niched Halls in Wari Architecture.” Latin American Antiquity 9, no. 1 (1998): 68-86.
(accessed January 29, 2013).
McEwan, F. Gordon. Pikillacta: The Wari Empire in Cuzco. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press, 2005.
Rodgers, Nigel. Roman Empire. Leicestershire: Hermes House, 2011.
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