Submitted for award of PhD September 2006. - King's College London

Samnium, partly because the visible remains of temples were more promising, partly
because the epigraphic evidence found in the sacred areas allowed scholars to study
several different aspects of Samnite history. The temples usually follow the building
style of the so-called Italic temples (elevated podium, a single cella, an altar
in front
of the building, and a row of steps leading up to the podium), but they also show
Hellenistic features (e. g. proportions of plan, size and decoration, and association
with the theatre at Pietrabbondante).
We can identify three particular periods of building and embellishment of
sacred buildings in Samnium. Dench argues that these three periods of building
activity do not coincide with periods of prosperity. 200 Evidence for building activity
within sacred areas has been noted from the fifth century BC, but the earliest
evidence for building on a monumental scale dates from the second half of the third
century BC, when the so-called Ionic temple at Pietrabbondante and the modest
temple at Curino were built, both 201
with similar colonnades. This building phase
was interrupted by the Second Punic War, which was probably responsible for the
destruction of the Ionic temple at Pietrabbondante, because the Pentri, according to
Livy, remained loyal to Rome. 202
Pentrian prosperity after the Second Punic War led to a second and larger wave
of the building of sanctuaries. Although the sanctuary of Civitella near Campochiaro
was in use from the fourth century BC, it underwent a major restoration in the early
second century BC. The sacred area was divided into two parts by a long portico.
The temple was located on a higher level to the west of the portico so the portico
served as its entrance-hall. 203 The sanctuary is thought to be the fanum Herculis Rani
200
Dench (1995) 136-140.
201
La Regina (1976) 226.
202
Livy 22.61.11.
203
Capini (1991) 117.
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