Season Director

• AIAC_185 - S. Pietro di Villamagna - 2006
  In June and early July a campaign of excavation and geophysical survey was carried out at the site of Villa Magna. In spite of the fact that the villa is mentioned in two letters from _Marcus Aurelius_ to his tutor, Fronto (iv.5), and on a well-known inscription recording the paving of a road from Anagni to the villa (CIL X, 5909, A.D. 207), the site had never been the subject of scientific investigation. Over the northern sector of the villa was built the monastery of S. Pietro di Villamagna, mentioned in documents from the tenth century onwards. Of this, a Romanesque church and a line of 15th century fortifications are still visible. The magnetometry covered around 9 ha. Its spectacular results, still in the process of elaboration show the plan of the northern half of the villa. Excavation took place in front of the church and in the courtyard of the nineteenth-century casale, built on extensive vaulted substructures. An extensive cemetery occupied a yard at the entrance to the church, subsequently sealed by the fortification of the borgo around 1400. Inside the church, excavation in the northwest chapel revealed a group of tombs dating perhaps to the sixteenth century, cutting a series of pavements beneath. A Cosmatesque pavement was also revealed during the cleaning of a small clandestine excavation in the presbytery. In the courtyard of the casale, 300 meters to the South, the general plan of the productive sector of the villa was revealed. All floors were paved in marble, including that of the sumptuous _cella vinaria_ paved in _opus spicatum_ with tiles of Numidian marble, and panelled with marble and serpentine. Dolia emerging from this pavement leave no doubt that, in spite of its decoration, the room was used for the pressing and storage of wine.
• AIAC_185 - S. Pietro di Villamagna - 2007
  A Casale la nostra interpretazione del 2006 che l’ambiente situato a nord-est fosse una _cella vinaria_ per la produzione e per l’immagazzinamento del vino durante la fermentazione è stata confermata dalle indagini di tutta la stanza. Gli scavi hanno rivelato una serie di _dolia_ all’interno della cella. Benché sia il pavimento in _opus spicatum_ sia i _dolia_ stessi siano stati quasi completamente spoliati, i tagli negli strati d’argilla sottostanti mostravano la posizione di 28 di questi contenitori, sistemati su quattro file parallele. A sud della _cella vinaria_ si trova un secondo ambiente, II, definito da un muro che descrive un’emiciclo lungo il lato meridionale. Oltre di quest’ultimo, un secondo muro parallelo genera un ambulatorio, la stanza III. L’interpretazione della stanza II come _coenatio_ deriva non solo dal confronto con strutture analoghe in ville lussuose, ma anche dalle celebri lettere scritte da Marco Aurelio a Frontino (Fron., 4.6), in cui menziona la sua cena nel _torcular_. Verso ovest si trova un’ampia scalinata che costituisce l’entrata all’edificio. Essa è composta da una sequenza di pianerottoli pavimentati con un semplice mosaico bianco, separati da rampe di tre gradini completamente rivestiti di marmo lunense. I muri erano rivestiti con lo stesso marmo separato da lastre di pavonazetto. Un’occupazione più tarda è indicata da circa 200 buche di palo e fosse: quelle databili si inquadrano entro il XII secolo. Tale materiale ci permette di suggerire che il villaggio rappresentato dai buchi di palo era uno dei _casalia_ menzionati nei documenti contemporanei del monastero di S. Pietro di Villamagna. Scavi nell’area della chiesa hanno rivelato una torre campanaria, una fossa dentro la chiesa per la fusione della campana, oltre 200 tombe e strutture relative al monastero stesso. Ad est della chiesa, un nuovo sito, D, ha rivelato una strada romana ben pavimentata che correva in senso est-ovest, lungo cui fu costruita una struttura con una pianta a griglia, distrutta dal fuoco in qualche momento del periodo tardo-imperiale. Sia la strada sia le rovine dell’edificio erano tagliate da un fossato che correva in senso nord-sud attraverso la trincea. Nella sua parte occidentale mucchi di macerie indicano la presenza di una palizzata. Il fossato è datato dalla ceramica e dalle monete approssimativamente alla metà del V sec. d.C.
• AIAC_185 - S. Pietro di Villamagna - 2008
  Lo scavo è continuato nei tre settori aperti negli anni precedenti: il casale, la Chiesa e il Monastero e il sito denominato D. All’interno del casale, dove lo scorso anno era stato completato lo scavo del complesso _Cella/Coenatio_, in cui l’imperatore e i suoi ospiti cenavano, è stato completato lo scavo del moderno cortile, riportando alla luce una corte aperta con un bacino quadripartito rivestito in _opus signinum_, la cui funzione non è ancora evidente. La fornace di calce che occupava una stanza absidata è stata rimossa ed è stato scavato il riempimento fino al livello della fondazione: ogni livello pavimentale era stato rimosso al tempo della realizzazione della fornace. A sud del casale è stata aperta una trincea con lo scopo di scoprire la continuazione della scala imperiale: la rimozione del terreno superficiale e degli strati relativi al giardino del XIX secolo hanno rivelato una serie di buche di palo apparentemente databili al IX-X secolo. Saggi all’interno e a nord del granaio moderno hanno rivelato ulteriori dettagli sulla pianta del complesso. Nel sito D, la trincea scavata nel 2006 è stata ampliata a 25 x25 m, mostrando una buona parte della pianta di un edificio interpretabile come una sorta di caserma fiancheggiante una strada basolata, con due file di ambienti (m. 10 x 12), affacciati su uno stretto vicolo con una fogna al centro. Le stanze erano pavimentate in terra battuta e in genere contenevano un focolare e un singolo _dolium_. Se la struttura sia stata occupata da soldati o da contadini/schiavi non è chiaro. Il lavoro al monastero è continuato nell’area del cimitero situato ad ovest della chiesa, con oltre 200 tombe attualmente scavate. La presenza di un precedente nartece sulla fronte della chiesa è stata confermata e sono state rinvenute tracce della sua pavimentazione. A nord della chiesa sono stati rimossi i livelli relativi a due fasi della fornace di calcare del XIV secolo: questa è situata ad ovest del muro originale del monastero e può essere datato al tardo medioevo. All’interno delle mura del convento, si trova un chiostro largo 17,5 m, parzialmente scavato nel 2007. Corridoi sono ora visibili su tre lati, mentre un pozzo verso il centro conduce ad una cisterna. Sono state individuate numerose fasi dell’uso post-monastico del monastero, incluso ciò che è apparso essere stato il luogo di stoccaggio delle lastre di marmo pavimentale, lastre e cornici di epoca romana.
• AIAC_185 - S. Pietro di Villamagna - 2009
  In the winery, excavation aimed at determining the limits of the building. To the south of the winery the search for the entrance to the imperial stair – designed to allow the emperor’s litter to be carried up to the press room – revealed a long corridor connected to a bath suite with, so far, a small peristyle court leading to a round _laconicum_. The corridor was as elegantly decorated as the stair, with veneers in Portasanta and Numidian marble and moldings in Luni marble. On the other three sides of the building vaulted substructures were explored, probably intended to hold the _dolia_ in which the wine was fermented. While it had long been known that the site was reoccupied by the medieval village of Villamagna, new this year is the discovery, based on abundant Forum Ware, that this dates to the ninth century. A small oven was found in one of the subterranean vaults, while a series of huts, first sunken-floored and then timber-built, occupied the area of the peristyle from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. Excavation at the site of the barracks was completed, two blocks of rooms opening onto a small alley with a central drain. Along with the _dolia_, hearths and querns discovered last year, a number of infants buried under the floors can be taken as proof of the occupation of the space by family units; in two cases these were multiple burials separated by tiles. X-rays of the bone mass suggested that the infants were notably undernourished. The building collapsed around the time of Constantine. A reoccupation towards the end of the fourth century came to a close by the middle of the fifth. At the monastery, excavation of the cemetery brought the total of burials to over 400: anthropological work on these has begun in earnest, with a team of four and the participation of Janet Monge of the University Museum as consultant. Under the cemetery and the remains of the monastic garden is emerging a large paved courtyard dating to the beginning of the villa. The church was constructed directly on top of this, probably in the sixth century, over the foundations of a Roman building. Also fronting onto the piazza is what we interpret as a façade of the imperial residence, whose extension to the north is covered by the monastic buildings. Here again, reoccupation appears to date to the ninth century A.D., although its exact form will be established in the final excavation next year. The form of the thirteenth-century cloister has now been firmly established: built over a cistern with funnel-shaped inlets into its cross-vaulted roof, it combines a cloister courtyard with a substantial _impluvium_.
• AIAC_1871 - Riva di Roma - 2007
  Between 12th July 2006 and 10th August 2007 a geophysical survey was undertaken at the site of Riva di Roma close to the town of Acilia Madonetta, 20km to the south west of Rome in the Comune di Roma. The survey was conducted to assess the archaeological potential of an area of terrain some 135 hectares in size, located between the low hills of Acilia to the north east, and the coastal plain of Casal Palocco to the south west. The work was carried out on behalf of SIACI for Pirelli RE – Aree Urbane, and was conducted by the British School at Rome and the University of Southampton. The survey was successful in mapping and identifying a number of archaeological features across the area, mainly relating to the works of the Bonifica conducted along the coastal plain in the 19th and 20th centuries. Remnants of some military and telecommunications infrastructure were also identified in the survey results, but no extensive evidence was found to suggest significant human habitation in the area in the prehistoric, Roman and medieval periods.
• AIAC_1883 - Doclea - 2007
  From 15-30 October 2007, the first season of a program of geophysical survey commenced at the site of Doclea as a joint research project between The British School at Rome (BSR), the Archaeological Prospection Services of Southampton (APSS) and the Universita’ Degli Studi di Urbino. The survey was undertaken on behalf of Dr. Miomir Mugosa, the Mayor of Podgorica, and the Council of Podgorica under the direction of the Museum of Podgorica (Director - Zorica Mrvaljevic, Dr. Dragan Radovic) as part of the wider ‘New Ancient Doclea’ project. The aim of the geophysical survey was to discover the extent of the remains of the ancient Roman town of Doclea through locating and mapping the presence of subsurface archaeological features, for the purpose of preserving and developing the site as a national heritage site, and where possible to help pinpoint potential areas for excavation. In the central portion of the west area our survey revealed one complete insula block, with inner courtyards and cortiles, and possibly the top portion of a second insula block. The strength and form of the signal suggests there is significant ceramic material surviving beneath the surface. The rest of this west area was largely devoid of archaeological features suggesting that this area represents the outer limit of the Roman urban development. The size and orientation of the insulae make it possible to establish the wider town plan. The eastern portion of our survey area contains the most well preserved standing monumental structures, and in the immediate surroundings the survey revealed buried building complexes in the area directly to the east and west of the forum. There is also a possible street running alongside the forum which is strong evidence to support the projected town plan of Doclea.
• AIAC_1884 - Domus Aurea - 2007
  Between the 9th and 15th of January 2007, a geophysical survey was undertaken at the site of Nero’s _Domus Aurea_. The work was carried out on behalf of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, and was conducted by the British School at Rome and the University of Southampton. The geophysical survey over the _Domus Aurea_ was successful in locating a significant number of changes in deposits relating to archaeological deposits at the site. The undulating nature of the overburden and deposits covering the _Domus_ was clearly illustrated, with shallower overburden located to the northern side of the survey area and deeper overburden situated along the south part of the area, possibly relating to the erosion of deposits from the terrace, and repairs made to the terrace wall and subsequent backfilling. A significant depth of overburden is suggested close to the northern edge of the square cement cover situated in the park. In general the archaeological deposits at the site appear to be situated between 1.2m and 4m below the modern ground surface, although this varies considerably, with significant structural evidence visible in the eastern half of the survey, corresponding with the ground plan of the _Domus_, and in the eastern half of Grid 1-2, corresponding with the western side of the Domus. The survey also indicates the significant build up of paving, hard standing and modern infrastructure such as pipelines, over the entire surface of the park.
• AIAC_2215 - Herculaneum - 2009
  In January 2009 a geophysical survey was undertaken by a joint team representing Archaeological Prospection Services of Southampton and The British School at Rome. This survey was carried out at the request of Prof Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Director of The Herculaneum Conservation Project and The British School at Rome. The purpose of the project was to aid in the identification of the paths of the tunnels which were dug in the 18th century in the area of the Basilica Noniana. Survey was undertaken using both ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), two techniques which can obtain data at greater depths than some other techniques, which was especially important considering the tremendous depth of deposit in this area. The application of both GPR and ERT on this survey proved invaluable, as the two techniques complimented each other to provide a more complete identification of the tunnels and structures that lay beneath the surface. In the area of the basilica the ERT results were able to identify the course of the 18th Century tunnels, while the GPR results were more successful in identifying a series of standing structures in this zone. Both techniques were void of any significant anomalies to the north of the basilica, adding some weight to the suggestion that this may have been the area of the forum of _Herculaneum_.
• AIAC_82 - Colle Oppio, Terme di Traiano - 2000
  In March 2000, the director of the British School at Rom, Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, and the Soprintendenza and Comune di Roma, commissioned a geophysical survey over part of the Colle Oppio in the centre of Rome. The trial resistivity survey was partially successful in identifying potential archaeological structures associated with the Baths of Trajan. Results were more successful on the ground to the south and east areas of the park, where the depth of archaeological deposits is significantly less than across the more elevated areas of the park to the north. The lack of any recognisable archaeological features in the survey results in the north and north east of the park suggest that resistivity, certainly utilising a twin prove array, would not be an effective method of mapping sub-surface remains of the Trajanic baths across the entire archaeological park.