| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
UCHIDA Toshihide Kyoto University, Art and Design, Faculty of Art, professor, 芸術学部, 教授 (30132822)
STEINGRABER Stephan The University of Tokyo, The University Museum, visitting professor, 総合研究博物館, 客員教授 (00272451)
TAKANO Mitsuyuki Ochanormzu University Faculty of Letters and Education, professor, 文教育学部, 教授 (20143696)
MIYASAKA Tomo Hirosaki University, Faculty of Humanities, assistant professor, 人文学部, 助教授 (80271790)
WATANABE Michiharu Kyushu Tokai University, Faculty of Engineering, professor, 工学部, 教授 (70269108)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
The subject of the study is an ancient Roman villa on the coast facing the Tyrrhenian Sea, situated on the outskirts of Tarquinia, approx. 100km to the north-west of Rome. In 1998 and 1999, we conducted a preliminary survey using a ground radar to detect the structure under the soil. The area of approx. 6000 m^2 was surveyed around the center of the excavation site and its result suggested that architectural structures are spreading in an area of more than 3000 m^2 outwards the surveyed site, too. This survey brought about a lot of information in considering the entire image of the villa. Taking these results into account, we excavated the centric part of the site of approx. 2000m^2.
The unearthed architectural structures and finds indicated a strong possibility that the villa, which is equipped with a large peristyle, various bathrooms and luxurious architectural decorations, used to belong to aristocratic persons in the ancient period.
From the evidences, such as the architectural styl
… More
e and the stamps on the bricks, we presumed,
- that the foundation of the building dates back to between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D.,
- that the fundamental plan of the villa, with the peristyle in its center, was determined between the end of the 1st century A.D. and the beginning of the 2nd century A.D.,
- that after several renovations, the villa underwent a thorough alteration, such as a re-leveling, a full-scale change of the architectural decorations and re-disposition of the rooms and
- that the villa was abandoned in about 5th - 6th century.
In these 3 years we have collected finds of approx. 9 m^3. They include fragments of pottery, architectural materials, bronze coins, glasses, accessories of bone and horn and various metal artifacts. Up until now we haven't yet found any evidence that suggests the owner of the villa or the relation of the villa to the ancient stage town Quintiana, which has been traditionally recognized near the excavation site. However, we have collected very useful source materials for the studies of the social and economic circumstances of the area. We schedule to publish the excavation reports to introduce the results of this studies together with the results of the classification of the finds. Less
|
