Reused stones, or ‘spolia’, in the exhibition ‘The second life of things’ at the National Museum Zurich. — **Reused stones, or ‘*spolia*’, in the exhibition ‘The second life of things’ at the National Museum Zurich.** Swiss National Museum

Giving old stones a new lease of life

In antiquity and the Middle Ages, people used stones from old buildings in new structures, a practice that even continued into the modern era. Many things were destroyed by this practice – while others only exist today because of it.

Jacqueline Perifanakis

Jacqueline Perifanakis, Stone and Bronze Age curator at the Swiss National Museum

The concept of circular construction – reusing and recycling existing materials – has taken on greater significance in recent decades because of sustainability concerns. Whenever a building has to be demolished, recyclable elements should ideally be separated out. This was once common practice: particularly in antiquity and the Middle Ages, but also up until the modern era, old buildings were effectively used as material stores. Individual components and decorative elements from old buildings that are reused in newer buildings are known as spolia. The term comes from the Latin word for ‘spoils’ or ‘booty’. One of the most famous examples of the use of spolia is the Arch of Constantine in Rome, a triumphal arch built in honour of the Roman emperor Constantine between 312 and 315 CE. Many of the reliefs adorning the arch are spolia. They originate from structures from the 2nd century commissioned by famous emperors such as Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, which were then adapted to the new structure. Opinions are divided over the reasons behind this: did Constantine want to maintain the links to his famous ancestors, or was there a lack of artistic skill or usable stone?

**The Arch of Constantine in Rome, an ancient structure made from even older elements.** Wikimedia / Philippos

A Roman cornerstone

The Romans often used raw materials from the local area for practical reasons or due to cost considerations, and because transporting material was laborious and time-consuming. And their successors often re-used Roman construction components, too. A Roman column drum was discovered in Elsau in 1958 during architectural investigations by the Zurich cantonal monument preservation office. It had served as the cornerstone of a medieval keep around 1000 CE. People liked to use large blocks of stone for the corners as they lent the structure greater stability. The column drum measuring 57cm in diameter is much too heavy to have once been part of a private Roman villa. We therefore assume that it originally belonged to a monumental structure, possibly a temple, in Vitudurum, now known as Oberwinterthur. Elsau is only around four kilometres from Oberwinterthur, so in the Middle Ages people saved time and money by looking for suitable building materials in the Roman ruins.

**Part of a Roman column made of limestone, possibly from Oberwinterthur, which was reused in a medieval building in Elsau in around 1000 CE.** Swiss National Museum

A Swiss tower featuring a Roman god

In the previous example, the column drum served a strictly practical purpose as a building material. But spolia can also be used as architectural decoration and additionally serve other purposes, as shown by the example of a Roman relief depicting the god Attis in the town of Nyon in western Switzerland. The relief is located high up on the medieval Tour César. The National Museum has a plaster cast of the relief, which was produced in 1924. The original is still located in Nyon, and continues to look down reflectively on the town below. In ancient mythology, Attis was a handsome youth who died young and the consort of the Great Mother of the gods. He often featured in the Roman cult of the dead, symbolising mourning of the deceased. The relief is therefore thought to have once been a decorative element on a Roman tomb in the 1st century CE.

**In the upper section of the Tour César in Nyon, the Attis relief can be seen to the right of the central window.** Wikimedia / Leemburg

Why was the Roman tomb sculpture incorporated into a medieval tower around 900 years after it was originally created? The town’s history can offer some explanation. Nyon is the site of the former Roman settlement, Colonia Iulia Equestris, founded around 45 BCE by none other than Julius Caesar. At the time, it was one of the most important towns on Lake Geneva, featuring imposing buildings including a main square with a temple, a market hall, baths, and an amphitheatre. Many remains of those buildings still exist, some of which are used in the Tour César as spolia, with the Attis relief the most eye-catching. It is likely that repurposing and showcasing elements of Roman buildings was intended to hark back to the town’s glorious Roman history. It is possible that the medieval builders thought the relief was a depiction of Caesar, the town’s founder, which would explain how the tower got its name.

**Plaster cast of the Attis relief.** Swiss National Museum

Spolia at the museum

While reusing building components and architectural ornaments allowed them to be preserved, the long-term use of old buildings as stone quarries and material stores also led to the destruction of historic structures. Awareness of the value of old stones as evidence of the history of its own civilisation grew in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. In Switzerland, the Patriotic Society for the Preservation of Historic Monuments was founded in 1880 and besides restorations, excavations and art acquisitions, it also handled the inventory of Swiss monuments. At least in museums, components of buildings were preserved for posterity. Historical building components and ornamental sculptures were also integrated as spolia in the architecture of the National Museum in Zurich, which opened in 1898. These reused features were designed to create a suitable backdrop for the exhibits and to give visitors an idea of architecture from earlier periods. Even today, wooden ceilings, paving tiles and doors from churches and castles, tracery windows and rows of arcades from long-demolished monasteries, and even fully fitted historic rooms constitute a key element of the museum and can be viewed in the permanent exhibition ‘the Collection’.

Drawing of the exhibition room ‘Oberer Kreuzgang’ with integrated ‘spolia’ at the National Museum Zurich, 1904. — **Drawing of the exhibition room ‘Oberer Kreuzgang’ with integrated ‘*spolia*’ at the National Museum Zurich, 1904.** Swiss National Museum

More of: Classical antiquity Middle Ages Culture Architecture

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