Remains of large domus at Aquinum discovered thanks to archaeological excavations by the University of Salento

New archaeological discoveries by theUniversity of Salento in the Roman colony of Aquinum, in the municipality of Castrocielo in the province of Frosinone. In the course of the 13th excavation campaign, directed by Giuseppe Ceraudo and Veronica Ferrari of the Department of Cultural Heritage, three excavation essays were opened in the northern sector of the Balneum di Marcus Veccius (Veccian Baths): the remains of the atrium of a large domus with a cement screed floor and lozenge mosaic decoration, of a monumental hall with a peculiar circular shape inside a viridarium (garden) of another large domus, and the perfectly preserved remains of one of the main urban road axes, a decumanus parallel to the via Latina and the other two decumans already brought to light in previous campaigns (via del Teatro and via delle Terme), have emerged. The road axis, named via delle Domus, is characterized by an unusual width of the roadway, which in this case reaches seven meters in width and is entirely paved with huge white limestone paving stones.

Granted by the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio for the provinces of Frosinone and Latina, the investigations were conducted in collaboration with professors and researchers from the University of Ghent (Belgium) and involved the participation of more than sixty students mostly from the University of Salento, but also from other Italian and foreign universities.

“These new interventions are the direct consequence of a constant and intense aerial reconnaissance activity, through the use of drones with different sensors (optical, thermal, multispectral, Lidar), accompanied by geophysical prospecting campaigns,” explains Professor Giuseppe Ceraudo. “The prospections showed sharply in trace the presence of numerous buried structures, recognized as the remains of large domus. These are in fact the residential quarters of the Roman colony, a vast area covered by three insulae (blocks) that contained rich and sumptuous private dwellings belonging to the Aquinas elite. Ours is a leading research activity in the field of non-invasive identification of the buried assets of our heritage: through the timely matching with the archaeological excavation, it constitutes the confirmation of the goodness of the applied method. Moreover, everything brought to light in this excavation campaign constitutes a fundamental discovery for the reconstruction and definition of the urban layout of the great Roman city, extending over one hundred hectares, the megal polis of Aquinum, as, appropriately, it is mentioned by Strabo. The continuation of the research may serve as a flywheel for a better knowledge and protection of the site, also in anticipation of the strategic enhancement of the area, which the Municipality of Castrocielo has begun to implement now for more than a decade.”

Remains of large domus at Aquinum discovered thanks to archaeological excavations by the University of Salento

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