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  • Piazza Calenda
  • Napoli
  • Neapolis
  • Italy
  • Campania
  • Naples
  • Naples

Credits

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Monuments

Periods

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Chronology

  • 300 BC - 200 BC

Season

    • In the area covered by the former Trianon cinema excavations investigated one of the towers of the urban fortifications that had previously emerged during the building’s construction in 1910. The restructuring of the theatre necessitated a rescue excavation, the results of which, once integrated into the new restructuring project, will render the ancient monument visible from the stalls. In particular a further two sides of the tower were uncovered. These belonged to the “tenaille” gate reconstructed by W. Johannowsky on the basis of the excavations undertaken during the “Risanamento” and situated on the summit of the small valley through which the present via Forcella runs. Rectangular in shape, the tower was constructed in pseudo-Greek style _opus quadratum_ with rusticated ashlar courses with quoining alternating with courses of orthostats which projected progressively towards the bottom. The structure was preserved to a height of 4 m, the east and west sides were circa 3.85-4.00 m long, whilst the north and south sides had been partially cut. Inside the structure was divided in two, although nothing can be said about the function of the eastern room where the entrance must have been. Three quarry marks were seen, incised on the face of a number of the blocks in the horizontal courses that were not “a facciavista”: an Σ in the east curtain, and the contiguous letters Δ and Η on the west side of the foundation base. Excavations in the foundation trench did not provide any useful chronological data, thus the 3rd century B.C. hypothesis suggested by W. Johannowsky remains valid. This was based on the quarry marks which found parallels in marks datable to this period found on bricks from ancient Velia and tiles from Pianura, in the _chòra_ of _Neapolis_.

Bibliography

    • S. De Caro 2003, L’attività della Soprintendenza archeologica di Napoli e Caserta nel 2002, in Atti del XLII Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia (Taranto 2002), Taranto: 569-621.