logo
  • Le Salzare, fosso dell'Incastro
  • Le Salzare, fosso dell'Incastro
  • Castrum Inui
  • Italy
  • Lazio
  • Rome
  • Ardea

Credits

  • failed to get markup 'credits_'
  • AIAC_logo logo

Periods

  • No period data has been added yet

Chronology

  • 600 BC - 500 AD

Season

    • On both banks of the Fosso dell'Incastro notable archaeological remains were discovered over an area of over 40,000 square meters. These are probably the remains of a river port tied to an installation for the exploitation of the marine resources, made variously in opus quadratum of tufa, reticolatum and mixtum. The area was used between the fourth century BC and the third century AD.
    • This large archaeological site still presents some problems regarding its interpretation. There is no doubt regarding the presence of a port situated on the final stretch of the river Fossa dell’Incastro, as attested by various ancient sources. Recently a large structure in tufa blocks was discovered which may be interpreted as a wharf or jetty. The excavations undertaken to date have produced evidence of occupation of various dates and function which seem to have developed in different areas of the site, only partly overlying each other. In the most internal area a cult site was identified with remains that are still to be examined and more precisely defined. They attest the earliest occupation on the site, dating from at least the final decades of the 6th century B.C. Around the 4th century B.C. these structures were protected and fortified by the construction of a massive wall in tufa _opus quadratum_. This probably also assumed the function of _témenos_. Several structures linked to cult activities were also present, including two temples “A” and “B”. In the Imperial period occupation in the area tended to move towards the river, developing above all outside the confines of the previously defended space. These constructions were strictly linked to the harbour existing at the mouth of the dell’Incastro and therefore belonging to a system of port infrastructures. To date horrea, shops, a heated room, perhaps a _triclinium_ or sort of port and customs office, and bath buildings have been identified. So far it is known that the buildings underwent restructuring and changes in use during the 3rd-4th century A.D. Most of the painted plaster recovered (including a graffito of a ship and one showing Dionysiac figures) generally dates to a period between the mid 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. The discovery of a white marble statue is of great interest. Less then life size it represents one of the Dioscuri with a horse by his side and dates to the mid or late 2nd century A.D.

Bibliography

    • F. Di Mario, 2003, Ardea: i risultati delle nuove ricerche archeologiche in area urbana e nel territorio, in J. Rasmus Brandt, X. Dupré Raventós, G. Ghini (a cura di), Lazio & Sabina, 1, Atti del Convegno (28-30 gennaio 2002, Roma), Roma: 181-184
    • F. Di Mario, 1999, Evidenze archeologiche nel comprensorio di Ardea, in Atti 1 Conferenza Archeologia, Vulcanismo e Telerilevamento, Roma, San Michele a Ripa 26-28 maggio 1999: 79-90.
    • F. Di Mario (a cura di), 2000, Il tesoro ritrovato: il senso del bello nella produzione artigianale del Lazio antico, mostra Roma, Palazzo Valentini 19 luglio 30 settembre 2000, Roma.
    • F. Di Mario, 2007, Ardea, la terra dei Rutuli, tra mito e archeologia: alla radici della romanità. Nuovi dati dai recenti scavi archeologici. Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Lazio, Roma.