The casa Romuli, otherwise known as the hut of Romulus, was the hut that Romulus was believed to have lived in. The monument is located on the southwest corner of the Palatine Hill near the Steps of Cacus and the Circus Maximus. Romulus was the founder and first king of Rome, and lived from 771-717 BC.
In the Roman myths, Romulus and his twin brother Remus were the sons of Mars and Rhea that were sent into the Tiber River after Rhea's husband, King Amulius found out about them. Rhea was a vestal virgin and therefore her conception, consensual or not, meant a death sentence for her and her sons. However, Amulius did not want to risk angering the paternal gods and decided to imprison Rhea and sentence the twins to death by means of live burial, being thrown into the Tiber, or exposure. By killing the twins indirectly, Amulius thought he could carry out the sentence without causing retribution from Mars or Hercules. It is speculated that a servant took pity on the two newborns and spared them by sending them down the river in a basket instead of throwing them naked into the water. The basket carrying them washed up on shore and the two were said to be suckled by a she-wolf until Faustulus the shepherd took them into his house to raise and educate them. It is also possible that a prostitute found the twins and saved them, since the word for wolf, lupa, also means prostitute. Faustulus' house is believed to be the same house as Romulus', making it the casa Romuli. The twins lived the lives of shepherds, and one day they were found by Amulius' men. Remus ended up being captured and Romulus led a group of shepherds to free his brother. Amulius obviously did not recognize the twins, since he believed that they were long dead. Romulus freed Remus and ended up killing Amulius as well. The citizens offered the twins the crown to be their new leaders, but the twins rejected it and left to form their own city (Garcia). As the legend goes, Romulus and Remus disagreed on where to found their city; Romulus wanted to build it on the Palatine Hill, and Remus wanted the Aventine Hill. Their argument led to a fight in which Romulus killed Remus and founded his city on the Palatine Hill, which was named Rome after him.
The hut of Romulus used to be a small, single-roomed hut with a straw thatch roof and wooden framework. Since it was built of these fragile materials, the historical monument has had parts replaced throughout its standing (Platner 101). The hut was victim to damage from multiple fires and storms. One recorded fire was in 38 BC by Dio: "The hut of Romulus was burned as the result of some ritual which the pontifices were performing in it" (Edwards 34). The last recorded fire to the hut was in 12 BC, after the death of emperor Augustus' right-hand man, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. During this altar burning, Dio says "Many buildings of the city were destroyed by fire, among them the hut of Romulus which was set ablaze by crows which dropped upon it burning meat from some altar" onto the highly flammable straw thatch roof (Edwards 34). The casa Romuli was able to stay mostly preserved into the fourth century AD by replacing the thatch roof and wooden framework (Lanciani).
Today, due to centuries of wear and tear, only the foundation remains of what archaeologists believe is the original casa Romuli. There are six post holes that are assumed to be where the support struts for the walls and roof would have been. There were mentions of a second casa Romuli up until 78 AD that stood on the Capitoline Hill; this hut was probably just a replica of the original from the Palatine Hill. To the ancient Romans, "it did not matter exactly where Romulus lived, just like the constant replacements of the materials did not matter or take away from the hut's symbolism" (Edwards 37). The hut represented the beginning of Rome to the Romans, and they were not bothered with trying to know which hut was the authentic one. However, organic material that was found on the suspected Palatine foundation has been dated back to the Italian early Iron Age, which was from around 900-700 BC. This makes it a good possibility that this foundation is indeed the one from the original casa Romuli, since Romulus lived during the last century of the Italian early Iron Age. The foundation is the only part of the hut left that remains, and even that shows its age. The foundation is made from blocks of tufa, which is soft and has been disintegrating since its excavation in 1946 ("The 'Hut of Romulus'"). Today there are support poles with a roof over the top of the foundation to help keep the tufa from becoming even more damaged.
In the Roman myths, Romulus and his twin brother Remus were the sons of Mars and Rhea that were sent into the Tiber River after Rhea's husband, King Amulius found out about them. Rhea was a vestal virgin and therefore her conception, consensual or not, meant a death sentence for her and her sons. However, Amulius did not want to risk angering the paternal gods and decided to imprison Rhea and sentence the twins to death by means of live burial, being thrown into the Tiber, or exposure. By killing the twins indirectly, Amulius thought he could carry out the sentence without causing retribution from Mars or Hercules. It is speculated that a servant took pity on the two newborns and spared them by sending them down the river in a basket instead of throwing them naked into the water. The basket carrying them washed up on shore and the two were said to be suckled by a she-wolf until Faustulus the shepherd took them into his house to raise and educate them. It is also possible that a prostitute found the twins and saved them, since the word for wolf, lupa, also means prostitute. Faustulus' house is believed to be the same house as Romulus', making it the casa Romuli. The twins lived the lives of shepherds, and one day they were found by Amulius' men. Remus ended up being captured and Romulus led a group of shepherds to free his brother. Amulius obviously did not recognize the twins, since he believed that they were long dead. Romulus freed Remus and ended up killing Amulius as well. The citizens offered the twins the crown to be their new leaders, but the twins rejected it and left to form their own city (Garcia). As the legend goes, Romulus and Remus disagreed on where to found their city; Romulus wanted to build it on the Palatine Hill, and Remus wanted the Aventine Hill. Their argument led to a fight in which Romulus killed Remus and founded his city on the Palatine Hill, which was named Rome after him.
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| The statue of the she-wolf, who suckled the twins Romulus and Remus. The statues of the twins weren't added to the piece until the medieval period. |
The hut of Romulus used to be a small, single-roomed hut with a straw thatch roof and wooden framework. Since it was built of these fragile materials, the historical monument has had parts replaced throughout its standing (Platner 101). The hut was victim to damage from multiple fires and storms. One recorded fire was in 38 BC by Dio: "The hut of Romulus was burned as the result of some ritual which the pontifices were performing in it" (Edwards 34). The last recorded fire to the hut was in 12 BC, after the death of emperor Augustus' right-hand man, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. During this altar burning, Dio says "Many buildings of the city were destroyed by fire, among them the hut of Romulus which was set ablaze by crows which dropped upon it burning meat from some altar" onto the highly flammable straw thatch roof (Edwards 34). The casa Romuli was able to stay mostly preserved into the fourth century AD by replacing the thatch roof and wooden framework (Lanciani).
Today, due to centuries of wear and tear, only the foundation remains of what archaeologists believe is the original casa Romuli. There are six post holes that are assumed to be where the support struts for the walls and roof would have been. There were mentions of a second casa Romuli up until 78 AD that stood on the Capitoline Hill; this hut was probably just a replica of the original from the Palatine Hill. To the ancient Romans, "it did not matter exactly where Romulus lived, just like the constant replacements of the materials did not matter or take away from the hut's symbolism" (Edwards 37). The hut represented the beginning of Rome to the Romans, and they were not bothered with trying to know which hut was the authentic one. However, organic material that was found on the suspected Palatine foundation has been dated back to the Italian early Iron Age, which was from around 900-700 BC. This makes it a good possibility that this foundation is indeed the one from the original casa Romuli, since Romulus lived during the last century of the Italian early Iron Age. The foundation is the only part of the hut left that remains, and even that shows its age. The foundation is made from blocks of tufa, which is soft and has been disintegrating since its excavation in 1946 ("The 'Hut of Romulus'"). Today there are support poles with a roof over the top of the foundation to help keep the tufa from becoming even more damaged.
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