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Horace and Rodolfo construct the Esquiline: examining garbage and graves at Roman and beyond
Thu, Mar 19
|Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture
Kevin Dicus, PhD Associate Professor Program Head, Humanities and Classics University of Oregon
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Time & Location
Mar 19, 2026, 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, 2316 W 1st Ave #100, Spokane, WA 99201, USA
About the event
Archaeologist Rodolfo Lanciani captivated the public with his account of excavations on Rome’s
Esquiline Hill. No doubt influenced by Horace’s Satire 1.8 about the same region, his portrayal
of mass graves (puticuli) embedded within a vast field of municipal waste offered a thrilling,
dystopian vision that continues to resonate nearly 150 years later. Ancient Rome’s reputation has
yet to recover, as his report continues to shape perceptions of the metropolis as filthy and
mismanaged.
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