Un’ipotesi ricostruttiva per la colonna di Teodosio II all’Hebdomon

The suburban quarter of Constantinople called Hebdomon (Lat. ad Septimum – nowadays Bakırköy) lay along the shores of the Sea of Marmara, at the seventh mile of the Via Egnatia, i.e. at a distance of nearly eleven kilometres from the city centre. When it was created (presumably in the late 4th century AD), it served as a military district but it soon developed as a suitable area for the establishment of imperial resorts and retirement places. These buildings are today almost known only through the ancient written sources. What is worse, the late-antique and early Byzantine planning of Hebdomon remains almost completely unknown. Most of the archaeological evidence disappeared during the second half of the 20th century, due to the sudden increasing of massive and uncontrolled building activity in the Bakırköy district. Starting from an examination of the scanty data provided by the excavations conducted by the French Occupation Corps from 1921 to 1923, the article will deal with some substantial late antique buildings of Hebdomon, particularly those directly sponsored by the imperial patronage. A particular case study will be introduced as the main subject of the article: the monumental column raised for emperor Theodosius II (r. 408-450) in a paved square along the Via Egnatia. Today, only some fragments of its inscribed marble pedestal survive, these being preserved in the collection of the Hagia Sophia Museum at Istanbul. A hypothetical reconstruction of the original layout and dimensions of the monument is suggested here on the base of its pedestal fragments and through the comparison with similar still-extant honorary monuments.

L'articolo si propone di studiare i resti scultorei della cosiddetta "Colonna di Teodosio II", conservati attualmente nel giardino della Santa Sofia (Ayasofya Muzesi), Istanbul. La colonna onoraria di Teodosio II si ergeva in origine presso il suburbio militare dello Hebdomon, situato piu' o meno a 11 km di distanza dal centro di Costantinopoli, lungo le rive del Mar di Marmara (Propontis). Il suburbio costituiva il Campus Martius della citta' di Costantinopoli.