Alcamo Project: un laboratorio integrato per l’analisi e lo studio del settore officinale romano di Contrada Foggia ad Alcamo Marina (TP)

During the archaeological research activities carried out in the past three years near Alcamo Matina (TP) an officinal area of the Roman period was brought to light. The find was accidental and consisted of a series of kilns used for the cooking of ceramic material which dates back to the centuries I-V A.D. The architectonic and structural solutions adopted for the realization of the ceramic complex are very interesting, a series of kilns on various levels with a system of terracing of the ground, orientation of the axis and of the opening of the praefurnium towards the non dominant winds, alternation of containment and strengthening wall structures and structural fillings made of clay. Some studies under way help better understand the officinal complex, they focus on the analysis of the ceramic material found there and on the reconstruction of the territory on the basis of methods of satellite bearing (GPS) and on the basis of cartographic results of models on the GIS platform

La villa A di Dragoncello (Acilia): la ripresa degli scavi

Archaeological research on Villa A from Dragoncello (Acilia) was carried out in two campaignes, in 2016 and 2017. The area lies between the sea, the Tiber and Ostia and is of great interest. In the Roman period, it was residential, populated by aristocratic villas and rural settlements. The recent research is the continuation of excavations in the area begun by the Soprintendenza in the 1980s. The two campaigns offered an important opportunity to review the data from the sites and the materials of Dragoncello, and have resulted in new insights into the area’s redevelopment. During the 2016 campaign, excavations were carried out on the villa’s peristyle, in the northwest sector (A) and, simultaneously, at the southern edge (B). In Sector A, wall structures of various types were identified. These can be attributed to five different rooms (V, W, X, Y, Z), and at least four moments in life (from the end of the 2nd century B.C. to the beginning of the 3rd century A.D.). The 2017 expedition concentrated on structures located north of the peristyle. Inside rooms X, Y and T, a necropolis came to light, consisting of five tombs. At the same time, room V was excavated. Here a wide, rectangular structure was discovered, one that is very interesting: it is subdivided into small cells, arranged in rows of twelve along the two longer sides

La villa A di Dragoncello (Acilia). Alcuni dati dello scavo e dallo studio dei reperti

La villa A di Dragoncello, forse la più antica tra quelle rinvenute nell’area tra la via Ostiense e il Tevere, è stata oggetto di due campagne di scavo nel 2016 e nel 2017 che hanno permesso di estendere ad altri settori le indagini avviate da A. Pellegrino negli anni ’80 e ’90 del secolo scorso. Gli scavi, preceduti da alcune prospezioni geofisiche, hanno interessato l’area intorno al peristilio (settore A), il limite meridionale della villa (settore B) e un ambiente sotterraneo rettangolare (denominato V), in parte ancora da scavare, suddiviso internamente in 12 cellette per lato, e la cui funzione è ancora incerta, per un totale di 582 mq. I dati stratigrafici e i materiali rinvenuti hanno permesso di definire i periodi di costruzione, uso e abbandono della villa e della necropoli che si è sovrapposta alle strutture del settore A, databili tra la fine del III secolo a.C. e il tardoantico. È programmata la continuazione degli scavi, oltre a ricognizioni mirate a esplorare il territorio circostante fino a Ficana e ad effettuare un censimento delle strutture rurali e delle aree di stoccaggio del territorio.Villa A in Dragoncello (Acilia). Datas from the excavations and the study of the finds. Villa A of Dragoncello, perhaps the oldest among those found in the area between Via Ostiense and the river Tiber, has been the subject of two excavation campaigns in 2016 and 2017, that have permitted the excavations to other sectors extending from A. Pellegrino in the ‘80s and ‘90s of the last century. The excavations, preceded by geophysical prospecting, involved the area around the peristyle (sector A), the southern limit of the villa (sector B) and a rectangular underground environment (called V), partly still to be excavated, internally divided into 12 cells per side, and whose function is still uncertain, totaling 582 square meters. The stratigraphic data and the materials found provided an estimation for the periods of construction, use and abandonment of the villa and of the necropolis that overlapped the structures of sector A, dated between the end of the III century B.C. and the late Roman period. The continuation of the excavations is planned, as well as the surveys aimed at exploring the surrounding territory up to the ancient Ficana site, and conducting a census of the rural structures and the territory storage areas