Season Team

• AIAC_1983 - Regio VII, insula VI and Villa delle Colonne a mosaico - 2014
  In June and July of 2014, the Via Consolare Project conducted stratigraphic excavations and removal of modern debris in the front room of a shop at VII 6, 14, in the atrium of the next-door house (VII 6, 10.11.16), and in the pavement directly outside of doorway VII 6, 11. The first trench (AA009), measuring 6m by 5m, occupied the majority of the front room (Room 73) of the north-eastern shop on the block. The second (AA010), covering the majority of the atrium (Room 61) and fauces (Room 60) of the property accessed by doorway VII 6, 11, measured 7m by 5m. The final trench (AA011), was 4m by 1m running between two brick piers that define this same entrance, exposing the northward continuation of features recovered within AA010. Excavation produced 33, 49, and 20 stratigraphic units respectively, but only reached natural soils via small sondages through pre-existing holes in an otherwise well-preserved _opus_ _signinum_ floor of AA 010. Excavation in AA009 neither reached full depth nor produced natural soils due to the recovery of a preserved AD 79 cellar under a partially collapsed final-phase floor. The creation of the cellar removed virtually all traces of earlier phases. Nevertheless, it was possible to identify preexisting property walls that had been reused in the creation of the shop. The shop appears to have been part of a sizeable, multi-story apartment complex that included construction of the ‘Great Cistern’ on its southern side at the same time. That the walls were designed to bear considerable loads is clear from their massive foundations and the reuse of blocks of tufo di Nocera as ashlar quoins. Excavation of eruptive material suggests the collapsed upper stories of this structure were decorated in relatively high quality decoration. Further investigation into the contents of the cellar and its state at the time of the eruption will await future field seasons. Cleaning of modern debris in AA010, produced a previously excavated but largely undocumented impluvium covered and surrounded by a mosaic of large tesserae in four different coloured stones. The sequence of building in the structure makes it plausible that the impluvium represents the reuse of earlier decorative surfaces in an otherwise relatively diminutive dwelling. Subsequent alterations to the property include the addition and removal of upper stories, the cutting of a new drain capped with tiles, one of which was stamped with the name ‘Holconius,’ and the creation of a small vaulted sacellum. Excavation of AA011 recovered evidence of modern piping running along the northern sidewalk of the block, but also the continuation of the drain from AA010. At depth, evidence of a charcoal rich, ritual foundation deposit, possibly related to a change in the insula frontage or sidewalk kerbing awaits further investigation. Overall, the 2014 field season augmented the understanding of changes related to the creation of the ‘Great Cistern’ and situated the development of this block into its wider urban context between the 3rd c. BC and the 1st c. AD.
• AIAC_1983 - Regio VII, insula VI and Villa delle Colonne a mosaico - 2015
  In June and July of 2015, the Via Consolare Project conducted stratigraphic excavations and analysis of standing remains in the area of the Villa delle Colonne a mosaico as a part of on-going research into the chronology, urban development, and utilization of the properties along the Via Consolare, from Pompeii’s surburbium to its forum. Excavation involved the continuation a trench initiated but not completed in 2009 (AA005). This trench, measuring 10.5m by 2.5m, was situated within the raised platform upon which the Villa sits, between the core of the Villa proper and a row of six columns on its southern side. Running centrally through the trench, an apparently unpublished earlier sondage had removed ancient stratigraphy but for the western and northern sides of the area. This permitted relatively deep excavation to be undertaken via stepped removal of the modern backfill. Excavation produced 58 stratigraphic units, recovering traces in section of a volcanic sand deposit that likely overlies natural soils. The general phases of activity recovered in the excavation began with a relatively deep natural topography, and some early levelling deposits. Phase 2 witnessed the primary construction of the central Villa core with walls and use surfaces more than a meter below the current Villa thresholds. Phase 3 saw the addition of a raised platform and six columns on the southern side of the Villa along with several additional columns inside the core structure and a drain running southward from its centre. Evidence of the construction process for the western retaining wall were preserved in the form of layout lines scored directly into the Villa's exterior. At a point after this, the Villa was hemmed in by the construction or reconstruction of a row of shops and associated back rooms to the west, which perhaps shortly thereafter received a water pipe that ran through the portico. At this point too, another drain was added, putting the previous drain out of use. These changes appear to relate to the addition or modification of upper stories to the Villa and the transformation of the core of the Villa into a service wing, activities which may be provisionally and circumstantially dated to roughly the Claudian period. Continued floor raising and related modifications to the second drain characterised the final ancient phase observed in AA005 (Phase 6), a period that throughout the Villa witnessed the creation of some of its most distinctive characteristics, including the large viridarium that occupied the backs of the tombs and the eponymous mosaic columns. A final phase of change visible in these walls involving yet more upper storey access, was not reflected in the deposits of AA005. Overall, investigations in 2015 have revealed important information about the surprising depth of the original topography of the area, suggesting that much of what is now observed is the result of large-scale levelling activities. Traces of further 'Oscan' burials such as were found in the area of the viridarium, have not yet been recovered in the area of the Villa.
• AIAC_1983 - Regio VII, insula VI and Villa delle Colonne a mosaico - 2018
  In June and July of 2018, the Via Consolare Project continued stratigraphic excavations in the area of the Villa delle Colonne a mosaico as a part of its on-going research into the chronology, urban development, and utilization of the properties along the Via Consolare, from Pompeii’s surburbium to its forum. The four trenches in the Villa core were opened (AA016, AA017, AA018, AA020), intended to provide material dating the earliest phases of Villa construction and to explore the nature of the final-phase utilisation of space. That in the north-eastern corner (AA016) produced evidence of a broad conduit draining water into a deep cistern, with evidence that the first phase of the Villa had included an interior colonnade of brick columns previously thought to be a secondary addition. This cistern and drain went out of use in the final phases as the Villa’s vertical expansion came to be supported by several large piers. The trench to the west (AA018) examined the central court and a small room to the south. This uncovered a lead pipe (fistulum) that ran laterally across the courtyard, originating in a large, above-ground cistern to the west of the core. Further traces of the brick-column colonnade and a thin opus signinum floor provided evidence of the changes to surrounding rooms that had attended the addition of upper stories to the Villa. This area also established that the Villa core does not actually represent an earlier phase of the Villa, but instead is a massive square platform, nearly 2 m deep that had been built during the initial construction in order to elevate it above its local surroundings. Excavations intended to recover the destination of the fistulum (AA020) revealed that it had not reached the final phase water features that are located in the south-eastern corner of the core, but rather ran towards the bath-suite situated to the east of the core. These also provided evidence of final phase changes including the probable removal of elements of the lead pipe. Exceptionally, in the area of two cooking platforms (AA017) a final phase build-up of cooking debris was recovered, producing a laminate of charcoal, ash, and lime above a packed earth floor, that documented the use of space in the area until the eruption itself. At depth in this area the base of the Villa platform was recovered, displaying a thick sequence of fills and building debris that provisionally date the Villa to the early 1st c. CE. Removal of modern debris (AA018) in the area of the northern entrance corridor produced evidence of extensive early modern exploration, likely in pursuit of underlying Oscan graves, but also revealed sufficient surviving ancient stratigraphy to reveal a beaten earth track with repairs, and several late period changes to the walls and door closure system. This area is to be explored more fully in 2019. Excavation in 2018 has dramatically altered the chronology of the Villa, the motivations of its builders, and the role it played in the urban fabric of the area outside of the Porta Ercolano.
• AIAC_2477 - Masseria De Carolis - 2013
  Durante la campagna di scavo ed indagine 2013 sono stati aperti diversi saggi stratigrafici sui fronti nord, est e sud delle strutture finora messe in luce. Sul fronte nord, è continuato lo scavo del pozzo, appurandone la sua connessione con la cisterna ad ovest ma riportando solo interro vulcanoclastico relativo all’eruzione del 472 d.C. In prossimità del pozzo è stato aperto un saggio lungo il muro esterno nord della carbonaia. Qui si è notato un imponente interro relativo all’eruzione del 472 d.C. che scendeva anche sotto il livello di calpestio originario dell’area, come si può desumere dalla quota della risega di fondazione dell’edificio. L’interro del 472 andava a coprire direttamente il deposito cineritico dell’eruzione del 79 d.C. Sopra questa è stata rinvenuta un’impronta di dolio tagliata nella cenere, un basso muretto ed una scala che conduce all’area del pozzo. Lungo il versante est del sito è stato individuato un nuovo ambiente, forse il primo pertinente alla villa vera e propria, coperto da uno strato di macerie probabilmente pertinenti alla fase eruttiva, su cui è posto lo spesso deposito vulcanoclastico. In quest’area si è raggiunto il livello pavimentale, caratterizzato da un mosaico a tessere bianche e nere, molto lacunoso, con tracce di buche di palo. Sul fronte sud sono stati rinvenuti alcune porzioni di muri, di cui una sembra di particolare interesse, in quanto permette di stabilire una sequenza stratigrafica per cui i muri relativi alla villa sembrano essere precedenti a quelli più legati all’edificio termale. In ultimo, sempre sul fronte sud, è stato rinvenuto un muro di terrazzamento con orientamento nord-sud il quale serviva probabilmente a dividere l’area a cielo aperto rivestita in cocciopesto in due parti.
• AIAC_2477 - Masseria De Carolis - 2014
  Durante la campagna di scavo 2014 buona parte del tempo e delle risorse sono state dedicate al recupero e restauro dei paramenti murari e dei manufatti rinvenuti durante la campagna stessa e nelle campagne precedenti. Particolare attenzione ha ricevuto una parete affrescata, rinvenuta in crollo, e la messa in sicurezza dell’area dell’ _apoditerium_ delle terme. Le attività di scavo si sono concentrate in tre aree: la terrazza in cocciopesto a sud del quartiere termale, il _tepidarium_, l’area a margine della villa nell’area sud-est del sito. L’area della terrazza in cocciopesto a sud del quartiere termale era stata ampiamente sconvolta negli anni ‘80 dal mezzo meccanico ed in particolare dallo sversamento di materiale misto che ha trasformato l’intero settore in una discarica abusiva. Tale situazione era ormai nota dalle precedenti campagne di scavo, tuttavia è risultato necessario rimuovere il riempimento moderno che ancora insisteva sul cocciopesto, in modo non solo da poter recuperare tutto il materiale ceramico antico (sebbene misto al moderno), dall’altra per creare una via di scolo per le acque piovane, seguendo la pendenza antica del pavimento. Lo scavo non ha mostrato grandi sorprese, poiché la maggioranza degli strati risultava chiaramente moderna, tranne che per un solo contesto, antico, in cui è stata rinvenuta una sepoltura infantile. Questa si va a collocare in prossimità dell’area non toccata dal mezzo meccanico negli anni ‘80 ed in cui nel 2010 sono state rinvenute due sepolture infantili in anfora. Lo scavo del _tepidarium_ era un completamento delle attività di indagine eseguite nel 2007-2008 durante le quali fu messo in luce solo metà dell’ambiente. Coerentemente con quanto già osservato in precedenza, sono stati scavati gli strati che insistevano ancora sul pavimento, tutti relativi all’ultima fase di vita del complesso (metà V sec. d.C.) precedenti l’eruzione del 472 d.C. Poggiati sul pavimento riscaldato, crollato al centro al tempo dell’eruzione a causa del gran peso degli interri, sono state scavate due sepolture infantili, senza corredo e parzialmente coperte da tegole. Nella terza ed ultima area investigata durante la campagna 2014, nell’angolo sud-est del sito, è stata rinvenuta una parete in crollo su alcune macerie ed un corridoio con rampa di accesso al secondo piano della villa, oltre il quale un basso muro rivestito di cocciopesto delimita un’area probabilmente a giardino.
• AIAC_3623 - Pompei, Insula VI.1 - 2006
  Insula VI.1 lies at the north-western corner of Pompeii and is bounded by the Via Consolare and the Vicolo di Narciso. It was originally uncovered to the eruption level in 1770/71 and 1783-9. It was excavated as a summer school to train students (he Anglo-American Project at Pompeii AAPP) between 1996 and 2006. The aim was to excavate the area of the entire insula to natural. The only areas where complete excavation was not achieved were where there were extant mosaic floors, or where health and safety concerns prevented the exploration of small deep trenches. At the same time a full record of the standing walls was carried out. All of the spoil was sieved resulting in very full artefact recovery, and a large-scale environmental programme was undertaken. At the time of the eruption in AD 79 the insula contained two large atrium houses (the Casa delle Vestali VI.1.6-8/24-6) and the Casa del Chirurgo (VI.1.9-10), an inn with a garden dining area (VI.1.1/4), several bars facing onto the Via Consolare (VI.1. 2-3, VI.1.5, VI.1.16-7/21, VI.1.18/20), a shrine (VI.1.13/22), a shop (VI.1.11-2) and an industrial area (VI.1.14-15/21), with a well and later a public fountain at its tip (VI.1.19). The excavations were able to show how the insula was developed, with the two houses providing the core of the early occupation and the other areas of the insula being in-filled afterwards. The use of the space within these other parts of the insula changed over time with a notable early feature being industrial processes that required large tanks which originally fronted the Via Consolare. Some of these developments have been outlined in Jones and Robinson 2004, 2005a, 2005b, 2008. Specialist work started whilst the excavation was underway, and has continued since with final publications starting to appear. The coin assemblage has been published in full (see Hobbs 2013), and the monograph on the Casa del Chirurgo (Anderson et al forthcoming) will go the publishers early in 2015.