In an area destined for the construction of a covered market, preliminary archaeological research has brought to light important evidence for the Roman and later periods..
The current surface is a sports ground; below which are the foundations of “villinetti” built in the 1920s by the IACP (Istituto Case Popolari). Below these (–2.50 and – 3.00 m) are found traces of the vineyards planted between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, intersected by the so-called “Vicolo della Serpe” of which some of the surface has been found. The lowest levels contain medieval remains built into the ruins of the Roman horrea..
At –3.50 m down, a series of rectangular rooms was found that can probably be identified as part of the horrea Seiana. This identification is supported by Lanciani’s Forma Urbis Romae (tables 40-44) and by finds reported for the neighbouring streets, via G. Branca, via G. B. Bodoni and via B. Franklin. The rooms are all the same size (9.35 m by 5.40 m) and are built in a standard pattern used for erecting either one-storey or two-storey buildings. However, the excavation has not revealed the original flooring as work is still in progress.
The opus mixtum and the materials found inside the rooms suggest that the building dates to the II century AD, and is of Trajanic or Hadrianic date. One of the most noteworthy findings is a deposit of 40 bronze and silver coins dating from Vespasian to the Severan period.
The pottery uncovered reveals complex settlement phases: it ranges from early Medieval Forum Ware and Sparse Glazed pottery to residual materials, such as Black Glazed pottery and Sigillata Italica. These residual materials imply that the site was used from the end of the Republican/beginning of the Imperial era. (Valeria Silvia Mellace, Silvia Festuccia)