In the 1980s, rescue excavations were carried out by the Archaeological Superintendency of Lazio at the Roman villa at Vacone (RI), known for the presence of two structures. In 2011, Rutgers University (NJ, U.S.A.) began preliminary investigations in the area between the two cryptoporticae, followed by five excavation campaigns between 2012 and 2016.

This season’s excavations took place on the main terrace, the production quarter in the north-eastern part of the villa and the lower cryptoporticus, furthering knowledge of the villa’s plan and decorative scheme, and the use of the production areas. Some of the rooms in the residential sector were cleared of the layers of collapse down to the floor levels, constituted by mosaics with various types of decoration, which had been repaired in antiquity. The excavation of the central sector, south of the upper cistern exposed part of the stylobate belonging to the central peristyle and surrounding portico. The north-eastern sector of the villa presented a succession of cement and terracotta floor surfaces, the earliest discovered to date was associated with a wine vat lined with waterproof mortar. The presence of a surface of bipedales to the east of the last room investigated indicates that the eastern limit of the complex has not yet been identified. The underground passageway linking the main terrace with the cryptoporticus below was completely excavated showing that it was built after the latter. The find of a lamp datable to the late 5th – early 6th century A.D. in the abandonment layers in the sector next to the upper cistern post-dates the villa’s abandonment, which remained in use until at least the 3rd century A.D.