The team from Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (Netherlands) extended the trenches and continued the surface survey begun in 2011 on the stretch of the via Appia between the modern roads via Erode Atticus and via del Casal Rotondo (V and VI miles).The following interventions were undertaken:

1) Stratigraphic excavations around the two tumuli, the so-called Tombe degli Orazi, in order to establish the exact perimeter, form and construction of the perimeter wall and the chronology of the northern tumulus, as well as the interventions undertaken by Luigi Canina in the 1800s;
2) Excavation in front of the north tumulus in the space between the via Appia and the tomb itself, north of the 2015 trench;
3) Excavations at the height of the tufa wall (see also trench 2 from 2011-2013), to check whether the sidewalk/kerb found along the north tumulus ‘degli Orazi’ continued towards the north;
4) Inventory of the archaeological finds in the sector in question;
5) 3D reconstruction of the monuments based on digital photographs.

The inventory of the stretch of the via Appia between the modern roads via Erode Atticus and via del Casal Rotondo (4) continued the work undertaken from 2009 to 2015 consisting in mapping of the monuments with DGPS, photographs and drawings. The main aim is the creation of an archaeological map of the area in question, that will form the base for more detailed analyses of this stretch of the via Appia in the suburbio of Roma.
The three-dimensional documentation (5), begun in 2013 and perfected during this latest campaign, is linked to the inventory. This records the monuments adjacent to the via Appia itself as well as those in the hinterland, which will be inserted into a specifically developed GIS/SIT 3D system, which forms the base for both scientific and popular visualisations of this stretch of the via Appia.

The survey of the areas adjacent to this stretch of the via Appia, carried out by a team from the Dutch Institute in Rome, was able to continue with the financial support of the Dutch CNR (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research). Geophysical investigations also took place. Other partners in the “Mapping the via Appia” project are the Archaeological Superintendency for Rome and the German Archaeological Institute in Rome.