Summary (English)
In 2010 investigations were undertaken in the northern sector of the area, where the excavation continued in the area west of the Small Baths (building A, trench CVI). A trench was opened in order to carry out a structural check (CIX) which looked at the entrance to the horrea and rooms I, II, XXXV and XXXVI (building B). In the southern sector investigations relating to the construction phases of building G continued (trench CVIII).
Trench CVI aimed to define the structuring of the drain from the frigidarium pool brought to light at the end of the 1970s by the local Archaeology Group. This drainage system was seen to function with a system of sluices, formed by fragments of marble cornices reused for this purpose. The excavation, begun in the previous season, identified another drainage system to the exterior of the Small Baths. This was at a right-angle to the frigidarium drain and its layers of collapse were cut by agricultural activities. An interesting discovery in the north part of the trench was a wall, parallel to the perimeter wall of room VI of the Small Baths and positioned on the same axis as the channel identified in 2009. The presence of a threshold and patches of beaten floor surfaces and related make ups, suggests the presence of a series of structures to the west of the bath building.
Trench CIX showed the structural differences existing between rooms I, II and XXXVI of the horrea (building B). In room I the plinth relating to the south door jamb of the entrance was present at foundation level. The most interesting element was constituted by the presence of US 6, a structure on a north-south alignment, constituted by cobbles bonded with mortar, interpretable as the ‘upside down beam’ foundation for the threshold of room I. The presence of the south door jamb makes it possible to suggest the existence of a symmetrical jamb on the north side and to calculate a maximum width of about 4m for the entrance to room I, as the width of the room is about 5.4 m. In room XXXVI, on the foundation of the closing wall there was no plinth or threshold in the stretch that was excavated, thus it may be suggested that it had a smaller entrance. If the entrance was symmetrical it would have a maximum width of 2 m given that room XXXVI is also 5.40 m wide. This difference in the size of the openings suggests that these rooms facing the warehouse entrance (I, II and XXXVI) had different functions:
-Room I (maximum opening about 4 m): possibly a room used for checking and registering the goods entering/leaving the warehouse. The presence of such a wide entrance would facilitate the transit of the saccarii and the movement of goods.
-Room II (opening about 2.80 m): living space for the horrearii?
-Room XXXVI (estimated maximum opening 2 m): the small door suggests the necessity for security and control such as required by an administrative office or archive.
Trench CVIII was opened in order to define the construction phases of building G, given its particular tri-apsidal plan (apses ‘e’, ‘f’ and ‘g’). The investigation, which concentrated on the joins between the perimeter walls and internal walls of rooms ‘b’, ‘c’ and ‘d’, recorded data of notable interest. The dividing wall closing room ‘b’ to the east resulted as being in phase with the perimeter walls, whilst the walls of rooms ‘c’ and ‘d’ can be attributed to a phase datable to the 4th-5th century A.D., as shown by the stratigraphic relationships and the finds. Therefore, in confirmation of the data acquired during the 2009 campaign, the foundations of building G can be placed within a chronological horizon limited to the end of the 1st century A.D., or more probably, the beginning of the 2nd century A.D., whilst a radical spatial reorganisation occurred in the 4th-5th century A.D. This was probably linked to the other restructuring which took place in the area situated north of building G and the nearby complex H on which work has yet to be completed.
- Marinella Pasquinucci - Università degli Studi di Pisa, Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche del Mondo Antico 
- Simonetta Menchelli - Università degli Studi di Pisa, Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche del Mondo Antico 
- Paolo Sangriso 
Director
Team
Research Body
- Università degli Studi di Pisa, Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche del Mondo Antico
Funding Body
- Comune di Rosignano Marittimo
- Fondazione Cassa di Risparmi Livorno
- Società Chimica Solvay
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