The Falerii Novi Project (original) (raw)
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FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, Archaeological Survey, 9, 2018
The paper discusses the most recent results achieved by the University of Bologna in the northern Marche region, across the valleys of the Rivers Cesano, Nevola and Misa, within a young project of landscape archaeology mainly focused on the systematic employment of non-invasive techniques of investigation and mapping for evaluating buried archaeological assets. Started in 2009, the Mapping the Adriatic Landscape Project has led to the discovery of several sites, enriching the current state of knowledge concerning Iron Age's settlements and, in particular, the presence of Piceni in this sector of the region, which has so far been characterized by significant information gaps. The new activities fit into the background of the long tradition of study in Bologna of the northern Marche, aimed at achieving a better understanding of the dynamics of settlement and of the process of urbanization. In this light the present study is of a particular relevance, allowing us to enhance the framework of occupation during the Iron Age, which in the area considered, still poorly archaeologically documented, remains a complex and fascinating period, characterized by a “cultural melting pot”, with the coexistence and blending of Piceni, Celts and Roman people, but still poorly archaeologically documented.
A Changing Cityscape in Central Italy: The Gabii Project Excavations, 2012-2018
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2021
Excavations carried out at the Latin city of Gabii between 2012 and 2018 have contributed new data to a number of debates around the emergence, lived experience, maintenance, decline, and resilience of cities. Gabii's urban trajectories demonstrate both seemingly familiar forms of urbanism and, on closer study, many locally circumscribed elements. Specifically, the Gabii Project excavations have uncovered an early Iron Age (8th-5th centuries B.C.) hut complex that has provided evidence for architecture, funerary rites, and quotidian activities during the initial polynuclear settlement at urbanizing Gabii. A unique monumental complex constructed in the 3rd century B.C. has been identified and is interpreted as a public structure potentially used for ritual activities; the study of this complex raises questions about the creation and reception of markers of civic identity. Excavation data has further characterized the reorganizations that took place during the first centuries a.d., when Gabii's settled area contracted. Rather than unidirectional decline, evidence for industrial activities increases, and elite investments in the city persist, especially in the mixeduse elite domestic and agricultural complex. These results provide detailed evidence for how ancient cities developed and transformed in the face of shifting local and regional conditions, especially smaller urban centers (Gabii) at the periphery of mega-urban centers (Rome).
Filling in the gaps: half-hidden pre-Roman settlements in the northern Marche (Italy)
FOLD&R, Fasti On Line Survey, 2018
The paper discusses the most recent results achieved by the University of Bologna in the northern Marche region, across the valleys of the Rivers Cesano, Nevola and Misa, within a young project of landscape archaeology mainly focused on the systematic employment of non-invasive techniques of investigation and mapping for evaluating buried archaeological assets. Started in 2009, the Mapping the Adriatic Landscape Project has led to the discovery of several sites, enriching the current state of knowledge concerning Iron Age's settlements and, in particular, the presence of Piceni in this sector of the region, which has so far been characterized by significant information gaps. The new activities fit into the background of the long tradition of study in Bologna of the northern Marche, aimed at achieving a better understanding of the dynamics of settlement and of the process of urbanization. In this light the present study is of a particular relevance, allowing us to enhance the framework of occupation during the Iron Age, which in the area considered remains a complex and fascinating period, characterized by a “cultural melting pot”, with the coexistence and blending of Piceni, Celts and Roman people, but which is still poorly archaeologically documented.
This paper presents the research method applied to the Archaeological Map of Italy -Forma Italiae project, comprising to date the Ager Venusinus project (completed) and the Ager Lucerinus project (ongoing). The methodology of the project is based on the extensive and systematic survey of the entire selected district. The countryside is systematically searched by groups of students and researchers in different seasons, time of the day, weather and visibility conditions, and status of cultivation of the ground. The GPS georeferenced data are integrated in a GIS specifically realised. The results of the research projects relating to the territory of the Luceria's colony, in Apulia, starting from the area of the medieval site of Montecorvino, in the Daunian district is presented. So far the part of the vast territory of Lucera studied concerns the area North-East of the ancient Latin colony. Discussed here are studies conducted on the western area, towards the Daunian subappennine and in particular focused on the territory of the municipalities of Lucera, Pietramontecorvino, Motta Montecorvino, and Volturino. This area, in fact, is the object of research that includes the whole of the Fortore River valley. The data emerging from recent surveys show a large population over the time-span from prehistory to the High Middle Ages. The settlements of the Neolithic and Bronze ages, so far identified, are placed on vast plains; on the northern sector of the territory, it is possible to catch a glimpse of traces of a village characterised by the typical C shaped ditch, with huts located inside. A very interesting part of our project regards Dauni and Samnite settlements in the period preceding the arrival of the Romans and the Romanisation of the area. The most notable transformations in the ancient landscape were undoubtedly produced by the Roman intervention that gave birth to the new colony and the planning of the village centre, which consequently led to the reorganisation of a vast territory and the division of the rural area into a dense network of small properties assigned to the settlers.
Hidden histories of Roman towns: seeing beneath the surface of Falerii Novi and Interamna Lirenas
2018
Issue 90 CurrentWorldArChAeology above Today, the site of Falerii Novi is dominated by the farm and church established in a former monastery. Under the fields lie the buried remnants of a Roman city founded in 241 BC. Although excavating the urban area would be prohibitive in terms of time and funding, ground-penetrating radar offers the key to understanding the relationship between these buried buildings. Hidden histories of Roman towns
Geoarchaeological study of abandoned Roman urban and suburban contexts from central Adriatic Italy
Geoarchaeology
The Potenza Valley Survey project investigates since 2000 the settlement dynamics in the Central Adriatic Potenza valley, with particular attention to the period from the Iron Age to early Medieval times (900 BC-AD 900). Part of this research focuses on the Roman abandoned towns of Potentia and Trea by performing an integrated, geoarchaeological study of their townscape. This largely noninvasive research consists of remote sensing analysis, geophysical surveys (magnetometry, electrical resistivity and Ground Penetrating Radar) and geomorphological fieldwork such as microtopographic measurements and hand augerings. The chosen techniques depend on the nature of each town and are integrated with more traditionally achieved research data. This paper presents the main interdisciplinary results of these two Roman towns and highlights the importance of obtaining complementary data and performing hand augering as a stratigraphic control of the remote sensing and geophysical results. An insight in the character and layout of the cities, the structural influence on the surrounding area and the human-environment interactions and dynamics through time of both Roman cities could be obtained. Moreover, the results offer guidelines for conservation strategies of these abandoned towns and their suburbium, which are necessary to protect them from present-day threats such as agriculture and tourism.