Index for 2017
- 394 - Valentina Caminneci, Nicoletta Di Carlo. 2017. Monte Adranone (Sambuca di Sicilia). Scavo nella necropoli di età ellenistica . In 2014 a brief excavation was carried out by Soprintendenza BB.CC. AA. of Agrigento in the archaeological site Monte Adranone near Sambuca di Sicilia. There last century scholars have identified the ancient Adranon, mentioned by Diodorus in regard of the first Punic war. According to the archaeological data the ancient city was settled in the 6th century BC, probably by Selinous, fortified during the 4th century BC and destroyed in the middle of the 3rd century BC. The new dig has investigated the necropolis near the South Gate of the city and we have found ten tombs cut in the rock, dated to the 4th-3rd century BC. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 393 - Massimo Botto. 2017. The Punic settlement of Pani Loriga in the light of recent discoveries. This paper will focus on the Punic settlement of Pani Loriga starting from the review of material from the old excavations and the analysis of the recent work undertaken by ISMA. The re-examination of the published and unpublished documentation concerning the excavations directed by Ferruccio Barreca allows us to confirm that the site was probably founded at the end of the 7th century BC. The transfer of a community of people with an Eastern tradition to a hill near the modern town of Santadi must be seen within a precise program of territorial control initiated by the powerful settlement of Sulky. In this defensive system Pani Loriga occupied a strategic position of primary importance, as the settlement was to act as a link between the coastal hinterland and the internal areas of the country, rich in minerals and agro-pastoral products. This function was maintained through the following Punic phase. The importance of the settlement is shown by Carthage’s strong interest in it, which has been clearly demonstrated by the recent excavations by ISMA which identified and partially revealed vast living areas, that were originally built between the end of the 6th and the early 5th century BC, that is, in the earliest phase of the north African metropolis’ presence on Sardinia. Keywords: Pani Loriga; Sulcis; Sardinia; Punic Settlements; Punic Architecture and Urbanism. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 392 - Emanuela Murgia. 2017. Pittura parietale ad Aquileia Intonaci dipinti dall’insula a nord-est del Foro . The archaeological area named “Fondi ex Cassis” represents one of the most interesting quarters in Aquileia, along the via Gemina. Thanks to archaeological excavation, performed from 2005 to 2016 by University of Trieste, an area of 6000 m2 has been uncovered. The stratigraphic evidence reveals that the area has been in use from the republican age until the Fourth Century AD. The first survey (2005) unearthed a portion of the so-called “Casa dei Putti danzanti”. From a structural standpoint, it is possible to identify two main phases, which can be related to the beginning and to the end of the fourth Century AD. A large quantity of fragmentary wall-paintings came to light during the excavation: the majority of preserved frescoes can be dated to the first half of the fourth century AD on the basis of both its motifs and the stratigraphical observations. In the painting, it is worth pointing out the absence of walls to fake marble, actually greatly testified in Regio X between the third and the fourth centuries AD and in Aquileia in the panels at the Aula north in the Basilica (beginning of the fourth century AD). The remains of thermae complex, dated to the republican period, was documented in the southwestern section of the excavated area. The discovery of a consistent nucleus of frescoes has been particularly significant, mostly imitating marble of various colours and types. Stylistic analysis suggests a timeframe between the end of the second century BC and the first half of the first century BC. The fragments of wall-painting show high quality in composition and style and represent an important example of First style in Cisalpine Gaul. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 391 - Alessia Contino, Claudio Capelli , David Djaoui , Giorgio Rizzo. 2017. Anfore neo-puniche del I secolo d.C. di Arles, Ostia e Roma: classificazione tipo-petrografica, origine e diffusione . The study of the neo-punic amphorae from archaeological excavations in Rome (Nuovo Mercato di Testaccio), Ostia (Terme del Nuotatore) and Arles (Arles-Rhône 3 wreck) allowed the possibility of analyzing a category of little known North African amphorae which were in circulation during the 1st century AD. This has also presented the opportunity to illustrate and discuss the limits of the few typological references available for the classification of such amphorae - Mau XL, Vindonissa 592, Oberaden fig. 25, n. 4, Dressel 18 forms - and to attempt a new methodological approach to typology, in which traditional morphological study has been associated with the analysis of petrographic and technical features of fabrics, to set up a new integrated classification as realistically as possible and directly referable to production centers, which, although not always precisely located, are likely to be found mainly in the Tunisian Sahel area. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 390 - Jacopo Bonetto Università degli Studi di Padova - Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali, Alessandro Mazzariol - Università degli Studi di Padova - Dipartimento dei Beni Culturali . 2017. Nuovi dati d’archivio e nuove evidenze archeologiche sulla necropoli punica orientale di Nora (Cagliari). The ancient city of Nora is a Phoenician, Punic and Roman settlement rising on a peninsula that encloses the Gulf of Cagliari in the south-west coast of Sardinia (Italy). First authorized excavations were made by F. Nissardi in 1891-1892 on the north side of the isthmus, where the Punic chamber-tombs lie. Despite the remarkable findings published by G. Patroni (1904) and a review of grave potteries undertaken by P. Bartoloni and C. Tronchetti (1981), researches about the necropolis were only partially deepened; therefore, some reports, pictures, sketches and maps remained unpublished in the archive of Soprintendenza Archeologia belle arti paesaggio in Cagliari and in the Archivio Centrale dello Stato in Rome. A critical study of these documents has been undertaken by the University of Padova in order to reconstruct the history of investigations, to recover the archaeological records and to contextualize the finds of the last half of the 1800s in a new view of the punic necropolis of the Punic colony. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 389 - Stefano Bertoldi , Gabriele Castiglia , Cristina Menghini-Università di Siena. 2017. La produzione di ceramica a pareti sottili di Poggio alle Fonti a Santa Cristina in Caio. Tipologie, cronologie e quantificazioni . The excavation of a large furnace discharge and the study of the thin walled pottery of Santa Cristina in Caio has allowed to propose a typology of this kind of pottery and to identify some original forms, perhaps produced only in this settlement: likely, the production of this fine ware takes inspiration from glass products, especially during the 1st century AD. The statistical study on chronologies has allowed to identify two periods of increased activity of the furnace, which can be framed in the construction phase of the thermal implant and in a phase of restoration of the structure. The circumstance suggests that there may be a correlation between pottery production and architectural constructions. It is possible that there was a locatio-conductio contract between ceramists and the owner of production structures and raw materials. In this perspective, it is quite obvious to observe a superior income of the owner in the times of more intense production and, therefore, a bigger spending capacity. The presence of the baths and of the kiln probably had a striking impact on Santa Cristina in Caio landscape: within its topographic basin, between the end of the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century AD., it is likely that a process of deforestation took place, fostering the creation of new agricultural areas in order to support the vicus, the La Befa and Casalone villas and the farms located in the Ombrone valley. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 388 - Paolo Brocato. 2017. La necropoli di San Giuliano: note sulla topografia e sull'architettura funeraria del sepolcreto di San Simone (Barbarano Romano, VT) . Here is a general overview of topography and funerary architecture of the Etruscan necropolis of San Simone in Barbarano Romano (VT). Development takes a long time from the orientalizing age to the Hellenistic age. The monumental tombs are represented here by important examples that contribute to outline the evolution of architectural typologies, not only in the center of San Giuliano but also in southern Etruria. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 387 - Giancarlo Pastura - Università della Tuscia. 2017. Note preliminari dallo scavo di San Valentino – Soriano nel Cimino (VT). The paper presents the results of a survey conducted on the medieval site of San Valentino, located 5 km North of Soriano nel Cimino. The archaeological excavations carried out by the University of Tuscia between 2015 and 2016 have highlighted the main historical phases of the settlement, from the Roman period until the modern age. The project proposes an integrated approach of methods and technologies to the reconstruction of the medieval site and its structure, through the geophysical surveys conducted with GPR method, field survey, and archeological excavation. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 386 - Barbara Maurina. 2017. Testimonianze di rivestimento parietale dalle Domus dell'Emblema figurato e del Battuto bianco a Privernum . The paper presents an assemblage of painted plaster and stucco fragments that have been unearthed in the early Nineties of last century in the site of Privernum during the archaeological excavation conducted in the domus of the Figured Emblem and, to a lesser extent, in the adjacent domus of the White Floor. These are two luxurious aristocratic houses that were built between the end of the second century and the early first century BC in the northern part of the ancient city and were abandoned during the second century AD after they underwent a series of building interventions. With the exception of a fragment of fresco preserved in situ in one of the rooms of the domus of the Figured Emblem, the walls of the houses did not preserve the original plaster, perhaps intentionally dismantled in ancient times. The excavated fragments originate mostly from artificial layers thrown outdoors in order to raise the floor level. Most of the studied material can be related to a mature (“post-pompeian”) phase of the Fourth Style, that probably goes back to a time comprised between the Flavian and the Antonine period, while only some sporadic examples are attributable to the Second or the Third Style. In addition to the wall plaster, the excavation in the Domus of the Figured Emblem has brought to light the remains of a small building site. It seems to be related to a painter’s workshop engaged in the reconstruction or restoration of the wall paintings during one of the restoriations which took place during the early imperial period in the rooms of the domus. Key-words: Priverno, domus, fresco wall paintings, stucco moulding, painter’s workshop, ancient pigments. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 385 - Paolo Sangriso – Università degli Studi di Pisa, Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere.. 2017. Una schola ai Vada Volaterrana . The seat of a Roman guild (schola) has been identified in the archaeological site of San Gaetano di Vada. The schola was related to a large store-house (horrea); from a wider perspective, it was part of a complex related to the harbour system of Volterra, the so-called Vada Volaterrana. A marble statue of Attis and the symbols minted on a token, both unearthed nearby, suggest that the collegium in charge of the schola and the horrea was that of the dendrophori. The cult of Cybele, Bellona and Attis is already attested epigraphically in Nothern Etruria (Volterra and Luni). The reform of this cult, famously enacted by Claudius, may have had important consequences on Volaterran region, due to the existing bonds between the Emperor and some members of the highly influential Volaterran family of the Caecina. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 384 - William Van Andringa - École française de Rome, Università di Lille 3 e Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Study, Henri Duday - université de Bordeaux, Thomas Creissen. 2017. La necropoli di Porta Nocera (Pompei): nascita e sviluppo di un paesaggio funerario romano (I secolo a.C.-I secolo d.C.). Rapporto della campagna 2016 . The archaeological program on the Roman cemetery of Porta Nocera at Pompeii is justified by the excellent state of preservation of the archaeological remains, which offers the perfect opportunity to examine all the information available about the history of the cemetery and its occupants, the arrangement of the tombs, and the organisation of sepulchral space (e.g. architecture, inscriptions, funerary artefacts). All this gives crucial information on the way individual and family memory were displayed. The important amount of information recovered also concerns the various funerary and ritual activities that can be reconstructed on the basis of the material retrieved from the ground around the tombs, from the cremation areas and in the fill of the graves. The study of this material allows for quite an accurate reconstruction of the ceremonies performed in the cemetery. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 383 - Paola Guacci - Università del Salento, Dipartimento di Beni Culturali, Laboratorio di Topografia Antica e Fotogrammetria (LabTAF), Alfio Merico - Università del Salento , Giuseppe Alvar Minaya - Università del Salento, Giorgia Tulumello - Università del Salento, Giuseppe Ceraudo, Italo M. Muntoni. 2017. La via Traiana: nuovi dati per lo studio della statio di Ad Pirum (Troia - Foggia, località Perazzone) . Between 2015 and 2016 archaeological excavations has been conducted by LabTAF of University of Salento in Perazzone (Troia, Foggia, Italy) where the statio ad Pirum along the via Traiana is localized; these investigations brought to light two dif-ferent areas. In the first one (Saggio 1) ten “cappuccina” type burials were identified and dated to the Late Roman period; these burials were seated into a room. The second area (Saggio 2) refered to domestical structures with part of pavement (composed by “pedali”) and three doliola, one of that with several ceramic sherds, dated to the Late Roman period too. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 382 - Raffaele Laino. 2017. Il relitto di Diamante (CS): esperienza di scavo su basso fondale. This report summarizes the activities and the results of the underwather archaeological investigation conducted by the Soprintendenza Archeologica of Calabria in Diamante (CS), situated in the northern tyrrenian coast of Calabria. The team, composed by external collaborators of Soprintendenza Archeologica, has worked in the august 2011 in the harbor of the city. The excavation revealed the presence of a wreck’s commercial ship, the amphoras fragments founded are datable to the half of 3th centuries B.C. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 381 - T. Terpstra - Northwestern University, Francesca Del Vecchio. 2017. Preliminary Field Report of the 2014 Excavations and Ceramics at the Villa San Marco, Stabiae . The third and final excavation season at Stabiae of the Advanced Program of Ancient History and Art (APAHA) in 2014 in-tended to reach a better understanding of the architectural development of the Villa San Marco. To that end, two trenches were excavated. The first was located in a small, enclosed garden (viridarium) close to the atrium, suggested to be the Villa’s original core. This room is one of only a handful where two different architectural alignments meet (that of the Villa’s main part and that of its bathing complex) and where it is possible to excavate without removing mosaic flooring. In the adjacent architecture, signs of restructuring are visible, suggesting alterations to the arrangement of rooms. Those alterations notwithstanding, the results of the excavations showed that little rebuilding had occurred in this part of the Villa, except for a change to a system of drains related to a wall alteration. The second trench was located just north of the threshold of the Villa’s tablinum, where the threshold connects two sections of the Villa that have a different socioeconomic character: an undecorated working sector to the north and a decorated domestic sector to the south. Here as well the trench promised to be rewarding for investigations into architectural development. Together with the atrium, the tablinum is thought to have belonged to the Villa’s original construction. A surprise in this trench was that the tablinum foundation did not show signs of Republican-era construction. Another surprise was the discovery of a wide and deep wall, either the outside face of a large, out-of use cistern or the foundation for a demolished loadbearing wall. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 380 - Aurelio Burgio, Giuseppe Bordonaro, Vincenza Forgia, Oscar Belvedere. 2017. Baucina (Pa) – Monte Falcone 2014 Indagini nella necropoli . The aim of this report is to present the results of rescue excavations, executed in order to contrast illegal excavation at the necropolis at Baucina, in northwestern Sicily, where Punic, Greek and indigenous traditions coexisted. Their relationship is the focus of our ongoing investigation. We collected an archeological dataset which demonstrates that the interaction between three different ethnicities resulted in an impressive variety of rituals. The future excavation of the town could throw further light on this interaction, which took place in a period in which Greek and Punic peoples designed their spheres of influence of the territories within the Mediterranean area, and the role of the social system within the geopolitical framework. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 379 - Riccardo Di Cesare - Università degli Studi di Foggia. Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Daniela Liberatore - Università degli Studi di Foggia. Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici . 2017. Le tabernae di Alba Fucens. This paper aims at studying the tabernae of Alba Fucens in the context of the historical, urban and monumental develop-ment of the Latin colony. The tabernae were built in the late Republican period according to modular patterns and in relation with the central axes of the road network (via del Milario and via dei Pilastri) and were also located next to public buildings facing the Forum. As it has been shown by recent excavations, they underwent a series of structural and functional transformations, sometimes related to destructive events and subsequent reconstructions. This essay focuses on two main issues: a critical review of the old data; the discussion of the evidence from the new archaeological research, in particular that of the University of Foggia in the south-eastern area of the Forum. Key-words: Alba Fucens; Forum; tabernae; Roman Republican, Roman Imperial, Late Antique; coarse wares; Roman town planning. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 378 - Fabrizio Mollo- Dipartimento di Civiltà Antiche e Moderne, Università degli Studi di Messina, Valentina Casella, Mara Cipriani, Eugenio Donato , Stefano Paderni, Elisa Rizzo, Maria Sergi, Marco Sfacteria, Patrizia Siclari . 2017. Nuove indagini archeologiche nel Foro della città di Blanda (Tortora, Cosenza) (2016): rapporto preliminare . This report summarizes the activities and results of the first year of archaeological investigations conducted by the University of Messina at the site of ancient Blanda near Tortora, in northern Calabria. A team of graduate students from the Universities of Messina, Udine, and Calabria participated in the excavations, which took place in June, 2016, and were aimed at understanding the spatial organization of the Forum, Blanda’s principal square. The excavations revealed the presence of a commercial building (datable to the 2nd-4th centuries A.D.) aligned with plateia A, the town’s main avenue, and yielded new data about a porticus triplex that framed the northern, eastern and southern sides of the Forum. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 377 - Giuseppe Romagnoli - Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Luca Brancazi – Università della Tuscia , Lavinia Piermartini – Università della Tuscia . 2017. Tessennano (VT) Indagini archeologiche nella ex chiesa di Sant’Antonio (2009-2015) . The archaeological investigations preceding the restoration and consolidation of the church structure of St. Antonio in Tessennano near Viterbo (2009/2015) highlighted an articulated stratigraphy from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The earliest evidence, dating to the Romanesque period, belongs to the remains of entrance of the castrum, demolished during the 16th century enlargement of the church, and to a part of the first religious architectural complex. The investigation was completed in 2015 with the excavation of a pit, located at the bottom of the apse of the church. The filling of this pit can be related to a general reorganization of the site during the 13th century. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 376 - Verena Gassner, Angelo D’Angiolillo . 2017. Fornaci per ceramica, per laterizi e per la produzione del ferro a Velia. This contribution gives an overview on productive activities in the town of Elea/Velia (Lucania, Southern Italy) and its territory. After a summary of our previous knowledge of kilns and other indicators for pottery production within the town follows a short description of the kiln in Contr. Vasalìa in the valley of Fiumarella, excavated in 1927, but re-examined few years ago by a group of young archaeologists. Subsequently we present the first results of the new project of the University of Vienna in the Eastern quarter of the town. Here at least 15 kilns, for which a production of pottery and bricks can be assumed with high probability, have been detected by geo-magnetic prospection in 2015. Most surprising however was the discovery of a large amount of iron slag over all the area which indicated the production of iron at Velia. During the excavations of 2015 and 2016 we explored two kilns of the Late Republican period, which were badly preserved, but for which the production and working of iron was proven by a high quantity of slag as well. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 375 - Maura Medri - Università Roma Tre, Stella Falzone, Marina Lo Blundo - Università Roma Tre, Silvia Calvigioni - Università Roma Tre. 2017. Le fasi costruttive del Santuario di Bona Dea (V, X, 2). Relazione sulle indagini svolte negli anni 2012 - 2013 . The Sanctuary of Bona Dea in the Regio V, X, 2 is one of the two temples dedicated to the goddess in Ostia. It's one of the oldest sanctuaries found in the city, that yielded three dedicatory inscriptions offered by three female worshippers and donors, named Octavia, Valeria Hetera and Terentia, which cover a time span from the I century B.C. until the I century A.D. The recently edited study on the adjacent Terme del Nuotatore (Baths of the Swimmer) has offered the opportunity for a new analysis of the Sanctuary's building phases, nine in total. An in-depth survey has been carried out in two entrance-hallways, one leading to the Sanctuary and the second conducting to the Baths. The picture that emerges from the survey enables us to understand in detail the architectural evolution of the Sanctuary, consisting in various increases of floor levels and consequent renovation of the wall frescoes. Besides the survey has shown that the Sanctuary was completely abandoned and filled up, probably in the IV century A.D., just as it happened to the other Bona Dea sanctuary in Ostia. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 374 - Simona Sterpa. 2017. Norchia (VT): la Tomba a Casetta della necropoli etrusca di Guado di Sferracavallo . In 2010 during an inspection for photographic purposes in the area of Guado di Sferracavallo, a rock hewn Etruscan tomb from the Hellenistic period was discovered. Since then three excavation campaigns have been conducted: the last being concluded at the end of July 2015. The area investigated is characterized by the presence of two tombs; the first with a decoration on the facade representing an Etruscan house and the typical features of those ridged roof tombs mainly found in the necropolis of Blera. The second, a few meters away, is much simpler both in structure and in the poorly preserved pediment decoration. In both tombs the funerary artifacts were recovered intact and helped to date the tombs from the late IV to the III centuries BC. The artifacts in both tombs are similar although the objects from tomb GDS 02 are smaller. Above the facade of tomb GDS 01 are a series of structures which suggest the existence, in the Guado di Sferracavallo area, of a real funeral complex of great interest which necessitates further excavations and study in order to clarify the structures and to put them under protection from theft and further destructive actions. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 373 - Emiliano Cruccas, Romina Carboni. 2017. Indagini archeologiche dell’Università degli Studi di Cagliari a Nora (CA) Progetto Isthmos - Campagne di scavo 2015-2016 . This paper focuses on the investigations conducted by the University of Cagliari in the former military area of the site of Nora during the last excavation campaigns (2015-2016). There are six excavation areas: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Omicron and Omega. The operations provided evidence of the presence of walls belonging to a large building, with three quadrangular rooms, that appears to extend to the east of the segment of the E-F road, identified in the previous excavation season. This article provides a preliminary report too on the terracotta votive figures from the zone of the former military area of Nora. They are figurines of various types, most of which are fragmentary, mold-made, depicting male and female characters. Most of the terracotta votives come from a trench cut into the ground, and they are perhaps linked to a sacred area not yet localized. The paper focuses on a monumental fountain too, excavated in the NE corner of the former military area. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
- 372 - Giulia Lodi. 2017. Testimonianze materiali dal territorio di Ariano Ferrarese (proprietà “Il Gombito”, Mesola - Ferrara). Alcuni casi di studio: anfore, lucerne, vasi potori a pareti sottili . The ceramic materials found in Ariano Ferrarese (Mesola, Ferrara) are making significant data on the settlement and commercial dynamics in the Po delta area for a wide time horizon that extends from the late Republican to the high middle age. The ancient settlement was built in a strategic area: near the Via Popilia which linked the towns of Rimini and Aquileia, passing through Adria and an ancient river bed connected to the inner lagoon paths, walking the edge of the flat-bottomed boats. Among the amphora finds, it is to report the discovery of a double barred handle with stamp bearing Greek letters attributable to Cos productions. Conspicuous are the finds of oil lamps, especially belonging to the families of so-called oil-lamps " a volute" and Firmalampen. The autopsy analysis of the findings allowed us to isolate an artefact that is among the types derived from Hellenistic Herzblattlampen, widespread mainly in northern Italy and in Noricum. The clay lamp with zoomorphic relief, configured like a caprid, can be attributed to the production of ceramics workshops Modena (Magreta and Cittanova) and is the second certification by the Ferrara area. The thin walled pottery is present in substantial quantity and in several variants, belonging to both the baked type in an oxidizing atmosphere, a reducing both. Only two fragments are attributable to the group called "ollette antroproposope". Among the artefacts, mostly pertaining to the Italic productions, stand out some drinking vessels imported from Gaul and the Iberian Peninsula. For reviewed materials, it was possible to establish a dating between the Augustan age and the beginning of the second century A.D. Key words: Ariano Ferrarese (FE), Ist century BC - IIIrd century AD, settlement, trade, amphorae, lamps, thin walled pottery PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet