Gazetteer

The gazetteer is structured following contemporary boundaries of Italian regions discussed. While we have tried to provide as many details as possible, publications for excavations that have been conducted recently are often sketchy and preliminary. In an attempt to avoid the risk of over-interpreting the information given in very short reports, the specific method/techniques adopted are described using the label provided by the authors.

Apulia

The hinterland

Excavations conducted between 2015 and 2016 within the Museo Diffuso at Cavallino (Map 6.1) focused on a structure dating to the fifth century BC in the residential quarter of Fondo Casino and on an Iron Age oval hut north of this (Semeraro and Notario, Reference Semeraro and Notarion.d.). Fondo Pera was also the object of excavations, which uncovered a structure furnished with two pottery kilns which were in use until the late sixth century BC (Semeraro and Notario, Reference Semeraro and Notarion.d.).

Map 6.1. 1. Acquarica di Lecce; 2. Bagnara; 3. Cavallino; 4. Coppa Nevigata; 5. Giuggianello; 6. Grotta del Cavallo; 7. Grotta della Lea; 8. Grotta Uluzzu C; 9. Li Schiavoni; 10. Muro Leccese; 11. Riparo l’Oscurusciuto; 12. Roca Vecchia; 13. Salapia; 14. Saturo; 15. Torre dell’Alto; 16. Torre Guaceto; 17. Tremiti; 18. Vagnari.

At Cerignola, following the first excavation campaign conducted between 2014 and 2016 (De Venuto et al. Reference De Venuto, Goffredo, Totten, Ciminale, De Mitri and Valenzano2015), in 2017 investigations continued of the Roman Salapia and Medieval town of Salpi as part of the project Life on the Lagoon: Reconstructing the Biography of Human Landscape Dynamics on the Salpi Lagoon, Italy (Goffredo, Totten and Loprieno Reference Goffredo, Totten and Loprieno2018). The excavations conducted as part of this project have shed light on the different phases of occupation for both the Roman town and the Medieval settlement. The end of the latter can now be associated with a violent destruction, possibly an earthquake (Goffredo, Totten and Loprieno Reference Goffredo, Totten and Loprieno2018).

In 2017 the Università del Salento resumed the investigations of a fortified masseria (fortified farmhouse) at Acquarica di Lecce, Vernole, occupied between the fourth century BC and the first century AD, and focused on a Messapian building near the tower (Mannino Reference Manninon.d.).

A Messapic tower dating to the fourth/third century BC was excavated in Giuggianello, revealing that it was constructed on the remains of a Middle Bronze Age ‘specchia mound’. These findings indicate that this high ground maintained a controlling role over the surrounding landscape through time (Mastronuzzi Reference Mastronuzzi2018). Surveys of the surrounding landscape have revealed a system of intervisible towers, often linked settlements enclosed by major walls, which probably played an important role for the local communities (Mastronuzzi Reference Mastronuzzi2018).

Investigations of the Messapic centre of Muro Leccese have focused on excavating the so-called Palombara area (Meo Reference Meo2020). The earliest evidence dates back to the Iron Age occupation, which was levelled prior to the Archaic settlement. Here, the largest Archaic domestic structure ever recovered in Messapia was revealed, extending for some 1,300m² (Meo Reference Meo2020). This structure was characterized by a large, decorated room for banqueting activities, and from the walls of a cooking area was recovered a hoard of 10 coins coined in the surrounding area between the end of the sixth century and mid-fifth century BC (Meo Reference Meo2020). The area continued to be occupied even after the structure was destroyed by fire and, in the third century BC, an orthostat wall was built 50m alongside the inner facade of the settlement fortifications (Meo Reference Meo2020). Near this inner wall, which was built re-employing elements from the aforementioned Archaic structure, evidence for a violent attack was recovered, including arrowheads, catapult balls, and burnt traces associated with a fire destruction, something that is probably associated with the end of Messapic settlement (Meo Reference Meo2020). In a diachronic perspective, it is possible to see changes in the social organization of local communities, with the establishment of elites in larger structures in opposition to smaller buildings occupied by individuals belonging to a lower social status (Meo Reference Meo2020).

Ionian Apulia

The lower Ionian arch of Apulia has been subject to a considerable amount of fieldwork over the last 10 years. Particularly in the area around Nardò, with activity being primarily oriented towards prehistory and protohistory, but with discoveries also relevant to subsequent periods. The investigation of the Palaeolithic caves that represent the basis for our understanding of Middle to Late Palaeolithic in Italy (and Europe) has continued to be at the centre of investigations undertaken by different teams and institutions (e.g. Riparo l’Oscurusciuto, see Spagnolo et al. Reference Spagnolo, Marciani, Aureli, Martini, Boscato, Boschin and Ronchitelli2020). Research at Grotta Uluzzu conducted by the University of Siena has contributed to the existing knowledge of the crucial period marking the co-existence of Neanderthal and Sapiens in our continent. Likewise, research conducted at Grotta del Cavallo and Grotta della Lea by the University of Bologna and in other caves of the Parco di Portoselvaggio (by the Museum of Prehistory of Nardò) has enhanced our understanding of these earlier phases of prehistory.

Many of these contexts were equally rich with traces of later occupation dating to the metal age (fourth to second millennium BC); and at the substantial monumental settlement Torre dell’Alto (Fig. 6.1) there was a large defensive wall measuring some 20 × 200m. This context was already known (Valchera, Martino and Sammarco Reference Valchera, Martino and Sammarco2011), but in recent times it started to be the subject of systematic investigation, conducted by a team from the University of Bologna (Valchera, Martino and Sammarco Reference Valchera, Martino and Sammarco2011; Iacono et al. Reference Iacono, Fiorini, Agostini, Ceccato and Favaron2023). The Iron Age phase is well represented at the nearby site of Li Schiavoni, where the University of Salento has been conducting fieldwork over the last few years and where abundant remains of an Archaic building were identified (Cera Reference Cera2020).

Fig. 6.1. Representation of the section and operative workflow for the survey of the protohistoric structure. © A. Fiorini.

In 2019, the 12-year long project investigating the area of Saturo and Santuario della Sorgente was concluded. In 2016, areas previously excavated were further investigated, including the grotticella-cucina, and work expanded to new sectors, resulting in a better understanding of the spatial and functional organization of the eighth-century BC settlement (Lippolis et al. Reference Lippolis, Cozzolino, D’Oronzo, Ferretti, Lollino, Marchetti and Parisi2018). Excavations also corroborated the identification on the acropolis of a small necropolis, which has been dated to the second/third century AD (Lippolis et al. Reference Lippolis, Cozzolino, D’Oronzo, Ferretti, Lollino, Marchetti and Parisi2018).

Adriatic Apulia

In the last 10 years, research at the northern Apulian site of Coppa Nevigata has focused on extending the area excavated, uncovering various domestic structures that had been destroyed by fire (Cazzella, Moscoloni and Recchia Reference Cazzella, Moscoloni and Recchia2022). Excavations of these structures have shed light on the different construction phases of the settlement as well as on the activities and social organization of the inhabitants of Coppa Nevigata (Cazzella, Moscoloni and Recchia Reference Cazzella, Moscoloni and Recchia2023). Moreover, their disposition within the settlement seems to corroborate the identification of an orthogonal street layout characterizing the Recent Bronze Age/ Subappenine settlement (Puglisi and Coccolini Reference Puglisi and Coccolini1982: 46; Cazzella, Moscoloni and Recchia Reference Cazzella, Moscoloni and Recchia2022).

The identification of the cremation cemetery at Torre Guaceto has added a new dimension to the data for human occupation in the area (particularly important has been information that has come to light through the excavation at the Scoglio d’Apani, see Scarano Reference Scarano2012). Some seven cremation tombs have been identified, dating to the Late/Middle to Late Bronze Age and representing some of the earliest examples for this kind of context in South Italy.

From 2015 to 2017, excavations on the promontory of Roca Vecchia have been driven by the local municipality’s decision to protect the archaeological site and open it to the public. With the main purpose of the musealization of the site, excavations focused on the SAS VI, covering between the Medieval levels to the protohistoric levels. More specifically, excavations of various structures were completed, including the so-called Final Bronze Age Temple-Hut, a Late Medieval Greek Orthodox church, and various underground chambers (Guglielmino Reference Guglielminon.d.). Research at Roca Vecchia has recently been focusing on the area around the Grotta della Poesia, where excavations have uncovered an hypogeic tomb characterized by a dromos entrance and two funerary chambers dating to the early Iron Age (Scarano Reference Scarano2019). Since 2019, the Roca Archaeological Survey has been investigating the hinterland of the site to address patterns of mobility and human presence (Iacono et al. Reference Iacono, Spagnolo, De Neef and Coluccia2020; Reference Iacono, Alessandri, Spagnolo, Agostini and Ceccatoforthcoming). Preliminary results have shown the importance of Roca Vecchia within the landscape, suggesting an occupation of the site outside the fortification walls already in the advanced Bronze Age (Iacono et al. Reference Iacono, Spagnolo, De Neef and Coluccia2020; Reference Iacono, Alessandri, Spagnolo, Agostini and Ceccatoforthcoming).

Survey of the Tremiti archipelago identified various concentrations of flints and lithic tools in association with impasto pottery, pointing towards the identification of various settlements across the islands (Fiorini et al. Reference Fiorini, Pedico, Bonazzi and Curci2021). Moreover, some of the artefacts identified were probably produced on site with local flint, and the pottery indicates a chronological period between the Middle and Late Neolithic period (Fiorini et al. Reference Fiorini, Pedico, Bonazzi and Curci2021). Topographic investigations of the S. Nicola island (Fig. 6.2) were conducted in 2020 by a team of graduate students from the University of Bologna and focused on areas of archaeological/architectural relevance, including the Roman criptoportico, which have provided further information on their date (Fiorini et al. Reference Fiorini, Pedico, Bonazzi and Curci2021).

Fig. 6.2. Island of S. Nicola, Tremiti. Areas of artefact concentrations identified in the 2018–2019 surveys. N: necropolis; T: guarding tower (after Fiorini et al. Reference Fiorini, Pedico, Bonazzi and Curci2021: 5, Fig. 3). © L. Pedico and A. Curci.

The Vagnari vicus has been investigated since 2012, but recent excavations conducted by the University of Sheffield have focused on the northern part of the settlement (Carroll and Prowse Reference Carroll and Prowsen.d.). Here, evidence has revealed the existence of a settlement dating to the second/mid-first century BC, long before the establishment of the vicus in the first century AD, indicative of a clear break between the two phases (Carroll and Prowse Reference Carroll and Prowsen.d.). A cella vinaria dating to the first century AD was also identified in this area, providing important information on the economic diversity of the vicus and on its larger role within the Empire (Carroll and Prowse Reference Carroll and Prowsen.d.). In the fifth century AD the site structures were used as a source for building materials (Carroll and Prowse Reference Carroll and Prowsen.d.).

Basilicata

Recent archaeological developments in Basilicata (Map 6.2) has mostly consisted of the publication of older excavations, such as the Late Antique burials from Heraclea (Giardino and De Mitri Reference Giardino and De Mitri2021) dating between the end of the fourth and fifth century AD and which had been excavated from 1973 to 1974. The high number of double burials suggests a rapid abandonment of the settlement in the fifth century AD, possibly to be attributed to an epidemic (Giardino and De Mitri Reference Giardino and De Mitri2021). There has also been publication for Sant’Antonio di Ferrandina (Lapadula and Di Tursi Reference Lapadula and Di Tursi2019), where in 2018 a new project began with the purpose of investigating the role of Ferrandina within its landscape in the period between the eighth and the third century BC. Here, excavations identified an installation for oil production and storage (Monaco and Pecci, Reference Monaco and Peccin.d.). Similarly, results from the Forma Italiae project (Marchi and Sabbatini Reference Marchi and Sabbatini1996), conducted at the end of the last century in the area of Venosa, were tested adopting the same criteria and methodologies of the survey previously adopted as part of the Landscape of Early Roman Colonisation project, confirming the soundness of the dataset produced by the earlier project (Casarotto et al. Reference Casarotto, García Sánchez, Stek and Pelgrom2021).

Map 6.2. 19. Heraclea; 20. Sant’Antonio di Ferrandina; 21. Venosa.

Calabria

In 2015, research at Broglio di Trebisacce (Map 6.3) focused on the analysis of finds that had already been excavated in previous campaigns, while the Broglio di Trebisacce Archaeological Park – exhibiting an indoor area with samples of pottery and interactive installations – was opened to the public (Vanzetti n.d.).

Map 6.3. 22. Blanda Iulia; 23. Broglio di Trebisacce; 24. Locri Epizephyrii; 25. Petrosa di Scalea; 26. Punta di Zambrone; 27. S. Gada di Laino Borgo; 28. Timpone della Motta; 29. Timpone delle Fave.

The natural borders of the hinterland of the Greek site of Locri Epizephyrii have recently been the object of various geophysical surveys and excavations, which have identified two stone structures (Crothers et al. Reference Crothers, Jansson, Knapp, Crestani, Mazzaglia and Visonà2021). In Coculédi, a large structure was identified dating to the end of the sixth century BC that had been destroyed by the first half of the following century (Crothers et al. Reference Crothers, Jansson, Knapp, Crestani, Mazzaglia and Visonà2021). In Contrada Bregatorto, the remains of a fortification wall were further investigated, identifying it as a fifth/third century BC Locrian structure (Crothers et al. Reference Crothers, Jansson, Knapp, Crestani, Mazzaglia and Visonà2021). This was located on the route linking Locri with its sub-colony of Medma and the larger site of Métauros. Viewshed analysis has shown that the fortification would have been able to oversee four main routes connecting Locri with the Tyrrhenian coast, as well as being placed to effectively communicate possible attacks (Crothers et al. Reference Crothers, Jansson, Knapp, Crestani, Mazzaglia and Visonà2021). The nearby site of Monte S. Mauro was also surveyed through fieldwalking, resulting in the identification of two observation points and a possible farmstead, corroborating the existence of an organized system of control and communication across the chora (Crothers et al. Reference Crothers, Jansson, Knapp, Crestani, Mazzaglia and Visonà2021). The Bregatorto fortification, in particular, which could have hosted a small armed garrison, would have played an important role during the various wars Locri was involved in (Crothers et al. Reference Crothers, Jansson, Knapp, Crestani, Mazzaglia and Visonà2021).

In 2016, the University of Messina resumed excavations at the Lucanian town of Blanda and the Roman colony of Blanda Iulia (modern Palecastro di Tortora) in order to investigate the forum’s spatial organization and its surroundings (Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Casella, Cipriani, Donato, Paderni, Rizzo, Sergi, Sfacteria and Siclari2017; Reference Mollo, Casella, Calonico, Donato, Laino, Puglisi, Rizzo, Siclari, Sergi and Sfacteria2018). The area investigated was also enlarged, with excavations in the eastern and north eastern area of the forum to better understand the street layout of the settlement (Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Casella, Cipriani, Donato, Paderni, Rizzo, Sergi, Sfacteria and Siclari2017). During the 2017 campaign, it was possible to obtain further information on the chronology of the settlement (Fig. 6.3; Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Casella, Calonico, Donato, Laino, Puglisi, Rizzo, Siclari, Sergi and Sfacteria2018). The identification of Enotrian pottery dates back the occupation of the settlement to the second half of the sixth century BC, some decades earlier than traditionally thought for this area (Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Casella, Calonico, Donato, Laino, Puglisi, Rizzo, Siclari, Sergi and Sfacteria2018).

Fig. 6.3. Aerial view of the Forum of Blanda Iulia following the 2016 excavations (after Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Casella, Cipriani, Donato, Paderni, Rizzo, Sergi, Sfacteria and Siclari2017, Fig. 22). © F. Mollo.

The archaeological investigations and results conducted at Tortora have contributed to the development of other archaeological investigations in the surrounding area, including the contexts of Petrosa di Scalea and S. Gada di Laino Borgo, which had both been objects of past archaeological investigations (Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Casella, Laino, Paderni, Rizzo, Sergi, Siclari and Sfacteria2021a: 35). Previous excavations of Petrosa di Scalea identified the site as a sixth-century BC Enotrian settlement (Guzzo and Girod Reference Guzzo and Girod1981), possibly enclosed by a double ditch (Gasparri Reference Gasparri1995: 53). The 2017 excavations have confirmed the presence of a stone structure that probably functioned both as a retaining wall for the hill slope and as fortification for the settlement (Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Donato, Sergi and Sfacteria2019). With the 2018 intra-site survey, the settlement dynamics were further investigated, corroborating the chronology suggested for the site (Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Donato, Sergi and Sfacteria2019). The site of S. Gada was already known for its archaeological potential, especially considering its location in an archaeologically fertile area (Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Casella, Laino, Puglisi and Sfacteria2021b). Through survey and excavations, it was possible to distinguish here a settlement dating to the sixth–third century BC and possibly identifiable as the Lucanian Nerulum (Mollo et al. Reference Mollo, Casella, Laino, Puglisi and Sfacteria2021b).

Following an international conference organized in 2015 by the Austrian Historical Institute in Rome, in 2021 the first volume on Punta di Zambrone was published, with a chronological focus on 1200 BCE (Jung Reference Jung2021). The monograph focused on both the archaeological evidence from the site, which was excavated between 2011 and 2013, and on its contexts within the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Moreover, charcoal analysis has shown that olive trees started being cultivated at Punta di Zambrone in the Early Bronze Age, but, while various taxa appear in the recent Bronze Age, olive significantly diminished, indicating a decline in the human exploitation of olive trees in this area (D’Auria et al. Reference D’Auria, Buonincontri, Allevato, Saracino, Jung, Pacciarelli and Di Pasquale2017: 607–8).

In 2017, the Danish Institute in Rome resumed investigations of Timpone della Motta, opening new trenches on the eastern area of the sanctuary located on the acropolis (Mittica, Jacobsen and Perrone Reference Mittica, Jacobsen and Perrone2018; Jacobsen et al. Reference Jacobsen, Attema, Colelli, Ippolito, Mittica and Grove Saxkjær2019). Pottery, bronze, and glass artefacts were found with faunal evidence in association with a sixth-century altar that had been previously identified (Mittica et al. Reference Mittica, Jacobsen and Perrone2018), suggesting that ritual banqueting was conducted on site (Mittica, Jacobsen and Perrone Reference Mittica, Jacobsen and Perrone2018). Moreover, new evidence seems to anticipate the earliest occupation of the site to Middle Bronze Age 2, when it was already covering a large part of the territory (Jacobsen et al. Reference Jacobsen, Attema, Colelli, Ippolito, Mittica and Grove Saxkjær2019). The long continuity of the site from this period onwards would in turn corroborate its importance from a social, economic, and political point of view within the territorial context (Jacobsen et al. Reference Jacobsen, Attema, Colelli, Ippolito, Mittica and Grove Saxkjær2019).

The University of Calabria focused on the pianoro II area, where different survey methodologies were conducted, including aerial, fieldwalking, and geophysical; the team then proceeded with excavations (Brocato et al. Reference Brocato, Altomare, Micieli, Miriello, Taranto, Ferraro, Carroccio and Altomare2018; Reference Brocato, Altomare, Capparelli, Perri, Carroccio, Ferraro and Zappani2019). It was thus possible to confirm the settlement dynamics through the wide attestation of wooden oval huts (Brocato et al. Reference Brocato, Altomare, Capparelli, Costanzo, Marino and Perri2022). Excavations have also shown a continuity of structural tradition between the Bronze Age and Iron Age (Brocato et al. Reference Brocato, Altomare, Capparelli, Costanzo, Marino and Perri2022). The nearby site of Timpone delle Fave has also been investigated, first through survey and then excavations, which revealed the existence of the only Late Bronze Age settlement in the Sybaritide and which was characterized by a large quantity of daub and cordoned dolia found (Ippolito Reference Ippoliton.d.).

Campania

In 2015, the Roman baths of Agnano (Map 6.4) were investigated by the University of Naples L’Orientale by means of excavation, cleaning, and on recording the water and heating channels (Giglio Reference Giglio2016). The chronology of the area was better defined, especially in relation to the Hellenistic complex, which developed on terraces and was characterized by different water-related areas (Giglio Reference Giglio2016). The nearby Grotta del Cane was probably part of the Hellenistic complex that was also connected to a thermal spring: from here a pottery sherd with a Greek inscription of Hygiea was found, suggesting the existence of a sanctuary dedicated to the goddess and Asclepius, while a system for collecting water was also located (Giglio Reference Giglio2016).

Map 6.4. 30. Agnano; 31. Ariano Irpino; 32. Atripalda; 33. Avella; 34. Caselle in Pittari; 35. Coroglio; 36. Cuma; 37. Herculaneum; 38. Liternum; 39. Monte San Nicola; 40. Paestum; 41. Pompeii; 42. Pontecagnano; 43. Torre Annunziata; 44. Torre del Greco; 45. Velia; 46. Vivara.

At Ariano Irpino, in the area surrounding vicus Aequum Tuticum and located at the crossroad of most important Roman roads, surface surveys and remote and proximal sensing investigations were carried out to further contextualize the known archaeological data from the area investigated. This is an area that had previously shown traces of human occupation from the Neolithic period to Roman times (Ferrari Reference Ferrari2020). An archaeological map of the area was thus created, indicating the main cemeteries, urban areas, and roads (Ferrari Reference Ferrari2020).

The Abellinum project, which started in 2019, aims to develop the archaeological site at Atripalda, both scientifically and in terms of site conservation (Musmeci Reference Musmecin.d.). Topographic and geophysical surveys were first conducted, and in 2021 excavations were focused in the area west of the domus of Vipsanius Primigenius and the decumanus (east–west oriented road), where new structures were identified (Musmeci Reference Musmecin.d.).

Since 2019, Avella, the area of the amphitheatre of the Roman Abella, has been investigated with both geophysical survey and excavations (Università degli Studi di Salerno n.d. a). There was a particular focus on the wall separating the urban and extra-urban areas of the Roman settlement (Università degli Studi di Salerno n.d. a). While excavations of the outer side of the walls have contributed to the understanding of the construction phase of the fortifications (probably having been connected to a ditch or natural channel), productive areas have been identified along the inner side of the walls (Università degli Studi di Salerno n.d. a). Structural evidence dating to the Samnite phase of the city has been detected underneath (Università degli Studi di Salerno n.d. a).

The Caselle in Pittari Archaeological Project investigates the settlement located in the hinterland of the Policastro Gulf, which dates from the fourth to the end of the third century BC; it is possible, though, that there was an earlier occupation of the area (Serritella and Rizzo Reference Serritella and Rizzo2021). Recent archaeological surveys have shown that the extent of the site was much larger than what was included in the modern Archaeological Park, even though no walls have been identified (Serritella and Rizzo Reference Serritella and Rizzo2019). Since 2017, excavations have been conducted on the lower plateau, uncovering a settlement characterized by three large buildings and internally organized according to an orthogonal layout (Serritella and Rizzo Reference Serritella and Rizzo2019). Overall, six structures have been identified so far, one of which has been interpreted as a metallurgical workshop, possibly for the production of everyday tools (Serritella and Rizzo Reference Serritella and Rizzo2021).

At Coroglio, a new segment of the Campanian Augustan aqueduct was identified on one of the side branches connecting the Crypta Neapolitana to Capo Coroglio (De Simone and Ferrari Reference De Simone and Ferrari2024). This aqueduct is known as the longest Roman aqueduct of its time. Investigations of this new segment proved quite promising for understanding the importance of the residential complexes in the areas of Posillipo and Nisida, those which were reached by this major aqueduct branch (De Simone and Ferrari Reference De Simone and Ferrari2024).

Starting in 2017, excavations at the Porta Mediana Necropolis (Fig. 6.4) have been focusing on the area in front of the gate of Cuma, an area that underwent many changes from its first phase in the Iron Age to the present day (Brun et al. Reference Brun, Munzi, Chapelin, Covolan, Lemaire, Leone, Meluziis and Sachau-Carcel2017; Reference Brun, Munzi, Chapelin, Covolan, Lemaire, Leone and Sachau-Carcel2018). Recent excavations have shown that, in the second century BC, the necropolis was characterized by rich underground tombs dedicated to elite members and surrounded by various cremation burials (Brun et al. Reference Brun, Munzi, Covolan, Conca, De Rosa, Del Mastro, Lemaire, Leone and Sachau-Carcel2021; Munzi Reference Munzi2022). A road leading to the nearby Monte Grillo was also constructed in this period, though it was then destroyed in the second century AD, when a terrace was constructed on top of the Hellenistic fortifications to host a large building with multiple rooms and an outdoor area, interpreted as a training campus (Brun et al. Reference Brun, Munzi, Chapelin, Covolan, Lemaire, Leone, Meluziis and Sachau-Carcel2017; Reference Brun, Munzi, Covolan, Conca, De Rosa, Del Mastro, Lemaire, Leone and Sachau-Carcel2021). The Via Domitiana was also built in this period, as well as various mausolea (Brun et al. Reference Brun, Munzi, Covolan, Conca, De Rosa, Del Mastro, Lemaire, Leone and Sachau-Carcel2021).

Fig. 6.4. Plan of the Porta Mediana Necropolis, Cuma (after Brun et al. Reference Brun, Munzi, Covolan, Conca, De Rosa, Del Mastro, Lemaire, Leone and Sachau-Carcel2021: 4, Fig. 2). © G. Chapelin, P. Munzi-Santoriello CJB, CNRS-EFR/CC BY NC-ND.

While in 2015 and 2016 investigations at the temple of Jupiter were completed with a survey of standing structures and recording of the finds (Rescigno Reference Rescignon.d.), recent excavations in the area between the forum and the northern walls have focused on the layout and street organization of the site and on its changes in the Late Imperial and Late Antique periods (D’Acunto et al. Reference D’Acunto, Giglio, Iavarone, Barbato, Borriello, Carpentiero, Gelone, Napolitano, Carnevale, Penzone and Tartari2016; D’Acunto Reference D’Acunto2020b). In particular, the double-channel drain system, which had already been studied (D’Agostino, Fratta and Malpede Reference D’Agostino and Malpede2005: 35–37), was investigated again, revealing that the sixth-century drainage was still highly used in the Late Republic period (D’Acunto Reference D’Acunto2020a). A possible metalworking area, dating to the seventh–fifth centuries BC, was identified at the edge of the settlement (D’Acunto Reference D’Acunto2020b). Works continued in the north portico of the forum, focusing on the chronology of this area starting from the Samnite foundation, characterized by the use of yellow tufa blocks (Capaldi Reference Capaldin.d.).

At Herculaneum, the University of Bologna has been involved in the Domus Herculanensis Rationes project since 2004/2005, including the investigation and analysis of data from the pre-existing archaeological excavations (Coralini et al. Reference Coralini, Scagliarini Corlàita, Helg, Giorgi, Zanfini, Minghelli, Ascari Raccagni and Assenti2016; Coralini Reference Coralini2017). In recent years the project, in collaboration with the University of Naples L’Orientale, has implemented 3D survey methods (D’Andrea et al. Reference D’Andrea, Bosco, Coralini, Fiorini and Valentini2020). These have been applied to the walls and floors of the structures in Insula III, which have also been georeferenced within a grid system and are going to facilitate the recording and studying of a complex stratified context, as the one at Herculaneum (D’Andrea et al. Reference D’Andrea, Bosco, Coralini, Fiorini and Valentini2020).

The new archaeological project in the Roman colony of Liternum aimed to define the chronological development of the colony’s urban layout, starting from the buildings in the forum (De Vincenzo Reference De Vincenzo2018). With this purpose, in 2015 the Basilica was first excavated, with work expanding in the following years towards the odeon and the temple podium (De Vincenzo Reference De Vincenzo2018). Owing both to the nature of the earliest construction technique found in the southeastern area of the podium and to the evidence of the geophysical survey, it has been suggested that the temple was first constructed in isolation from the other buildings. Various walls have also been identified where the forum and the basilica would have been built in the earliest phase of the colony (De Vincenzo Reference De Vincenzo2018). The forum and the basilica can thus be dated to the second construction phase of Liternum, characterized by the employment of a wall facing technique known as opus quasi reticulatum and dated, through local comparisons, to the first century BC (De Vincenzo Reference De Vincenzo2018). The opus reticulatum characterizes the third phase of the forum, corresponding to a monumentalization period, followed by the opus mixtum and by the opus vitatum mixtum, wall-facing techniques that characterize the fifth and final construction phase (De Vincenzo Reference De Vincenzo2018).

Excavations of the theatre-temple complex in Monte San Nicola (CE, Pietravairano) were completed in 2017 (Tagliamonte and Rendina Reference Tagliamonte and Rendina2022). The Tuscan temple dates to the beginning of the first century BC and was built within the Samnite polygonal fortification walls. It was situated about 20m apart from the theatre, whose cavea had been cut into the natural rock (Tagliamonte and Rendina Reference Tagliamonte and Rendina2022).

At Paestum, since 2016 excavations of a house in Block S 2/4 dating to the sixth–fifth century BC have identified a base made out of large ashlar blocks (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2019b). In association with the structure, three wells were investigated in 2019 together with contemporary silos for storing food, in use until the end of the third century BC (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2019b).

The dwellings and bath complex situated in Blocks 4–6 have also been the subject of new excavations. Through a combination of aerial survey and photogrammetry, and the creation of a building information modelling platform, the standing structures have been recorded and analysed for future investigations (Bosco et al. Reference Bosco, Carpentiero, D’Andrea, Minucci, Pesando and Valentini2018).

Aiming at a better investigation of the social organization of the Archaic and Classical site, the archaeological data from the necropolis of Ponte di Ferro, already excavated in the 1980s (Avagliano Reference Avagliano1988), were once again the object of study and publication for the first time under the direction of Gabriel Zuchtriegel (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2019e). This area was probably dedicated to the burial of lower status individuals, buried without grave goods: this practice is different from the expected local custom at the time. As a result of these first results, the recent studies have focused on the social dynamics internal to the lower classes (Contursi Reference Contursi2016).

Since 2017, excavations in the Roman forum of the comitium (assembly) and the Corinthian-Doric temple (the so-called Peace Temple) have been conducted by the Universities of Bochum and Bonn. Work has been undertaken both inside and, in more recent years, on the external limits of the temple (Parco Archeologico di Pestum e Velia 2021c; Albers and Widow Reference Albers and Widow2022). In front of the altar, a water pit has been identified, while in the same area a structure from a previous phase with a different orientation was detected (Albers and Widow Reference Albers and Widow2022). Next to the comitium, excavations have uncovered a drainage system probably associated with the comitium itself (Parco Archeologico di Pestum e Velia 2021c; Albers and Widow Reference Albers and Widow2022).

In 2018, excavations of the southern porticus area were conducted by the Fondazione Paestum ONLUS with the purpose of understanding the chronology, development, and organization of the area (Di Biase Reference Di Biasen.d.). While the building has been dated to the first century BC, the layout of a taberna dating back to the second century BC was also identified (Di Biase Reference Di Biasen.d.). Additionally, in 2018, the area of the Athenaion was investigated by geophysical surveys and excavations with the aim of identifying the virgin travertine banks and the limits of the 1920s–30s excavations, for the eventual resumption of investigations in the area (Longo et al. Reference Longo, Rizzo, Amato, Cozzolino and Pizzano2019). In 2019 excavations were also conducted in the areas between the Heroon and the Ekklesiasterion to further investigate the Greek Agorà (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2019d). Excavations of the Heroon have also identified the original layout when it was built in 510 BC (Ficuciello Reference Ficuciellon.d.). It was also confirmed that a tumulus originally covered the structure (Ficuciello Reference Ficuciello2018).

Insula 6–8 was first excavated in 2021, when excavations uncovered a large building with a heating system, which could potentially be interpreted as a bath located on the main plateia (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2021a; Longo Reference Longon.d.).

The University Federico II of Napoli has undertaken excavations in two different areas of the site (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2021b). In the southern area, the aim is to reconstruct the chronology of the lower settlement from the end of the fourth century BC to the sixth century AD (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2021b). Excavations have been focusing on House A.I.2 that had already been excavated in the 1960s (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2021b). The other area investigated is the insula of the Casa degli Affreschi, with the purpose of understanding the importance of this dwelling with the mobility of the ancient settlement (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2021b).

In 2018, geo-radar and geo-electrical surveys were conducted in the area east of the temples of Neptune and Hera. These investigations revealed a series of underground tunnels and rooms, and are indicative of systems of water management, possibly also with ritual activities (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2019c).

In the same area, excavations have uncovered the so-called House of the Priests, which is a large ashlar structure subdivided into seven rooms, some of which stand out for their decorated floor (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2019a). The function of the building is still unknown, but its main entrance faced the temple of Neptune (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia 2019a).

In 2018, some of the materials in the museum were studied and catalogued by the Universities of Naples Suor Orsola Benincasa and Luigi Vanvitelli, as in the case of the architectural terracottas, and by the Parco itself, as in the metope of the Heraion on the mouth of the Sele. These artefacts have been analysed with multi-spectrum technologies (Parco Archeologico di Paestum e Velia n.d.).

As part of the ongoing project Insula Occidentalis of the University of Suor Orsola Benincasa, at Pompeii, the House of Maius Castricius has recently been investigated through geophysical surveys and excavations. These campaigns have shown that the occupation chronology of this extra-moenia house reflects the same chronology identified for the nearby houses (Grimaldi Reference Grimaldin.d.; Pappalardo and Grimaldi Reference Pappalardo and Grimaldin.d.).

In the last 10 years, two projects on necropoleis came to an end: in 2017, the excavations of the Porta Nola Necropolis Project and, in 2016, the necropolis of Porta Nocera. The first project was directed by Stephen Kay, Llorenç Alapont Martin, and Rosa Albiach in collaboration with the Parco Archeologico di Pompei (Kay, Alapont and Albiach Reference Kay, Alapont and Albiach2018). The project aimed at developing the necropolis overview by taking into account a different range of information, including results from new excavations, plaster casts, archival material and older publications (Kay, Alapont and Albiach Reference Kay, Alapont and Albiach2018). The latter project focused on two different areas along the street leading to the Porta Nocera and aimed at investigating the role of the public authorities in the development and organization of the necropolis, as well as on contemporary funerary customs (Van Andringa, Creissen and Duday Reference Van Andringa, Creissen and Duday2016; Reference Van Andringa, Creissen and Duday2017; Reference Van Andringa, Creissen and Duday2018). Porta Nocera has also been the subject of some of the activities of the Pompeii Sustainable Preservation Project, involving geophysical surveys for the identification of underlying structures and the potential geological factors which might affect their preservation underground (Matthaei et al. Reference Matthaei, Anguissola, Kilian, Martelli Castaldi, Saba, Emmerling, Malfitana, Mazzaglia, Leucci, Fragalà, De Giorgi, Pavone, Barone and Russo2016). A digital model of the area was then produced through topographic and orthophotographic surveys for the creation of a web immersive gallery (Matthaei et al. Reference Matthaei, Anguissola, Kilian, Martelli Castaldi, Saba, Emmerling, Malfitana, Mazzaglia, Leucci, Fragalà, De Giorgi, Pavone, Barone and Russo2016).

Another project that has recently concluded is the Via Consulare Project (VCP), which investigated the chronology of the main road and its role in the development of the urban layout. This connected two areas included in the investigations, that is the Villa delle Colonne a Mosaico and the Insula VII 6 (Anderson Reference Anderson2020). The aim of the VCP was to enlarge the scale of analysis to the entire city, connecting different projects located around areas adjacent to this street (Anderson Reference Anderson2020).

In 2016, the project Organizzazione, gestione e trasformazione di una zona suburbana: il settore della Porta Ercolano di Pompei, tra spazio funerario e spazio commerciale concluded after five years of investigations conducted by the École Française de Rome, which brought to light an extra-urban pottery production site as well as three burials (Zanella et al. Reference Zanella, Cavassa, Laubry, Monteix, Chapelin, Coutelas, Delvigne Ryrko, Errera, Gerardin, Lemaire, Macario, Ortis, Pellegrino and Sachau-Carcel2017; Cavassa Reference Cavassa2020). Another pottery workshop, the so-called Atelier delle lucerne located within the city wall near Porta Nocera, has also been the object of recent research, providing a term of comparison for the one outside Porta Ercolano (Cavassa Reference Cavassa2020).

A project directed by Monika Trümper and entitled Bathing Culture and the Development of Urban Space: Case Study Pompeii has been investigating, since 2015, the Stabian Baths and the Republican Baths (Brüneberg, Rummel and Trümper Reference Brüneberg, Rummel and Trümper2024). The project aims to explore the development of bathing culture from the Late Hellenistic period, and the urban development of baths in the Late Republic period (Trümper Reference Trümper2017b). This project has anticipated the date of the Republican Baths to the second half of the second century BC and the Stabian Baths to around 130/125 BC: this is different from the chronology that had originally been suggested by Eschebach in the 1970s (Eschebach Reference Eschebach1979; Trümper Reference Trümper2017a; Reference Trümper2017b; Trümper et al. Reference Trümper, Brüneberg, Dickmann, Esposito, Ferrandes, Pardini, Pegurri, Robinson and Rummel2019). The chronological development of the Stabian Baths was thus reassessed through excavations and survey of the standing structures, which have also been recorded, documented, and analysed through Structure from Motion (SfM) 3D (Trümper Reference Trümper2020; Brüneberg, Rummel and Trümper Reference Brüneberg, Rummel and Trümper2024).

Urban changes that came with the transition from the Samnite to the Roman periods were also the subject of investigations by the Venus Pompeiana Project, whose aim was to reconsider and integrate the archaeological data from earlier excavations of the Temple and Sanctuary of Venus in Pompeii (Curti Reference Curti2008). There was a particular focus in this project on the chronology, extent, and internal organization, as well as the nature of the rituals conducted here (Battiloro et al. Reference Battiloro, Modetta, Barretta, Diffendale, D’Esposito, Harder, Pardini, Pignataro, Russo and Varriale2018; Mogetta et al. Reference Mogetta, Battiloro, Varriale, Diffendale, Iacomelli, D’Acri, Corbino, Comegna and Pardini2022). This aim was accomplished through a topographic survey inclusive of photogrammetry records taken of standing structures and previous stratigraphic sections, while old trenches were reopened (Battiloro et al. Reference Battiloro, Modetta, Barretta, Diffendale, D’Esposito, Harder, Pardini, Pignataro, Russo and Varriale2018; Mogetta et al. Reference Mogetta, Battiloro, Varriale, Diffendale, Iacomelli, D’Acri, Corbino, Comegna and Pardini2022).

The so-called comitium, situated in the southeastern area of the forum, was investigated by geophysical surveys in the area of the eastern porticus that had already been excavated, to provide a first indication on the urban layout of this area (Flecker and Lipps Reference Flecker and Lippsn.d.). SfM and 3D laser scanner were also used to record and analyse the data gathered. Excavations eventually dated the structure to the Augustan period, which is later than the Samnite date traditionally assigned (Lipps Reference Lipps2018; Flecker and Lipps Reference Flecker and Lippsn.d.). Since 2016, the nearby stores in the Regio VII, Insula 14 have been investigated by the University of Genova (Pallecchi Reference Pallecchi2018). It was thus possible to understand the chronological changes in the structure and use of the insula, such as the fact that the stores developed along Via dell’Abbondanza only after the various seismic events took place between AD 50–75 (Pallecchi Reference Pallecchi2018; Pallecchi and Santoro Reference Pallecchi and Santoro2019; Pallecchi Reference Pallecchin.d.).

The aim of the Casa della Regina Carolina (CRC) project (Fig. 6.5) was to investigate the garden of this dwelling. This space had already been excavated in the nineteenth century (Schulz Reference Schulz1841: 121; Fiorelli Reference Fiorelli1875: 325–26), but very little was recorded and is known from these past investigations: the new project aimed to broaden the current knowledge of the entire building (Barrett et al. Reference Barrett, Gleason, Marzano and Langgut2020). The house was found to be much bigger than was originally envisaged and, through clarifying its size, new information on the insula as a whole was thus gained (Barrett et al. Reference Barrett, Gleason, Marzano and Langgut2020). Further investigations on the garden permitted for the better understanding of the social strategies of the individuals interacting with it either as owners or workers (Barrett et al. Reference Barrett, Gleason, Marzano and Langgut2020). After the AD 62 earthquake, the garden was also expanded, pointing towards the social and economic role of gardens within contemporary society (Barrett et al. Reference Barrett, Gleason, Marzano and Langgut2020).

Fig. 6.5. CRC (VIII.3.14), Pompeii. View from the atrium towards the garden. © A. Marzano.

The project Modi d’abitare a Pompei in età Repubblicana: la casa ad atrio testudinato, involving both Italian and French institutions, aimed at investigating the type of dwelling characterized by a covered atrium known as the la casa ad trio testudinato, characterized by a covered atrium, widely spread across third/second century Pompeii to identify patterns of urban living, and the potential differences between areas of the site associated with diverse social groups occupying them (D’Auria and Ballet Reference D’Auria and Ballet2020; D’Auria et al. Reference D’Auria, Ballet, Di Vito, Ruzzo and Sparice2023). In the third century BC, the opera a telaio (post-and-panel work) was used for the casa ad atrio testudinato, where building and domestic rituals were probably conducted in the open areas between the second and the first century BC (D’Auria et al. Reference D’Auria, Ballet, Di Vito, Ruzzo and Sparice2023). Among the recent results, there is the identification of the owner of one of the houses in the first century AD (D’Auria et al. Reference D’Auria, Ballet, Di Vito, Ruzzo and Sparice2023).

An assessment of the state of conservation was carried out in 2018 in the area of the Necropoli di Porta Sarno, which was also cleaned and recorded through photogrammetry for potential future investigations (Alapont Reference Alapontn.d.).

Another French project at Pompeii was conducted by the École Française de Rome, which investigated the workshops located south of the Casa degli Amorini Dorati, first excavated in the 1980s (Monteix et al. Reference Monteix, Le Quéré, Fouriaux, Aho, Ephrem, Lepetz, Proudfoot and Autret2019). The goal of this project was to cast light on the chronology and development of the wool-working workshops in this area after the seismic events dating to AD 62/63 (Monteix et al. Reference Monteix, Le Quéré, Fouriaux, Aho, Ephrem, Lepetz, Proudfoot and Autret2019). The workshop underwent two different phases and was dismantled just before the Vesuvius eruption (Monteix et al. Reference Monteix, Le Quéré, Fouriaux, Aho, Ephrem, Lepetz, Proudfoot and Autret2019). In area VI 16, 6, excavations have identified a deposit, which is not clear whether it was a waste pit or had a ritual nature, dating to the second century BC (Monteix et al. Reference Monteix, Le Quéré, Fouriaux, Aho, Ephrem, Lepetz, Proudfoot and Autret2019). This provides evidence for the occupation of the area before the construction of a fullonica in this area (Monteix et al. Reference Monteix, Le Quéré, Fouriaux, Aho, Ephrem, Lepetz, Proudfoot and Autret2019).

Excavations have also continued on the Via Sepolcri in Torre Annunziata, where the Oplontis Project has been focusing on the villa, its chronology, and its use as a wine packaging centre (van der Graaf et al. Reference van der Graaf, Thomas, Wilkinson, Muslin, Clarke, Muntasser and Di Maio2019; Reference van der Graaf, Clarke, Thomas, Schofield, Muslin, Muntasser, Di Maio, Bruner and Galloway2023). Located closer to the sea than Pompeii, when the Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, the villa went through a destructive event involving rogue waves as well as ash and heated gas (van der Graaf et al. Reference van der Graaf, Thomas, Wilkinson, Muslin, Clarke, Muntasser and Di Maio2019). This is visible in the archaeological record as a highly stratified deposit underneath the remains of the barrel vaults, possibly collapsed because of rogue waves, which in turn were covered by a layer of pumice, ash, and pyroclastic surge (van der Graaf et al. Reference van der Graaf, Thomas, Wilkinson, Muslin, Clarke, Muntasser and Di Maio2019).

The maritime villa located in Contrada Sora at Torre del Greco was included in the Vesuviana programme to improve our understanding of the site and its preservation, also with the purpose of opening it to visitors (Coralini Reference Coralini2015–2016; Osanna et al. Reference Osanna, Coralini, Toniolo and Giglion.d.). Geophysical surveys were conducted, followed by excavations, both in previously investigated areas and also in new spaces: this provided important information on the layout and role of the villa within the surrounding landscape (Osanna et al. Reference Osanna, Coralini, Toniolo and Giglion.d.).

In 2015, the University of Salerno excavated the Etrusco-Samnite settlement of Pontecagnano, focusing on the development of the street and urban layout from the sixth to the second century BC (Pellegrino Reference Pallecchin.d.). The campaign showed that the later Roman road network partially overlapped with the earlier Etrusco-Samnite one dating from the ninth to the third century BC (Pellegrino Reference Pellegrinon.d.). Excavations of some of the structures identified along the cardo have revealed an Etrusco-Samnite occupation, though there are also traces of later Medieval occupation of the area (Pellegrino Reference Pellegrinon.d.; Università degli Studi di Salerno n.d. b). Geomagnetic prospection was also conducted, and results identified potential structures (Pellegrino Reference Pellegrinon.d.).

Investigations on Vivara have significantly developed over the last years: excavations were conducted alongside topographic surveys, which yielded both on-land and underwater data, such as the marks left from working the rocks at Punta di Mezzogiorno, which could be associated with a docking and shoring area (Marazzi and Pepe Reference Marazzi and Pepe2018; Bertino et al. Reference Bertino, Carpentieri, De Bonis, Germinario, Giardino and Grifa2020). A pivotal development has been the creation of a laboratory and research and teaching centre for the processing of archaeological finds, in which gas chromatographic and bioarchaeological analysis have also been conducted, alongside 3D modelling and photogrammetry (Marazzi and Pepe Reference Marazzi and Pepe2018; Bertino et al. Reference Bertino, Carpentieri, De Bonis, Germinario, Giardino and Grifa2020).

In Velia, the excavations of the University of Vienna in the eastern quarter of the settlement reopened an area that had been previously investigated by Paolino Mingazzini in the first half of the twentieth century AD (D’Angiolillo and Gassner Reference D’Angiolillo and Gassner2017). The 2015 campaign of the University of Vienna focused on the identification of the urban layout through geophysical surveys (D’Angiolillo and Gassner Reference D’Angiolillo and Gassner2017). In addition, the kiln in the Vasalia quarter, within the ancient Velia settlement, had been excavated in the 1920s but was again the subject of recent investigations. The aim was to identify and study kilns in their role for metalworking, pottery, and tile production, and to investigate local production activities from the end of the fourth century BC to the Late Republic period (D’Angiolillo and Gassner Reference D’Angiolillo and Gassner2017).

Molise

The Molise Survey Project developed as a result of the extent of the Bronze Age frequentation shown by previous archaeological investigations in the region (Map 6.5). This is the case of Monteroduni (Cazzella et al. Reference Cazzella, De Dominicis, Recchia and Ruggini2005; Cazzella, De Dominicis and Ruggini Reference Cazzella, De Dominicis and Ruggini2008) and Oratino (Cazzella, Copat and Danesi Reference Cazzella, Copat and Danesi2006; Copat, Danesi and D’Oronzo Reference Copat, Danesi and D’Oronzo2012), where surveys were also conducted (Lucci, Mironti and Modesto Reference Lucci, Mironti and Modesto2016). Aiming to investigate patterns of human occupation from the highlands of the Molise region from the Palaeolithic to the first millennium BC inclusive, the project has shown that specific areas have been occupied at different times during the period analysed, despite their different climate conditions (Cazzella et al. Reference Cazzella, Modesto, Mironti Sabbini and Lucci2019). The ethnoarchaeological Molise Pastoral Project, focusing on the recording of the contemporary pastoral groups of the territory, was also conducted alongside to understand the potential of the Molise Survey Project for the investigation of prehistoric pastoral dynamics (Cazzella et al. Reference Cazzella, Modesto, Mironti Sabbini and Lucci2019).

Map 6.5. 47. Colle San Martino; 48. Montagna di Gildone; 49. San Giovanni in Galdo.

Another ongoing survey project under investigation since 2013 is the Tappino Area Archaeological Project, which analyses the development of sites in Molise. The project has used point sampling and standard transect field survey, proving the successful combination of both methods, especially in low-visibility areas (Stek Reference Stek2018; Stek and Waagen Reference Stek and Waagen2022). Geophysical surveys and LiDAR data were also included to test the clustering model of settlements in relation to sanctuary sites (Fig. 6.6; Stek Reference Stek2018; Stek and Casarotto Reference Stek and Casarotto2022; cf Pelgrom and Stek Reference Pelgrom and Stek2010). Hidden sites were identified at Colle San Martino, Jelsi, and the hillfort on Montagna di Gildone, which was also excavated, as was San Giovanni in Galdo (Stek Reference Stek2018). Overall, it was determined that Hellenistic and Roman settlements seemed to occur in clusters on hill plateaus (Stek Reference Stek2018).

Fig. 6.6. A. Site area of Colle San Martino, showing the areas surveyed according to the different methods, coverage of transect samples, and point samples. B. Point sample (after Stek and Waagen Reference Stek and Waagen2022: 231, Fig. 2). © J. Waagen.

State of the art

In this final section we make some observations on the dataset of field projects listed in Table 6.1. This list is essentially based on the data presented in this article enhanced with information on the sites currently under investigation by the Geoportale Nazionale dell’Archeologia and recently inaugurated by the Italian Ministry of Culture.

As can be expected, in merely numerical terms universities and research institutions dominate the archaeological work conducted, although such an assessment is undoubtedly biased by the fact that results presented here are by and large not concerned with rescue excavations. Italian research institutions seem to have the lion’s share of fieldwork in the region, with less than a quarter of the field activities listed in Table 6.1 seeing the participation of foreign research institutions. On the one hand, it is extremely important that local institutions invest in the development of the archaeological heritage of their country; on the other, the involvement of foreign institutions provides resources from abroad. Unfortunately, foreign and Italian institutions conduct research alongside each other very rarely, with the exception of Campania, where this happens in more than half of the cases.

In terms of overall exploration of the regions surveyed here, the last 10 years have seen a greater number of field activities per 1,000 square kilometres in Campania while the other regions of South Italy seem to have been explored with a similar intensity to one another (Fig. 6.7). The predominance of sites in Campania might be the result of a bias due to the popularity of sites such as Pompeii or Herculaneum.

Fig. 6.7. Histogram showing the number of sites investigated in South Italy per 1,000 square kilometres. © The authors.

The re-analysis of old archaeological data has also played an important role within many projects discussed here that engage with results already generated previous investigations. The reason for covering again areas/sites from which information is already widely available is to gain further insights through new methodologies (frequently photogrammetry and other forms of digital surveying). In a sense, this trend is clearly the by-product of extensive methodological transformations occurring in archaeology over the last decade, where the digital domain has started to become ubiquitous.

Non-destructive work has also been widely conducted, although surveys have very rarely represented the sole form of investigation at one site, and they are very often accompanied by excavations. Only 15 of more than 100 projects discussed above focus solely on non-destructive methods.

The deployment of new technologies often aims to improve both the preservation and possibility of access to the sites by the public, an aspect that is gradually becoming a key dimension of archaeological activity conducted in the Italian peninsula (Limoncelli Reference Limoncelli2012; Garagnani et al. Reference Garagnani, Gaucci, Moscati and Gaiani2021; D’Acunto and Calandriello Reference D’Acunto and Calandriello2022).