Season Director

• AIAC_3604 - Interamna Lirenas - 2016
  In 2016 the excavation of the theatre was been significantly extended and 90% of its plan has now been brought to light (the rest being known thanks to the results of the GPR survey). It is now clear that the theatre had been originally roofed (theatrum tectum), in line with other known examples from Italy and the provinces, and that it had undergone some notable structural modifications at a later stage (second phase). Our understanding of the process of post-abandonment spoliation has considerably improved and we recovered evidence of well-coordinated quarry-like activities dating to the Middle Ages: a central processing area (signalled by a thick layer of very small fragments of limestone) surrounded by piles of stone-blocks, significantly grouped in accordance with their qualities (e.g. colour). We also uncovered a fragment of a large inscription, part of a dedication to a wealthy freedman (a certain Anoptes), most likely a benefactor of the community of Interamna Lirenas. Further geophysical work (GPR) has been taking place over the rest of the urban area, producing an impressively detailed plan of the town, featuring a dense settlement pattern and a hitherto under-estimated monumental character.