Monte Testaccio

The Monte Testaccio is a hill in Rome, which consists entirely of shards. Its name derives from testae, the Latin term for shards. These come from broken ancient amphorae and other vessels with which grain, oil and wine was transported across the Tiber to ancient Rome.

The hill was used as a dumping AD to the end of the 4th century. He is now covered by grass and trees. Archaeologists have calculated that the depth of the fragments is 45 meters. The scope of the Monte Testaccio is around 1,000 meters.

The earliest vessels were used mainly for olive oil mainly from Baetica. Because the seal of the manufacturer and other names are often indecipherable to the shards yet, they are a rich source of information about the Roman economy this time. Today, it is estimated the hill to 53 million amphorae.

The hill is the neighborhood Testaccio in Rome his name.