Research > Archaeological Fieldwork > Excavations in Italy > Material culture from the suburb of Ostia: Roman and Late Antique pottery from the Basilica of Pianabella
Director: Emanuela Borgia
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Necropolis and basilica of Pianabella
The project aims to deepen our knowledge of the basilica and necropolis of Pianabella in its different phases of occupation through the systematic study of the findings, integrating traditional methods with the most modern technologies of study and research. The Christian basilica of Pianabella was built around the 4th-5th century AD on the site of a previous necropolis from the Roman Imperial period in the southern suburbs of Ostia. Therefore, the systematic study of the finds (especially ceramics) from past excavations is undoubtedly a valuable source of information on the evolution and diachronic transformations of the territory of Ostia from Roman times to the early Middle Ages. The particular importance of the project, commissioned and promoted by the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica, with which the Department of Ancient Sciences signed a scientific collaboration agreement in 2025, lies in the fact that the materials from the excavation of the Basilica and the previous necropolis are still unpublished. The uniqueness of the project, which received funding from the University's Small Projects program in 2025, lies in particular in the fact that it will allow for the resumption and enhancement of an unpublished archaeological research that was carried out in the past. This will provide information of great interest on an almost completely unknown archaeological context so as to make it available to both scientific and wider audiences. The ultimate goal is therefore to enhance not only the finds but also the architectural remains of the Basilica, as hoped for by the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica.
Collaborators:
Dario Alonzi, Elena Busti, Mara Elefante, Giordano Iacomelli, Asia Malatesta, Micol Mazzoli, Francesco Ronconi, Angelita Troiani, Parco Archeologico di Ostia Antica
- Bibliography
G. CALZA (a cura di), Topografia generale, Scavi di Ostia I, Roma 1953
A. CARBONARA, F. PANARITI, R. ZACCAGNINI, Mosaici dalla necropoli di Pianabella (Ostia Antica), in Atti del VI Colloquio dell'Associazione Italiana per lo Studio e la Conservazione del Mosaico (Venezia, 20-23 gennaio 1999), Ravenna 2000, 233-238
A. CARBONARA, A. PELLEGRINO, R. ZACCAGNINI, Necropoli di Pianabella: vecchi e nuovi ritrovamenti, in Culto dei morti e costumi funerari romani, Internationales Kolloquium (Rom, 1-3 April 1998), Roma 2001, 139-148
B. CIARROCCHI, La ceramica a vernice rossa dalla basilica di Pianabella, Alba Regia XXV, 1995, 231-240
P. GERMONI et al., Indagini archeologiche preventive nell'area della necropoli di Pianabella (area 12): nuove acquisizioni per la ricostruzione del paesaggio extraurbano di Ostia Antica tra I e IV secolo, in Ricerche su Ostia e il suo territorio: atti del Terzo Seminario Ostiense (Roma, École française de Rome, 21-22 ottobre 2015), Roma 2019, 227-244
R. GIORDANI, Scavi nella tenuta di Pianabella di Ostia Antica-1976/1977. La basilica cristiana, MemPontAc 14, 77-87
A. MORANDI, Scavi nella tenuta di Pianabella di Ostia Antica-1976/1977. Gli edifici sepolcrali, MemPontAc 14, 57-76
D. NUZZO, Note sulla basilica cristiana di Pianabella a Ostia, RomMitt 122, 2016, 367-386.
L. PAROLI (a cura di), La basilica cristiana di Pianabella. Parte I, Scavi di Ostia XII, Roma 1999
A. PELLEGRINO (ed.), Dalle necropoli di Ostia. Riti ed usi funerari, Roma 1999
M. STERNINI, I reperti in vetro provenienti dalla basilica cristiana di Pianabella (Ostia), JGS 59, 2017, 135-152
Further details about this research:
- Research type: Excavation in Italy
- Location of the excavation: Basilica di Pianabella, Ostia, Roma, Italia
- Research topic: Archeologia romana
- Fundings: Progetti Piccoli di Ateneo
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