Between the 21st August and the 1st September 2006, a geophysical survey was undertaken in the town of Orta di Atella, Campania by a joint team from the Archaeological Prospection Services of Southampton (APSS) and the British School at Rome (BSR). The work was carried out at the request of the Comune di Sant’Arpino, in collaboration with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici delle Province di Napoli e Caserta (Dott.ssa Elena La Forgia). A 5 hectare area was identified for investigation through an earlier site evaluation conducted by Sophie Hay (APSS) and Rose Ferraby (BSR) together with the Mayor of the Comune di Sant’Arpino, Ing. Giuseppe Savoia and Ing. Salvatore Di Costanzo (Comune di Sant’Arpino).

There is clearly evidence for a series of buried features across the site, which when combined, begin to form a picture of the urban character of the site. The southern extent of the survey was more affected by previous investigations of the site, but successfully relocated structures revealed through the earlier excavation. The series of positive anomalies revealed in the western area illustrated the complexity of the buildings, and began to define the spatial layout of the town. The northern area of the survey further illustrated the complexity of the underlying archaeology, in particular an area which revealed a range of different features. Furthermore, several different features lay on a differing orientation to the other identified positive anomalies, which may therefore indicate a different phase of activity on the site.

The magnetometer successfully mapped a series of features that would appear to be associated to the ancient city. The majority of these features appear to lie either parallel or perpendicular to the known road system within the city, and thus conforming to the presumed settlement layout. The survey should therefore aid to act as a fundamental guide to direct future direct investigations of this site.