Midden Mutations: Civic Aggregation and Material Migration at Monte Testaccio

Abstract

Monte Testaccio is an extant ancient landfill comprised of the fragments of nearly 25 million clay amphorae which conveyed olive oil across the Mediterranean Sea from the provinces of Hispania to the heart of the Roman Empire. Monte Testaccio is Rome’s feral monument, an ungainly aggregation of material, mythology, interests and events. Over centuries the intersection of diverse activities, interests and constituencies has transformed the cultural identity of this waste space, and the peculiar material condition of the site has sponsored curious uses and programs.

As a historical precedent, Monte Testaccio offers two models for the contemporary aspiration to transform waste spaces into civic terrain. The first model involves the aggregation of many uses and constituencies on a closed metropolitan landfill in order to increase its cultural value. The second model that Monte Testaccio provides is one of dispersal — landfills can be troves of valuable material and potential energy that can be mined to prompt local and distant industrial ecologies and urban processes over time. The vitality and longevity of this archaeological site make Monte Testaccio a potent example of what a waste landscape can become: an agent of civic engagement and an urban catalyst.

Keywords

Monte Testaccio / Landfill Reclamation / Landfill Precedent / Waste Landscape

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press