Categoria: Alberese
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Rediscovering Spolverino: A Late Roman Manufacturing Hub in the Maremma
Between 2010 and 2014, the Alberese Archaeological Project carried out excavations at Spolverino, the second of three sites investigated within the Parco della Maremma, alongside the sanctuary of Diana Umbronensis at Scoglietto and the riverside settlement of Umbro Flumen. The site presented significant logistical difficulties. Located near the last bend…
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Rediscovering the Sanctuary of Diana Umbronensis at Alberese
The sanctuary of Diana Umbronensis, in the Maremma near Alberese, is one of the most evocative places where archaeology and memory meet. The excavations started in 2009 and continued until 2011, involving more than eighty students in three campaigns. Together, they brought back to light a sacred space that was…
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Unveiling a Unique Roman Bone Workshop at Spolverino
The Roman site of Spolverino, excavated as part of the Alberese Archaeological Project and now integrated into the IMPERO Project, has yielded a discovery unparalleled in its genre: a bone workshop providing a complete snapshot of ancient production techniques. This remarkable find sheds light on the intricate craftsmanship of late…
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A Lamp for Diana Umbronensis
The sanctuary of Diana Umbronensis at Scoglietto, an ancient cult site dedicated to the Roman goddess, has yielded important finds that enrich our understanding of the ceremonial practices here between the Hellenistic period and Late Antiquity. Among the artifacts recovered is a Roman oil lamp, categorized as a Bailey O(iv),…
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Collective Dining and Cooking in a Manufacturing District
Between 2011 and 2014, my colleagues Elena Chirico, Matteo Colombini, and I conducted excavations at Spolverino (Alberese, GR), uncovering evidence of what was once a bustling manufacturing district. In 2012, we made a fascinating discovery: collective kitchens dating from the late 2nd century CE and in use until the mid-5th…
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New Scholarship
A new piece of scholarship is available on the riverine port at Spolverino, a Roman manufacturing district and related harbor for the city of Rusellae. If interested, just click here!
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A Tiny Statue
In 2010, while excavating the Sanctuary of Diana Umbronensis, we discovered that the temple was not the only significant find on Scoglietto Hill in Alberese. Expanding the excavation area revealed another cult structure within a month, accompanied by an array of votive objects. As we delved deeper, a small statue…
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Diana Umbronensis
By 2015, nearly a decade ago, the comprehensive volume summarizing the excavations at the Sanctuary of Diana Umbronensis in Scoglietto was published. Three years of intensive research had yielded a substantial body of data, significantly revising the historical narrative of the coastal area of the ager Rusellanus. At the time,…
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Bricks, stamps, and walls
A recent paper in the Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology (JMA), co-authored by myself and my colleagues Veronica Testolini and Elena Chirico, addresses a challenging issue concerning brick production in the Imperial period. For the first time, to my knowledge, we chose not to rely solely on stamps to understand trade…
Alessandro Sebastiani 