The Excavation of the Roman Villa at La Befa, Italy 9780860542063, 9781407330983

Table of contents :
Cover Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE: STRATIFICATION
THE NORTHERN SECTOR
THE SOUTHERN SECTOR
THE NORTHERN TEST
CHAPTER TWO: ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY OF THE VILLA
THE NORTHERN SECTOR
SUBSIDIARY STRUCTURES IN THE NORTHERN SECTOR
THE SOUTHERN SECTOR
CHAPTER THREE: PAVEMENTS AND MARBLE REVETMENT
PAVEMENTS
MARBLE REVETMENT
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSIONS
APPENDIX ONE: FLORAL AND FAUNAL RECOVERY AND ANALYSIS
APPENDIX TWO: INTENSIVE SURFACE SAMPLING AT LA BEFA
FIGURES FOR TEXT
CATALOGUE
CATALOGUE PROFILEDRAWINGS
CATALOGUE PHOTOGRAPHS
NOTES
ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

Citation preview

The Excavation of the Roman Villa at La Befa, Italy John J. Dobbins

BAR International Series I 6 2

1983

B.A.R.

122 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7BP, England

GENERAL EDITORS A.R. Hands, B.Sc., M.A., D.Phil. D. R. Walker, M.A.

B.A.R.-S162,198J: 'The Excavation of the Roman Villa at La Befa,Italy' ©

John J Dobbins,198J

The author’s moral rights under the 1988 UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act are hereby expressly asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be copied, reproduced, stored, sold, distributed, scanned, saved in any form of digital format or transmitted in any form digitally, without the written permission of the Publisher. ISBN 9780860542063 paperback

ISBN 9781407330983 e-book DOI https://doi.org/10.30861/9780860542063

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library This book is available at www.barpublishing.com

I N M EMORY O F

S TEVEN E .

D ONALDSON

1 946-1969

1 11

C ONTENTS

A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

v ii

I NTRODUCTION C HAPTER O NE:

1 S TRATIFICATION

5

The N orthern S ector T he S outhern S ector The N orthern T est C HAPTER TWO:

5 1 4 1 4

ARCHITECTURAL H ISTORY O F THE V ILLA

The N orthern S ector P hase O ne P hase T wo P hase T hree S ubsidiary S tructures T he S outhern S ector C HAPTER THREE:

i n t he N orthern S ector

PAVEMENTS AND MARBLE

R EVETMENT

P avements Mosaics C ement P laster T erracotta T iles F ieldstones Packed Earth Marble R evetment

1 6 1 6 1 6 2 4 2 6 3 0 3 1 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 5 3 6 3 6 3 7 3 7 3 7

CHAPTER F OUR:

C ONCLUSIONS

APPENDIX O NE:

F LORAL AND F AUNAL

R ECOVERY AND ANALYSIS

4 7

APPENDIX TWO:

I NTENSIVE

S AMPLING A T L A B EFA

5 1

F IGURES

F OR T EXT

CATALOGUE C oins P ottery L amps Vaulting T ubes R oof T iles Painted P laster G lass

S URFACE

4 2

5 9 1 25 1 26 1 30 1 51 1 52 1 52 1 55 1 55

B one a nd I vory I mplements Marble M etal M iscellaneous S tone O bjects C ATALOGUE

P ROFILE

C ATALOGUE

P HOTOGRAPHS

1 56 1 57 1 57 1 59

DRAWINGS

1 61 1 74

N OTES

1 91

A BBREVIATIONS AND B IBLIOGRAPHY

2 00

\

v i

A CK NOWLEDGMENTS T he S oprintendenza a lle A ntichitä d 'Etruria, F lorence, g enerously g ranted t he p ermission f or t he e xcavation o f t he L a B efa v illa. D uring t he c ourse o f t he e xcavation, 1 976-80, D r. G uglielmo M aetzke w as t he S uperintendent o f A ntiquities i n E truria. H is g enerosity a nd e ncouragement a re much a ppreciated. I a m a lso h appy t o a cknowledge t he c ontinued s upport o f t he p resent s uperintendent, D r. F rancesco N icosia. I am m ost g rateful f or t he a ssistance o f D r. A nna T alocchini ( 1976-78) a nd D r. E lizabetta M angani ( 1980), who w ere I nspectors o f A ntiquity f or t he p rovince o f S iena. P rofessor E nzo M azzeschi, H onorary I nspector o f Antiquities f or t he p rovince o f S iena, s erved a s C oordinating A rchitect f or t he e xcavation. I n a ddition t o b eing t he p erson w ho d iscovered t he r emains a t L a B efa, P rofessor M azzeschi c ollaborated a ctively i n t he e xcavation a nd d rew t he a rchitectural p lans a ccompanying t his r eport. F or h is p rofessional a ssistance a nd f or h is f riendship I a m m ost g rateful. M arinella P asquinucci, P rofessor o f A rchaeology a t t he U niversity o f P isa, h as b een a n i nterested a nd a g racious c onsultant w hose encouragement i s g reatly a ppreciated. The e xcavation w as c onducted a s a p roject o f t he E truscan F oundation, w hose f ield h eadquarters a t T enuta d i S pannocchia, R osia, p rovince o f S iena, s erved a s e xcavation h ouse, c onservation l aboratory, m useum, a nd s torage a rea. T he f acilities a nd f unds o f t he E truscan F oundation m ade t he e xcavation p ossible. T he i nterest a nd s upport o f t he F oundation a nd o f i ts p resident, F erdinand H . C inelli, h ave b een e xtensive. T o M r. C inelli I a m d eeply i ndebted. T he d ay-to-day o perations a t S pannocchia w ere m ade t o r un s moothly b y G ino S aari, f attore a t S pannocchia, w ithout w hom v ery l ittle c ould h ave b een a ccomplished. A ppreciation i s a lso w armly e xtended t o t he e ntire s taff a t S pannocchia. I w ish t o e xtend m y t hanks t o t he t wo s uccessive o wners o f t he p roperty o n w hich t he e xcavation t ook p lace, s ignora A ngelini ( 1976-78) a nd s ignor N ardi ( 1980). I n 1 976 C arolyn R ose, D irector o f t he A nthropological C onservation L aboratory a t t he S mithsonian I nstitution, Washington, D .C., s erved a s c onservator. I n 1 977 a nd 1 980 C atherine V alentour, a lso f rom t he A nthropological

v ii

C onservation L aboratory a t t he S mithsonian I nstitution, w as t he c onservator. B oth w ere i ndispensible. I n a ddition t o w orking w ith t he e xcavated m aterial, b oth c onservators p rovided m y s tudents w ith i nstruction i n t he f undamentals o f a rchaeological c onservation. The e xcavation s erved a s a f ield s chool f or t he i nstruction o f s tudents i n a rchaeological m ethodology. I a m g rateful f or t he w ork d one b y t he s tudents. I n 1 976 t hey w ere J anice C ornforth, J ames H . C udlip, J onathan D avid, M iriam L . D avid, C arol G ram, H erbert .C . Kane, C hristopher L . L oring, C hristopher M uessel, D eborah A . P eabody, R oberta L . S tewart, N anette S tocky, E lizabeth S tolper, a nd E llie W otherspoon; i n 1 977, P atricia B uzzelli, D eborah G oldstein, A my K azakidis, S helley C . S tone, a nd B arbara T sakirgis; a nd i n 1 980, L arry F . B all, E lizabeth K . B assett, D onna L . C anzano, K aren C hristensen, Ann H arper C oates, J anet L . C rossman, P olly A nn D uff, D onna R . G iuseppe, V ivian H . J oklik, S andra K . L ucore, Adele B . R obinson, S cott M . R ydin, a nd J eanie S tephenson. A lthough n ever a n o fficial m ember o f t he e xcavation t eam, Marco M azzeschi a ssisted u s d uring e ach o f o ur e xcavation c ampaigns, t hereby making a s ignificant c ontribution t o t he o verall p roject. D uring t he e arly f all o f 1 977 a nd 1 978, P rofessor P aul W . D eussen, D epartment o f A rt, M ichigan S tate U niversity, d irected b rief c ampaigns o f e xcavation a t t he s ite, c oncentrating m ainly o n t he S outhern S ector. P rofessor D eussen h as g enerously t urned o ver t o m e c opies of t he d ocumentation o f t he w ork h e p erformed a nd h as p ermitted m e t o p ublish h ere t he r emains t hat h e e xcavated. S tudents w orking w ith P rofessor D eussen w ere, i n 1 977, J effrey A lbeck, S ue C utler, E mma G reen, S heree Jaros, E lizabeth L app, P hyllis Marino, M elinda M arx, E lsie M itchell, M arshall P helps, a nd S usan S tojanovich; i n 1 978, M ark B lock, M audine D obbins, B arbara E . F rucci, R uby L . K unkel, J olia L . P oltorak, F rancie T . T hieriot, Mark E . T homas, J ohn V ella, a nd L ucia Z acha. D uring t he summer o f 1 979 R andolph E . D onahue, M ichigan S tate U niversity, c onducted a s urface s urvey a t t he s ite. T he r esults o f h is w ork a ppear a s A ppendix 2 . T he p rofile d rawings a ccompanying t he c atalogue a re b y L arry F . B all, E lizabeth K . B assett, K athleen D obbins, a nd m yself. A ll o f t he d rawings w ere i nked b y L arry F . B all, t o w hom I a m i ndebted f or t hat s ervice. W ith t he e xception o f t he a erial p hotograph ( fig. 4 ), m ade by P rofessor M azzeschi, t he p hotographs a re m y o wn. The I stituto G eografico M ilitare, F lorence, h as g enerously g ranted p ermission f or t he publication o f a s ection o f t he C arta d 'Italia ( fig. 2 ). I n p reparing t he c atalogue I h ave c onsulted n umerous s pecialists i n v arious c lasses o f m aterials. S ome were a ble t o e xamine s amples o f t he m aterial i tself; o thers

v iii

s tudied p hotographs a nd d rawings. I a m m ost g rateful t o t he f ollowing p eople f or g enerously s haring t heir t ime a nd k nowledge, w hile, o f c ourse, I a ssume f ull r esponsibility f or o missions a nd m isjudgments: D r. J . C layton F ant, A ssistant P rofessor o f C lassics, U niversity o f M ichigan ( marble); D r. S idney M . G oldstein, C hief C urator, C orning Museum o f G lass ( glass); D r. C harles G unn, U nited S tates D epartment o f A griculture ( seeds); D r. J ohn W . H ayes, A ssociate C urator o f G reek a nd R oman Antiquities, R oyal O ntario Museum ( pottery); D r. F rancis M . H euber, C urator, D ivision o f P aleobotany, M useum o f N atural H istory, S mithsonian I nstitution ( carbonized w ood); D r. R . B ruce H itchner, A ssistant P rofessor o f H istory, U niversity o f V irginia ( coins); D r. W illiam M etcalf, C hief C urator, American N umismatic S ociety ( coins); D avid S . R eese, S t. J ohn's C ollege, U niversity o f C ambridge ( faunal r emains); a nd D r. E lizabeth L . W ill, P rofessor o f C lassics, U niversity o f M assachusetts, Amherst ( amphoras). F rancesca C inelli a nd G ioconda C inelli w ere h elpful a t t he s ite a nd a t t he e xcavation h ouse. W e w ere f ortunate t o h ave t heir a ssistance. D uring t he s ummer o f 1 980 I h eld a U niversity o f V irginia S ummer R esearch F ellowship a nd a m h appy t o a cknowledge t he s upport o f t he U niversity. T his

r eport

i s

d edicated t o

a f riend w ho d ied

i x

i n V ietnam.

I N TRODUCT ION

T he L a B efa v illa i s l ocated o n a s mall r ise n ear t he c onfluence o f t he F iume O mbrone a nd t he T orrente d i C revoli, i n t he C ommune d i B uonconvento, p rovince o f S iena, I taly ( Carta d 'Italia 1 :25,000 F .° 1 20 I I N E M urlo). I t l ies a pproximately 5 00 m eters s outh o f t he p resent v illage o f L a B efa ( 43 ° 0 7'N, 1 1°24'E), a bout 2 00 m eters e ast o f t he S tazione d i M urlo, a nd a bout f ive k ilometers s outh o f t he w ell-known E truscan s ite a t M urlo ( figs. 1 -3). T he L a B efa s ite i s k nown l ocally a s L e C arcerelle, " prisons," a n ame p ossibly d eriving f rom a t ime w hen t he r uins o f t he R oman c omplex w ere v isible a bove g round. T he f ields s urrounding t he s ite a re u nder c ultivation t oday, p rimarily w ith c ereal c rops, a lthough a s mall v ineyard, s eventy m eters e ast-northeast o f P oint Z ero o n t he g rid, h as r ecently b een s tarted. P rior t o e xcavation, t he a rea i n w hich t he N orthern S ector o f t he b uilding l ies h ad n ot b een p lowed d ue t o t he p resence o f s turdy R oman w alls c lose t o t he s urface o f t he g round o r, i n s ome p laces, a ctually p rotruding f rom t he g round. T his f act a ccounts f or b oth t he r elatively g ood s tate o f p reservation o f t he a rchitectural e lements o f t he N orthern S ector a nd f or t he s tratification p reserved t here. T he l ocation o f t he N orthern S ector i s e asily d etected o n a erial p hotographs a s a p rojection i nto t he a djoining f ield ( fig. 4 ). T he m ost s ignificant m anmade f eature i n t he i mmediate v icinity o f t he s ite i s t he r ailroad ( currently S ienaG rosseto) t hat w as l aid t oward t he e nd o f t he n ineteenth c entury. I n o rder t o m aintain t he r ailroad b ed a t a n e ssentially c onsistent e levation, a v ast t rench w as c ut t hrough t he r ise o n w hich t he L a B efa v illa i s l ocated a nd t he t racks w ere l aid w ithin i t. T he e levation o f t he t racks i s t herefore a pproximately t wo m eters b elow t he g round l evel o f t he n orthern a nd s outhern e dges o f t he r ailroad c utting. I n e xcavating t he c utting, t he n ineteenth-century r ailroad w orkers d estroyed p art o f t he s tructure a nd a rtificially d ivided t he s ite i nto t wo z ones, w hich, i n t his r eport, a re d esignated t he N orthern S ector a nd t he S outhern S ector. N o r ecords o r p lans e xist o f d iscoveries m ade a t t hat t ime. P rior t o e xcavation, t he s ite w as c overed w ith a t hick g rowth o f u nderbrush a nd a s ubstantial o ak t ree, w hich

1

s till s tands. T wo s ections o f R oman w all o f o pu i s c aementicium c onstruction e xisted a bove g round n t he N orthern S ector a nd o ne t runcated w all o f t he s ame c onstruction w as p artially v isible p rojecting f rom t he n orthern s carp o f t he r ailroad c utting. I n a ddition, a s mall a mount o f R oman p ottery w as p resent o n t he s urface o f t he g round. T he c redit f or d iscovering t he s ite b elongs t o P rofessor E nzo M azzeschi, H onorary I nspector o f A ntiquities f or t he p rovince o f S iena a nd P rofessor a t t he U niversity o f S iena. H e r eported t he e xistence o f t he s ite t o t he S oprintendenza a lle A ntichitä d 'Etruria a nd c ontacted t he E truscan F oundation, w hose f ield h eadquarters a re l ocated a t T enuta d i S pannocchia, R osia, n ear S iena. I t w as t hrough t he E truscan F oundation t hat t he e xcavation a t L a B efa w as c onducted. F ive c ampaigns o f e xcavation t ook p lace f rom 1 976 t o 1 980, 1 t he g oals o f w hich w ere t o i dentify, d ate, a nd e stablish t he p hysical l imits o f t he r emains a t t he s ite a nd t o r ecover w hatever i nformation w ould c ontribute t o t he u nderstanding o f a R oman s ite i n a r egion o f I taly w here r esearch i nterest h as t raditionally f ocused o n t he E truscans. T he s ignificance o f t he e xcavation o f w hat i s i nterpreted t o b e a R oman v illa i s t hreefold. ( 1) I t i s t he f irst s ystematic e xcavation o f a R oman s ite i n t he p rovince ö f S iena. ( 2) T he e xcavation o f t he L a B efa v illa b elongs t o a n ew t radition o f r esearch w hich r epresents a r esurgence o f i nterest i n t he R oman v illa a nd i ts r elationship t o i ts e nvironment. S uch i nterest i s a ttested b y K . D . W hite, R oman F arming ( 1970), b y v arious v illas c urrently b eing e xcavated b y I talian a nd o ther s cholars, a nd b y s uch i nternational s ymposia a s t hat h eld a t t he B ritish M useum i n F ebruary 1 980. 2 ( 3) T he e xcavation h as b een c onducted w ith m odern a rchaeological m ethods. M uch o f o ur i nformation a bout R oman v illas i n I taly c omes f rom t he r egion a round t he B ay o f N aples, i n t he a rea d estroyed b y t he e ruption o f M ount V esuvius i n A .D. 7 9. M ost o f t he v illas i n t hat r egion, e xcavated d ecades a go, w ere o nly p artially s tudied, w ere u ncovered b y n onarchaeologists, o r w ere e xcavated w ith a rchaeological m ethods n ow f ifty o r m ore y ears o ut o f d ate. 3 A lthough t he R oman a gricultural w riter C olumella ( De R e R ustica I .VI) c onsiders t he f arm t o h ave t hree p arts, t he r esidence ( villa u rbana), t he w orking f arm ( villa r ustica), a nd s torage f acilities ( villa f ructuaria), t he v illa a t L a B efa w ill b e d iscussed i n t erms o f t wo p arts: t he r esidence a nd t he w ork/storage a rea, a d istinction n ot b eing p ossible b etween t he l atter t wo c ategories. T he r esidence a nd t he w ork/storage a rea c orrespond, r espectively, t o t he N orthern a nd S outhern S ectors a t L a B efa . D ue t o t he d urable c onstruction m aterials e mployed a nd t o a ccidents o f p reservation, t he r esidential a rea i s b etter p reserved a nd p rovides m ore i nformation a bout t he h istory a nd n ature o f t he c omplex

2

t han d oes

t he w ork/storage

a rea.

T he a im o f t he p resent p ublication i s t o d ocument a s f ully a s p ossible t he a rchitectural c omplex, i ts h istory, a nd t he f inds a ssociated w ith i t. B y t heir v ery n ature, a rchaeological d ata a re i ncomplete, a nd t he d amage d one b y t he r ailroad t o p art o f t he L a B efa s ite c ompounds t he p roblem . N onetheless, a fter f ive c ampaigns o f e xcavation i t i s p ossible t o d raw c onclusions s upported b y f irm a rchaeological d ata a nd t o m ake j ustifiable i nferences w hen d ata a re i ncomplete. H orizontal c ontrol was p rovided d uring t he e xcavation b y a 3 .00 m eter b y 3 .00 m eter n orth-south g rid s ystem w ith P oint Z ero l ocated s lightly t o t he w est o f t he c enter o f t he N orthern S ector o f t he c omplex ( figs. 5 , 6 ). Much o f t he e xcavating t ook p lace w ithin t he c onfines o f i ndividual 3 .00 m eter b y 3 .00 m eter g rid s quares. H owever, w hen t he d imensions o f i ndividual r ooms b ecame k nown, e xcavation o ften p roceded i n s everal g rid s quares a t o nce. F or e xample, t he e xcavation o f t he o nly p art o f R oom 5 t hat h as b een u ncovered e mbraced p arts o f t wo g rids: t he s outheastern h alf o f S A+1 a nd a pproximately t he s outhwestern h alf o f S A+2. E xtended g rid r eferences, s uch a s " SA I -1, S A+2," o ccur t hroughout t he t ext, b ut w ithin t he c ontext o f a d iscussion o f a s pecific r oom t hey s hould c ause n o c onfusion. A s u sed t hroughout t his r eport, t he t erm d eposit r efers t o a ny d iscreet a nd h omogeneous s tratigraphic u nit r esulting f rom n atural c auses, f rom h uman a ctivity, o r f rom a c ombination o f t he t wo, r ecognized b y c olor a nd t exture a s b eing d istinct, a nd t hat w as e xcavated a nd r ecorded s eparately. T he t erm i s e quivalent t o s uch t erms a s l ocus, b asket, p oint, s tratum, o r c ontext, e mployed o n o ther e xcavations t o i ndicate a h omogeneous a ccumulation o f s oil o r a d iscreet f eature t hat c an b e i dentified a s d istinct f rom a ll o ther s uch u nits a nd e xcavated a nd r ecorded a s a s ingle e ntity. H aving b een d eposited i n t he g round b y n atural c auses, b y h uman a gency, o r b y a c ombination o f t he t wo, s uch u nits m ight b e m ore p recisely t ermed d eposition u nits, b ut t his d esignation i s a voided a s b eing u nwieldy a nd j argonesque. I t i s c lear t hat t he t erm d eposit a s e mployed h ere i s a s tratigraphic t erm t hat r elates t o t he g radual a ccumulation o f a rchaeological m aterial a nd t o t he m ethods b y w hich a rchaeologists e xcavate a nd r ecord a rchaeological d ata. I n o ther p ublications, t he t erm has b een u sed m ore s pecifically t o r efer t o g roups o f f inds f ound i n a s ingle l ocation, s uch a s a p ottery d eposit o r a l amp d eposit.' E xcavation w as r ecorded i n f our f ield n otebooks. T he d irector's n otebook p rovides a d aily s ynthesis o f w ork d one o n t he s ite. T he o riginal n otebooks w ill r emain i n m y p ossession a nd e ventually w ill b e s tored w ith m y

3

p apers. C opies h ave b een g iven t o t he S oprintendenza a lle A ntichith d 'Etruria a nd t o t he E truscan F oundation, T enuta d i S pannocchia, R osia, p rovince o f S iena. S mall f inds r eside i n t he s mall m useum a nd i n t he s torerooms a t S pannocchia. T he s ite h as n ot b een t otally e xcavated. W hile i t w ould b e p ossible t o a mplify t he p lan s omewhat, e specially i n t he S outhern S ector, o r p erhaps t o u ncover a dditional f eatures o f o utlying s tructures, i t s eems u nlikely a t t his w riting t hat c ontinued e xcavation w ould g reatly e nhance o r d ramatically a lter w hat c an n ow b e s aid a bout t he s ite. R ather, i t i s b etter t o p resent t he r esults n ow s o t hat t hose w orking o n R oman v illas i n I taly a nd i n o ther p arts o f t he R oman w orld w ill h ave a ccess t o t he m aterial f rom L a B efa. F urther e fforts i n t he r egion w ould b e m ore p rofitably d irected t oward u nderstanding t he wider c ontext w ithin w hich t he L a B efa v illa e xisted t han i n a ttempting t o c ompletely e xcavate a s ingle s ite. A t t his p oint i t i s p ossible t o s ay l ittle o r n othing a bout t he s ocial, p olitical, o r e conomic f ramework o f w hich t he v illa w as s urely a p art. T he g reat s ervice t hat t he L a B efa v illa c an p erform i n t he f ield o f v illa s tudies l ies l ess i n t he f act t hat i t i s t he f irst R oman v illa i n i ts r egion t o b e e xcavated t han i n i ts a bility t o g enerate f urther r esearch q uestions. T his p ublication, t herefore, s trives t o b e a n e nd i n i tself a nd a c atalyst f or f urther a rchaeological w ork. I t i s h oped t hat t his r eport w ill b e o f i nterest t o a w ider a udience t han t hat c omprised o f m y c olleagues w ho a re e xcavating R oman v illas. T herefore, o n s everal o ccasions I h ave a dded a n e xplanatory p hrase o r s entence t hat i s u nnecessary f or t he f ield a rchaeologist, b ut w hich m ight p rove u seful t o o thers w ho h ave a n i nterest i n t he r eport. T he b ibliography i s n ot i ntended t o b e c omprehensive f or t he e ntire f ield o f R oman v illa s tudies. C ited a re m ajor w orks, m odern p ublications c ontaining e xtensive b ibliographies, s uch a s M alcolm T odd, e d., S tudies i n t he R omano-British V illa ( 1978), a nd w orks c ited i n t his r eport.

4

C HAPTER O NE

S T RAT IF ICAT ION

T his c hapter p resents t he s tratigraphic d ata o n w hich t he i nterpretations o f C hapter 2 a re b ased. W hile b eing a n e ssential p art o f t he d ocumentation o f t he e xcavation, C hapter I c an b e s kipped b y a r eader whose p rimary i nterests l ie i n t he h istory o f t he v illa a nd i n t he f orm a nd f unction o f t he i ndividual r ooms. T he f ollowing a nalysis i s i nterpretive. T he n umbers o f t he l evels g iven w ithin e ach r oom d o n ot c orrespond t o t he n umbers o f t he d eposits' a s e xcavated. A ctual g rid a nd d eposit r eferences a re p rovided i n p arentheses a fter e ach l evel n umber; t hese r eferences w ill a llow t he u ser o f t his r eport t o a ssociate c atalogued f inds w ith s pecific d eposits. C haracteristics o f t he l evels a re d rawn f rom s everal d eposits e xcavated s eparately w ithin t he 3 .00 m . b y 3 .00 m . g rids i nto w hich t he s ite w as d ivided. I n c ertain i nstances, b rief m ention i s m ade o f t he k inds a nd q uantities o f f inds i n o rder t o e xplain t he n ature o f t he d eposits. T he l evels a re p resented h ere f rom t he l owest t o t he h ighest, t hat i s, i n t he r everse o rder f rom w hich t hey w ere e xcavated.

T HE N ORTHERN S ECTOR ( fig. 6 ) R OOM 1 A lthough o riginally h eated, t he r oom i n i ts f inal p hase l acked i ts e levated f loor a nd w as f illed i n w ith l arge r ocks o n w hich w as b edded a p laster f loor o f p oor q uality ( fig. 3 0). S ee f igures 1 8 a nd 1 9 f or s tratification. L evel 1 . ( SA-3 D eposit 7 ; S B3, S A-4 D eposit 1 2 [ only i n S B31). A b lack a shy l ayer a bout 0 .05 m . t hick c overing t he e ntire f loor o f t he r oom. I t d ates f rom t he p eriod d uring w hich R oom I w as h eated b y F urnace I l ocated i n R oom 2 . ( Furnaces a re l abelled F l a nd F 2 o n t he a rchitectural p lans.) T he b lack a sh c ontained n o f inds. When t he a shy l ayer w as r eached i n G rid S A-3 d uring t he 1 980 s eason, s ix t en-liter b uckets o f e arth w ere w ater s ieved. S ee A ppendix 1 f or n otes o n f lotation.

5

L evel 2 . ( SA-3 D eposit 6 ; S B3, S A-4 D eposit 1 1 [ oAly i n S A-4]). Y ellow s andy s oil c ontaining a bout f ifty p er c ent r ubble. T he l ight y ellow, l oose, c rumbly s oil w as p artly t he p roduct o f d ecayed m ortar. T he r ubble c onsisted o f r ocks, p an t iles, f lue t iles, p ieces o f m arble r evetment, a nd c hunks o f m ortar. S ome p ieces o f m ortar p reserved f lat s urfaces c ontaining p ieces o f m arble o r t he i mpressions o f m arble p ieces. T he s ignificance o f t he m ortar, o f which t wo g rades w ere f ound, a nd o f t he a ttached m arble p ieces i s d iscussed i n C hapters 2 a nd 3 . N o p ottery o r o ther a rtifacts. L evel 3 . ( SA-3 D eposits 4 , 5 ; S B3, S A-4 D eposit 5 ). L arge r ocks. A bout e ighty p er c ent o f t his d eposit c onsisted o f h ead-sized r ocks. I n a ddition t o s oil, t he r est o f t he d eposit c onsisted o f f ragments o f b ricks, p an t iles, f lue t iles, s mall p ieces o f m arble r evetment, a nd a s mall q uantity o f u ndatable p otsherds. T he d eposit w as 0 .40 m . t o 0 .45 m . t hick . A ssuming t hat t he e ffort o f c ollecting a nd i nstalling t he l arge r ocks w as c ommensurate w ith t he e ffort r equired t o r emove t hem, i t i s c lear t hat t he r ocks w ere i nstalled f or a p urpose. T he purpose a ppears t o h ave b een d ual: t o f ill u p t he r oom a fter t he h ypocaust s ystem c eased t o e xist, a nd t o s erve a s a b edding f or t he p laster f loor l aid o n t op o f t hem . L evel 4 . ( Excavated w ith S A-3 D eposit 5 ). P laster f loor. A s mall p ortion o f t he f loor w as p reserved i n t he n ortheastern c orner o f R oom 1 ( fig. 3 0). T hroughout t he r est o f t he r oom t he f loor h ad d isintegrated a nd c rumbled i nto t he i nterstices o f t he l arge r ocks t hat h ad s erved a s i ts b edding. L evel 5 . ( SA-3 D eposit 3 ; S B3, S A-4 D eposit 3 ). R ubble. T he l oose, b rown d irt, r esembling t opsoil, c ontained f ragments o f m arble v eneer, r oof t iles, b rick, m ortar, r ed p ainted p laster, a nd m osaic t esserae. M ost o f t he a rtifacts w ithin t his l ayer w ere a ncient, b ut s ome f ragments o f a p ost-antique g lazed b owl, a r ailroad s pike(?), a nd t wo m odern(?) s poons w ere a lso p resent. L evel 6 . ( SA-3 D eposit 2 ; S B3, S A-4 D eposit 2 ). T opsoil. I n G rid S A-3 t he " topsoil" c onstituted a l ayer a bout 0 .25 m . t hick; i n S B3 i t w as 0 .10 m . t o 0 .20 m . t hick. E specially i n G rid S A-3 t he " topsoil" c ontained l arge a mounts o f r ubble, i ncluding t hree-and-one-third b uckets o f f ragments o f m arble v eneering. D uring e xcavation, t he d istinction b etween t he r ubble-laden " topsoil" a nd t he m ore r ubbly l ayer b elow was m ade p urely o n t he b asis o f a n i ncrease i n t he p roportion o f r ubble i n t he s oil. T he c olor a nd t exture o f t he s oil i tself d id n ot c hange. I t w ould, t herefore, b e p ossible t o c onsider e verything b etween t he s od a nd t he p laster f loor t o b e t he d ebris r esulting f rom t he c ollapse o f t he r oom. C oin, c at. n o. 2 7.

6

L evel

7 .

( SA-3 D eposit

1 ;

S B3,

S A-4

D eposit

1 ).

S od.

B rief Analysis. A part f rom a shy L evel 1 , n one o f t he e xcavated l ayers c an b e a ssociated w ith t he u se o f t he r oom a s p art o f a h ypocaust s ystem. A gain w ith t he e xception o f L evel 1 , a ll p ostdate t he e limination o f t he h ypocaust s ystem i n R oom 1 ; t he p laster f loor, t herefore, b elongs t o a s ubsequent r emodeling o f t he r oom. A d etailed h istory o f t hese c hanges i s p resented i n C hapter 2 .

R OOM

2

T he s tratification w ithin G rid N B-2 w ill b e c onsidered e xemplary f or R oom 2 a s a w hole ( figs. 2 0, 2 1). I n t he a rea i nside t he b uilding, e xcavation i n G rid N B-2 r eached a hard-packed e arth f loor, p artially p lastered. T o e xplore b elow t he s urface, a s ondage w as c ut t hrough t he f loor, e xtending 1 .00 m . n orth o f t he g rid's s outhern l imit. S tratification w ithin t he s ondage i s v isible i n t he s ection d rawings o f t he e astern a nd s outhern s carps o f G rid N B-2 a nd i n t he l onger, 1 2.00 m . n orth-south s ection t hrough t he v illa ( figs. 2 0, 2 1, 1 6, r espectively) E xcavation b elow t he f loor w as c arried i nto t he v ery c ompact y ellow c lay t hat c onstitutes v irgin s oil a t t he s ite. L evel 1 . ( NB-2 D eposits 1 1, 1 2). M oderately p acked y ellow s oil. T he r emoval o f t he d eposit r evealed a v ery c ompact y ellow c lay s urface a t t he l evel o f t he o ffset o f t he w all, 0 .31 m . b elow t he t hreshold ( fig. 3 8). T he s urface was a p artially p lastered f loor. S mall t ests i nto t he y ellow c lay r evealed i t t o b e v irgin s oil. O ne s mall f ragment o f b lack g loss C ampana w are w as f ound i n L evel 1 . L evel 2 . A rretine

( NB-2 D eposit 1 0). f ragments; s ee c at.

M ulticolored m ixed f ill. n o. 2 9.

L evel 3 . ( NB-2 D eposit 9 ). H ard-packed y ellow s oil. L evel 3 r epresents a dditional a ccumulation o f f ill w ithin t he r oom o r t he i ntentional l eveling o f t he a rea i n o rder t o c reate a nother f loor, L evel 4 . L evel 4 . ( Excavated w ith N B-2 D eposit 9 ). P acked e arth f loor, p artially p lastered. T he s urface w as a bout 0 .02 m . t o 0 .03 m . b elow t he t hreshold o f t he d oorway l ocated i n t he w all r unning d iagonally t hrough G rid N B-2. L evel 5 . ( NB-2 D eposit 8 ). B lack a sh. A l ocalized a shy p atch e xtending i nto t he e astern s carp, b ut n ot p resent t hroughout t he e ntire t rench. L evel 6 . ( NB-2 D eposit 7 ). A m ixture o f y ellow a nd b lack s oil a nd d ecayed m ortar.

7

L evel 7 . ( NB-2 D eposit 6 ). Y ellow-brown c lay. T his d eposit p ostdates t he b locking o f t he d oorway i n t he n orthwestern w all o f t he r oom; i ts e xcavation r evealed t he t hreshold o f t he d oorway. A mong t he t hirty p otsherds f rom t he d eposit w ere r ed-slipped f ragments f rom s everal v essels, b ody s herds, t he s trap h andle o f a n a mphora, a nd t wo f ragments o f v aulting t ubes. L evel 8 . ( NB-2 D eposit 5 ). D ark b rown s oil. A mong t he s ixty p otsherds f rom t he d eposit w ere t wo h andles; a v ariety o f r ed-slipped r im, b ase, a nd b ody s herds; s everal c oarseware b ase a nd b ody s herds; a nd f our c ooking w are s herds, o f w hich t wo w ere r ims. L evel 9 . ( NB-2 D eposit 3 ). H ard-packed y ellow c lay. T he y ellow c lay, c onstituting a u niform l ayer a bout 0 .15 m . t o 0 .20 m . t hick, s erved a s t he f inal b edding f or t he s tone p avement p laced o n t op o f i t. A mong t he a pproximately s ixty-five s herds f rom t he d eposit w ere f ragments o f s everal a mphoras a nd a v ariety o f r ed-slipped a nd c oarseware s herds. P ottery j oins w ith L evel 1 0 s upport t he c ontemporaneous d ating o f L evels 9 a nd 1 0. L evel 1 0. ( NB-2 D eposit 4 ). 2 S tone p avement: a s ingle l ayer o f f ist- t o h ead-sized s tones p acked i n d ark b rown e arth. T races o f a p laster s urface w ere p reserved a bove a nd b etween s ome o f t he s tones. T he s oil i n w hich t he s tones w ere p acked c ontained a bout e ighty p otsherds, i ncluding f ragments o f s everal a mphoras, b ase a nd b ody s herds f rom s everal r ed-slipped v essels, c ooking ware, a nd f ive p ieces o f m arble v eneering. L evel

1 1.

( NB-2 D eposit

2 ).

T opsoil.

L evel

1 2.

( NB-2 D eposit

1 ).

S od.

B rief A nalysis. T he s tratification d escribed f or G rid N B-2 i s s traightforward. S uperimposed l ayers w ere e asily d istinguished d uring e xcavation a nd a fterwards a ppeared c learly i n t he s carp. T he s ame c annot b e s aid f or t he s tratification w ithin G rids N A-2 a nd N A+1, S A+1. A lthough n othing f ound w ithin t hese g rids c ontradicts t he c onclusions d rawn f rom t he m ore o rderly a ppearance o f s trata i n N B-2, t heir s tratification was m ore c omplex. I ndividual s oil d eposits w ere o ften s mall a nd t he d etermination o f l imits, b oth h orizontal a nd v ertical, o f m any o f t he d eposits w as d ifficult. M any o ccurred l ocally w ithin t he e xcavated a rea a nd d id n ot e xtend t o t he s carp. I n g eneral, m any o f t he l ower d eposits n ear t he f urnace a ppeared t o b e t he p roduct o f t he a ccumulation o f a shy f urnace d ebris, o ccasionally i nterlayered w ith l ocal c laylike s oil. W ith t he r emoval o f t he a sh a c ompact s urface c onsisting o f v irgin s oil w as e xposed. T he s urface w as t he s ame a s t hat r eached i n t he s ondage i n G rid N B-2. T his p artially p lastered s urface i s t o b e a ssociated w ith t he c onstruction o f t he b uilding, w hen

8

R oom 2 was e stablished a s a f urnace r oom. A fter t he g radual a ccumulation o f d ebris, a n ew f loor, L evel 4 , w as c reated. S tratified b etween t he f loors, t he A rretine r im, c at. n o. 2 9, i ndicates t hat t he b uilding w as i n e xistence a nd t he a ccumulation o f d ebris i n p rogress a t a t ime a fter a bout A .D. 5 0. I n a ddition t o t he d eposits l isted a bove r egarding G rid N B-2, t he f ollowing w ere a lso e xcavated w ithin R oom 2 : S A-2 D eposits 4 , 5 , 7 , 8 , 1 0; N A-2 D eposits 1 t hrough 3 3; S A+1, S A+2 D eposits 6 , 7 , 8 , 1 0, 1 1; N A+1 D eposits 1 t hrough 4 , 6 t hrough 1 2; a nd N A+1, S A+1 D eposits 1 2, 1 3, 1 4, 1 6, 1 7, 1 8.

R OOM 3 O nly a s mall p art o f t he r oom w as e xcavated i n t he s outhwestern h alf o f G rid S B2 a nd i n t he s outheast c orner o f G rid S B3 ( fig. 4 1). S ee f igures 2 3 a nd 2 4 s tratification. L evel 1 . ( SB 2 D eposit 1 0; S B3, S A-4 D eposit 1 0). A t hin, g rayish b rown, c laylike l ayer o verlying t he L evel

2 .

L evel 3 . R ubble.

( SB 2 D eposit

9 ).

( SB 2 D eposit 6 ; M any l arge s tones

f or

f loor.

B lack a sh. S B3, S A-4 D eposits 8 , 9 ). a nd r oof t ile f ragments.

L evel 4 . ( SB 2 D eposit 3 ; S B3, S A-4 D eposits 4 , 6 , 7 ). D ark b rown, c laylike s oil. C ontained p laster, r oof t ile f ragments, a pproximately t wenty p ieces o f m arble v eneering, t wenty p otsherds, a nd t wo c oins, c at. n os. 1 5 a nd 2 8. L evel

5 .

( SB 2 D eposit

2 ).

T opsoil.

L evel

6 .

( SB 2 D eposit

1 ).

S od.

B rief A nalysis. W hile i t i s p ossible t hat t he l arge s tones o f L evel 3 s erved t he s ame f unction a s t hose i n R oom 1 , n o t race o f a s urface w as f ound a bove t hem .

R OOM 4 T he c reation o f R oom 4 w as a p roduct o f t he s ame r emodeling t hat i s r eflected i n t he s tratification o f R ooms 1 a nd 2 . T he a rea n ow d efined a s R oom 4 w as o riginally p art o f R oom 2 , t he w all d efining t he n orthe astern s ide o f R oom 4 h aving b een c onstructed m uch l ater t han t he m ain f abric o f t he b uilding. F eatures b elow t he f loor o f R oom 4 , t herefore, p roperly b elong t o a d iscussion o f R oom 2 . I n t he a rea d efined a s R oom 4 , t he l ater f loor w as l aid o n a c arefully p repared b edding o f t iles s et i n m ortar. L evels 1 t hrough 6 p ertain t o t he

9

s ondage b elow t he f loor i n R oom 4 . T hese l evels c ontinue t he n umeration b egun i n t he s outheastern p ortion o f t he r oom i n 1 980, G rids S A-1, S B1, w here d eposits w ere n umbered 1 t hrough 5 . G rids S A-2, S B2 D eposits 6 t hrough 1 1 ( 1980) l ie b elow S A-2, S B2 D eposit 1 1 ( 1976). S ee f igure 2 5 f or s tratification. L evel 1 . a nd a sh; L evel 2 . a nd a sh.

( SA-2, S B2 [ 1980] D eposit 1 1). o verlying t he r emains o f F urnace ( SA-2,

S B2

[ 1980]

D eposit

1 0).

M ixed: 2 .

c lay

R eddish c lay

L evel 3 . ( SA-2, S B2 [ 1980] D eposit r ocks. B edding f or t he f loor.

9 ).

C lay a nd l arge

L evel

8 ).

M ortar.

4 .

( SA-2,

S B2

[ 1980]

D eposit

L evel 5 . f ragments

( SA-2, S B2 [ 1980] D eposit 7 ). T erracotta t ile l aid h orizontally a nd c losely s et.

L evel 6 . R oom 4 .

( SA-2,

S B2

[ 1980]

D eposit 6 ).

C ement

f loor o f

L evel 7 . ( SA-1, S B1 D eposit 5 ; S B2 D eposit 7 ; S A-2 D eposits 9 , 1 1). D ark g ray, a shy s oil w ith p atches o f y ellow a nd r eddish c lay. T he d ecayed m ortar, wall p laster, a nd s tones i n t his l ayer m ight b e d ue t o a c ollapse o r d eterioration o f t he r oom's n ortheastern wall. L evel 8 . ( SA-1, S B1 D eposits 3 , 4 ; S B2 D eposits 4 , S A-2 D eposits 3 , 6 ). R eddish b rown s oil w ith r ubble ( mortar, r oof t iles, b rick, r ocks). L evel 9 . ( SA-1, S B1 D eposit 2 ). T opsoil. L evel 1 0. ( SA-1, D eposit 1 ). S od.

D eposit

S B1 D eposit

2 ;

1 ;

S B2 D eposit

S B2

D eposit

2 ;

1 ;

5 ;

S A-2

S A-2

B rief A nalysis. E verything o verlying t he f loor had t he c haracter o f d ebris r esulting f rom t he g radual c ollapse o f t he r oom. T he f loor i tself w as much m ore s olidly c onstructed t han t he c ontemporaneous f loor o f R oom 1 .

R OOM 5 L evel 1 . ( SA+1, S A+2 D eposit 5 ). H ard-packed c lay. A l arge, i rregularly s haped p atch o f c lay a bout 0 .04 m . t hick c overing a lmost h alf o f t he e xposed a rea. L evel 2 . ( SA+1, S A+2 D eposit 4 ). L ight g ray, s andy r ubble. Among t he f inds w ere t hree f ourth-century c oins, c at. n os. 1 9, 2 1, 2 3.

1 0

L evel 3 . ( SA+1, S A+2 D eposit 3 ). Y ellow-brown c lay. A mong t he f inds w ere t hree f ourth-century c oins, c at. n os. 1 6, 1 8, a nd 2 2; l ate R oman r ed w are; a nd f ragments o f p ost-antique g lazed p ottery. L evel

4 .

( SA+1,

S A+2

D eposit

2 ).

T opsoil.

L evel

5 .

( SA+1,

S A+2 D eposit

1 ).

S od.

B rief A nalysis. L evels 3 a nd 4 i n R oom 5 a ppear t o b e f ill a ccumulated d uring t he p eriod o f t he d eterioration o f t he b uilding. L arge n umbers o f i ndividual m osaic t esserae r ecovered i n L evels 2 t hrough 4 , a pproximately 2 0,000 i n a ll, s uggest t hat R oom 5 s erved a s a r epository f or t he r emains o f a d estroyed m osaic p avement.

R OOM 6 T he s tratification w ithin t he r oom w as v ery s imple. A bove t he t erracotta s ubfloor o f t he r oom a nd s urrounding t he r emains o f p ilae w hich s upported t he n ow-vanished e levated f loor w as a n a shy d eposit b elonging t o t he p eriod when t he r oom f ulfilled i ts o riginal f unction. A bove t his w as a f airly h omogeneous r ubble l ayer c omprised o f b rick, r oof t ile, f lue t ile, r ocks, a nd m ortar. A lthough a ttempts w ere m ade t o e xcavate t he r ubble s tratigraphically, s uch a ttempts w ere, l iterally, e xercises i n d istinguishing s hades o f g ray. T he l arge n umber o f d eposits r ecorded i n t he n otebooks i s p aritally t he r esult o f t his p rocess a nd partially t he r esult o f i solating a reas o f p otential c ontamination ( tree s tumps, d islodged w alls, e tc.) f or s eparate r emoval. A bove t he r ubble w ere t he t opsoil a nd s od l ayers. S ee f igure 2 6 f or t he s tratification a s i t a ppeared d uring t he e xcavation o f G rid S A+3. L evel 1 . ( SA+4 D eposit d eposit o ver f loor.

7 ;

S A+3 D eposits

1 0,

1 1).

A sh

L evel 2 . ( SA+4 D eposits 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 [ martyr e quivalent t o D eposits 6 , 7 ]; S A+3 D eposits 3 , 5 , 8 , 9 ). F ill. T wo c oins w ere f ound i n S A+4 D eposit 8 , c at. n os. 1 a nd 1 0. L evels 3 , 4 . ( SA+4 D eposits 1 , 2 , 4 ; S A+3 D eposits 1 , 2 ). T opsoil a nd s od. C at. n o. 1 4 w as f ound i n S A+4 D eposit 2 .

R OOM 7 T hroughout m ost o f R oom 7 t he s tratification c onsisted o f a n a sh l ayer a bove t he s ubfloor o f t he h ypocaust, a r ubble f ill, t opsoil, a nd s od. F igure 5 2 r eveals t he h omogeneous r ubble l ayer i n t he e astern s carp o f G rids N A+4 a nd S A+4. A c oncentration o f h ead-sized r ocks

1 1

i n t he n ortheastern

p art o f R oom 7 s uggests t he p ossibility t hat t his w as r oughly p aved w ith f ieldstones, a s w ere R ooms a nd 1 0 i n t heir f inal p hases.

a rea 2 , 9

L evel 1 . ( NB+4, N A+4, S A+4 D eposit 9 ; N A+5 [ 1980; e xcavation o f B aulk I , l eft b y D eussen i n 1 978] D eposit A sh d eposit o ver f loor.

4 ).

L evel 2 . ( SA+4 D eposit 3 ; N B+4, N A+4, S A+4 D eposits 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 1 0 [ martyr e quivalent t o D eposits 7 , 8 , 9 ]; NA+5 a nd s outhwest c orner o f N B+5 [ Deussen 1 978; n o s tratification]; N A+5 [ 1980; e xcavation o f B aulk I , l eft i n 1 978] D eposit 3 , f rom which c ame a c oin o f H ostilian, c at. n o. 3 ; N A+5, N B+5 [ 1980; e xcavation o f B aulk V , l eft i n 1 978] D eposit 5 ). F ill. L evel 3 . ( NA+5, N B+5 [ 1980; e xcavation o f b aulk l eft i n 1 978 s eparating N A+5 a nd N B+5] D eposit 4 ). L arge r ocks. L evel 4 . i n 1 978]

( NA+5, N B+5 D eposit 3 ).

[ 1980; e xcavation o f B aulk L ight r ubble.

I I,

l eft

L evel 5 . ( SA+4 D eposits 1 , 2 ; N B+4, N A+4 D eposits 1 , 2 ; N A+5 [ 1980; e xcavation o f B aulk I , l eft i n 1 978] D eposits 1 , 2 ; NA+5, N B+5 [ 1980; e xcavation o f B aulk I I, l eft i n 1 978] D eposits 1 , 2 ). T opsoil a nd s od.

R OOM 8 W hat h as b een s aid a bout R ooms 6 a nd 7 c an l argely b e r eiterated w ith r egard t o R oom 8 . I ts c ontent, s tratigraphically e xcavated, was e ssentially a r ubble f ill. Unlike t he h eated r ooms, h owever, R oom 8 d id n ot c ontain a n a sh d eposit o n i ts f loor. S ee f igure 1 7 f or s tratification. L evel 1 . ( NA+3 D eposit 5 ; S A+3 D eposit 7 ). L ight g rayish, s andy s oil. T he g ranular q uality o f t he s oil was t he r esult o f d ecayed o r d ecaying m ortar o r p laster, o f which f ragments were f ound i n t his a nd i n o ther d eposits t hroughout t he r oom. O ther b uilding r ubble f rom t his l evel i ncluded f allen m arble r evetment s labs, numerous s mall m arble f ragments, r ed p ainted p laster, a nd f ragments o f f lue t iles a nd v aulting t ubes. L evel 2 . ( NA+3 D eposit 4 ; S A+3 D eposit 6 ). M ixture o f y ellow c lay a nd g raysih s oil c ontaining m ortar a nd o ther b uilding r ubble ( fragments o f r oof t ile, f lue t ile, m arble r evetment, r ed p ainted p laster). L evel 3 . ( NA+3 D eposit 3 ; S A+3 D eposit 4 ). G rayish c lay a nd m ortar. A lso p resent was b uilding r ubble of r ocks, m arble, v aulting t ubes, r ed p ainted p laster, a nd a n a bundance o f b roken r oof t iles.

1 2

L evel

4 .

( NA+3 D eposit

2 ;

S A+3 D eposit

2 ).

T opsoil.

L evel

5 .

( NA+3 D eposit

1 ;

S A+3 D eposit

1 ).

S od.

T he s tratification w ithin R oom 8 w as r ecorded i n a s lightly d ifferent f ashion i n G rids N B+3; N B+2, NA+2, S A+2; a nd NA+4, N B+4. T he f ollowing l ist r elates t he d eposits a s e xcavated t o t he i nterpretive l evels p resented a bove. N B+3 N B+3 N B+3

D eposit 1 = L evel 5 D eposit 2 = L evel 4 D eposits 3 , 5 = L evels

N B+2, N B+2, N B+2, N B+2,

N A+2, N A+2, N A+2, N A+2,

S A+2 S A+2 S A+2 S A+2

N A+4, N A+4, N A+4,

N B+4 D eposit N B+4 D eposit N B+4 D eposit

1 t hrough 3

D eposit 1 = D eposit 2 = D eposit 3 = D eposits 4 ,

L evel 5 L evel 4 L evel 3 5 = L evels

2 ,

1

1 = L evel 5 2 = L evel 4 3 = L evels 1 t hrough 3 .

R OOM 9 T he p reserved p ilae i n t his r oom i ndicate t hat i t, t oo, was o nce h eated ( fig. 5 7). P rojecting f rom t he n ortheastern w all o f t he r oom i s a c hannel d efined b y t erracotta t iles l eading f rom t he n ow-blocked o pening t o a f urnace t hat must l ie w ithin t he u nexcavated R oom 1 0. A sh d eposits w ere l ocated w ithin t he c hannel. T hroughout t he r est o f t he r oom t he s equence o f d eposits was a s f ollows. L evel 1 . ( NC+5, N C+6, brown, c rumbly s oil.

N B+5,

N B+6 D eposit

5 ).

L ight

L evel 2 . ( NC+5, N C+6, N B+5, N B+6 D eposit 4 ). R ubble: t ile; b rick; m ortar; l ight b rown, c rumbly s oil. L evel 3 . c rumbly,

( NC+5, N C+6, b rown s oil.

N B+5,

L evel 4 . mortar.

( NC+5, N C+6, N B+5, A r ough p avement a s

N B+6 D eposit

3 ).

L oose,

N B+6 D eposit 2 ). R ocks i n R ooms 2 a nd 1 0.

a nd

L evel

5 .

( NC+5,

N C+6,

N B+5,

N B+6 D eposit

1 ).

T opsoil.

L evel

6 .

( NC+5,

N C+6,

N B+5,

N B+6 D eposit

1 ).

S od.

R OOM 1 0 S od a nd t opsoil w ere r emoved t o e xpose a p avement o f f ieldstones r esembling t hat c onstituting L evel 4 o f R oom 9 a nd L evel 1 0 o f R oom 2 . H ere, h owever, t he

1 3

f ieldstones

a re s et

i n h ard c ement

S UBSIDIARY S TRUCTURES

( fig.

5 8).

I N T HE N ORTHERN S ECTOR

E xcavation i n G rids N D+17, 1 8; N E+17, 1 8 w as undertaken b ecause o f m asonry v isible a t g round l evel. A ll o f t he m asonry e xposed i n t hese t renches w as l ocated c lose t o t he s urface; t here w as n o s tratification. T hree r ectangular c oncentrations o f f ieldstones c ame t o l ight i n G rids N M/NN+21; N O+22; a nd N S+24, b ut t hese, t oo, w ere w ithout s tratification.

S TERILE T RENCHES

I N T HE N ORTHERN S ECTOR

G rids N B+7, N B+8, N D+10, N G+23, a nd N H+23 w ere s terile. G rids N G+23 a nd N H+23 w ere l ocated w ithin a nd n ear t he w estern e dge o f t he s mall v ineyard a t t he s ite. N umerous s urface p otsherds a nd r oof t ile f ragments s uggested t hat t he v ineyard w ould b e a f ruitful, a lbeit d ifficult p lace t o w ork. W ith t renches c arefully p laced b etween r ows o f v ines, i t s oon b ecame e vident t hat t he h undreds o f s herds o n t he s urface a nd i n t he u pper f ew c entimeters o f s oil w ere i n a s econdary, t ransposed c ontext. T hey were m ost l ikely d eposited i n t his a rea a fter h aving b een e xcavated f rom t he r ailroad c utting. O nce t he t opsoil h ad b een r emoved, t he v irgin c lay was r eached.

T HE S OUTHERN S ECTOR

A s s tated e arlier, a ll o f t he a rchitectural f eatures i n t he S outhern S ector l ie c lose t o t he s urface i n a n a rea s ubjected t o p lowing; t here was n o s tratification.

S TERILE T RENCHES G rids

S I+4,

S I+6,

S J+6,

S H+8,

S F+8,

S G+14,

S E+19,

S G+20.

T HE N ORTHERN T EST

D uring t he c ourse o f t he 1 977 c ampaign, a f armer p lowing a f ield n orth o f t he s ite t urned u p f ragments o f t erracotta t iles. W hen h e b rought t his t o t he a ttention o f P rofessor M azzeschi a nd myself w e p laced a s ingle 3 .00 m . b y 3 .00 m . t rench i n t he f ield i n t he a rea of t he g reatest c oncentration o f t ile f ragments. T he s outhwestern c orner o f t he t est t rench w as l ocated

1 4

1 26 m eters n orth a nd 1 8 m eters e ast o f P oint Z ero. T he a rchitectural f eatures u ncovered b y t he t est a re d iscussed i n C hapter 2 , " A rchitectural H istory o f t he V illa," p p. 3 0-31. T he r emains w ere l ocated c lose t o t he s urface; t here w as n o s tratification.

1 5

C HAPTER T WO

A R C H ITECTURAL H I STOR Y O F T HE V I LLA

T HE N ORTHERN S ECTOR

B oth a rchaeologically a nd a rchitecturally t he N orthern S ector i s m ore c omplex t han t he S outhern S ector i n t hat i t p reserves s everal s tratified d eposits a nd r eveals t hree p hases i n t he c onstruction o f t he b uilding. W ith t he e xceptions n oted i n t his s ection, t he N orthern S ector i s c onstructed o f b rick-faced o pus c aementicium a nd c ontained h eated r ooms, a b ath s uite, d urable c oncrete f loors, e vidence o f m osaic p avements, a nd e vidence f or w alls r evetted w ith v arious k inds o f c olored m arble.

P HASE O NE F igure 1 3 p resents t he p lan o f t he f irst p hase o f t he N orthern S ector. W ith t he e xception o f R ooms 9 a nd 1 0, t he b uilding m aterial t hroughout i s b rick-faced o pus c aementicium. E ight r ooms b elonging t o t his p hase a re c ompletely o r p artially e xposed ( Rooms 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , a nd 1 0). R oom 5 w as a l arge c ourtyard w ith a c ement p avement. T o t he e ast a nd w est o T R oom 5 a re h ypocaust s ystems ( Rooms 1 , 3 , 6 , 7 , a nd 9 ). T he o riginal f loors o f t he h ypocaust s ystems h ave v anished, l eaving o nly t he t erracotta p ilae, o r s upport p illars, a nd t he s ubfloors o n w hich t he p ilae w ere s et; i n R oom 3 t he p ilae t hemselves h ave v anished. W here t he w alls s tood a bove t he o riginal g round l evel t hey w ere f aced w ith b rick. I n m ost c ases t he b ricks o f t he f acing a re r ectangularly s haped, b ut b ricks o f t riangular s hape w ere u sed a s f acing a t t he w estern e nd o f R oom 1 o n i ts s outheastern, s outhwestern, a nd n orthwestern w alls. I n a n a rea o f w ell-preserved b rickwork i n t he n orthern c orner o f t he m ain p art o f R oom 1 w ere f ourteen c ourses o f b rick t o t he m eter, w ith m ortar b etween c ourses r anging f rom 0 .02 m . t o 0 .03 m . ( fig. 3 2). S ubsurface f oundations a re c omposed o f u nfaced o pus c aementicium a nd c ompletely f illed t he t rench d ug t o c ontain t hem . T he r esult o f s uch a m ethod o f c onstruction i s t hat n o f oundation t renches e xist t o

1 6

b e e xcavated. B onding a t c orners o f w alls i s c ommon, a lthough b onding t hroughout t he e ntire f abric o f t he b uilding d oes n ot e xist.'

R oom 1 . R oom 1 w as a l arge h eated r oom t hat i s p resently s tripped o f i ts w all d ecoration a nd, e xcept f or a f ew t races, o f i ts o riginal e levated f loor ( figs. 2 7-36). T he preserved e vidence t hat t he r oom was h eated a re t he r emains o f t erracotta p ilae a nd a n a rched o pening, n ow b locked, w hich c onnected t he s pace u nderneath t he e levated f loor w ith F urnace 1 i n R oom 2 . ( Two f urnaces a re l abeled F l a nd F 2 o n t he a rchitectural p lans.) T he p ilae, l ike o thers a t L a B efa, a re c omposed o f i ndividual t erracotta t iles a bout 0 .21 m . s quare a nd a pproximately 0 .05 m . t hick . T he o nly e xception t o t his i s f ound i n R oom 9 , w here c ylindrical p ilae a ccompany s quare p ilae ( fig. 5 7). T he s ubfloor o f t he r oom c onsists o f c losely s et t erracotta s labs. B eneath t he e levated f loor t he w alls w ere r evetted w ith t erracotta r oof t iles ( specifically, p an t iles, o r t e u lae) w hose u pturned e dges h ad b een k nocked o ff. T he t iles w ere a ttached t o t he w alls w ith T -shaped i ron c lamps. S uch a c lamp w as f ound i n s itu i n the n orthwestern w all o f R oom 6 ( figs. 5 4, 5 5), b ut i n R oom 1 t he c lamps e xist o nly a s s traight i ron p rojections. S ee a lso c at. n o. 2 53. A b reak i n t he s outheastern w all o f R oom 1 i ndicates a s ubfloor c onnection w ith R oom 3 , p robably e choing a d oorway a t f loor l evel ( fig. 2 8). T he u nvaulted o pening c ould h ave s upported t he t hreshold o f a d oorway, b ut probably n ot t he f ull w eight o f a w all. A s econd b reak, l ocated i n t he n orthwestern w all o f t he r oom a nd a lso c ommunicating w ith t he s ubfloor s pace o f t he r oom, was r oughly c ut a fter t he c onstruction o f t he r oom ( fig. 3 1). T he p resence w ithin t he o pening o f t he a shy d eposit d escribed a s L evel I i ndicated t hat t he b reach w as m ade b efore t he h ypocaust s ystem w ent o ut o f u se. 2 T he o riginal f loor o f R oom 1 w as b edded o n t erracotta s labs which e xtended a cross t he p il a t a h eight o f a bout 0 .60 m . a bove t he s ubfloor. A b ove t he s labs, a bout 0 .18 m . o f c ement w ith a h igh c ontent o f t erracotta c hips f ormed t he f loor i tself. T he u pper s urface o f t he f loor was c ement w ith s mall p ieces o f m arble a nd t erracotta e mbedded i n i t. E vidence f or r econstructing t he f loor i n t his m anner c onsists o f t races s till i n s itu a nd f ragments r ecovered f rom t he f ill c omprising L evel 2 . A lso f rom L evel 2 c ame e vidence f or m arble w all r evetment i n t he f orm o f l arge c hunks o f t he m ortar s etting b eds a gainst w hich t he r evetment s labs w ere s et. T he s etting b ed f ragments c ontained m arble s hims o r t he i mpressions o f s hims, b ut n one o f t he s labs t hemselves w as p reserved. 3

1 7

A fter t he r oom s uffered s evere d amage, f ragments o f t he o riginal f loor a nd w alls f ormed t he f irst l ayer o f f ill ( Level 2 ) t hat m ade u p t he b edding f or t he l ater f loor ( Level 4 ), w hich w ill b e d iscussed b elow u nder P hase T hree.

R oom 2 . E xcept f or R oom 5 , w hich w as a p aved c ourtyard, R oom 2 i s t he l argest r oom o f t he N orthern S ector a nd s erved a s t he f urnace r oom f or R ooms 1 a nd 3 . F urnace 1 h as b een c ompletely e xcavated ( fig. 3 7); F urnace 2 h as b een p artly e xposed b y a s ondage b elow t he f loor o f t he l ater R oom 4 ( fig. 4 3). B oth f urnaces c ommunicated w ith t heir h eated r ooms b y m eans o f a n a rched o pening. I n b oth c ases t he a rches a re n ow b roken, b ut a rcuated b rickwork s till i n s itu c onfirms t heir e xistence. R oom 2 m ay a lso h ave s erved a s a k itchen, a lthough n o s pecific p roof t o s upport s uch a n h ypothesis w as f ound. 4 F our d oorways h ave b een i dentified i n R oom 2 , a ll o f w hich w ere b locked a t a d ate s ubsequent t o t heir i nitial c onstruction. D oorways i n t he r oom 's n orthwestern a nd n ortheastern w alls l ed t o t he o utdoors. T he n orth j amb o f t he d oorway i n t he n ortheastern w all h as n ot b een e xcavated. T wo d oorways i n t he s outheastern w all l ed t o t he c ourtyard, R oom 5 . T he n eed f or t wo c losely s paced d oorways l eading t o t he c ourtyard i s u nclear. T wo f loor l evels c an b e a ssociated w ith R oom 2 d uring i ts u se a s a f urnace r oom . T he e arlier w as l ocated a t t he o ffset l evel o f t he w all, 0 .31 m . b elow t he t hreshold o f t he d oor i n t he n orthwestern w all o f R oom 2 ( fig. 3 8). T he f loor c onsisted o f h ard-packed v irgin c lay, w hich a t t he t ime o f e xcavation w as p artially p lastered. F ollowing t he a ccumulation o f a sh a nd o ther d ebris, s uch a s t ile f ragments a nd b its o f m ortar, a s econd f loor w as l aid j ust b elow t hreshold l evel. I t, t oo, w as a p artially p lastered, b eaten e arth s urface. T he t ime t hat e lapsed b etween t he c onstruction o f t he t wo f loors i s n ot k nown. F urnace 1 i s c onstructed o f t hick s labs o f c onglomerate s tone ( fig. 3 7). F lanking t he f urnace o n i ts s outheastern s ide i s a b rick p latform b edded o n v irgin c lay. O n t he o ther s ide o f t he f urnace i s a n early s quare, b rick c hamber. A djacent t o a nd i mmediately n ortheast o f t he c hamber i s a nother b rick p latform, a lso b edded o n v irgin c lay. N o b onding e xists a mong t hese f eatures, n or d o a ny o f t hem b ond w ith t he m ain f abric o f t he b uilding. N onetheless, t he f act t hat a ll a re b edded o n v irgin c lay a llows t hem t o b e a ssigned t o t he i nitial p hase o f t he b uilding's h istory. T he r ow o f t iles b ordering t he n orthwestern p latform i s n ot a n i ntegral p art o f i ts c onstruction, b ut o nly a s ingle c ourse p laced a long t he e dge o f t he p latform a t t he l evel o f t he s econd f loor, L evel 4 . T he f unction o f t he b rick c hamber a nd p latforms i s u nclear. T he f ill o f t he

1 8

c hamber, w hich d id n ot i nclude a sh, e vidence f or i dentifying i ts u se. A s mall e arthen F urnace 0 .30 m . e arthen

d id n ot p rovide

c ircular p it was l ocated i n t he l ower o f t he t wo f loors a bout 1 .25 m . i n f ront o f t he m outh o f 1 . I ts d iameter was 0 .40 m . a nd i ts d epth a bout I t was f illed w ith t he s ame a sh t hat c overed t he f loor.

E xcavation w ithin G rid N A+1 r evealed a d rain o f c over t iles r unning a long t he s outheastern w all o f t he r oom a nd e xtending i nto a h ole i n t he n ortheastern w all. D rains i n R ooms 5 a nd 8 l ed i n t he s ame d irection. T he a rea i nto which t he d rains f lowed was c overed w ith f ive t egulae ( fig. 4 0). T he t egulae w ere l ifted, b ut e xcavation was n ot c onducted b elow t hem f or f ear o f u ndermining t he w alls.

R oom 3 . O nly a s mall p art o f R oom 3 h as b een e xposed b y e xcavation ( fig. 4 1). I ts c onnection w ith F urnace 2 b y m eans o f a n a rched o pening, n ow b roken, i ndicates t hat R oom 3 o nce c ontained a h ypocaust s ystem a s d id R oom 1 . N o t races o f p ilae w ere f ound a t t he t ime o f e xcavation, h owever. T he l ater a daptation o f t he r oom w ill b e t reated i n t his c hapter u nder P hase T hree. T he s ection o f w all t hat p artially d efined t he s outhe astern s ide o f R oom 3 w as n ot e xcavated. D uring t he 1 980 s eason t he r emoval o f b ushes a nd w eeds f rom t he s lope o f t he r ailroad c utting r evealed t he u pper s urface o f t he w all. A lthough i t m ight h ave b een d esirable t o e xcavate m ore f illy i n R oom 3 , t he d esire t o l eave a p rotective m antle o f e arth o ver t hose w alls w hich a re a lready s lipping i nto t he r ailroad c utting w as a h igher p riority. T he m eans o f c ommunicating b etween R oom 3 a nd a n u nnumbered r oom t o t he s outheast i s u ncertain. T he e xistence o f t he a dditional r oom i s n ot i n d oubt, h owever. I n t he a ngle f ormed b y t he s outheastern w all o f R oom 3 a nd t he s outhwestern w all o f R oom 5 i s a s mall a rea o f s ubflooring ( i.e., l ocated j ust n orth o f t he c enter o f G rid S C-1). I t i s p ossible t hat a s eries o f s uch r ooms e xtended a long t his s ide o f t he v illa i n t he m anner o f t he r ooms a long t he s outhern s ide o f t he v illa o f A grippa P ostumus a t B oscotrecase. 5

R oom 5 . T he n orthern c orner o f a c ement-paved s pace h as b een uncovered a nd d esignated R oom 5 ( figs. 4 8, 4 9). N o c rosswalls e xist i n t he a rea d efined b y t he p resent walls. E xtending a t l east 8 .00 m . t o t he s outheast, R oom 5 i s t he l argest s pace i n t he c omplex a nd m ust c ertainly h ave b een a n o pen c ourtyard. T he f act t hat t wo c losely s paced d oorways c onnected R ooms 2 a nd 5 s hould

1 9

n ot s uggest t hat a c rosswall e xisted b etween t hem w ithin R oom 5 . I f s uch a c rosswall e xisted i t w ould h ave b een d etected i n t he r ailway c utting, a s w ere t he t runcated w alls v isible i n G rids S C-1 a nd S B+3. A long a s egment o f t he n ortheastern w all i s a b ench c onstructed o f b ricks, t iles, r ocks, a nd m ortar. A d rainage c hannel c ut i n t he c ement f loor l eads i nto n orthern c orner o f t he r oom .

t he

I n t he s pring o f 1 976 a s mall a mount o f c landestine d igging i n t he n ortheastern c orner o f G rid S C-1 a nd S B+1 r evealed a n a dditional p atch o f t he c oncrete f loor o f R oom 5 ( foreground o f f ig. 5 0). A s t his i s a n a rea a t t he e dge o f t he r ailroad c utting i t i s p ossible t o v iew t he f loor i n s ection a nd t o s ee t he f ist-sized r ocks o n which t he f loor w as b edded ( fig. 5 1). I n t his a rea t he c ement f loor i s h ighlighted w ith r andomly s paced p ieces o f m arble a nd t erracotta. T he p arallels b etween t he f loor o f t his a rea a nd t he f ragments r ecovered f rom L evel 2 o f R oom 1 w ere u seful i n i dentifying t he R oom 1 f ragments a s p arts o f t he f loor.

R ooms 6 , 7 , 9 , 1 0. R ooms 6 , 7 , a nd 9 a re a s eries o f r ooms h eated b y a f urnace p robably l ocated i n R oom 1 0. 6 E xcavation i n R oom 1 0 w as n ot c onducted b elow t he s tone p avement, but i t i s c lear t hat a f urnace m ust h ave e xisted i n i t, o r i n a nother a djacent r oom. W ithout s uch a f urnace, R ooms 6 , 7 , a nd 9 w ould h ave l acked a h eat s ource. A lthough t he n orthwestern w all o f R oom 6 d oes n ot b ond w ith t he n ortheastern w all o f R oom 5 ( i.e., i n t he s outhwestern c orner o f G rid S A+3), t here i s n o c ompelling r eason t o d oubt t hat R ooms 6 a nd 7 b elong t o t he f irst p hase o f t he v illa. T he n ortheastern wall o f R oom 7 b onds w ith i ts n orthw estern a nd s outheastern walls, i ndicating t hat R ooms 6 a nd 7 w ere c onstructed a s a u nit. R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 p resent a m inor c hronological p roblem . T heir w alls a re c onstructed o f c oursed f ieldstones a nd t erracotta t iles; t here i s n o b onding b etween R ooms 7 a nd 9 . D ue t o t he c rumbly n ature o f t he m asonry i tself a nd t o t he i ncomplete e xcavation o f R oom 1 0, i t i s i mpossible t o d etermine w hether t he w alls o f R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 b ond. I n t he i nterstices o f t he s tones c omprising t he n ortheastern w all o f R oom 1 0 a re t races o f t he s ame c ement i n which t he s tones n ow c overing t he r oom a re s et. I t t herefore a ppears t hat t he n ortheastern w all b elongs t o t he p eriod i n w hich t he s tone p avement w as p laced i n t he r oom . C onsequently, t his w all d oes n ot a ppear i n t he p eriod p lans o f t he v illa's f irst t wo p hases. I f R oom 1 0 s erved a s a f urnace r oom, a s a rgued b elow, i t i s u nclear w hether o r n ot i t w as c losed b y a n ortheastern wall. T hree e qually p lausible p ossibilities

2 0

c ould e xplain t he

a nomalies o f c onstruction i n R ooms 9 a nd 1 0. T he f irst i s t hat t he s upply o f o pus c aementicium b uilding m aterial r an out, n ecessitating t he c ompletion o f t he b uilding i n a d ifferent m aterial. T he s econd i s t hat a s hort h iatus o ccurred b etween t he c ompletion o f R oom 7 a nd t he c onstruction o f R ooms 9 a nd 1 0, b ut t hat b oth R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 w ere p art o f t he i nitial d esign. A s hort i nterruption w ould a ccount f or t he d eparture o f t he c rew t hat b uilt i n o pus c aementicium . W hen R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 w ere f inally c onstructed, t hey h ad t o b e e xecuted i n a d ifferent m edium . T he t hird p ossibility i s t hat R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 p ostdate t he i nitial c onstruction o f t he b uilding a nd b elong t o a s eparate c hronological p hase. E ven i f t his h ad b een t he c ase, R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 d id o perate i n c onjunction w ith R ooms 6 a nd 7 a nd, t herefore, i n a f unctional s ense, i f n ot i n a s trictly c hronological o ne, b elong t o t he f irst p hase o f t he v illa. I f R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 a re a ssigned a l ater c onstruction d ate, t he p roblem a rises o f l ocating t he f urnace t hat o riginally h eated R ooms 6 a nd 7 . T he b locked o pening i n t he n ortheastern w all o f R oom 7 p roves t hat R oom 7 o nce c onnected w ith R oom 9 . I t i s p ossible t hat R oom 9 o riginally s erved a s a f urnace r oom a nd was l ater c onverted i nto a h eated r oom w ith a n e levated f loor, a n a lternative t hat w ould h elp t o a ccount f or t he a typical c onstruction o f s ome o f i ts p ilae. T he s trongest e vidence t o s upport t he h ypothesis t hat R oom 9 was o nce a f urnace r oom i s t he c hannel o f t erracotta a nd d ecayed m ortar t hat l eads i nto R oom 7 f rom t he b locked o pening i n i ts n ortheastern w all.' S uch a t erracotta c hannel i s l ocated i n t he n ortheastern e nd o f R oom 1 o n t he o pposite s ide o f t he wall f rom F urnace 1 ; i t i s a n e xtension o f t he f urnace a nd s erved t o c onduct h ot a ir i nto t he r oom . A nother c hannel i s f ound o n t he n ortheastern s ide o f R oom 9 , i n a ssociation w ith t he f urnace p osited f or R oom 1 0. T he c hannel i n R oom 7 i s n ot p resently a ssociated w ith a f urnace, b ut a t o ne t ime i t m ay h ave b een. I f t his i s t rue, t he a nomalous c onstruction m ethod e mployed i n t he walls o f R oom 9 c ould s till h ave b een d ue t o a d epletion o f m aterials o r t o t he d eparture o f t he m ain c rew, b ut i t m ight a lso s tem f rom t he p urely u tilitarian n ature o f R oom 9 . I t w ould n ot h ave b een i nappropriate t o c onstruct a w orkroom, t he l ast i n a s eries o f r ooms e xtending a way f rom t he m ain b ody o f t he h ouse, i n c rude m aterials. T his a lternative w ould r equire t hat o ne a rgue f or a s ubsequent e xpansion o f t he h ypocaust s ystem i n which R oom 9 w as c onverted t o a h eated r oom a nd t he f urnace m oved t o R oom 1 0. O f t he v arious h ypotheses t he t hird i s p referable b ecause i t a ccounts f or t he d ifferences i n b uilding m aterial t hat R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 e xhibit, f or t he c hannels i n R oom 7 , a nd f or t he a nomalous p ilae c onstruction i n R oom 9 . T here r emains a p roblem: t he d ate o f t he c onstruction o f R oom 1 0

2 1

a nd t he c onversion o f R oom 9 t o ah eated r oom . N o d ata w ere r ecovered w ith which t o e stablish t he a bsolute d ate o f t he a lterations. A lthough t he a lterations i n R oom 9 a nd t he c onstruction o f R oom 1 0 m ust, a ccording t o t his i nterpretation, p ostdate t he c onstruction o f t he o pus c aementicium s ections o f t he h ouse, t he e xpansion o f t he h ypocaust s ystem s till r emained f unctionally a p art o f t he f irst p hase a nd i s c onsequently p resented a s s uch. 8 L ike R oom 1 , R ooms 6 a nd 7 d isplay t erracotta s ubfloors o n w hich r est p ilae o f s quare t erracotta t iles. T he walls, t oo, a re r evetted w ith t egulae w hose e dges h ave b een k nocked o ff a nd w hich a re f astened t o t he w alls b y T -shaped i ron c lamps, o ne o f w hich w as w ell p reserved i n s itu ( figs. 5 4, 5 5). A nother c lamp, n ot i n s itu, a ppears a s c at. n o. 2 53. T he s ubfloor i n R oom 9 i s o f p laster o r m ortar a nd t he p ilae t hat r est u pon i t a re m ade e ither o f s quare o r o f c ircular t iles ( fig. 5 7).

I nterpretive C omments, P hase O ne. W hile h ypocaust h eating s ystems a re c haracteristic f eatures o f R oman b aths, i t i s d ifficult t o b elieve t hat a ll o f t he p reserved r ooms o f t he N orthern S ector o f t he v illa a t L a B efa b elonged t o a b ath. B ased o n t he e vidence s upplied b y R oom 8 , d iscussed b elow u nder P hase T wo, i t i s c lear t hat t he h eated R ooms 6 , 7 , a nd 9 , t he f urnace(?) R oom 1 0, a nd t he u nheated R oom 8 b elonged t o a bathing w ing. R ooms 1 a nd 3 m ay s imply h ave b een h eated r ooms t hat s erved o ther f unctions i n t he r esidential q uarter o f t he c omplex. T he c hilly w inters o f T uscany p rovide a mple r eason f or i nstalling a h eating s ystem i n r ooms o ther t han b athing r ooms. A s i nterpretation o f t he L a B efa c omplex a s a v illa o f w hich t he N orthern S ector i s t he r esidential q uarter d epends u pon a n e xamination o f b oth t he N orthern a nd S outhern S ectors a nd a c onsideration o f t he s mall f inds, t his a spect o f t he d iscussion w ill b e r eserved f or C hapter 4 . T he o pus c aementicium b uilding m aterial a nd t he a ctual m anner i n w hich t he b uilding w as e rected a llow c ertain g eneral i nferences t o b e d rawn a bout t he c haracter o f t he b uilding a nd i ts p osition i n R oman a rchitectural h istory. T he s uccess o f R oman c oncrete a s a b uilding m edium l ies i n i ts a bility t o f orm, w hen d ried, a s ingle, m onolithic, s pace-defining a rchitectural w hole. T he P antheon i n R ome s tands a s t he g reatest a chievement o f R oman e ngineers i n u sing o pus c aementicium a s a b uilding m edium, b ut t he p alaces o n t he P alatine H ill i n R ome, H adrian's v illa a t T ivoli, t he a partments a t i mperial O stia, a nd t he v illa a t L a B efa s hare i n t hat s uccess. A ll a re c onstructed o f R oman c oncrete. A s

R oman c oncrete w as

t he b uilding m aterial p ar e xcellence

2 2

o f t he c apital, t he L a B efa v illa c an i n n o w ay b e c onsidered p rovincial f rom t he p oint o f v iew o f i ts m aterial. I t c ould h ave b een b uilt o f f ieldstone a nd m ud b rick, b ut w as n ot. T he v ery f act t hat t his o r a ny b uilding w as c onstructed o f R oman c oncrete i ndicates a c onsiderable d egree o f s ophistication a nd o rganization i n i ts p lanning a nd c onstruction. C onstruction i n o pus c aementicium w as n o a dditive p rocess i n which u nits w ere t acked o n a s n eeds a rose o r m oney a nd m aterials b ecame a vailable. I n o rder t o b ecome a s ingle, s eamless a rchitectural w hole, a b uilding o f R oman c oncrete h ad t o b e c onstructed a s a u nit f rom t he f oundations. T his p resupposes t he e xistence o f a d esign i n a dvance o f t he a ctual c ommencement o f c onstruction, a s upply o f b uilding m aterials, a nd a s killed c rew o f w orkers a ble t o t ranslate a d esign i nto a b uilding. T he l ack o f a n e arlier b uilding a t t he s ite p rovided t he o pportunity, i ndeed t he n ecessity, o f d esigning a nd e xecuting a s tructure e x n ovo. O ne m ay a ssume t hat t he o wner(s) a nd/or b uilder s elected t he s ite f or i ts p roximity t o t he O mbrone R iver a nd f or i ts e levation a bove t he f ertile g round i mmediately n ext t o t he r iver. A lthough t here i s h igher g round t o t he n orth a nd w est o f t he s ite, t he g reater e levation a nd a dded d istance f rom t he r iver w ould h ave c omplicated t he a cquisition o f w ater. M oreover, f rom t he s tandpoint o f p rotection, t he p resent s ite e njoys a s ufficient e levation t o a fford a v iew t o a ll a pproaches. T he e xtant r emains o f t he v illa s uggest a s outhwestern o rientation f or t he r esidential w ing, a n a rrangement t hat t akes i nto a ccount t he s outhern s un a nd t he m ost a ttractive v iew. T he b ricks a nd t iles u sed i n c onstruction a re l ikely t o h ave b een m anufactured l ocally. A lthough t heir p lace o f m anufacture i s u nknown, i t i s c lear f rom t he v ariety o f a nimal t racks o n v arious t egulae t hat t hey w ere p roduced i n a r ural e nvironment. W ith a n a bundance o f c lay i n t he r egion, t here i s n o r eason t o s uppose t hat t he t erracotta b uilding m aterials w ere i mported f rom a g reat d istance. A s m ajor p arts o f t he b uilding h ad t o r ise a s a u nit, a nd a s c onstruction h ad t o p roceed i n a dvance o f t he d rying o f t he c oncrete, a s izable, s killed c rew m ust h ave w orked o n t he b uilding. I t i s i mpossible t o d etermine t he n umber o f c onstruction w orkers o r t he o rigin o f t he c rew. B ased o n p resent k nowledge, w e c annot a ssume t hat t he a rea i mmediately s urrounding t he s ite w ould h ave h ad s uch a c rew i n r esidence. T he c onstruction c rew m ight h ave b een i mported f rom S ena J ulia ( Siena), f rom s ome o ther R oman t own, o r f rom R ome i tself. T he p lanning, l ogistical e ffort, a nd s heer e xpense i mplied b y t he n ow-humble r emains o f t he o pus c aementicium w alls p oint t o t he s ophistication a nd i mportance o f t he L a B efa v illa i n t he p eriod d uring w hich i t w as e rected.

2 3

T he w alls t hemselves p rove t hat t he o wner w as w ealthy a nd c hose t o b uild i n t he m ost u p-to-date m anner. T he l ack o f f oundation t renches a nd t he a bsence o f e arlier a rchaeological l evels b elow t he s tructure m ake i t i mpossible t o e stablish w ith p recision t he b uilding's c onstruction d ate. T he o nly c hronological e vidence i s a f ragment o f a n A rretine r im, c at. n o. 2 9, a nd a nother A rretine b ody s herd t hat w ere s tratified b etween t he t wo p acked-earth f loors o f R oom 2 . T he A rretine r im p rovides a t erminus p ost q uem o f a bout A .D. 5 0 f or t he f ill i n which i t w as f ound, b ut m ore c hronologically p recise d ata i n t he f orm o f c oins o r p ottery f or t he d ating o f t he b uilding a re l acking. T he o pus c aementicium b uilding m aterial a nd t he r evetment o f t he w alls o f R oom 1 i n m arble d emonstrate t hat t he s tructure b elon ' gs t o t he m ainstream o f R oman a rchitectural d evelopment a s i t i s k nown a t R ome o r a t P ompeii. M arble r evetment o f b rick-faced o pus c aementicium c an b e s een i n N ero's D omus Aurea, i n D omitian's p alace o n t he P alatine H ill, a nd i n b uildings o n t he f orum a t P ompeii, s tructures a ll b elonging t o t he s econd h alf o f t he f irst c entury A .D. W hile t he b uilding t echnique a t L a B efa b elongs t o t he s ame t radition a s t hese o ther b uildings, i t w ould b e r ash t o a ssign a d ate c oeval w ith m ajor c ivic o r i mperial c ommissions. R ather, a llowing f or a c ertain c hronological g ap b etween d evelopments a t R ome a nd t heir a doption i n t he O mbrone V alley, i t w ould b e j udicious t o p osit a c onstruction d ate f or t he L a B efa v illa i n t he l ate f irst c entury o r i n t he e arly s econd c entury a fter C hrist.

P HASE T WO T he s econd p hase o f c onstruction i s m arked b y t he a ddition o f t he a psidal R oom 8 ( fig. 6 2). I t w as p laced i n t he a ngle c reated b y R ooms 5 , 6 , a nd 7 ; i ts s outheastern w all w as c onstructed a gainst t he n orthwestern w all o f R ooms 6 a nd 7 . T he o uter b rick f acing o f t he w all o f R ooms 6 a nd 7 i s c learly v isible a long t he l ine w here t he t wo w alls m eet ( fig. 6 1). W here t he s outhwestern e nd o f R oom 8 m eets t he n ortheastern w all o f R oom 5 , t he o uter b rick f acing o f t he R oom 5 w all a nd p art o f i ts c ore h ave b een c ut b ack i n t he a rea c orresponding t o t he i nterior o f R oom 8 . T he r esult i s a t ighter b ond b etween t he a ddition a nd t he o riginal p art o f t he b uilding. T he p reserved w alls o f R oom 8 a re c onstructed p artly o f f ieldstones s et i n a p oor g rade o f m ortar a nd p artly o f r oof t iles l aid h orizontally ( figs. 5 9 t hrough 7 0). B oth b ricks a nd r oof t iles u sed i n t he c onstruction o f w alls l ine t he i nterior o f t he r oom . T he p avement c onsisted o f t erracotta s labs, o f w hich s everal r emain i n s itu . T here i s n othing t o i ndicate t hat a ny o ther f orm o f p avement w as l aid o n t op o f t he t erracotta s labs. F ragments o f

2 4

v aulting t ubes f ound w ithin t he r oom a nd t he a psidal s hape i tself i ndicate t hat R oom 8 was v aulted. A long t he s outhwestern w all o f R oom 8 i s a s emicircular p edestal c onstructed o f t ile a nd m ortar a nd f aced w ith m arble ( figs. 6 5, 6 6). T he f ull e xtent o f i ts h eight i s n ot p reserved. N ext t o t he s tructure, a t f loor l evel i n t he w estern c orner o f t he r oom, i s a l ead d rain, s till i n s itu ( fig. 6 7). T he d rain l eads i nto t he w all a nd p resumably t hrough i t i nto t he g round. ( An o pen c hannel e xtending a cross R oom 5 a nd a t erracotta d rain a long t he s outheastern w all o f R oom 2 l ead i n t he s ame d irection.) T he a ccommodation o f R oom 8 f or t he d rainage o f w ater, c oupled w ith i ts p roximity t o a s eries o f h eated r ooms, i ndicates t hat R oom 8 , a long w ith R ooms 6 , 7 , a nd 9 , b elong t o t he v illa's b athing f acilities. R oom 8 , b eing u nheated, w as t he f rigidarium, t he c old r oom. T he s emicircular s tructure p robably s upported a s plash b asin o f c old w ater w hose o verflow w ould d rain o ut o f t he r oom a t i ts w estern c orner. T he f act t hat n o d oor t o R oom 8 i s v isible s hould n either b e d isturbing n or b e i nterpreted a s e vidence t hat t he r oom w as a p iscina, a s wimming p ool. I t m ust b e s tressed t hat t he p reserved p ortions o f R ooms 6 a nd 7 a re b elow t he a ctual f loor l evel o f t he o riginal r ooms a nd t hat a d oorway t o R oom 8 w ould h ave e xisted o nly a t f loor l evel i f i t l ed f rom R oom 6 o r 7 . T herefore, a ny e vidence o f s uch a d oorway b etween R oom 8 a nd R oom 6 o r 7 h as v anished, a lthough a d oor m ay h ave e xisted t here. A lso l acking i s t he m eans b y w hich d escent f rom t he e levated f loors o f R oom 6 o r 7w ould h ave b een m ade t o t he l ower f loor l evel o f R oom 8 . I f R oom 8 h ad b een a p iscina, i t w ould h ave b een l ined w ith w aterproof c ement. A lthough t he s outhwestern i nterior w all o f t he r oom p reserves s uch c ement, i t i s l acking o n t he o ther i nterior s urfaces. T he p laster o n t he o ther w alls i s n ot w aterproof a nd c ould n ot h ave r etained w ater w ithin t he r oom. I t, t herefore, s eems b est t o c onsider R oom 8 a f rigidarium. T he w alls u nderwent s everal p hases o f d ecoration. T races o f t wo p laster f acings w ere p reserved o n t he walls. S everal f ragments o f r ed p ainted p laster f ound w ithin t he r oom i ndicate t hat o ne o r b oth o f t he p laster s urfaces w as p ainted r ed. F inally, t he w alls w ere c overed w ith m arble r evetment, a t l east t o t he p reserved h eight o f t he w alls, a bout 0 .70 m . W hether t he m arble r evetment c onstituted o nly a d ado c ourse o r e xtended h igher i s i mpossible t o d etermine, b ut a w eathering l ine o n t he s outhwestern w all o f t he r oom, j ust a bove t he s emicircular p edestal, s uggests t hat t he m arble e xtended o nly t o t hat h eight. M ost o f t he m arble e mployed i n R oom 8 w as c ipollino, a lthough C ararra w as a lso u sed. 9

2 5

N o e vidence w as p reserved w ith w hich t o d ate t he c onstruction o f t he a psidal R oom 8 . I ts a psidal f orm a nd m ethod o f c onstruction c annot p rovide a p recise d ate. While t he t echnique o f m arble r evetment i s a ttested i n t he i mperial r esidences o f R ome d uring t he s econd h alf o f t he f irst c entury A .D., i t p ersisted i nto t he f ourth c entury w here i t c an b e s een, m ost n otably, a t P iazza A rmerina i n S icily. W ith s uch a c hronological r ange, t he u se o f m arble i tself i s o f n o h elp i n e stablishing a d ate f or i ts u se a t L a B efa. E ven i f t he d ate o f i ts a pplication w ere k nown, i t w ould p rovide o nly a t erminus a nte q uer n f or t he c onstruction o f R oom 8 ; i t w ould n ot d ate t he c onstruction o f t he r oom i tself a s t he m arble w as i nstalled o n t op o f e arlier p ainted p laster. A t P ompeii a nd H erculaneum, d estroyed i n A .D. 7 9, t he f ashion o f m arble r evetment h ad n ot b ecome a d omestic c ommonplace, a lthough i t w as e mployed i n p ublic b uildings. I t t hus s eems l ikely t hat t he a pplication o f m arble t o t he w alls o f R oom 8 t ook p lace a t l east i n t he s econd a nd p ossibly i n l ater c enturies.

P HASE T HREE T he t hird p hase o f t he b uilding's h istory i nvolved s uch a t horough r ebuilding a nd r earrangement o f r ooms a s t o s uggest t hat t he s econd p hase e nded w ith a m assive d estruction ( fig. 1 5). T he d ebris f ound i n m ost r ooms s upports t his c onclusion . N umismatic e vidence, p resented b elow, p laces t he d ate o f t he d estruction i n t he l ate f ourth c entury. T he e levated f loors o f R ooms 1 a nd 3 w ere c ompletely r emoved. T he a rea b elow t he l evel o f t he r emoved f loor i n R oom 1 w as f illed w ith r ubble c onsisting o f f loor a nd w all f ragments ( Level 2 ), o n t op o f which w ere p iled h ead- t o c hest-sized b oulders ( Level 3 ). O n t his p acking w as l aid a p laster f loor ( Level 4 ) a t a pproximately t he s ame e levation a s t he o riginal f loor ( fig. 3 0). P art o f t he r ebuilding i ncluded t he b locking o f t he o pening b etween R oom 1 a nd F urnace 1 ( figs. 2 9, 3 0). W ith t he h ypocaust s ystems o f R ooms 1 a nd 3 o ut o f u se a nd t he f urnaces r endered o bsolete, R oom 2 c eased t o b e a f urnace r oom. A w all o f r ubble w as c onstructed t o c reate R oom 4 . T he s outheastern d oorway o f R oom 2 was b locked a s p art o f t his o peration. T races o f r ed p ainted p laster r emained a t t he b ase o f t he w alls o f R oom 4 a t t he t ime o f e xcavation. T he c ement f loor t hat w as i nstalled i n t he r oom a t t he s ame e levation a s t he n ew f loor o f R oom 1 c overed t he e arlier F urnace 2 . T he a rch t hat o riginally s panned t he o pening b etween R oom 3 a nd F urnace 2 w as d estroyed a nd a n e arthen s tairway w as m ade t o l ead d own f rom R oom 4 t o t he s ubfloor l evel o f R oom 3 , a n a rea f rom w hich a ll o f t he o riginal p ilae h ad b een r emoved ( figs. 4 1-43). T he e arthen s tairway c ut t hrough t he w ell-constructed c ement f loor a s i f i t w ere a n a fterthought, b ut i n f act, i t s eems n ever t o h ave b een

2 6

u sed. T he t hree e arthen s teps s howed n o s igns o f w ear. M oreover, R oom 3 w as f illed w ith l arge r ocks, L evel 3 , i n t he m anner o f R oom 1 . I t a ppears t hat t he d ecision t o c onnect R ooms 3 a nd 4 b y a s tairway was r ejected i n f avor o f a n a rrangement t hat r aised t he l evel o f R oom 3 t o t hat o f R ooms 1 a nd 4 . A s n o t race o f a p avement w as d iscovered o ver t he r ocky f ill, t he a lternative t hat R oom 3 was s imply f illed a nd a bandoned s hould n ot b e d ismissed. T he r emaining p art o f R oom 2 w as a lso c hanged. T he d oorways w hich o pened f rom i t w ere b locked w ith r ubble, a nd f ill ( Levels 7 , 8 , 9 ) w as d umped i nto t he r oom t o f orm a b edding f or a s tone p avement. T he d eposits c onstituting t he f ill a ppeared t o b e d estruction d ebris, n ot n ecessarily r esulting f rom d amage t o R oom 2 i tself, b ut d estruction d ebris f rom t he g eneral d amage d one t o t he v illa i n t he l ate f ourth c entury, a nd t ransported t o t his r oom f or t he d ual purpose o f d isposing o f t he d ebris a nd r aising t he l evel o f t he r oom f or a nother u se. T he q uantity a nd v ariety o f t he f inds ( utilitarian a mphoras, m arble b ase a nd s haft, l uxury b one a nd i vory i mplements) i ndicate t hat t hey w ere p robably n ot a ll p resent i n R oom 2 a t t he t ime o f i ts d estruction. M oreover, w hen m ended t he p ottery r epresented o nly s mall p arts o f n umerous v essels. H ad s uch v essels b een d estroyed i n s itu, r ecovery o f c omplete s hapes o r a t l east o f m ore c omplete s hapes t han w ere a ctually f ound w ould h ave b een p ossible. I t s eems m ore l ikely t hat m ost o f t he o bjects r ecovered f rom R oom 2 w ere d umped t here d uring t he c leanup o perations t hat f ollowed t he d estruction o f P hase T wo. I n t his s ense i t i s p ossible t o r efer t o d estruction d ebris, b ut i t s hould b e u nderscored t hat s uch d ebris a ppears t o h ave b een f ound i n a t ransposed p rimary c ontext r ather t han i n au se-related p rimary c ontext. T his d estruction d ebris c onsisted o f c onsiderable q uantities o f r ubble i ntermixed w ith l ayers a nd p atches o f a sh, d ecayed m ortar, a nd c lay. T he r ubble c ontained s everal f ragments o f v aulting t ubes, f ragments o f f lue t iles w ith m ortar a dhered, a nd q uantities o f b rick a nd t ile. T he v aulting t ubes, p resumably f rom t he v aulted R oom 8 , a nd t he f lue t iles, f rom o ne o f t he h eated r ooms, c onfirm t hat t he d ebris d id n ot o riginate t otally i n R oom 2 . F igure 4 0 s hows t he a ccumulation o f r ubble i n t he s outhern s carp o f G rid NA+1. T he n ew s tone p avement, L evel 1 0, c onsisted o f a s ingle l ayer o f f ieldstones b edded o n c lay, L evel 9 ( fig. 3 9). T races o f p laster w ere d etected b etween s ome o f t he s tones. T he r ude s urface o f s tone a nd p laster s uggests t hat t his s ection o f R oom 2 w as c onverted i nto a s table w hile R ooms 1 , 3 , a nd 4 s erved d omestic f unctions. S imilar s tone f loors c an s till b e s een t oday i n o ld s tables t hroughout T uscany ( fig. 8 3). T he h ypocaust s ystems

o f R ooms

2 7

6 ,

7 ,

a nd 9 w ere a lso

d emolished a nd t he r ooms f illed w ith r ubble. N o n ew f loors w ere c onstructed i n R ooms 6 o r 7 , a t l east n ot i n t he s outhwestern t wo-thirds o f R oom 7 . S tone p avements l ike t hat i n t he a ltered R oom 2 w ere d iscovered i n R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 a t t he e levation o f t heir p reserved w all t ops a nd w ere p robably l aid a t t his t ime f or t he s ame u tilitarian p urpose a s t he f loor o f R oom 2 ( figs. 5 6, 5 8). A s imilar l ayer o f r ocks f ound i n t he n ortheastern e nd o f R oom 7 a t t he s ame e levation a s t he s tone p avements o f R ooms 9 a nd 1 0 s uggests t hat a t l east t he n ortheastern e nd o f t he r oom w as a lso c onverted t o a s table. R oom 8 w as a lso f illed w ith r ubble, i ncluding f ragments o f h ypocaust f lue t iles, p robably f rom t he a djacent R ooms 6 a nd 7 , a n i ndication t hat R oom 8 a lso w ent o ut o f u se a t t he s ame t ime. A lso i ndicative o f t he s imultaneous f illing o f R ooms 8 a nd 6 i s a p ottery j oin b etween R oom 8 , L evel 1 , a nd R oom 6 , L evel 2 . R oom 5 p roduced a n unusual f ind: a pproximately t wenty t housand i ndividual t esserae w hich h ad o nce b een p art o f a m osaic p avement. A long w ith t he i ndividual t esserae w ere a f ew c hunks o f m osaic p avement c ontaining n o m ore t han t hirty t esserae. T he s ource o f t he t esserae i s u ncertain, b ut t hey m ust h ave c ome f rom p avements t hat o nce g raced t he h ypocaust r ooms. T hat a m osaic p avement w as b eing s ystematically s eparated i nto i ndividual t esserae i ndicates t hat t he o ccupants o f t he v illa w ere i ntending t o r euse t hem i n a n ew m osaic f loor. T he p lans n ever r eached f ruition; t he v illa w as a bandoned. T he n umismatic e vidence f rom t he s ite i s n ot e xtensive, b ut s uggests a l ate f ourth-century d ate f or t he e nd o f P hase T wo a nd t he r eoccupation o f P hase T hree. T he t en c oins f rom t he S outhern S ector r ange i n d ate f rom A .D. 2 40 t o A .D. 3 35 ( cat. n os. 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 9 , 1 1, 1 2, 1 3, 1 7) a nd s uggest a f ourth-century d ate f or t he d estruction o r a bandonment o f t he s tructure t here. T here i s n o r eason t o b elieve t hat t he S outhern S ector d id n ot s uccumb t o t he s ame d isaster t hat b rought a n e nd t o P hase Two o f t he N orthern S ector. T he c onversion o f t he f ormer f urnace r oom i nto a s table d uring P hase T hree a ttests t he m ore c onstricted l iving s tyle o f t he f inal p eriod o f t he v illa a nd s upports t he c onclusion t hat t he S outhern S ector w as n ot i n u se a t t he t ime. I f t his i s c orrect a nd a l ink b etween t he d estruction o f t he S outhern a nd N orthern S ectors c an b e e stablished, t he r esult w ill b e i mportant a s n o c oin f rom t he N orthern S ector c an b e a ssociated w ith t he d estruction a t t he e nd o f P hase T wo. A ll b elong t o P hase T hree. A n e xamination o f t hese c oins will p rovide a d ate f or t he t hird-phase o ccupation a nd t hereby a t erminus a nte q uer n f or t he e nd o f P hase T wo. F rom t he t hird-phase f ill i n R oom 2 c ame a c oin o f D iocletian, c at. n o. 8 . T he f ill a lso y ielded a mphora f ragments d atable t o t he s econd a nd t hird c enturies.

2 8

F rom t he f ill i n R oom 6 c ame c oins o f A ntoninus P ius a nd D iocletian, c at. n os. 1 a nd 1 0, a nd f rom R oom 7 c ame a c oin o f H ostilian, c at. n o. 3 . T he t wo c oins f rom t he r ubble o f R oom 3 , L evel 4 ( cat. n os. 1 5, 2 8), d ate f rom t he f ourth t o t he e arly f ifth c enturies. B ecause o f t he d ifficulties i n i nterpreting R oom 3 i t r emains u nclear a s t o w hether t he t wo c oins a re t o b e a ssociated w ith t he f illing o f R oom 3 a s p art o f t he P hase T hree r enovations o r w ith t he c ollapse a fter t he f inal a bandonment o f t he v illa. T he e vidence f rom R oom 5 i s m ore c onclusive. O n t he b asis o f t he r eworking o f t he m osaic, R oom 5 a ppears t o h ave c ontinued i n u se d uring P hase T hree. T he f ill i n R oom 5 p roduced s ix c oins which p rovide a t erminus p ost q uem f or t he p eriod o f r eoccupation. A ll a re o f t he Ta-i Fth c entury. L evel 2 c ontained c at. n o. 1 9 ( Valens, 3 64-378), c at. n o. 2 1 ( House o f C onstantine, 3 55-363), a nd c at. n o. 2 3 ( AE 3 , f ourth c entury). L evel 3 w as c ontaminated b y a f ew s mall s herds o f p ost-antique g lazed p ottery t hat c annot b e a ssociated w ith a ny o ccupation a t t he s ite. F rom t he s ame l evel c ame c at. n o. 1 6 ( Constantine I I, 3 30-335), c at. n o. 1 8 ( Julian, 3 60-363), a nd c at. n o. 2 2 ( AE 3 , f ourth c entury). A lso f rom L evel 3 i s c at. n o. 1 18, a s tamped p late f ragment o f A frican R ed S lip w are d atable t o a bout A .D. 4 00. T he c hronological d ata f rom L evel 3 o f R oom 5 m ust b e w eighed c arefully a nd n ot u sed o n t heir o wn t o p rovide c onclusions N onetheless, a part f rom t he i ntrusive s herds, t he d atable m aterial f rom R oom 5 , p articularly t he c oins f rom L evel 2 , p rovides a t erminus p ost q uem o f t he e nd o f t he f ourth c entury f or t he t hird-phase o ccupation o f t he b uilding. T he l ate f ourth-century d ate f or P hase T hree a lso s erves a s a t erminus a nte q uer n f or t he e nd o f P hase T wo. T here i s n o r eason t o p osit a l ong h iatus b etween t he d estruction o f P hase T wo a nd t he r econstruction o f P hase T hree. T he d esire t o r enovate, o r a t l east r eclaim t he b uilding a nd t o r euse t he m osaic b espeaks a k ind o f t enacity a ppropriate f or t he o wners t hemselves. S imple s quatting a midst t he r uins i s c learly n ot t he c ase. A s t he S outhern S ector h as a lready y ielded a f ourth-century d ate f or i ts d emise, a s imilar d ate f or t he e nd o f P hase T wo i s l ikely. A s t he n umismatic e vidence p rovides o nly t ermini a nd n ot a bsolute d ates, i t i s p ossible t hat t he d estruction a nd r eoccupation t ook p lace v ery l ate i n t he f ourth c entury o r a round t he y ear 4 00. T he d uration o f t he t hird p hase o f o ccupation i s d ifficult t o a ssess, b ut a ll i ndications a re t hat i t was b rief. T here i s n o e vidence o f e xtended o ccupation . T he f ailure t o u se t he m osaic t esserae s tored i n R oom 5 i ndicates t hat p lans f or r efurbishing t he v illa w ere n ever f ully c arried o ut. M oreover, t he f loor i n R oom 4 e xhibits n either w ear n or t he a ccumulation o f o ccupation d ebris. T he e arthen s teps b etween R ooms 4 a nd 3 , i f i ndeed t hey

2 9

a ctually c onstituted a s tairway, s how n o s igns o f u se. A nd, s ignificantly, n either n umismatic n or o ther t ypes o f d atable e vidence c ontinue i nto t he f ifth o r s ixth c enturies A s erious a ttempt a t r eoccupation w as i ndeed b egun a nd m uch n ew c onstruction was a ccomplished a t a c onsiderable e ffort, b ut f or r easons which c annot b e k nown, a t l east f rom t he L a B efa s ite, t he r eoccupation w as t erminated a nd t he r esidents o f t he v illa's t hird p hase a bandoned t he s ite, c arrying w ith t hem t heir p ossessions a nd l eaving v ery l ittle a t t he s ite i tself.

S UBSIDIARY S TRUCTURES

I N T HE N ORTHERN S ECTOR

E xcavation i n G rids N D/NE+17, 1 8 r evealed t he p oorly p reserved r emains o f a s tructure o r s tructures w hose f unction(s) a nd f ormal r elationships t o t he r emains o f t he N orthern a nd S outhern S ectors r emain u nclear ( figs. 9 , 7 5, 7 6). A lthough t he o verall c onfiguration o f t he m asonry i s r ectilinear i n p lan, t he v ariety o f m asonry s tyles a nd t he g enerally d amaged q uality o f t he r emains p revents t he s atisfactory i dentification o f t he e xcavated f eatures. I n t he s outheastern c orner o f t he a rea e xcavated, t wo f ieldstone f oundations f orm a r ight a ngle. T he f oundation e xtending t oward t he n orthwest h as b een p artially r obbed o ut; t he r anging r od i n t he f oreground o f f igure 7 5 o ccupies t he b edding t rench f or t he f oundation. T he f ieldstone f oundations h ave a pproximately t he s ame a lignment a s t he s imilarly c onstructed f oundation o f t he S outhern S ector, b ut n o s pecific c onnection c an b e e stablished. I mmediately t o t he n orthwest o f t he f ieldstone f oundations a re r emains o f o pus c aementicium c onstruction. A s hort s tretch o f o pus c aementicium w all a buts t he f ieldstone f oundation i n G rid N D+18; i n t he n ortheastern c orner o f G rid N D+17 a nd e xtending i nto t he n orthwestern c orner o f N D+18 a re t wo c urved s ections o f o pus c aementicium w all w hich a t o ne t ime f ormed a n u nbroken c urve; f urther t o t he n orthwest a re o pus c aementicium s urfaces o r c ollapsed w alls. T he r emains a re s olid e nough t o s uggest a s ubstantial s tructure, b ut t he c oncentration o f t he r emains w ithin s uch a c onfined a rea i ndicates t hat t he s tructure d id n ot c over a l arge a rea. F urther t o t he n orth t hree c oncentrations o f m asonry c ame t o l ight i n G rids N M/NN+21, N O+22, N S+24 ( fig. 1 0). o T hese r egular f oundations o f f ieldstone o r d ressed b oulders ( NS+24) m ay h ave b een a ssociated w ith t he m ain c omplex, b ut t heir f unction a lso r emains u nknown. " M uch f urther n orth a s ingle 3 .00 m . b y 3 .00 m . t rench w as p laced i n a f ield when a f armer b egan t o c hurn u p f ragments

3 0

o f t erracotta w hile p lowing w ith h is t ractor ( figs. 1 1, 7 7, 7 8). T he s outhwestern c orner o f t he t rench w as l ocated 1 26 m . n orth a nd 1 8 m . e ast o f P oint Z ero. D esignated t he N orthern T est, t his t rench e xposed p art o f a s urface b ordered b y t hree c ourses o f t erracotta s labs b edded o n a f oundation o f f ieldstones. T here w as n o s tratification i n t he t est t rench. T he r emains w ere c lose t o t he s urface a nd w ere c overed b y d isturbed s oil. T he e xposed s urface o ccupied t he n orthern h alf o f t he t rench, t he t erracotta b order e xtended a pproximately e ast-west t hrough t he m iddle o f t he g rid. T he s urface i tself w as c omposed o f g round-up p ieces o f t erracotta t amped i nto t he n atural c lay. A p robe b eneath t he s urface i n t he n ortheastern q uadrant o f t he g rid r evealed o nly v irgin c lay ( fig. 7 8). T he a rea r evealed b y t he e xcavation w as t oo s mall t o s uggest e ither t he f ull d imensions o r t he p urpose o f t he s tructure. T he s urface s eems n ot d urable e nough t o b e a t hreshing f loor, b ut t he p ossibility s hould n ot b e r uled o ut. 1 2 E xtensive e xploration i n t he a rea o f t he N orthern T est was n ot part o f t he o riginal r esearch d esign. A m odification o f g oals i n o rder t o i nclude t he a rea was c onsidered. H owever, l imitations i mposed b y t ime, t he a vailability o f w orkers, t he r equirements o f t he m ain p art o f t he s ite, a nd t he d esire o f t he o wner t o c ultivate t he f ield p recluded f urther i nvestigation o f t his i nteresting a rea. T he d iscovery o f t he s tructure i s i mportant, h owever, a s i t d emonstrates t he p resence o f a ncient r emains a t a c onsiderable d istance f rom t he m ain v illa c omplex. Q uestions s till t o b e a nswered r egarding t he s tructure a re i dentity, p hysical e xtent, c hronological r ange, a nd r elationship t o t he L a B efa v illa o r t o a nother a s-yet u ndiscovered b uilding i n t he a rea. T he v ery e xistence o f a s tructure 1 26 m . n orth o f t he v illa i nvites s peculation o n t he w ider e nvironment w ithin w hich t he v illa e xisted a nd p oints t o t he n eed f or f urther r esearch d esigned t o e stablish a c ontext f or t he R oman r emains a t L a B efa.

T HE S OUTHERN S ECTOR

A s a lready s tated, t he d estruction c aused b y t he r ailway a nd t he a bsence o f s tratification i n t he S outhern S ector o f t he s ite r ender i mpossible a f ull u nderstanding o f t he a rchitectural a nd c hronological r elationship b etween t he t wo p arts o f t he v illa ( figs. 5 , 7 , 7 9-82). I t i s c lear f rom t he c onstruction m ethod a nd l ack o f a menities t hat t he S outhern S ector d id n ot s erve a s a n e xtension o f t he d omestic w ing. M oreover, t he d ifferences i n o rientation a nd r oom s ize b espeak t he d ifferent f unction a nd p ossibly d ifferent c onstruction d ate o f t he s outhern w ing. N onetheless, s everal c oins b elonging t o t he l ate t hird a nd e arly f ourth c enturies f ound t here p rovide e vidence

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t hat t he c omplex was i n o peration d uring t he o f t he d omestic w ing.

s econd p hase

A c onsequence o f l ater p lowing o ver t he S outhern S ector i s t hat n one o f t he f inds a re i n p rimary c ontexts a nd c annot b e e mployed t o i dentify t he f unction o f s pecific r ooms. U nfortunate, t oo, a re t he l ack o f f loors a nd t he a bsence o f f loral a nd f aunal m aterial, s uch a s c arbonized g rain a nd a nimal b ones, w hich m ight h ave p roved u seful i n i dentifying s pecific c rops t hat w ere p roduced a nd s tored, a nimals t hat w ere r aised, a nd s pecific f unctions f or r ooms. T he f inds, h owever, d o p oint t o t he u tilitarian n ature o f t he S outhern S ector. N umerous a mphora h andles a nd b ody s herds, a long w ith r ims a nd b ody s herds o f l arge s torage v essels w ere r ecovered; a ll a re a ppropriate t o t he w orking a nd s torage a reas o f a R oman f arm . F ragments o f l ead p ipe w ere a lso f ound, t he o nly r emnants o f t he v illa's water s ystem . A p iece o f u nworked l ead s uggests t hat t he p roduction o f l ead p ipe o r a t l east i ts r epair m ight h ave b een p erformed a t t he s ite. M ost o f t he e xcavation o f t he S outhern S ector was u ndertaken b y P aul D eussen. " I n h is 1 977 r eport t o t he S oprintendenza, D eussen r eported t he f ollowing: " Below p lough l evel, t he e xcavation e xposed e xtensive f oundation w alls, n ever p reserved f or m ore t han t wo c ourses i n h eight, a nd r ather c areless i n c onstruction . T he a verage w idth o f t hese walls i s 0 .60 m . C ement i s l argely a bsent; t he f loors a re i n n o c ase p reserved. T he o rientation, f urthermore, o f t hese f oundations f ails t o c onform t o t he w alls o f t he N orth c omplex, s o t hat t he c onnection o f t he t wo p arts i s o nly i nformal. T he i mpression i s t hat t he S outh c omplex f orms t he s ervice a nd s torage q uarters o f t he v illa r ustica t o t he N orth. " A p attern d escribed b y t hese f oundation w alls e merged a fter t wo w eeks o f e xcavation. T hey f orm a t l east t hree l arge, r ectangular a reas, e ach o ver 7 .00 b y 9 .00 m . i n d imension, p ossibly c ourts, s tables, o r g ranaries. T he c ourts a re a ligned i n a r ow e xtending i n a n orthwest t o s outheast d irection. R egular b reaks i n t he w alls, p articularly i n t he s outheast c ourt, a ccompanied b y r ectangular c uttings, b espeak t he f ormer e xistence o f d oors, t hough t hresholds, p ivots a nd l ocking d evices a re e ntirely a bsent. T he c entral c ourt h as a ppended t o i ts n orthern i nterior w all a f oundation p latform m easuring 2 .05 x 2 .55 m . ( trenches S E+13, S E+14, S F+14). T his f oundation i ncorporates a mong i ts s ingle c ourse o f s tones t wo b roken a nd r e-used c olumn d rums. O bjects r ecovered f rom w ithin t he c ourts p rovide n o c larity a bout t heir p urpose a nd f unction." 1 * I n t he s outheastern q uadrant o f G rid S H+11 t he a ctual s tate p lan ( fig. 7 ) p resents w hat m ight b e i nterpreted a s t he c urve o f a w all. T he s uggestion o f a c urve i s d ue t o t he s light d islocation o f r ocks f rom w hat i s a ctually a

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s traight f oundation. H ad t he w all a ctually c urved, i ts c onstruction w ould h ave b een d etected i n G rid S H+10. O ne o bservation c oncerning r elative c hronology c an b e m ade. T he s outhwest t o n ortheast w all r unning f rom t he s outheastern q uadrant o f G rid S I+13 t o S H+14 o verlies a nd i s t herefore l ater t han t he wall w hich i t c rosses i n t he n orthwestern q uadrant o f G rid S I+14. O n t he g round t he l ater wall i s l ess s ubstantial t han i t a ppears i n t he p lan. T he r ocks i n s itu m ay b e e vidence o f a f limsy c rosswall o r t he h igher l evel o f t he r emains c ould h ave r esulted i n t heir g reater d estruction b y t he p low, t hereby g iving t he p reserved r emains a n i nconsequential c haracter. N o c onclusions a bout f unction o r a bsolute c hronology c an b e made. A lthough t he f oundations o f t he S outhern S ector a re c ruder i n a ppearance a nd c ertainly l ess d urable t han t he r emains n orth o f t he t racks, t hey w ere, i n f act, l aid w ith c onsiderable c are. T he f oundations r un t rue f or c onside rable d istances, t heir s traight e dges d ue m ore t o t he s kill o f t he b uilders t han t o t he n ature o f t he m edium . C orners a re s quared. T he s ize o f t he t wo s outheastern r ooms i s a mbitious a nd s ome c are was o bviously t aken t o p roduce t wo s paces o f n early e qual s ize. T he a rea e xposed s hows t hat t he w orking f acilities o f t he v illa w ere a t l east a s s pacious a s t he r esidential q uarter.

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C HAPTER T HREE

P A VEMENTS A N D M A R BL E R E VETME NT P AVEMENTS 1

M OSAICS

( not

i n s itu)

T he n umber o f i ndividual t esserae ( ca. 2 0,000) a nd t he l ess f requently r ecovered g roups o f t wenty t o t hirty t esserae i ndicate t he e xistence o f a t l east o ne t essellated p avement w ithin t he v illa. M ortar a dhering t o t he i ndividual t esserae l eaves n o d oubt t hat t hey o nce b elonged t o a p avement. W ith t he a verage u pper s urface o f a t essera b eing a bout o ne c entimeter s quare, a nd w ith a llowances f or c ement b etween t esserae, t he a pproximately 2 0,000 t esserae w ould h ave p aved s lightly m ore t han t wo s quare m eters. T essera a rrangement i n t wo g roups o f t esserae p rove t he e xistence o f a t l east o ne pavement w ith a p olychrome, g eometric p attern o f c losely s et t esserae o f w hite, r ed, a nd b lue ( fig. 8 4). 2 T here i s n o e vidence f or f igural d ecoration. M any o f t he t esserae a re white, s uggesting l arge, m onochrome a reas w ithin t he p avement. O ne s mall g roup o f t esserae p reserves a s mooth, s traight e dge ( fig. 8 5) a s i f t he t esserae w ere s et n ext t o a w all a t t he e dge o f a r oom . I n t his e xample t he t esserae a re l ess r egular a nd m ore w idely s paced t han i n o ther g roups. I t i s p ossible t hat t he d ifference i n t echnique i ndicates t wo s eparate p avements o r t hat i t r eflects a d ifferentiation b etween a b order a nd a c entral a rea. T he m osaic f ragments m ay h ave c ome f rom o ne o r m ore r ooms. A s n o t race o f a m osaic was f ound i n s itu, t he a ttribution o f t he m osaic t o a s pecific r oom o r r ooms i s p urely s peculative. W e m ay r ule o ut R ooms 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 , a nd 1 0 d ue t o t he p resence o f o ther p avements. T he S outhern S ector m ay b e e liminated a s a n i nappropriate s etting f or m osaics. A mong t he r ooms p reserved, R ooms 3 , 6 , 7 , a nd 9 r emain p otential c andidates f or t he m osaic. T here i s n o d oubt t hat t he m osaic w as i n p lace b efore t he d estruction o f a bout A .D. 4 00. T esserae w ere f ound i n t he d ebris b elow t he P hase T hree f loor o f R oom 1 , i n t he f ill o f s everal r ooms, a nd i n a bundance i n R oom 5 , w here, a s d iscussed a bove, t hey w ere p robably b eing s tored f or r euse. T he p recise d ate a t which t he m osaic w as s et i n

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p lace

i s

i mpossible t o d etermine.

C EMENT P AVEMENTS R oom 5 . D ue t o t he l ocation o f R oom 5 a t t he e dge o f t he r ailroad c utting, b oth t he s urface a nd t he m akeup b elow t he pavement c an b e s een, t he l atter h aving b een r evealed w ithout a rchaeological e xcavation. T he f loor i s b edded o n f ist-sized r ocks w hich i n t urn a re b edded o n c lay ( fig. 5 1). T he f loor c onsists o f a bout 0 .15 m . t o 0 .20 m . o f c ement i ntermixed w ith g enerous a mounts o f c hipped r ock a nd t erracotta. T he s urface i s p rimarily w hite c ement w ith p ieces o f i rregularly s haped m arble a nd t erracotta a ppearing r andomly ( fig. 8 6). 3

R oom 1 . T races o f f looring s imilar i n c omposition t o t he f loor o f R oom 5 a re s till i n s itu i n t he n ortheastern r ecess o f R oom 1 ( figs. 2 9, 3 3-36). B roken r emains o f t erracotta t iles p roject f rom t he n orthwestern w all i nto t he r oom ( figs. 3 3, 3 4). T he t iles a re b etween 0 .05 m . a nd 0 .06 m . t hick, s ituated 0 .60 m . a bove t he s ubfloor, a nd a re e mbedded i nto t he wall f rom w hich t hey p roject. A bove t he t iles i s a l ayer o f c ement 0 .18 m . i n h eight. A bove t he c ement i s p laster p reserved t o v arious h eights t hroughout t his e nd o f t he r oom. F igure 3 6, a d etail o f t he e asternmost c orner o f t he r oom, c learly s hows t hese m aterials. N ear t he b ottom o f t he p hotograph, t races o f a t erracotta t ile c an b e s een. A bove t he t ile a re 0 .18 m . o f c ement w ith a h igh c ontent o f t erracotta c hips. F orming a d istinct l ayer a bove t he c ement i s a l ayer o f p laster w hose c omposition i s c oarse, b ut n onetheless n oticeably f iner t han t he c ement o n w hich i t i s b edded. T hese t wo l ayers a re a lso v isible i n f igure 3 4. When t he c ement a nd p laster r emaining i n s itu a re c ompared with t he f ragments o f c ement a nd p laster r ecovered f rom L evel 2 , i t i s p ossible t o a ssign a ll o f t he c ement t o t he f loor a nd t he p laster t o t he w all. T he a ttribution i s p ossible b ecause t he r emains f rom L evel 2 p rovide s everal e xamples p reserving s urfaces, w hile t he r emains i n s itu p rovide t he i mportant s tratification o f m aterials. T wo d istinct k inds o f s urfaces, e ach w ith i ts o wn d istinct c omposition, w ere r ecovered. O ne v ariety e xhibited a c ement s urface w ith b its o f r andomly s paced, i rregularly s haped m arble a nd t erracotta e mbedded i n i t ( fig. 8 7). L ike t he c ement i n s itu a bove t he s labs, t his v ariety c ontained l arge c hips o f t erracotta a nd w as l ike t he c ement i n s itu i n a ll r espects. 4 T he c hipped t erracotta i n t he s ubstance o f t he f loor r eaches a m aximum s ize o f a bout 0 .02 m .; m ost o f t he c hips a re s maller. T he s econd v ariety was f iner i n c omposition a nd w ithout t erracotta i nclusions. O n m any f ragments o f t he s econd v ariety, i mpressions o f c losely s et m arble p ieces o r t he

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m arble p ieces t hemselves w ere p resent ( figs. 8 8, 8 9). T he m arble w as s moothed o n b oth s ides, a ppeared i n l arger p ieces t han i n t he f irst v ariety, a nd, u nlike t he m arble o f t he f irst v ariety, t he p ieces e xhibit s quarely c ut e dges. W hile t he f irst v ariety o f f ragments b elonged t o t he f loor, t he s econd f ormed p art o f t he s ystem o f m arble r evetment f or t he walls, t hat i s, t he s etting b eds a nd s hims t o w hich t he m arble r evetment s labs ( crustae) w ere a ttached.

R oom 4 . T he r oom b elongs t o t he f inal b uilding p hase o f t he v illa. T he c are a nd c ompetence w ith w hich t he p lain c ement f loor w as c onstructed a ttests t he s eriousness o f p urpose o f t he f inal o ccupants. B elow t he c ement, w hich i tself w as 0 .04 m . t hick ( Level 6 ), w as a l ayer o f t ightly p acked t erracotta f ragments ( Level 5 ) s et h orizontally i n m ortar ( Level 4 ) ( figs. 4 6, 4 7). T he f ragments w ere p ieces o f i rregularly b roken r oof t iles o r o ther t erracotta s labbing m aterial, r anging i n m aximum d imension f rom a bout 0 .05 m . t o 0 .20 m . T he m ortar b elow t he t erracotta f ragments v aried i n d epth f rom 0 .05 m . t o 0 .10 m . T he m ortar, i n t urn, was b edded o n c lay a nd r ocks t hat w ere u sed t o f ill t his a rea o f t he f ormer R oom 2 i n o rder t o c onstruct R oom 4 . T he d epth o f t he f ill b elow t he m ortar v aried f rom a bout 0 .10 m . t o 0 .25 m ., a nd b elow t hat w as a dditional d ebris a nd f ill b elonging t o R oom 2 .

P LASTER R oom 1 , l ater p eriod. A lthough c ontemporary w ith t he c ement f loor i n R oom 4 , t he p laster f loor ( Level 4 ) o f R oom I w as d ifferently b edded a nd u ltimately m uch l ess d urable t han t hat i n R oom 4 . T he p laster, a bout 0 .02 m . t hick, w as b edded d irectly o n a l ayer o f l arge r ocks, a n a rrangement t hat a ccounts f or i ts p oor p reservation ( figs. 3 0, 4 4).

T ERRACOTTA T ILES R oom 8 . A part f rom t he s ubflooring o f t he h ypocaust r ooms, R oom 8 was t he o nly r oom w ith t erracotta f looring ( fig. 6 2). F ewer t han h alf o f t he t iles r emain i n s itu. T he m ortar i n w hich t he t iles w ere s et w as n ot e xcavated. T he t erracotta t iles t hemselves v ary i n s ize ( dimensions o f 0 .50 m . b y 0 .70 m . a re t ypical) a nd a re c losely s et. T he p ossibility t hat t hey c onstitute a b edding f or a p avement t hat h as t otally v anished s hould n ot b e r uled o ut, b ut i t m ust b e s tressed t hat n o e vidence o f s uch a v anished p avement r emains i n t he r oom. 5

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F IELDSTONES R oom 2 , L evel 1 0; R oom 9 , L evel 4 ; R oom 1 0; N ortheast p art of R oom 7 ( all b elonging t o P hase T hree). T he a rchitectural c hanges a ccompanying t he t hird p hase o f t he v illa's h istory i ncluded t he i nstallation o f s everal s tone p avements ( figs. 3 9, 5 6, 5 8). I t i s a rgued e lsewhere i n t his r eport t hat t he f ieldstone p avements a re a ppropriate f or s tables a nd a ttest a r adical a lteration i n t he f unction o f s everal r ooms. T he s tones u sed f or t he p avements r ange i n s ize f rom f ist- t o h ead-size. I n a ll c ases t he s tones a re l aid o ne l ayer d eep; o ccasionally d ecayed m ortar i s f ound b etween t hem. T he u nexcavated f loor o f R oom 1 0 s till p reserves c onsiderable a mounts o f c ement b etween t he r ocks. T he b edding f or t he f ieldstones w as yellow c lay i n R oom 2 , b rown s oil i n R oom 9 . R ocks t ypical o f t his k ind o f p avement w ere f ound i n t he n ortheastern s ection o f R oom 7 , b ut t heir f ull e xtent w as unclear.

P ACKED E ARTH R oom 2 . T he o riginal f loor o f t he f urnace r oom, R oom 2 , c onsisted o f h ard-packed e arth a s r evealed b y t he r emoval o f L evel 1 . L evel 4 c onstituted a s econd a nd l ater e arthen f loor, a lso a ssociated w ith t he u se o f t he r oom a s a f urnace r oom .

MARBLE R EVETMENT

S ubstantial a mounts o f m arble w ere r ecovered d uring t he e xcavation, b ut o nly R oom 8 p reserves m arble r evetment i n s itu. 6 R emains o f m arble s labs, o r c rustae, c an b e s een a t f loor l evel t hroughout t he r oom . O ne s lab was p reserved i n s itu o n t he s outheastern w all, n ear t he a pse ( fig. 6 4). S everal s labs h ad f allen f rom t he s outheastern w all a nd w ere f ound o n t he f loor w here t hey c ollapsed ( figs. 6 8, 6 9). R emains o f o thers a re v isible a t t he b ase o f t he w alls. T o p repare f or a d iscussion o f t he f ragmentary r emains f rom L a B efa, i t w ill b e u seful t o e xamine a w all w hose marble r evetment i s a t l east p artially i ntact. T he i nterior o f t he s outhwestern wall o f t he B asilica A emilia i n t he F orum R omanum m ay s erve a s a n e xample ( figs. 9 0-92). 7 T he B asilica A emilia i s a p articularly g ood e xample b ecause t he e ntire s tratification o f t he w all's s urface c an b e s een. V isible i n f igure 9 0 i s t he b rick-faced o pus c aementicium wall o f t he B asilica w ith s mall h oles a rranged i n a h orizontal r ow i n i ts u pper p art. S ome o f t he h oles c ontain m arble p lugs a nd b ronze o r i ron w edges. F igure 9 2 i s a d etail o f t he s ection o f w all t o t he n orthwest o f

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f igure 9 0, s howing m arble p lugs a nd p lug h oles. Q uite o ften a h ole w hich l acks m arble s till c ontains t he b ronze o r i ron w edge. A lso v isible o n t he A emilian wall i s m ortar w ith i rregularly s haped p ieces o f m arble e mbedded i n i t. S eams i n t he m ortar, i ndicating t hat i t h ad b een l aid i n c ourses, a re c learly v isible i n f igure 9 1. O ne l arge s lab o f m arble, n ow c racked a nd h eld t ogether with m odern c lamps, i s e vident t oward t he r ight i n f igure 9 0. B elow t he l arge s lab a re a h orizontal s trip o f m arble, a b ase m oulding, a nd t he s ocle. T he m arble f loor o f t he B asilica A emilia a ppears a t t he b ottom o f t he photograph. A lthough t he v arious p lanes o f t he w all c annot b e d etected i n t he p hotographs, f ive p lanes o f r ecession c an b e d istinguished d uring a ctual e xamination o f t he wall. T hey a re a s f ollows ( fig. 9 3): 1 . M arble s ocle. 2 . M arble b ase m oulding. 3 . M arble r evetment p roper. 4 . M ortar s etting b ed e mbedded w ith i rregularly s haped m arble s hims. T he m arble f ragments a re f lush w ith t he s urface o f t he m ortar, t he w hole s urface b eing r ecessed a bout 0 .04 m . b ehind t he o uter f ace o f t he r evetment p roper. 5 . B rick f acing o f t he o pus c aementicium w all. T he p hotographs a nd d rawing o f t he A emilian w all r eveal t he R oman m ethod o f i nstalling m arble r evetment. A fter c onstruction, t he wall was p repared t o r eceive m ortar. H undreds o f h oles w ere c ut i nto t he w all's s urface; i nto t he h oles w ere d riven m arble p lugs w edged i n w ith b ronze o r i ron .' W ith t he p lugs i n p lace a nd p rojecting f rom t he w all t o p rovide p urchase f or t he m ortar, t he s etting b eds w ere l aid i n h orizontal c ourses t o w hatever h eight t he r evetment w ould u ltimately e xtend.' T he h eights o f t he m ortar c ourses v ary. T he h eight o f t he u pper c ourse i n f igure 9 1 i s 0 .16 m .; t he h eight o f t he o ne b elow i t i s 0 .27 m . I nto t he s urface o f t he d amp m ortar i rregularly s haped p ieces o f m arble w ere s et a s s hims » T he o uter f aces o f t he s hims a re f lush w ith t he o uter s urface o f t he s etting b ed, p roviding a s mooth s urface t o w hich t he r evetment s labs w ould b e a ttached. I n t he B asilica A emilia t he s ocle a nd b ase m oulding w ere i nstalled n ext. T hen, o n t he l edge c reated b y t he t op o f t he b ase m oulding, t he a ctual m arble r evetment s labs w ere p laced. T he w eight o f t he i ndividual s labs was c onsiderable a nd t he b edding o f t hem o n t he l edge w as i mportant. C lamps h eld t he s labs i n p lace. ( Modern c lamps n ow s ecure t he A emilia r evetment.) O nly t he v ariegated m arble s urface o f t he w all w ould h ave b een v isible i n a ntiquity; a ll o f t he c onsiderable p reparatory c onstruction r emained d isguised. G iven t his m ethod o f a ttaching m arble r evetment t o walls,

3 8

s ome o f t he f inds f rom L a B efa c an e asily b e p ut i nto c ontext. T he f allen s labs c overing a s ection o f t he f loor i n R oom 8 ( figs. 6 8, 6 9) a re c learly m arble r evetment s labs. P rojecting f rom t he s outheastern w all o f R oom 8 a bove t he f allen s labs w ere f ive m arble p lugs w ith b ronze w edges b eneath t hem . T hey f ormed a r ow 0 .60 m . a bove t he f loor. T heir s pacing i s i ndicated i n t he f ollowing s ketch. 0 .80m

U

0 .75m

1 0 .75m •

1 .10m

•

F igures 7 1 a nd 7 2 s how o ne o f t he p lugs i n s itu a nd a fter r emoval f rom t he wall ( cat. n o. 2 44). T he s everal n arrow, f lat p ieces o f b ronze r ecovered a t t he s ite m ay o riginally h ave b een w edges f or o ther m arble p lugs ( cat. n os. 2 45-252). S everal o f t he s maller p ieces o f m arble s erving a s s hims r emain i n s itu i n R oom 8 . A s was t he c ase i n t he B asilica A emilia, t he d istance b etween t he a ctual f ace o f t he w all i n R oom 8 a nd t he m arble r evetment was s everal c entimeters, a bout 0 .14 m ., i ncluding t he r evetment i tself. A n e xamination o f t he w all r evealed t wo f inished f aces b ehind t he m ortar t hat h eld t he m arble i n p lace. T he m arble r evetment i n R oom 8 w as m erely t he f inal f acing o f t he w all. U nfortunately, i t i s i mpossible t o d etermine t he a mount o f t ime t hat e lapsed b etween t he c onstruction o f t he r oom a nd t he i nstallation o f t he m arble r evetment.'' R oom I a lso p rovided e vidence f or m arble r evetment. T he d ebris i n L evel 2 o f R oom I c ontained n umerous c hunks o f s etting b eds i n which w ere p reserved m arble s hims o r t heir i mpressions. F igures 9 4, 9 5, a nd 9 6 s how s uch a f ragment i n w hich p art o f a s him s till r emains; t he r est o f t he s urface c ontains t he i mprints o f m arble s hims. T he b ack o f t he f ragment i s r ough, b ut a s eam c an b e s een a bove t he " S" o f " CENTIMETERS" o n t he s cale a t t he b ottom o f f igure 9 5. 1 2 W hen c ut a long t he s ection A -B t he s eam i s a lso v isible i n t he i nterior o f t he m ortar ( fig. 9 6, n ear t he r ight s ide o f t he p hotograph). T his f ragment, t herefore, r epresents p arts o f t wo c ourses o f t he s etting b ed. A s econd p iece o f m ortar ( figs. 9 7, 9 8) r eveals n either s hims n or i mpressions, b ut i ts s eam a nd t he s mooth s urface a long t he l ine o f t he s eam p rove i t t o b e a n a dditional f ragment o f t wo s etting-bed c ourses. T hese a nd m any o ther f ragments l ead t o t he c onclusion t hat R oom I was o nce d ecorated w ith m arble r evetment. T he t hickness a nd c omposition o f t he m ortar was u seful i n d istinguishing b etween f ragments o f f loor a nd w all. T he t hickness o f t he m ortar p reserving s hims o r i mpressions w as g enerally 0 .05 m . t o 0 .06 m . I S uch p ieces w ere c omposed o f m ortar w ith s mall i nclusions o f t erracotta

3 9

a nd s tone ( fig. 9 6). T he f ragments a ttributable t o t he f loor o f R oom I w ere u sually t hicker t han 0 .06 m . a nd c ontained m uch c oarser i nclusions o f t erracotta, s tone, a nd m arble ( fig. 8 9, r ight s ide). T he s mall a mounts o f c ement a nd m ortar p reserved o n t he w alls i n t he n ortheastern r ecess o f R oom I c orroborate t he d istinction m ade o n t he b asis o f t he f ragments. T he i nclusion o f b oth f loor a nd w all f ragments i n t he f ill b elow t he l ater f loor o f R oom 1 i ndicates t hat t he m arble r evetment o f R oom I w as i n p lace p rior t o t he d estruction o f a bout A .D. 4 00 a nd w as s everely d amaged a nd p resumably d ismantled a t t hat t ime. T he d ate o f i ts i nstallation i s m ore d ifficult t o d etermine. I f i t c onstituted t he i nitial d ecorative s cheme i n R oom 1 i t w ould b e d ifficult t o s uggest a d ate e arlier t han t he l ate f irst o r e arly s econd c entury. 14 I f i t r eplaced a n e arlier a rrangement, a ny d ate b etween a bout A .D. 1 00 a nd A .D. 4 00 w ould b e p ossible. T he m ethod o f a ttaching t he m arble s labs t o t he walls c an b e r ecovered t o s ome e xtent b y o bserving t he h oles a nd c uttings p reserved o n t he s labs t hemselves. F igure 9 9 s hows a d etail o f t he f allen s lab a t t he r ight i n f igure 6 8. 1 5 T wo n otches a re l ocated a long t he b ottom o f t he s lab a s i t a ppears i n t he p hotograph. T he n otches a re l ocated a t t he 6 - a nd 1 7/18-centimeter m arks o n t he s cale. A s mall h ole, n ot v isible i n t he p hotograph, i s p resent i n t he u pper r ight q uadrant o f t he s lab. O ne o f t he b reaks e xtends t hrough t he s mall h ole. I ron s tains w ithin t he h ole a llow i t t o b e i dentified a s a n ail h ole. O f t he t wo n otches, t he o ne a t t he 6 -centimeter m ark c ontains a n i ron s tain; t he o ther d oes n ot. T he n otches, n ail h ole, a nd i ron s tains s how t hat t his s lab, a t l east, w as a ttached b y a s mall n ail a nd c lamps. N otches a ppear o n s everal o ther f ragments. O nly a f ew b rief c omments c an b e m ade c oncerning t he c oloration a nd p attern o f t he m arble w all d ecoration . T he l arge f ragments o f s labs r ecovered f rom R oom 8 a re c ipollino. T he p osition o f t he c ollapsed c ipollino s labs, c oupled w ith t he p ieces o f c ipollino i n s itu a t t he b ase o f t he w alls, a rgue f or a r econstruction o f R oom 8 w ith c ipollino v eneering a t l east a t t he l owest l evels. E vidence f or a s tringcourse i s p rovided b y t wo j oining f ragments o f w hite m arble ( fig. 1 00). T he w hite marble w as s et i nto t he w all w ith o nly i ts r ounded, f inished s ide p rotruding. M ortar i s s till a ttached t o t he p art t hat w as w ithin t he w all, w ith t he c learly v isible l ine o f m ortar m arking t he p oint a t w hich t he m arble e merged f rom t he w all. T he u se o f a m arble s tringcourse t o m ark a t ransition f rom o ne s egment o f a w all t o a nother c an b e s een i n a n a rea o f f ourth-century r emodeling i n t he H ouse o f F ortuna A nnonaria a t O stia ( figs. 1 01, 1 02). 16 T he a rrangement w ithin R oom 8 w ould p robably n ot h ave b een t oo d issimilar f rom t he h ouse a t O stia.

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A g reat v ariety o f m arble was f ound a t L a B efa, b ut m ost o f t he p ieces w ere s mall. T he o nly t ype r ecovered i n l arge s labs w as c ipollino. I t i s l ikely t hat m ost o r a ll o f t he s mall, i rregular p ieces w ere u sed a s s hims a nd w ere n ever v isible. S everal s mall p ieces p reserve f inished e dges, s uggesting t hat t hey w ere o nce p art o f av isible d ecorative s cheme, b ut w hether t hey w ere s o e mployed a t L a B efa c annot b e p roven. F igure 1 03 p resents f ragm Ws o f e ach v ariety o f m arble d iscovered a t t he s ite.

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C HAPTER F OUR

C O NCL US IONS A n o verall i nterpretation o f t he a rchaeological r emains a t L a B efa must c onsider t wo p ossibilities: t he r uins a re t hose o f a R oman v illa o r t hey b elong t o a R oman bath c omplex t hat was c entral t o a n a s-yet u ndiscovered s ettlement.' T hey c learly c annot b e a ssociated w ith t emples, g arrisons, h orrea, u rban s tructures, h arbor w orks, f ortifications, e tc. T he f irst a lternative i s p referable. T he N orthern a nd S outhern S ectors, r espectively, r eflect t he r esidential a nd f unctional r equirements o f a v illa. T he t wo f orms o f c onstruction a re i n h armony w ith t he d uality o f v illa f unction a nd s upport t he c onclusion t hat t he r emains a re t hose o f a v illa. C eramic e vidence p oints t o t he s ame c onclusion. A v ariety o f r ed-slipped c ups, p lates, p itchers, a nd b owls, a long w ith a v ariety o f s hapes o f c ooking w are, a re d omestic i n c haracter, w hile a mphora f ragments i ndicate t he i mportation o f f oodstuffs f rom t hroughout t he e mpire. A lso d omestic i n c haracter a re t he g lass b eakers ( cat. n os. 2 35, 2 36), b one a nd i vory i mplements ( cat. n os._237-240), a nd t he p ierced l ead d isk ( cat. n o 2 58), i f i ndeed i t i s a l oom w eight. T he n ature o f t he d estruction a nd s ubsequent a bandonment, a nd t he v icissitudes o f p reservation h ave, u nfortunately, l eft n othing o f f arm t ools o r f ittings f or d evices, s uch a s w ine p resses, w hich w ould s erve a s i ncontrovertible p roof o f t he a gricultural n ature o f t he e stablishment. N onetheless, t he v illa i nterpretation b est e xplains t he e xtant a rchitectural r emains a nd t he o bjects r ecovered a t t he s ite. T he f act t hat m ost o f t he r ooms o f t he N orthern S ector a re h ypocausts s hould n ot b e a ccepted a s a p riori p roof t hat t he e ntire c omplex i s a b ath. A s a lready m entioned, R ooms 1 a nd 3 a ppear t o b e h eated r ooms i n a r esidential w ing, while t he d rain i n R oom 8 a llows R ooms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , a nd 1 0 t o b e i nterpreted a s a b athing w ing i n t he r esidential q uarter o f t he v illa. W ith c old a nd d amp w eather e xtending t o t he e nd o f M ay i n t his r egion o f T uscany, i t i s n ot s urprising t hat b uilders c apable o f c onstructing h eated r ooms w ould d o s o i n r ooms o ther t han t hose b elonging t o a b ath. T he m ajor d rawback o f t he b ath h ypothesis

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i s

t he

r equirement t hat o ne p osit a s ettlement, o f w hich n o t race h as y et b een d iscovered.' A lso, t he f unction o f t he s tructure i n t he S outhern S ector b ecomes d ifficult t o e xplain. M oreover, t he s mall f inds a re n ot e asily e xplained b y a n i nterpretation o f t he w hole a s a b ath c omplex. T he m ost p lausible e xplanation, b ased o n t he d ata p rovided b y t he s ite i tself, i s t hat t he c omplex i s a R oman v illa c omposed o f a r esidential w ing w ith b athing r ooms a nd a s eparate b uilding f or a gricultural a ctivity. M any R oman v illas i n I taly w ere c ompact s ingle-structure f arms s maller i n s ize t han t he L a B efa c omplex.' I n a r ecent s tudy o f R oman f arm b uildings i n I taly, R ossiter h as c lassified v illas b y s ize. A ccording t o h is c lassifications, t he L a B efa v illa w ould b e a ssociated w ith " a g roup o f v illas b uilt o n a l arger s cale, w herein t he d ifferent p arts o f t he v illa e ach c onstitute a s eparate s tructure o r g roup o f s tructures. " R egarding t heir l ayout, t hese l arger v illas f orm t wo d istinct g roups. T he f irst i ncludes t he v illas a t S an R occo a nd R ussi a nd t he v illa o f P ublius F annius S inistor a t B oscoreale.' T hey a re i ntegrated c omplexes w ith a c ourt f orming t he n ucleus o f e ach p art.' T o t he s econd g roup b elong " fragmented v illas," s uch a s t he V illa M agna i n t he R oman C ampagna, t he v illa s ite a t " il C astelaccio" i n t he A ger V eientanus, a nd t he v illa a t C ugno d ei V agni. 7 C haracteri stic o f t hese i s t he p lacement o f s tructures o ver a l arger a rea a nd t he a bsence o f i nterconnections b etween t he a rchitectural e lements c omprising t he c omplex a s a w hole. T he L a B efa v illa, w ith i ts v arious s eparated e lements, i s a n a ddition t o t he g roup o f f ragmented v illas. A s t he o thers o f t he g roup h ave n ot b een f ully e xcavated, d etailed c omparisons c annot b e m ade. T he m ajor p oint o f c omparison l ies i n t he f ragmented a rchitectural d esign. R ossiter c alls a ttention t o t he s eparation o f t he b ath h ouse f rom t he v illa u rbana i n t he v illas a t R ussi a nd C ugno d ei V agni, a ttributing t his a rrangement t o a t wofold d esire t o i solate a p otential f ire h azard a nd t o a rchitecturally e mbellish t he s ocially i mportant b ath c omplex.' R ossiter's o bservations f orce o ne t o r econsider t he p ossibility t hat t he N orthern S ector o f t he L a B efa v illa i s i n f act a b athing e stablishment, n ot o ne b elonging t o a n u ndiscovered s ettlement, a s a lready d iscussed, b ut o ne b elonging t o a v illa. T his v ariation o n t he e arlier h ypothesis m ay b e a ttractive a t f irst g lance, b ut t he s ize o f t he N orthern S ector i s s everal t imes t hat o f t he i ndependent b aths a t R ussi a nd C ugno d ei V agni. I ndeed, i t i s a lso m uch l arger t han a ny b ath i ncorporated i nto s ingle-structure v illas. T he c omplex o f R ooms 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , a nd 1 0, h owever, i s a ppropriate i n s ize f or a b ath i ncorporated i nto a r esidential s tructure. E ven i f o ne w ere t o a ccept t he i dentification o f t he N orthern S ector a s a b ath, t he d ifficulty o f i dentifying t he S outhern S ector a s t he r esidential q uarter w ould r emain a p roblem . I ts r uins a re n ot e xtensive, while a t R ussi a nd C ugni d ei

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V agni t he r esidential s ection i s m any t imes t he s ize o f t he b ath. M oreover, n othing w as f ound a ssociated w ith t he S outhern S ector t o s uggest t hat i t was f or h uman h abitation. T he m ost p lausible e xplanation, t hat i s, t hat which a ccounts f or t he a rchitectural e lements a nd t he s mall f inds, i s t hat t he r emains b elong t o a R oman v illa. O ther i nterpretations c annot s atisfactorily e xplain t he e vidence a nd r aise a dditional p roblems o f t heir o wn. W ith t he a rchitectural h istory o f t he v illa a t L a B efa e stablished a s f ully a s t he e xcavated e vidence p ermits, o ther a spects o f t he v illa's e xistence c an b e c onsidered.

E CONOMIC A ND S OCIAL C ONSIDERATIONS

T he e conomic a nd s ocial h istory o f t he v illa a re f ar m ore e lusive t han t he a rchitectural h istory . A d etermination o f l and t enure p atterns, t he c rops p roduced, t he o rigin a nd i dentity o f t he o wners, a nd t he n umber o f w orkers a nd t heir s ocial s tatus c annot b e m ade w ith t he s ame e ase o r d egree o f c ertainty t hat a pply t o t he v illa's physical r emains. M ost c onclusions m ust b e i nferred f rom t he a rchaeological e vidence, which b y i ts n ature i s f ragmentary. W e m ust t urn t o t he b uilding i tself a nd t he f inds i t p roduced b ecause n o o ther s ource o f e vidence i s a vailable w ith w hich t o a ddress s ocial a nd e conomic i ssues. B uildings t hat a re u sed f or c enturies u ndergo n umerous a lterations. O ften t he c hanges a re r elated t o g rowth a nd i ncreased e conomic p rosperity. T he a ddition o f t he a psidal R oom 8 i s a n e xample o f i ncreased l uxury a nd a n i mprovement i n t he s tandard o f l iving a t t he L a B efa v illa. I ts c ontinued m aintenance, c ulminating i n t he a cquisition a nd i nstallation o f m arble w all d ecoration, i s a r eflection o f a t aste f or l uxury a nd t he a bility t o i ndulge i t. W hether t he s ource o f s uch w ealth w as t he p roductivity o f t he v illa i tself i s i mpossible t o d etermine, b ut i t i s p ossible t o s ay t hat a p eriod o f i ncreasing p rosperity, d eriving e ither f rom t he t otal r esources o f t he o wner o r f rom t he p roductivity o f t he v illa i tself, f ollowed t he i nitial f oundation o f t he L a B efa v illa a nd r esulted i n t he a ddition o f t he a psidal r oom. F urther e vidence o f t he a menities e njoyed d uring t he s econd p hase o f t he v illa a re t he c osmetic i mplements ( cat. n os. 2 372 39) a nd t he c arved i vory h andle ( cat. n o. 2 40). T hese o bjects s upport t he c onclusions d rawn f rom t he p hysical e xpansion o f t he v illa t hat t he r esidents w ere e njoying m ore t han a b are s ubsistence l evel o f e xistence. T he f ragments o f a mphoras f ound b elow f eatures o f P hase T hree s how t hat u ntil t he d estruction f ood was b eing

4 4

i mported f rom S pain a nd N orth A frica a nd f rom e lsewhere i n I taly. T he a mphoras d emonstrate t hat t his v illa, w hose a rchitectural e lements w ere c onstructed i n t he l atest s tyle a nd w hose d ecorative r evetment c ame f rom I taly a nd a broad, a lso b elonged t o t he w ider e conomic w orld o f a ncient i nternational c ommerce. T he c hanges o f t he t hird p hase, h owever, a re o f a n e ntirely d ifferent n ature. T he e limination o f a b ath a nd t he a bandonment o f a h eating s ystem r epresent r adical c hanges f or t he w orse i n a R oman s tandard o f l iving. S uch a r eduction i n t he s tandard o f l iving s eems i ndicative o f a n ew s tate o f e conomic d epression. W hat w ere t he c auses o f t he c hange? N ormal r epair i s o ut o f t he q uestion. E ven i f s ome o f t he h ypocaust s ystems n eeded r epair, i t w ould h ave b een u nlikely t hat a ll o f t he h eated r ooms w ere i n a n e qually b ad s tate o f r epair a nd w ere s imultaneously a bandoned o r r eplaced b y u nheated r ooms. T he m ost p lausible e xplanation f or s uch m ajor a lterations i s am assive d estruction a t t he h ands o f o utsiders, a fter w hich m ajor r ebuilding h ad t o b e d one. S ince t he h ypocaust s ystems w ere n ot p ut b ack i nto o peration, w e may a ssume t hat d amage t o t hem w as s evere, i f n ot t otal. D uring t he s ack o f a h ouse, t he d estruction o f s everal e levated f loors w ould h ave r equired a n e normous e ffort d ifficult t o e xplain i f i ts o nly p urpose w as d estruction. P resumably t here w as a n o bjective b eyond s imple d estruction, t hat i s, t he h ope f or d iscovery o f h idden t reasure. F or a ttackers u nfamiliar w ith R oman h eating s ystems, a h ollow f loor w ould s eem a l ikely p lace t o s equester r iches. N on-Roman i nvaders s eeking t reasure p rovide t he b est e xplanation f or t he d amage d one t o t he L a B efa v illa. T his i nterpretation h as t he a dvantage o f e xplaining t he s imultaneous e limination o f a ll k nown h eated r ooms i n t he v illa. I t a lso t ies i n w ith k nown h istorical e vents d uring t he l ate f ourth a nd e arly f ifth c enturies, f or a t t hat t ime I taly s ustained t he b arbarian i nvasions c ulminating i n t he s ack o f R ome i n A .D. 4 10 b y A laric, k ing o f t he V isigoths. T he c reation o f s tables w ithin t he f ormer r esidential w ing ( Rooms 2 , 7 ?, 9 , a nd 1 0) i ndicates t hat t he p revious s table was d estroyed . T he n eed t o k eep a nimals c lose t o t he l iving q uarters w as p robably a c onsequence o f a d iminished l abor f orce. T he t asks t hat e arlier w ere p erformed b y s laves o r o ther l aborers h ad p robably f allen t o t he p rimary r esident. I f a r eduction i n t he l abor f orce w as c oupled w ith a d estruction o f t he w orking p art o f t he f arm ( both p ossibilities s eem l ikely), t he r esult w ould h ave b een a d ramatic d ecline i n t he p roductivity o f t he f arm. T he e ffort e xpended o n t he r ebuilding a nd o n t he p roject o f s alvaging m osaic t esserae s hows t hat t hat t he o ccupants i ntended t o r emain a t L a B efa. T heirs w as n ot

4 5

a m ere s quatting o ccupation i n t he b uilding's r uins. T he a lterations w ere m ajor a nd c hanged t he p hysical f orm o f t he v illa. C orresponding c hanges i n t he e conomic a nd s ocial l ife o f t he v illa a nd i ts o ccupants a re n ot p reserved i n t he a rchaeological r ecord, b ut t hey m ust h ave b een e qually d ramatic. I t i s i mpossible t o k now h ow e conomically s uccessful t he v illa w as i n i ts l ast s tage. W e d o k now t hat t he f inal p hase w as n ot l ong l ived, b ut w hether t he c onditions n ecessitating a bandonment w ere e conomic, p olitical, m ilitary, o r a c ombination o f t hese r emains a m ystery.

4 6

A PPENDIX O NE

F L ORAL A N D F A UNAL R E COV ERY A ND A NALYS IS T hrough t raditional m eans o f r ecovery i t w as p ossible t o c ollect f ragments o f b one a nd c arbonized w ood. C arbonized w ood was a bundant i n R oom 2 i n p roximity t o F urnace 1 . B ones w ere r are. I n f act, a part f rom a f ew s mall s plinters, t he v ertebra n oted b elow i s u nique i n i ts s ize a nd s tate o f preservation. D uring t he 1 980 e xcavation s eason a f lotation s ystem' w as i ntroduced f or t he f ollowing r easons: 1 ) T o a ugment t he l evel o f r ecovery b ased o n t raditional m ethods, i .e., d ry s ifting a nd c lose e xamination o f s oil d eposits w ithout s ifting, t hereby o btaining p otential a dditional i nformation d erived f rom p alaeobotanical a nd p alaeozoological d ata; 2 ) T o d emonstrate t he p racticality o f d esigning a nd u tilizing a f lotation s ystem a t a s mall v illa e xcavation; 3 ) T o s erve a s a c heck o n t he t raditional r ecovery m ethods u sed a t t he s ite; a nd 4 ) T o t each s tudents t he m ethods o f c onstructing a nd e mploying a f lotation s ystem a nd o f t reating t he r ecovered m aterial. T able 1 l ists t he d eposits s ampled. I n s electing d eposits t he a ims w ere t o c hoose s oil t ypes i n w hich o rganic m aterial i s l ikely t o b e p reserved ( i.e., b urnt d eposits), d eposits s tratified d eeply e nough t o l imit, i f n ot t o p reclude, t he p ossibility o f c ontamination b y b oring o r t unneling a nimals, a nd d eposits b elonging t o p eriods b efore a nd a fter t he a rchitectural c hanges o f P hase T hree. A dditionally, f or c omparative p urposes, t wo a shy d eposits f rom h ypocaust s ystems ( Samples 1 a nd 3 ), i n which o rganic materials w ould n ot n ecessarily b e e xpected, w ere s ampled. After b eing s orted, t he m aterial r ecovered b y f lotation was a nalyzed b y s pecialists w hose c onclusions a re p resented h ere. I n a ddition t o t he c arbonized w ood r ecovered t hrough f lotation, o ne p iece o f c arbonized w ood r ecovered b y h and f rom G rid N A-2 D eposit 2 4 w as s ent t o D r. H euber, S mithsonian I nstitution, a long w ith s amples r ecovered b y f lotation. A lso, p hotographs o f o ne v ertebra, a lso r ecovered b y h and, f rom G rid S B2, S A-2 D eposit 1 0 ( Room 4 , L evel 2 ), w ere s ent t o D avid R eese, U niversity o f C ambridge, a long w ith s amples o f s hell a nd b one.

4 7

S HELL A ND B ONE

2

S ample 1 . A t l east s even s pecies o f l and s nails, s ome o f w hich a re b urrowing f orms; a ll o f t he s pecies r ecovered a re f ound i n I taly t oday a nd a re m ost l ikely i ntrusive. A lso i ntrusive i s o ne m odern i nsect r emain. One w aterw orn a nd b ored s hell f rom a M editerranean m arine a nimal, A nadara, w hich h ad n ot b een m odified i n a ny w ay. S ample 2 . A t l east s even s pecies o f l and s nails; o ne t iny f reshwater b ivalve, p robably f rom t he O mbrone R iver o r o ther s ource o f f resh w ater; a nd o ne f ragment o f a f ossil b ivalve. S ample 3 . A lthough f rom a n a shy d eposit, t he s ample c ontained n othing b urnt. A t l east f ive s pecies o f l and s nails; t wo t iny f reshwater b ivalve v alves, p robably f rom o ne i ndividual; a s ingle m ouse i ncisor, p robably t he G ray o r H ouse M ouse, M us m usculus, L innaeus 1 758. S ample 4 . A t l east f our s pecies o f l and s nails; o ne t iny f reshwater g astropod; t wo f ragments o f t wo f ossil b ivalves ( one i s a s callop); s everal s mall f ragments o f burnt a nimal b ones, w hich c annot b e i dentified t o b one o r s pecies. A s t his d eposit w as a ssociated w ith a f urnace, t he b ones m ight h ave b een u sed a s f uel, b ut n ote t hat w ood w as a lso f ound i n t he s ame c ontexts. A dditional S ample ( recovered b y h and), f rom R oom 4 , L evel L umbar v ertebra o f e ither a n a dult o vicaprid ( sheep o r g oat) o r a p ig.

S EEDS

2 .

3

S ample 1 . S ix s eeds: E uphorbia, R ubus, P icris, H ollow G alium, a nd p robably o ne L amiaceae.

N igella,

O ther s amples c ontained n either s eeds n or f ruits. A s t he f ew s eeds r ecovered c ame f rom t he a shy d eposit o verlying t he s ubfloor o f t he h eated R oom 7 , a nd a s a t l east t wo a re n ot b urnt, i t a ppears b est t o c onsider t he s eeds i ntrusive a nd t o r efrain f rom d rawing c onclusions f rom t hem .

C ARBONIZED W OOD 4 S ample

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f rom f lot.

S ample 4 . S mall f ragments f rom f lot a nd o ne l arger s pecimen ( L. c a. 0 .08 m .; T h . c a. 0 .02 m .), r ecovered b y h and. A dditional s pecimen r ecovered b y h and f rom G rid S B2, S A-2 D eposit 1 1 ( Room 4 , L evel 1 ). A ll o f t he c arbonized s amples

4 8

e xamined a re o f w ood f rom

b road-leaf t rees. T here i s n o c onifer w ood, s uch a s p ine o r c edar, r epresented i n t he s ample. T he a nalysis p erformed i ndicates t hat o ak a nd p erhaps p oplar, o r a s imilar f ine-grained w ood, a re t he p rimary s ources.

C ONCLUSIONS A part f rom t he d etermination t hat h ard w ood s erved a s a f ue1, 5 t he l imited d ata p reclude t he p resentation o f s ignificant c onclusions r elating t o t he f unction o f s pecific r ooms o r t o w ider i ssues, s uch a s t he e conomic b asis o f t he v illa o r t he d ietary h abits o f t he r esidents. T his s ituation w as n ot u nexpected a s t he k inds o f d eposits a vailable f or s ampling w ere n ot t he t ype l ikely t o p roduce a bundant d ata. P otentially m ore u seful, b ut n ot f ound a t L a B efa, w ould b e k itchens, w ells, m iddens, g ranaries d estroyed b y f ire, a nd w aterlogged d eposits o f a ny k ind. I n a ddition t o e stablishing t he f act t hat p alaeobotanical a nd p alaeozoological i nformation w ould h ave b een o btained h ad i t b een a vailable, t he water-sieving e xperiment a t L a B efa was s uccessful o n o ther g rounds. I t d emonstrated t he e ase w ith w hich a f lotation s ystem c an b e s et u p a nd o perated, e ven a t a s mall s ite w orked b y a r elatively s mall c rew ( thirteen s tudents i n 1 980, o nly f our o f w hom w ater-sieved a t o ne t ime). T he u se o f t he f lotation s ystem p roved t hat a h igh l evel o f r ecovery w as a chieved a t t he s ite b y t raditional m eans a s n o a rtifacts o f a ny s ort w ere r ecovered t hrough f lotation. A nd, f inally, t he s ystem i ntroduced s tudents o f a rchaeology t o a n ew r ecovery t echnique.

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A PPENDIX T WO

I N TENS IV E S URFACE S AMPL ING A T L A B EFA ' b y R andolph E .

D onahue

I NTRODUCTION I ntensive i ntrasite s urface c ollecting h as b ecome a c ommon a rchaeological t echnique u sed f or a v ariety o f p urposes. I t h elps t o l ocate s ites o r a ctivity a reas, t o d efine t he p eripheries o f s ites, a nd t o d etermine t he d ate a nd d uration o f o ccupation, t he t ypes o f e conomic a ctivities, a nd much m ore. W hile e xcavation w ill m ore a ccurately p roduce s uch i nformation, i t c an b e a v ery t ime-consumi l lg a nd c ostly a pproach . S urface c ollecting c an p rovide m uch o f t he b asic i nformation a bout a s ite q uickly a nd i nexpensively, m aking i t a m ost a dvantageous t echnique d uring t he e arly s tages o f f ieldwork . S ome s ampling p rocedures t hat u se g rid s ystems i n l ocating t he s ampled u nits h ave b een h ighly i nefficient i n c ertain t ypes o f s ites a nd r esearch d esigns, s uch a s v ery l arge s ites a nd s ites n ot s cheduled f or e xcavation i mmediately a fter s urface s ampling. A n a lternate a pproach, s uggested b y L ewis B inford 2 a nd t ested b y t his a uthor a t t he R oman a nd p aleolithic s ite o f L a B efa, i s t he " dog-on-a-leash" t echnique o r, a s I s hall c all i t h ere, t he c entral s take s urface s ampling p rocedure, i n w hich t he c ollector i s " leashed," b y ap redetermined l ength o f r ope, t o t he c enter o f t he c ollection u nit w hile c ollecting a ll a rtifacts w ithin t hat r adius.

H ISTORICAL B ACKGROUND T he h istorical d evelopment o f s ampling i n a rchaeology s eems t o p rovide a p artial e xplanation f or t he i nefficiency o f s ome a pproaches t o i ntrasite s urface c ollecting. B efore t he 1 960s t here w as n o u se o f p robability s ampling f or s urface c ollecting a nd v ery l ittle u se o f s ampling t heory i n t he d iscipline a s a w hole. S urface s amples w ere h aphazardly c ollected w ithout r egard f or s patial o r s tatistical c ontrol. I d o n ot c riticize t he s tate o f t he a rt a t t hat t ime, b ut I d o s uggest t hat t he s ubject c an b e r e-examined. I n a s hort a rticle p ublished i n 1 960,

5 1

G ary V escelius

d iscussed t he v alue o f m aintaining s patial a nd s tatistical c ontrol o f s urface s ampling. H is d iscussion o f t he g rid s ystem p rocedure e mphasized t he q uality o f t he d ata c ollected r ather t han t he e fficiency o f t he t echnique. T his i s u nderstandable b ecause, r egardless o f h ow q uickly m easurements a re m ade a nd s ample u nits a re l ocated a nd c ollected, t he m ore s tatistically a ccurate a pproach o f V escelius c annot c ompare t o t he s peed o f " grab s ampling." A rchaeologists w ere t rained t o u se a g rid s ystem f or e xcavation. I t n aturally f ollowed t hat a g rid s ystem w as s een a s a ppropriate f or s urface s ampling. B inford, h owever, i n 1 964 e mphasized t he i mportance o f i ntensive s urface s ampling a s a p reliminary s tage t o e xcavation. M ore r ecently, s ampling t heory h as b een i ncorporated i nto m ost r esearch d esigns, b ut w ithout f ocus o n B inford's s uggestion o f t he d og-on-a-leash t echnique t o s peed t he s urface s ampling p rocess. T his t echnique was a ttempted a t l east o nce b efore i ts u se a t L a B efa. I n 1 967 R ichard O rlandini u sed i t a t S an J ose M agote i n t he V alley o f O axaca, M exico. 5 I n l ocating c ollection u nits, O rlandini c hose a reas where t he l east a gricultural d amage w ould r esult. T he c oordinates o f t he s ampling u nits w ere t hen d etermined. S ince t he c ollection u nits h ad n ot b een r andomly s elected, h owever, t hey m ight n ot h ave b een r epresentative o f t he p opulation b eing s ampled. O rlandini r ecognized t his p roblem a nd f elt t hat t he m ethodology w ould n ot h amper t he r epresentativeness o f t he s ample. I d o n ot a rgue t his p oint; h owever, t he m ethodology d id n ot p rovide a n a dequate t est o f t he t echnique. I t s till n eeded t o b e d etermined i f c ollection u nits c ould b e s elected r andomly a nd t hen l ocated i n t he f ield w ithout d ifficulty. I t was t o t hese q uestions t hat t he r esearch a t L a B efa w as a ddressed.

T HE S ITE O F L A B EFA T he R oman a nd p aleolithic s ite o f L a B efa i s l ocated 5 00 m eters s outhwest o f t he C ommune d elle B efa i n t he p rovince o f S iena, I taly. T he r emains o f what h as b een i nterpreted a s a R oman v illa s it a top a k noll 1 34 m eters a bove m ean s ea l evel a nd 1 1 m eters a bove t he O mbrone R iver w here i t j oins t he T orrente d i C revole 2 00 m eters t o t he s outh ( Appendix 2 , f ig. 1 ). A s a r esult o f t he j oining o f t he r ivers, t he f lood p lain i s v ery w ide h ere. T he F osso d elle C arcerelle, a s mall c reek, f lows a long t he w estern a nd n orthern p eripheries o f t he s ite. T he k noll i tself w as b isected i n t he l ate n ineteenth c entury b y t he l aying o f r ailroad t racks, which d estroyed t he c entral p art o f t he v illa. T he v alley i n which t he s ite i s s ituated c onsists o f g ently r olling h ills t o t he n orthwest a nd a long t he s outh s ide o f t he O mbrone.

5 2

M ETHOD A lthough t he c entral s take t echnique d id s ucceed i n s implifying t he f ieldwork p rocess b y e liminating t he n eed f or e stablishing a g rid, t he p rocedure f or d etermining w hich c ollection u nits w ould b e s ampled r equired s ome p reliminary w ork. T he h ours r equired t o d evelop t he s ampling d esign p rior t o f ieldwork p revent t he l ater l oss o f m ore t ime d ue t o i nefficient f ield t echniques. O ne p re-fieldwork d ecision a t L a B efa was t o d etermine t he s ize a nd t he a verage d ispersion o f t he c ollection u nits. G iven a l imited a mount o f w ork t ime, a b alance h ad t o b e r eached b etween t he s ize a nd t he d ispersion o f c ollection u nits. T he r esearch a t L a B efa r equired i nformation c oncerning w ithin' site v ariability, n amely, t he l ocation o f R oman s tructural r emains. T hese k inds o f s tructural r emains r equire t hat c ollection u nits b e l arge e nough f or t he v ariability b etween u nits t o b e a f unction o f t he s ubsurface a rtifact v ariation a nd n ot t he r esult o f s ampling e rror. A t t he s ame t ime, t he d ispersion o f c ollection u nits m ust b e m inimized s o t hat t he s patial v ariation i s n ot i ncorrectly r epresented b ecause o f i nadequate c overage. F or t his s ite t he b est s ize f or c ollection u nits s eemed t o b e i n t he r ange o f t wo t o t hree m eters i n d iameter. C ollection u nits o f t hree m eters i n d iameter w ere c hosen b ecause t hey c ould t hen c orrespond t o t he t hree-meter-square g rid s ystem u sed f or t he e xcavations a t t he s ite. A s tratified r andom s ample d esign w as u sed f or t he s tudy. F or t his t he s ite was d ivided i nto u nits f ifteen m eters s quare. F rom e ach o f t hese u nits o ne c ollection u nit o f t hree m eters i n d iameter w as s elected. A s tratified r andom s ample w as c hosen f or t wo r easons. T he a ctual p eriphery o f t he s ite h ad y et t o b e d etermined w hen t he r esearch was b eing d esigned. A s tratified s ampling d esign a llowed g reater f lexibility s ince s tratified u nits c ontaini ng t he s ampling u nits c ould b e a dded o r d eleted w hen t he p eriphery was d etermined w ithout a ffecting t he s ampling o f o ther a reas o f t he s ite. T his a pproach a lso e nsured f airly u niform d istribution o f c ollection u nits, y ielding n o u nsampled a rea l arger t han t wenty-six m eters i n d iameter. T he 1 5-meter-square u nits w ere g rouped i nto l ocational u nits m easuring 7 5 m eters s quare. T hese l ocational u nits a re n ot a n e lement o f t he s ampling p rocedure. T he l ocational u nits s erved t o m inimize t he d istance b etween t he t ransit s tation, l ocated i n t he c enter o f t he u nit, a nd t he c ollection u nits ( Appendix 2 , f ig. 2 ). V arious a gricultural a nd p hysical c haracteristics o f t he s ite r esulted i n t he d eletion o f m any c ollection u nits a nd i n t he h alving o f t wo l ocational u nits. T he s ampling o f c ollection u nits was p erformed b y u sing r ectangular g rid c oordinates f or e ach o f t he s tratified u nits. A fter

5 3

t wenty-five u nits w ere r andomly s elected a nd p ositioned o n p aper u sing a r ectangular g rid s ystem, t he p olar c oordinates w ere c alculated f or e ach u nit. T he f ield p rocedure w as q uite s imple. T he t ransit w as f irst p ositioned a t t he c enter o f a l ocational u nit. T he b earing f or e ach c ollection u nit w as f ound o n t he t ransit. A long t hat b earing a nd w ithin a s hort d istance o f t he t ransit, a s take w as l ocated. T wo w orkers t hen s taked a d istance o f 2 0 m eters ( the l ength o f t he t ape m easure) a long t hat b earing u sing t he f irst s take a s a g uide. ( This was u nnecessary w here t he c ollection u nit w as w ithin 2 0 m eters o f t he t ransit, f or t hen t he e xact p osition c ould b e i mmediately l ocated a nd s taked.) T he t wo w orkers t hen m oved o ut a long t hat b earing u ntil t he b ackperson w as a t t he 2 0-meter s take a nd t he f rontperson was a t t he a dditional r equired d istance t o t he c ollection u nit. T he c ollection u nits w ere u sually w ithin 4 0 m eters o f t he t ransit; w hen t hey w ere n ot, t his l ast s tep w as r epeated. T he f rontperson, s ighting a long t he l ine b ack t o t he t ransit, s taked t he p osition w hich w as t he p roper d istance f rom t he t ransit. T he b ackperson r eturned t o t he t ransit a nd c hecked t he b earing o f t he s take. I f n ecessary, m inor c orrections w ere t hen m ade. D uring t he s ampling p rocedure, s tadia r od r eadings w ere t aken t o d evelop a c ontour m ap o f t he a rea. U nits w ere c ollected b y l ooping o ne e nd o f a 1 .50 m . l ength o f r ope a round t he s take; t he o ther e nd w as h eld b y t he c ollector. A k not t ied a t t his e nd a ccurately m arked t he p roper d istance f rom t he s take a nd p revented f raying o f t he r ope. T wo i ndividuals, w orking o ne u nit a t a t ime, c ollected a rtifacts w hile a lso c ontrolling f or v ariation a mong t he c ollectors. A t L a B efa t his w as c onsidered n ecessary b ecause t he e ntire s urface o f t he s ite w as l ittered w ith r ed j asper, t he s ame m aterial f rom which t he p aleolithic a rtifacts w ere m ade.

R ESULTS T he s ampling d esign p roduced e xcellent i ndications o f v ariability i n t he s urface i ntensity o f t he R oman m aterial a nd d efined f our a reas o f h igh a rtifact c oncentration. 6 A f ifth a rea, a t t he f ar n orthern e nd o f t he s ite, c ontained a h ighly v isible c oncentration e stimated a t 4 ,000 g rams p er s quare m eter. T est p its o f o ne m eter s quare w ere p laced a round t hree o f t hese h igh-concentration a reas ( Appendix 2 , f ig. 3 ). 7 S tructural r emains w ere f ound i n t wo o f t he h igh-density a reas i n t he n orthern e nd o f t he s ite. T he t hird t est e xcavation u nit, i n t he s outheastern p ortion o f t he s ite, f ound h igh q uantities o f m aterial b ut n o s tructural r emains. A f ourth e xcavation u nit, i n t he e ast-central a rea, where t here w ere a lmost n o s urface i ndications o f

5 4

R oman m aterial, a lso c ontained l ittle m aterial a nd n o f eatures. T he s quare w as l ocated a cross a f arm r oad f rom a n e xcavated f eature, p ossibly t he b ase o f a b astion, made e ntirely o f u ncut c obbles. P aleolithic r emains w ere f ound t hroughout t he s ite, w ith h ighest c oncentrations o n t he k noll w here t he v illa i s l ocated a nd i n t he e astc entral a rea o f t he s ite. 8 W hile r esearch o bjectives w ere s uccessfully r eached, t he t esting o f t he m ethod w as o f e qual i nterest. T imee stimates f or t he c entral s take s urface c ollecting p rocedure p rove i t t o b e r emarkably f aster t han t he g rid s ystem t echnique. L ocating a nd c ollecting t wenty-five u nits t ook a n a verage o f 4 .5 h ours f or t wo i ndividuals, i ncluding l ocating t he c entral p osition f or t he t ransit. A t eam o f t hree p rovides l ittle a dvantage o ver a t eam o f t wo. O nly i n o ne a rea o f t he s ite, where a f ield w as l ying f allow a nd w as c overed b y h eavy w eeds, was a t hird w orker u seful, t hat i s, i n c learing t he c ollection u nit a fter i t w as s taked.

C ONCLUSIONS T he s ite o f L a B efa h as p rovided a dequate t esting o f t he c entral s take s urface c ollection t echnique t o d emonstrate i ts v alue a s a r esearch t ool. T he m ethod e ffectively p erforms t he s ame t asks a s t he r ectangular g rid t echnique, y et i n m uch l ess t ime a nd w ith f ewer l aborers. T his r esearch h as s hown i ts a pplicability t o l arge-site s urface c ollecting w hile i mplying i ts g reater v alue i n r egional s tudies. A rchaeologists p ressed f or t ime a nd k nowing l abor c onstraints, c an r arely d o t he k ind o f s ystematic s ampling r equired f or a dequate c omparisons o f s ites i n r egional s tudies. I n t his r egard t he c entral s take t echnique m ay a llow f or m uch m ore s ystematic i ntersite c omparisons i n r egional s tudies. R equiring l ess t ime t han c onventional i ntensive s ystematic s urface c ollecting a nd r equiring o nly t wo i ndividuals t o p erform i t s uccessfully, t his t echnique s hould b e c onsidered a v aluable a lternative t o t he g rid s ystem s ampling p rocedure.

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