Research > Archaeological Fieldwork > Sapienza "Grandi Scavi" > Excavations and research in the necropolis and villa-vicus of Castel Sozzio (Civitella D'Agliano, VT)
Director: Emanuela Borgia
External links:
- History of Civitella d'Agliano
- Unearthing the Secrets of Castel Sozzio: Insights into Ancient Diets and Lifestyles
The multidisciplinary research project at Castel Sozzio (Civitella D'Agliano, VT) is underway since 2020 thanks to an excavation permit (renewed in 2023) granted by SABAP per la Provincia di Viterboe l’Etruria Meridionale and funded from the Grandi Scavi di Ateneo of Sapienza University of Rome.
The site consists of a large necropolis connected to a Roman villa that was transformed into a village in the early Middle Ages (5th-7th centuries). The cemetery is significant for its location in the middle Tiber valley, where no other necropolises comparable in size to the one under study are currently known. So far, more than 100 tombs of various types (cappuccina, stone chests, and pit graves) have been excavated, some of which have revealed multiple burials, for a total of almost 200 individuals.
The period in which the site was inhabited turns out to be a fundamental historical phase - still largely unknown in this area - between the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the advent of the Goths, the Gothic War, and the advent of the Lombards. The research is providing new information not only on topographical and archaeological aspects, but also on the socio-economic and health conditions of the region's population.
The project involves scholars with different areas of expertise -archaeology, topography, ancient history, art history, anthropology, paleopathology, paleonutrition, paleoenvironmental and ancient DNA studies, archaeometry, and history of medicine - which is helping to provide significant results on the evolution of demographic patterns, life expectancy and lifestyle, and the mutual relations between different peoples and cultures during this crucial historical phase.
In addition to involving specialists, the excavation has taken on an educational aspect from the outset, and numerous Sapienza students participate each year in fieldwork and subsequent activities as part of their curricular training.
Collaborators:
Alfredo Coppa, Mary Anne Tafuri, Mara Elefante, Francesco La Pastina, Giulia D'Alessio, Stefano Guidi, Martina Paolucci, Francesca Russo, Tiziana Mastracci
- Bibliography
E. Borgia, “La necropoli di Castel Sozzio, Civitella D'Agliano (Viterbo): note preliminari", in C. Valdambrini (ed.), Una Terra di Mezzo. I Longobardi e la nascita della Toscana, Cinisello Balsamo (Mi) 2021, pp. 415-419
E. Borgia, “Archeologia funeraria e mobilità nella media valle del Tevere: la necropoli tardoromana e altomedievale di Castel Sozzio (Viterbo)”, in J. Tabolli, E. Vanni (eds.), Lungo il corso del fiume Paglia: archeologia, mobilità e mediazione culturale nell’antichità [Quaderni di Otium 8], Roma 2025, pp. 325-336.
M. Cagiano De Azevedo, G. Schmiedt, Tra Bagnoregio e Ferento, Roma 1974.
M. Cecchelli, M.C. Pompei, F. Riganati, Sviluppo turistico-culturale della Teverina Viterbese. Il sito archeologico di Castel Sozzio, in M. Quagliuolo (ed.), La gestione del Patrimonio Culturale/Cultural Heritage Management. Atti del II Colloquio Internazionale/Proceedings of the 2nd International Meeting (Viterbo 5-8 dicembre 1997), Le Balze di Montepulciano (SI), Siena e Città di Castello 1998, pp. 80-89.
D.M. Fernandes, K.A. Sirak, O. Cheronet, M. Novak, F. Brück, E. Zelger, A. Llanos-Lizcano, A. Wagner, A. Zettl, K. Mandl, K.S. Duffet Carlson, V. Oberreiter, K.T. Özdoğan, S. Sawyer, F. La Pastina, E. Borgia, A. Coppa, M. Dobeš, P. Velemínský, D. Reich, L.S. Bell, R. Pinhasi, “Density separation of petrous bone powders for optimized ancient DNA yields”, Genome Research, April 18 2023, pp. 1-10.
M.C. Pompei, I territori di Bagnoregio, Lubriano, Civitella d'Agliano e Castiglione in Teverina nell'antichità: nuove acquisizioni e nuove prospettive, «Biblioteca e Società» 25, 1994, pp. 9-16.
M.C. Pompei, Analisi di un frammento scultoreo altomedievale inedito ed alcune considerazioni sugli insediamenti antichi nel territorio di Civitella d’Agliano, «Biblioteca e Società» 29, 1995, pp. 10-15.
G. Romagnoli, Ferento e la Teverina viterbese. Insediamenti e dinamiche del popolamento tra il X e il XIV secolo, Viterbo 2006.
G. Romagnoli, Il limes longobardo-bizantino in Tuscia e la difesa del confine settentrionale del Ducato Romano, in F. Marazzi, C. Raimondo, G. Hyeraci (edd.), La difesa militare bizantina in Italia (Secoli VI-XI). Atti del convegno internazionale 15-18 aprile 2021, Volturnia Edizioni, Cerro al Volturno (IS) 2022, pp. 219-233.
M. Spanu, Ricognizioni e riscontri aerotopografici: alcuni casi di età romana dalla Teverina laziale, «Archeologia Aerea. Studi di Aerotopografia Archeologica» 14, 2020, pp. 44-55.
M. Spanu, Breve rassegna sull’occupazione della Teverina laziale in epoca romana, «Orizzonti» 22, 2021, pp. 155-166.
Further details about this research:
- Research type: Sapienza "Grandi Scavi"
- Location of the excavation: Civitella D'Agliano, VT, Italy
- Research topic: Archaeology and Anthropology
- Fundings: Grandi Scavi di Ateneo
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