Excavation of a Roman Villa near the Metro Station Anagnina, Rome

• Applicant: Privatdozent Dr. Martin Tombrägel
• Subject Area: Classical, Roman, Christian and Islamic Archaeology ; Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology ; Ecology of Land Use
• Term: from 2011 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 203094386

The field research conducted between the years 2010 and 2013 secured the position of the Villa Metro Anagnina as a new und very essential reference point for the settlement history of the City of Rome and the Roman Suburbium. It is possible to track the development of a roman villa rustica from its founding phase, which can be dated to the first half of the 3rd century BC based on stratigraphic evidence until early imperial times. Surprising additional information came from a tunnel system underneath the Villa and a destruction layer of the late 1th century BC containing many fragments of wall-painting. That kind of archaeological record is still unique in the Roman Suburbium for what reasons the parameters of the original project, which was initiated as a rescue excavation changed fundamentally: the Soprintendenza is highly interested in a further cooperation with the previous team and in establishing a museum-like zone once the investigations has been completed. The results of the previous campaigns allow a preliminary interpretation of the complex, but have also led to further questions. For this purpose it is necessary to investigate the other, imperial construction phases of the complex to get a full picture of the chronological range of the site. The aim of the follow-up project is to offer a diachronic reconstruction of the villa history by means of a monographic publication including the work from the young fellow research-group. The follow-up project is organised as a cooperation between the Christian-Albrechts-Universitaet zu Kiel and the Soprintendenza Speciale per il Colosseo, il MNR e l'Area Archeologica di Roma. The Geman Archeological Institute, Rome (DAI), the University La Sapienza, Rome and the Technical University of Braunschweig are included as project partners.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Italy
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Ortwin Dally; Professor Dr. Reinhard Förtsch; Professor Dr.-Ing. Alexander von Kienlin; Marco Placidi; Dr. Laura Sadori
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Roberto Cereghino