Several trenches had already been dug by Luisa Bertacchi in the area under investigation in the central decades of the last century. These trenches were partly identified on the surface, a factor which consented their re-positioning on the overall plan of the area and to avoid them during the field work planning phase. After removal of plough soil the excavation brought to light a fairly homogenous layer of dump, comprising fragmented pottery, stone and brick, created for a re-use that has not yet been identified. Its removal revealed two splendid late antique mosaics in the northern area of the excavation. These belonged to the same building phase as a house which must have been part of a high quality residential area (it is in fact one of the first insulae north of the forum). This find provided an extraordinary new aspect, that is, the possibility of dating this phase through the discovery of a perfectly legible coin. This was a posthumous emission of Constantine I, placed on the preparation layer of one of the mosaics (RIC VIII, p. 316 No.17, dated to between 337 and 340). This element will allow, on the one hand, a revision of the dating of several similar mosaics within the context of the corpus of the mosaics of the Regio X, and on the other to identify, with greater clarity, the presence of a very high quality domus in a period of Aquileia’s history for which the documentation is not very rich. The related stratigraphy identified a later phase of tessallated paving, less well made than the earlier one, which obliterates the phase with the 4th century pavements and could date to around the mid 5th century A.D., although the dating is still being studied. (Federica Fontana)

The area of the so-called “Triclinium of the Flowered Carpet”, uncovered in the 1960s by Luisa Bertacchi in the garden next to the Carabinieri barracks, would seem to constitute the reception area of the house that is the subject of this archaeological investigation. In 2006 the discovery of the last part of the mosaic, facing onto the peristyle, linked this sector of the house to the excavation of the floor known as the “Flowered Carpet” and suggested the existence of a large residence, probably owned by Imperial functionaries or high ranking locals. The most recent work brought to light several rooms of substantial dimensions used for bathing purposes. These were characterised by pavements of crushed limestone with coloured insertions, supported by imposing substructures, suggesting that this was a public bath complex datable to between the late Republican and early Imperial period, which would thus be suitably positioned in the busiest, both politically and commercially, part of the town. Amongst the ceramic finds there was a prevalence of amphorae, especially those of African origin. The commonest types were Keay XXV, XXVI, XXXV and LXII which give a chronology between the 4th-6th century A.D. Numerous fragments of handles, body sherds and amphora points were found which could not be linked to specific forms. Of the Eastern productions the table amphora LRA 3 was present together with types LRA 1 and LRA 4, recognisable mainly from body sherds and handles as few rims were found. Of the Italic productions the Lamboglia 2 amphora was present in its earliest form with short triangular rim. Of amphorae with a funnel-shaped rim the Keay LII was present as were a few examples of Dressel 6A and 6B. African sigillata C and D, dating to between the 4th-5th century A.D. was also found together with table wares. Amongst the pottery for domestic use coarse wares were predominant in the form of cooking pots, pans, one handle jugs and basin fragments. (MiBAC)

From 2005 onwards an area of Aquileia (lots. cat. 424/6, 18-19, 23-27 and 425/1, 3, 5-6, 14-16) has been the object of an archaeological investigation undertaken by the University of Trieste under concession from the Archaeological Superintendency of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The first two campaigns uncovered parts of an important residential complex, probably owned by imperial functionaries or local notables and conventionally known as “of the dancing cherubs”. In 2005 two mosaics of extraordinary quality came to light. These were probably situated in the private rooms of the owner, grouped around a small peristyle. In 2006 the discovery of the final section of the mosaics facing onto the portico made it possible to link this sector of with the flooring denominated “Flowered carpet”, previously uncovered by Luisa Bertacchi in the garden adjacent to the Carabinieri barracks. The identification, during the excavations between 2007 and 2009, of new floor surfaces, walls and thresholds, made it possible to make a reasonably certain reconstruction of the extension and layout of the domus. One of the main aims of the excavation was an analysis of the urban context in which the residence was inserted, especially in relation to the complex transformation phenomena which occurred in the city during the late antique period. These transformations saw the functional redefinition of the quarters in relationship to the new centres of aggregation and attraction. In fact, working on a large area, corresponding to one of the city’s most important insulae, made it possible to pick up on the radical changes in spatial, functional and juridical organisation. These observations were made possible above all by the opening of a new trench in correspondence with the cardus maximus which had already been investigated by Giovanni Brusin in the 1930’s, but whose position was no longer certain. An analysis of the road surface and the rebuilding of the portico ambulatory brought to light further restoration work and large scale restructuring of the internal divisions of the insula, determined by the creation of a small dividing road, which was also made use of in the reorganised layout of the 4th century A.D.

Although the complete plan of the house is not yet known, to date circa twenty rooms have been identified. The main entrance was probably situated on the ancient via Gemina, indicated by some as the ancient town’s _decumanus maximus_, situated south of the modern road. The house probably had reception rooms with a high standard of decoration, beside which was the “private” part of the house arranged around a small portico. From here access was gained to the service rooms and a large kitchen situsted next to the heated rooms of a bath suite. The plan of the late antique house, which probably occupied the entire _insula_, seems to have partially altered the latter’s original layout. In fact, although the insula maintained its original perimeter, the internal road network changed, further evidence of the late antique phenomenon which saw private property encroaching on the urban layout.

The site is situated in one of the central areas of Roman Aquilea. In fact, the so-called “Domus of the Dancing Putti” occupies the second insula north-west of the forum, not far from the river port. Its name comes from the splendid polychrome mosaic depicting _eroti_ surrounded by garlands, discovered during the 2005 excavations. The complete plan of the house as it was at the height of its development has yet to be defined. To date over twenty rooms have been identified. The main entrance was probably on the ancient via Gemina, south of the modern road, and was probably characterised by richly decorated reception rooms, of which the famous “Flowered carpet” mosaic may have been a part. To the north was a smaller “private” area arranged around a small portico. The building also developed around a second peristyle, brought to light in 2011, situated to the north of the preceding rooms. This porticoed courtyard, with a drainage and rainwater collection system, was probably closed on one or two sides. To the east it opened onto a large reception room, with a tessellated floor into which an _opus sectile_ panel was inserted. From the outside, this area was accessed from the east via a narrow corridor linking the _domus_ to one of the smaller streets, beyond the row of shops/workshops. From the peristyle it was possible to access the heated rooms of the baths, to the south, and the large kitchen. The late antique villa seems to have partially altered the cadastral layout of the insula. Although it preserved its original perimeter the layout of the internal road network changed, further evidence of the known phenomenon that saw the encroachment of private property on the urban fabric in the late antique period.

Il sito si colloca in un’area nevralgica del tessuto urbano di Aquileia romana. La cd “Domus dei Putti Danzanti” occupa, infatti, la seconda insula a nord-est del Foro, a poche decine di metri dal porto fluviale. La denominazione “Putti Danzanti” si deve allo splendido mosaico policromo con eroti inseriti in ghirlande scoperto nel 2005. Per quanto la planimetria completa della casa nella sua fase di maggior sviluppo non sia ancora del tutto chiara, allo stato attuale della ricerca, sono stati individuati più di una ventina di ambienti. L’ingresso principale doveva porsi lungo l’antica via Gemina, a sud della strada moderna, ed è probabile che fosse connotato da ambienti di rappresentanza di notevole livello decorativo, di cui forse faceva parte anche il famoso mosaico aquileiese del “Tappeto fiorito”. A nord di essi un’area più raccolta e “privata” era disposta attorno ad un piccolo portico. Un altro polo attorno al quale si sviluppava l’edificio era rappresentato da un secondo peristilio, portato alla luce tra il 2011 e il 2012 e sito a nord degli ambienti precedenti. Questa corte porticata, dotata di un sistema di scolo e raccolta dell’acqua piovana, era probabilmente cieca su uno o due lati, mentre si apriva a est su un ambiente di rappresentanza di grandi dimensioni, pavimentato con un tessellato in cui era inserito un riquadro in opus sectile. L’accesso a quest’area dall’esterno era garantito a est da uno stretto corridoio che collegava la domus ad un cardine minore, oltre la fila di ambienti adibiti a botteghe. Dal peristilio si potevano raggiungere anche gli ambienti riscaldati delle terme, a sud, e l’ampia cucina. L’impianto della dimora tardo-antica sembra aver alterato, almeno in parte, l’assetto catastale originario dell’isolato, che, pur conservando l’originario perimetro, mutò nella distribuzione del reticolo viario interno, a ulteriore attestazione del noto fenomeno di sopravanzamento del privato sul tessuto urbano in età tardo-antica.

The site is situated at the centre of Roman Aquileia. The so-called “Domus dei Putti Danzanti” occupies the second _insula_ north-east of the forum, a few tens of metres from the river port. Its name comes from the splendid polychrome mosaic of _eroti_ surrounded by garlands discovered in 2005. Although the plan of the house’s main phase of development is still not completely clear, over twenty rooms have been identified. The main entrance must have been situated on the ancient via Gemina, south of the modern road, and probably had reception rooms with very high quality decoration, of which the most famous of Aquileia’s mosaics the “Flowered Carpet” may have been a part. North of the reception rooms, the private rooms were arranged around a small portico. Another group of rooms was arranged around a second peristyle, excavated in 2011-2012, situated to the north of the first nucleus of rooms. This porticoed courtyard had a system for draining and collecting rainwater and was probably closed on one or two sides, while it opened onto a large reception room to the east. This room had a tessellated floor into which an _opus_ _sectile_ panel was inserted. This area was accessed from the exterior on the east side via a narrow corridor linking the _domus_ to a minor cardo, beyond a row of shops. The heated rooms of the bath suite and the large kitchen to the south could also be entered from the peristyle. The construction of the late antique house seems to have altered, at least in part, the original layout of the _insula_. Although the original perimeter remained unchanged, the internal road network was altered, further evidence of the known phenomenon of the encroachment of privately owned properties into the urban fabric in the late antique period.

Il sito si colloca in un’area nevralgica del tessuto urbano di Aquileia romana. La cd “Domus dei Putti Danzanti” occupa, infatti, la seconda insula a nord-est del Foro, a poche decine di metri dal porto fluviale. La denominazione “Putti Danzanti” si deve allo splendido mosaico policromo con eroti inseriti in ghirlande scoperto nel 2005. Per quanto la planimetria completa della casa nella sua fase di maggior sviluppo non sia ancora del tutto chiara, allo stato attuale della ricerca, sono stati individuati più di una ventina di ambienti. L’ingresso principale doveva porsi lungo l’antica via Gemina, a sud della strada moderna, ed è probabile che fosse connotato da ambienti di rappresentanza di notevole livello decorativo, di cui forse faceva parte anche il famoso mosaico aquileiese cd. del “Tappeto fiorito”. A nord di essi un’area più raccolta e “privata” era disposta attorno ad un piccolo portico. Un altro polo attorno al quale si sviluppava l’edificio era rappresentato da un secondo peristilio, portato alla luce tra il 2011 e il 2012 e sito a nord degli ambienti precedenti. Questa corte porticata, dotata di un sistema di scolo e raccolta dell’acqua piovana, era probabilmente cieca su uno o due lati, mentre si apriva a est su un ambiente di rappresentanza di grandi dimensioni, pavimentato con un tessellato in cui era inserito un riquadro in opus sectile. L’accesso a quest’area dall’esterno era garantito a est da uno stretto corridoio che collegava la domus ad un cardine minore, oltre la fila di ambienti adibiti a botteghe. Dal peristilio si potevano raggiungere anche gli ambienti riscaldati delle terme, a sud, e l’ampia cucina. L’impianto della dimora tardo-antica sembra aver alterato, almeno in parte, l’assetto catastale originario dell’isolato, che, pur conservando l’originario perimetro, mutò nella distribuzione del reticolo viario interno, a ulteriore attestazione del noto fenomeno di sopravanzamento del privato sul tessuto urbano in età tardo-antica.

Based on the investigations undertaken to date, the so-called “House of the Dancing Cherubs”, situated in the second _insula_ north-east of the forum, probably occupied the entire quarter. In fact, no perimeters have been found except for the one towards the cardo on the east side of the quarter, neither have any spaces between adjacent buildings been documented. The proximity to the “Houses of the ex-Ritter property”, excavated in the 1930s by Giovanni Brusin, and to the pavement of the “Flowered Carpet” makes it likely that this was a single residence of substantial size. The excavation is situated in an area that seemed to have undergone a gradual “decline” already during the 4th century A.D., the period in which scholars agree that the new town moved to around the basilica complex. The area around the forum, at this time symbolically restored to its original prestige, could however have constituted a point of reference for that part of the local governing class that linked, as widely documented in the 4th century A.D., success in their political careers to their own _paideia_. A precise organisation of the spaces into sectors for various uses was clear within the excavated structures, which were arranged around courtyards, in the style typical of high status late antique residences. This foresaw the placing of nuclei of rooms side by side around open areas, linked by corridors, but in some way independent from a functional point of view. Of the three open spaces uncovered to date, the most clearly legible is the porticoed courtyard in the northern part of the excavation area. The find of several architectural blocks, in particular a section of Tuscan order limestone cornice, as well as _in_ _situ_ bases and numerous remains of blue – turquoise stucco column facing, make it possible to make some suggestions regarding the architectural/decorative organisation of the porticoed courtyard and a reconstruction of the complex. It was an open area of about 100 m2, probably laid out as a garden (but this remains to be demonstrated), with a colonnade on at least two sides. On the west side, facing a large reception room paved in _opus_ _sectile_, there was a fountain supplies by a lead _fistula_. A channel, with a rectangular section and semicircular housing, made from a series of large limestone blocks ran along the perimeter of the open area, close to the stylobate. Several fragments of _labrum_ reused in the building of a second phase wall in the house, may also have come from this area. This was a white marble basin (about 90 cm in diameter) with an everted rim decorated with an Ionic _kymation_ and ribbed exterior surface. Given the paucity of evidence from residential contexts, the find of several sculpture fragments in the area occupied by the porticoed courtyard is of interest. A female head with hair gathered and held by a bow, and a female leg, not draped, were probably belonged to the sculptures that constituted part of the furnishings. The decorative apparatus from the first phase of the residence was characterised overall by a strong classical revival, which clearly emerges in the floors. The wall paintings, less well-preserved and more difficult to interpret than the floors, also show indications of a desire to hark back to the “antique”. The absence of wall painting imitating marble, widely documented in northern Italy precisely between the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. is a prime example. Fresco fragments with a yellow background, garlands, and red frame, were recovered from a layer sealed between two floors relating to the house’s two main phases.

Dal 2005 l’Università di Trieste ha dato avvio ad una campagna di scavo in un’area a ridosso della via Gemina e coincidente con una delle insulae residenziali più importanti della città antica, vicina al Foro e al porto fluviale. L’intera area era stata indagata da Brusin negli anni Trenta del Novecento; altri sondaggi, con trincee oblique più vicine all’area in questione, si devono a Bertacchi. La zona a ridosso della strada moderna, tuttavia, attigua al punto di rinvenimento del cosiddetto mosaico del “Tappeto fiorito”, non era mai stata interessata da interventi moderni. Le indagini hanno permesso di individuare un importante complesso edilizio, probabilmente di proprietà di un funzionario imperiale o di notabili locali, che si inserisce tra i più interessanti contesti di natura residenziale tardo-antica dell’Italia settentrionale. Per quanto la planimetria completa della casa non sia ancora nota, è verosimile proporre la presenza di più ingressi: il principale (non ancora individuato) doveva aprirsi verso la via Gemina, da alcuni indicata come il decumano principale della città antica, posta a sud della strada moderna, mentre un’area di accesso secondaria, dotata di corte lastricata e di un pozzo, è stata in parte scavata sul lato orientale della Casa, in rapporto con il cardine che delimitava ad est l’insula. Ciò che si evince con grande evidenza dalla lettura planimetrica della Casa è l’accostamento paratattico di nuclei di ambienti raccolti attorno ad almeno tre corti scoperte collegate da corridoi, ma in qualche modo autonomi e definiti da destinazioni diverse. La Casa deve il suo nome al pavimento musivo policromo, con eroti all’interno di ghirlande fiorite, che decorava uno degli ambienti privati. Un dato di notevole rilievo è stata la possibilità di datare con estremo rigore, la realizzazione di uno dei pavimenti musivi agli anni 337-340 d.C. Questo terminus post quem, congiunto alla valutazione delle quote e dei rapporti stratigrafici dei piani pavimentali, ha permesso di distinguere tre fasi edilizie: l’impianto originario della dimora si porrebbe nei decenni centrali del IV d.C., mentre la principale fase di ristrutturazione intorno agli anni Settanta del medesimo secolo; quest’ultima fase non modificò in modo significativo la planimetria della Casa, anche se si verificano alcune modifiche all’apparato decorativo nel suo insieme. L’intervento edilizio più vistoso consiste, infatti, nel rifacimento di alcuni mosaici, ad una quota superiore di dieci centimetri rispetto a quella della pavimentazione originaria. A una terza fase (V d.C.?) corrisponderebbe, infine, il restauro di alcuni pavimenti o la realizzazione di nuovi, nonché la costruzione di intramezzi murari funzionali alla suddivisione di ampie stanze in ambienti più piccoli. È molto interessante notare come l’apparato decorativo della domus nella sua prima fase richiami modelli e motivi di chiara derivazione classicista, mentre nella seconda fase sembrano prevalere scelte decorative più in sintonia con il linguaggio formale dell’epoca.

In 2005, Trieste University began excavations in an area along the via Gemina in which one of the ancient city’s most important residential insulae_is situated, close to the forum and the river port. The entire area was investigated in the 1930s by Brusin; other oblique trenches were excavated closer to the area in question by Bertacchi. However, the zone beside the modern road, next to the place where the so-called “Flowered Carpet” mosaic was found has never been the object of modern interventions. The excavations identified an important building complex, probably owned by an imperial functionary or local aristocrats, which is one of the most interesting late antique residential contexts in northern Italy. Although the complete plan is not yet known, it may be suggested that it had several entrances: the main one (not yet found) must have opened onto the via Gemina, which is indicated by some to be the town’s decumanus maximus, situated south of the modern road, while a secondary entrance, with a paved courtyard and well, was partially excavated on the east side of the house, by the cardo deliminting the east side of the _insula_. During the 2018 campaign, a series of structures was identified whose overall reading, particularly of the northern rooms of the _domus_, was compromised by a complex series of cuts and post antique and contemporary interventions. Despite this, several of the structures present in Brusin’s excavation records were recognised and georeferenced. The layout of the area presented a sequence of rooms and construction phases, demonstrated, for example, by the relationships between the identified walls or by the structures overlying the tile floor associated with the mosaic floor with polychrome insertions that was lifted in the 1930s. Future research will aim to clarify the function of the rooms in this sector, the presence of another entrance and therefore how the area related to the road and shops and, where possible, to determine the relationship of this sector with the rest of the _domus_.