Papers by Alessio De Cristofaro
Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica Natural Sciences in Archaeology, 2023
The present study concerns the archaeobotanical analysis of soil samples and vase fillings from E... more The present study concerns the archaeobotanical analysis of soil samples and vase fillings from Etruscan tombs from the Necropolis of “Valle Santa nell’Agro Veientano”, found along via di Boccea, north of Rome (Italy). While the site was in use between the Archaic and Late Roman Age, the studied
vestibule tombs belong to the Etruscan necropolis (second half of the 6th – beginning of the 4th centuries BC). Archaeological data, based on the incineration rite and funerary equipment, suggest that these were used by one high-status family (or two) originally from Veio.
Carpological analyses reveal the presence of food plants comprised of cereals, pulses and fruits. Furthermore, anthracological data give indications concerning the past environment, with a prevalence of deciduous and semi-deciduous oaks, accompanied by other taxa such as evergreen oaks, hornbeam, ash and Rosaceae Prunoideae. This is in accordance with the present-day vegetation of northern Latium. Finally, remains of synanthropic weeds (e.g., Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae and Polygonaceae) suggest a heavily anthropized environment.
This study represents a step forward in the understanding of the still under explored human-plant interactions of Etruscans.
The Pian del Marmo estate is located along the modern Via di Boccea, in the western suburb of Rom... more The Pian del Marmo estate is located along the modern Via di Boccea, in the western suburb of Rome. In the last forty years, the area has returned numerous archaeological remains, sometimes casually come to light (Roman villa, hydraulic tunnel), sometimes after preventive archaeology excavations (tuff quarry, roman road). Til today, no research had linked the individual findings, trying to reconstruct the ancient landscapes of this area. Starting from the recent dig concerning a road and a small nucleus of Cappuccina tombs of the imperial age in via Fraconalto, this paper offers a reconstruction of the topographical profile of the area between the Archaic and Late Antique age, illustrating in detail the individual findings.
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 472, 2020
In the summer of 2017 and 2018, the archaeological excavation in the Horrea Agrippiana planned by... more In the summer of 2017 and 2018, the archaeological excavation in the Horrea Agrippiana planned by the Signum Vortumni project continued. The findings emerging from the new excavations allowed us to better understand the stratigraphic sequence already identified in the 2016 campaign. The late Republican domus, with walls in opus incertum masonry, has returned traces of the floors, II style wall decorations and some furnishings. It is confirmed as a high-level aristocratic domus, developed along the terraces of the western slopes of the Palatine. A significant new discovery concerns the construction phase of the Horrea Agrippiana. In the 2016 campaign, the re-mains of a structure interpretable as a warehouse had been found. It is characterized, at least on the northern side, by a series of parallel chambers, 4 meters wide, open to the south, finished in travertine block endpieces opening onto an ar-ea that was probably open-air. The new stratigraphic data could indicate that it is not an older phase of the Horrea, but its first project phase. This would have been interrupted by a fire (12 BC?) and then replaced by the new Horrea Agrip-piana project in opus quadratum, still visible on the site. Regarding the construction of the Horrea, the pottery from the new layers confirm the dating to the Augustan period. Finally, much interesting new evidence concerns the Late Antique phases of the warehouse. Some contexts testify to productive activities dating to the 5th-6th century AD, while a group of new burials, probably from the 7th century AD, seem to be connected to the life of the nearby diaconia of San Teodoro.
In Ostraka 2018, Marina Martelli pubblicava un saggio sulle tombe orientalizzanti di San Paolo, r... more In Ostraka 2018, Marina Martelli pubblicava un saggio sulle tombe orientalizzanti di San Paolo, ricco di importanti annotazioni e di sapidi e creativi insulti. Il presente contributo discute alcune delle opinioni dell'illustre studiosa espresse sugli impasti incisi figurati, Veio e il mare. Articolo consigliato per chi è affetto da mestizia post lockdown. PDF disponile a richiesta in privato per uso di studio
The excavation, preliminary to the verification of the archaeological presence in a designed area... more The excavation, preliminary to the verification of the archaeological presence in a designed area for a gas station, led to the discovery of a stratigraphic palimpsest consisting of a stretch of road cut (IV / III century BC-IV sec. AD), a tuff-quarry (III-II century BC), a quarry for the extraction of pozzolana (I century BC-I century AD) and some burials of the imperial age (II sec. A.D). The topographical proximity to the villa investigated by M.L. Marchi and Fiorenzo Catalli on the nearby Collina delle Muse allowed to connect all the new evidences with the different life phases of this residential complex, thus enriching its historical reconstruction.
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Papers by Alessio De Cristofaro
vestibule tombs belong to the Etruscan necropolis (second half of the 6th – beginning of the 4th centuries BC). Archaeological data, based on the incineration rite and funerary equipment, suggest that these were used by one high-status family (or two) originally from Veio.
Carpological analyses reveal the presence of food plants comprised of cereals, pulses and fruits. Furthermore, anthracological data give indications concerning the past environment, with a prevalence of deciduous and semi-deciduous oaks, accompanied by other taxa such as evergreen oaks, hornbeam, ash and Rosaceae Prunoideae. This is in accordance with the present-day vegetation of northern Latium. Finally, remains of synanthropic weeds (e.g., Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae and Polygonaceae) suggest a heavily anthropized environment.
This study represents a step forward in the understanding of the still under explored human-plant interactions of Etruscans.
vestibule tombs belong to the Etruscan necropolis (second half of the 6th – beginning of the 4th centuries BC). Archaeological data, based on the incineration rite and funerary equipment, suggest that these were used by one high-status family (or two) originally from Veio.
Carpological analyses reveal the presence of food plants comprised of cereals, pulses and fruits. Furthermore, anthracological data give indications concerning the past environment, with a prevalence of deciduous and semi-deciduous oaks, accompanied by other taxa such as evergreen oaks, hornbeam, ash and Rosaceae Prunoideae. This is in accordance with the present-day vegetation of northern Latium. Finally, remains of synanthropic weeds (e.g., Asteraceae, Caryophyllaceae and Polygonaceae) suggest a heavily anthropized environment.
This study represents a step forward in the understanding of the still under explored human-plant interactions of Etruscans.
The paper focuses on two aspects of the villa system in the Suburb, between late antique and early medieval ages: the sample area is between the viae Triumphalis and Campana. The first concerns the reconstruction of the economic and social aspects linked to the villas’ late antique life, which can be deduced from archaeological data coming from both old findings, not yet well considered, and from new unknown contexts. The second concerns the estates’ changes of ownership from private to ecclesiastical, with particular regard to the new organizational and productive forms as reflected by archaeological phenomenology, as well as from literary sources.
Ciclo di Conferenze
Roma, Museo Nazionale Romano, 12/03/2019