Rome's man-made mounds occupy a position between built antiquities and natural features. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, particular attention was paid to Monte Testaccio, the Mausoleum of Augustus, and the related ‘mons omnis terra’. Debate focused on the origins and composition of the mounds, thought to contain either earth brought to Rome as symbolic tribute, pottery used to hold monetary tribute, or pottery produced locally. Developing over time in different genres of writing on the city, these interpretations were also employed in works on historical, religious and geological themes. The importation of material, expressive of relations between Rome and the wider world in antiquity, was used to draw positive and negative comparisons with present-day rulers and the papacy, and to associate Rome with Babylon. The growth of the mounds and the presence of ceramics were invoked in discussions of the formation of mountains and montane fossils. If the mounds' ambiguities facilitated their incorporation into other debates, the terms in which they are discussed reflect ongoing engagement with literature on the city. The reception of these monuments thus offers a distinctive perspective on the significance of Rome to connections between spheres of knowledge in this period.

中文翻译：

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'MONS MANUFACTUS'：罗马历史和自然历史之间的人造山（c. 1100–1700）

罗马的人造土丘位于古建筑和自然景观之间。在中世纪和近代早期，特斯塔乔山、奥古斯都陵墓和相关的“mons omnis terra”受到了特别的关注。争论的焦点集中在土堆的起源和组成上，被认为包含作为象征性贡品带到罗马的泥土、用于存放货币贡品的陶器或当地生产的陶器。随着时间的推移，关于城市的不同写作流派发展起来，这些解释也被用于历史、宗教和地质主题的作品中。材料的输入，表达了古代罗马与更广阔世界之间的关系，被用来与当今的统治者和教皇进行正面和负面的比较，并将罗马与巴比伦联系起来。在讨论山脉和山地化石的形成时，提到了土丘的生长和陶瓷的存在。如果土丘的模棱两可有助于将它们纳入其他辩论，那么讨论它们的术语反映了对城市文献的持续参与。因此，对这些纪念碑的接受为罗马在这一时期知识领域之间联系的重要性提供了独特的视角。