C.1.The “Horace’s Villa” Project, 1997-2003: Organization,
Strategy, and Objectives
By Bernard Frischer, Stefano Camaiani, Monica De Simone
The new research project at “Horace’s Villa”
took place between 1997 and 2003 thanks to the
fruitful collaboration between the Soprintendenza
Archeologica del Lazio, the American Academy
in Rome, the University of California Los Angeles
(UCLA), and the Comune of Licenza. The goals of
the project are discussed elsewhere in this volume
(see Frischer, A).
of Licenza co-sponsored the new site presentation
scheme that was implemented in 2001. The Creative
Kids Education Foundation of Los Angeles donated
funds to create a Web site and a documentary about
the project.
Institutional sponsors included the Archaeological
Superintendency for Lazio (1997-2003); the American
Academy in Rome (1997-2003); the University of
California, Los Angeles (2000-2003); University of
California Research Expeditions Program (1999);
and the Institute for Advanced Technology in the
Humanities at the University of Virginia (20042006).
C.1.1. Organization
The Scientific Committee overseeing the project
was composed of Dr. Anna Maria Reggiani (SAL),
Dr. Maria Grazia Fiore (SAL), and Prof. Bernard
Frischer (UCLA). The principal investigator of the
project was Prof. Bernard Frischer, who conceived the
project, found institutional sponsorship and financial
support, set the research agenda, recruited the staff
and volunteers, and administered the project both
during the fieldwork and study phases. Co-principal
investigator was Prof. Kathryn Gleason, who was
responsible for the excavation of the garden. Field
directors were Dr. Gianni Ponti (1997-1999) and Dr.
Monica De Simone (2000-2001).
C.1.3. Staff and volunteers
An international team of archaeologists was
responsible for the various excavations, coordination
of the graphic and photographic documentation,
running of the laboratory, management of the data
processing workshop, and analysis of the finds. Over
.�����������������������������������������������������
A full list of collaborators, in alphabetical order,
follows: Dean Abernathy (architecture); Claudia
Angelleli (ceramics, floor and wall marbles, site
presentation); Patil Armenian (photography);
Christer Bruun (water pipes); Theodore Buttrey
(coins); Stefano Camaiani (trench supervision;
information management); Maureen Carroll
(territorial survey); Laura Cerri (trench supervision);
Michael Charles (territorial survey); Peter Chowne
(prospection); Linda Clougherty (registration
of finds); Monica Cola (survey and mapping);
Francesca Colosi (GPS survey and mapping); Jane
Crawford (editing of reports, registration of finds);
Luisa Del Giudice (folklore); Monica De Simone
(conservation, field direction, wall analysis,
trench supervision, site presentation, editing of
reports); Giorgio Filippi (analysis of rooftiles and
bricks); John Foss (geology and soils); Roberto
Gabrielli (GPS survey and mapping); Martin
Goalen (site presentation); Maximillian Goriany
(mortar analysis, trench supervision); Ali Ait Kaci
(trench supervision); Steven Lattimore (analysis
of sculpture); Elizabeth Macaulay (garden finds);
Valerie Magarian (illustration); Zacaria Mari
(trench supervision, photography); Archer Martin
(metal objects); William McCann (geomagnetic
prospection); Colin Merrony (territorial survey);
C.1.2. Sponsors
The project was originally to be sponsored from 1997
to its expected completion date in 2000 by the Vincenzo
Romagnoli Group (Milan and Rome, Italy). With the
death on November 4, 1999 of Vincenzo Romagnoli,
the owner of the company, this sponsorship had to be
terminated early. In February and March of 2000, the
Steinmetz Family of Los Angeles and the Samuel H.
Kress Foundation agreed to replace the Romagnoli
Group as the project’s prime sponsors. In 19971998, Alitalia kindly provided transportation for
senior staff from Los Angeles to Rome. The Comune
.
Bernard Frischer wrote sections C.1.1-C.1.4, C.1.6,
and C.1.8; Stefano Camaiani gave input to section
C.1.5, to which Bernard Frischer also contributed
and which he finalized; Monica De Simone wrote
section C.1.7. Gianni Ponti was invited to contribute
to this chapter, but, unfortunately, the report had to
go to press before the input we requested had been
received.
53
Bernard Frischer, Stefano Camaiani, Monica De Simone
seventy volunteers from twelve countries came to
the site from 1997 to 2001; without their generosity,
effort, and talent, the project would not have been
possible (figs. 1-2).
Special thanks should be given to the following
scholars, who visited the site and made gave advice
helpful in interpretation of the finds: Susan Downey,
Elisabeth Fentress, Cairoli Fulvio Giuliani, Daniele
Manacorda, Giuseppe Pucci, Peter Rockwell, and
Russell Scott.
Stephen Mols (wall paintings); Silvia Nerucci (trench
supervision); Antonio Ortolan (photography);
Luca Passalacqua (trench supervision; information
management); Gianni Ponti (field direction);
Diana Raiano (trench supervision, photographic
documentation); Jennifer Ramsay (palaeobotany);
Tonino Roberti (trench supervision); Vasily Rudich
(historical analysis); James Schryver (trench
supervision); Simonetta Serra (ceramic analysis);
Philip Stinson (architectural analysis); Maria
José Strazzula (architectural terracottas); Sandro
Veronese (geoelectric prospection); Kent Volkmer
(photography); Klaus Werner (analysis of mosaics,
archival research); Murat Yasar (conservation).
The Israeli firm of PRS Mediterranean designed
the green retaining wall that was an important
element of our site conservation plan; the wall was
constructed by the Italian firm, ICIET.
.
We are happy to thank the following volunteers:
1997: Max Brown, Jeffrey Burden, George Fort.
1998: George Fort, Lev Libeskind, Kyle and
Yvonne Mathews, Lauri Reitzhammer, Robinson
Reynolds, Harold Rodriguez, Celia E. Shultz, Scott
Sword, Catherine Ward.
1999: Laura Ackley, Jeff Begeal, Roxana Broderson,
Eileen Connors, Jennifer Cruz, George Fort, Owen
Giddings, Peter Hedlund, William Hranchak, James
Hunter, Chris Johanson, Brett Juskalian, Adam
Kaufman, Brian Loomis, Gioacchino Malfatti
di Montetretto, Charles Marut, Amparo Melero,
Gretchen Muller, Steve Nordyke, Mary Pearsall,
Cory Putman, Deni Ruggeri, Masha Rybakova,
Phyllis Schmitt, Ernest Shahbazian, Ruth Anne
Spike, Steven Totheroh, Carmen Valenciano,
Rebecca Wheeler, Joshua Wong.
2000: Pamela Brown, Dan Costura, Michael
Dellis, Alexa Benjamin Fland, Laura Gawlinski,
Josh Goldman, William C. Gruen, Andrew
Hohns, Brian Jencek, Margaretha Kramer-Hajos,
Sarah Kuppenberg, Aicha Malek, Alexandra D.
Minkovich, Millicent Moran, Betsey Robinson,
Paula Rosenberg, Beth Ryan, Outi Salminen, Joseph
Teel, Maki Uchida, Alisia Vilonen, Kimberly M.
Wilczak
The professional
responsibilities:
staff
had
the
following
1997 (3-week season)
Architectural Analysis: J. Burden
Ceramic Analysis: S. Serra
Excavation: S. Nerucci, S. Camaiani, Z. Mari
(Areas 50, 51); L. Cerri, A. A. Kaci (rooms 3740); L. Passalacqua (Area 54)
Information Management: L. Passalacqua, S.
Camaiani
Photographic Documentation: Z. Mari
Prospection (resistivity and magnetometry): S.
Veronese
Registration: L. Clougherty
Web site authoring: B. Frischer, M. Brown
1998 (6-week season)
Ceramic Analysis: S. Serra
Conservation: Murat Yasar
Excavation: S. Camaiani, A. A. Kaci (rooms 3740); L. Cerri (Areas 24, 50); S. Nerucci, M. De
Simone (Area 23); K. Gleason (Area 24); L.
Passalacqua (Areas 25, 55)
Information Management: L. Passalacqua, S.
Camaiani
Photographic Documentation: S. Camaiani, L.
Cerri, S. Nerucci, M. De Simone, K. Gleason,
L. Passalacqua
Registration: L. Clougherty, J. Crawford
Soil and Geological Analysis: J. Foss
Territorial Survey: M. Carroll, C. Merrony, M.
Charles
Tree Inventory and Evaluation: I. Lekstutis
Web site authoring: B. Frischer
Steinmetz, Laura Steinmetz, Ann Tonkin, Tony
Tonkin.
2001: Jennifer Carey, Kelly Hall, Lauren Ianiro,
Eleanor Murphy, Robinson Reynolds, Charlie
54
2002: David Carlisle, John Gilbert, Katia Schörle.
C.1. The “Horace’s Villa” Project, 1997-2003: Organization, Strategy, and
Objectives
1999 (10-week season)
Architectural Analysis: D. Abernathy, P. Stinson
Ceramic Analysis: C. Angelelli
Conservation: M. Yasar
Excavation: K. Gleason (Areas 24, 25) ; S.
Camaiani, L. Cerri, L. Passalacqua (Areas
35, 37-40, 50) ; M. De Simone (Area 23) ; L.
Passalacqua (Area 55) Information Management: L. Passalacqua, S.
Camaiani
Marble Analysis: C. Angelelli
Mosaic Analysis: K. Werner
Numismatic Analysis: T. Buttrey
Photographic Documentation: P. Armenian, S.
Camiani, L. Cerri, M. De Simone, K. Gleason,
S. Nerucci, L. Passalacqua, K. Volkmer
Registration: L. Clougherty, J. Crawford
Site Presentation Studies: M. Goalen, D.
Fortenberry
Soil and Geological Analysis: J. Foss
Wall Census: M. De Simone
Wall Painting Analysis: S. Mols
Water Pipe Analysis: C. Bruun
Web site authoring: B. Frischer
Photographic Documentation: M. De Simone, A.
Ortolan
Registration: J. Crawford
Sculptural Studies: S. Lattimore
Site Presentation Studies: M. Goalen, D.
Fortenberry
Soil and Geological Analysis: J. Foss
Stamps on Bricks and Rooftiles: G. Filippi
Wall Census: M. De Simone
Web site authoring: B. Frischer
2001 (3-week season)
Archival Research: K. Werner
Ceramic Analysis: C. Angelelli
Conservation: M. De Simone
Excavation: M. De Simone (Area 12)
Folklore Studies: L. Del Giudice
Historical Consulting: V. Rudich
Information Management: S. Camaiani (data
processing workshop)
Metallic Object Analysis: A. Martin
Registration: J. Crawford
Site Presentation Plan and Implementation: M.
De Simone, C. Angelelli
Soil and Geological Analysis: J. Foss
Stamps on Bricks and Roof-tiles: G. Filippi
Wall Census: M. De Simone
Web site authoring: B. Frischer
2000 (3-week season)
Architectural Analysis: D. Abernathy, P. Stinson
Architectural Terracotta Studies: M. J. Strazzulla
Archival Research: K. Werner
Ceramic Analysis: C. Angelelli
Conservation: H. Leshem (PRS-Mediterranean)
Excavation: K. Gleason (Area 24), J. Schryver
(Area 25), M. De Simone (Area 50)
Folklore Studies: L. Del Giudice
Geomagnetic Prospection: P. Chowne, W. McCann
(Genius Loci)
GPS Mapping: F. Colosi, R. Gabrieli
Historical Consulting: V. Rudich
Information Management: S. Camaiani
Marble Analysis: C. Angelelli
Metallic Object Analysis: A. Martin
Mosaic Analysis: K. Werner
Numismatic Analysis: T. Buttrey
Palaeobotanical Studies: J. Ramsay
2002-2003 (Study seasons totaling 24 weeks)
Editor-in-chief: B. Frischer
Editorial Board: J. Crawford, M. De Simone
C.1.4. Research issues, methods and strategy
From the first, this project was conceived as an
interdisciplinary research project with many facets.
The prime focus was, of course, on archaeological
investigation, in which the method of stratigraphic
excavation, increasingly common in Italy and
elsewhere, was to be used on the site for the first
.������������������������������������������������
On the diffusion of the stratigraphic method in
Italy after the exposure of Italian archaeologists
to it during the UNESCO-sponsored excavations
of Carthage, see A. Carandini, Storie dalla terra.
55
Bernard Frischer, Stefano Camaiani, Monica De Simone
time. In applying the method, we wished to give pride
of place to no particular period (as had been done
earlier, with the privileging of the late Republican
and mid-imperial phases) but to pay equal attention
to all remains coming to light from virgin soil to
surface humus. An important second focus was on the
previous interventions and excavations, particularly
those of Pasqui (1911-14) and Lugli-Price (1930-31),
to see if more information could be collected than is
available from published sources. We also wished to
integrate the new finds of 1997-2001 with the older
discoveries, and we wanted to subject the finds, old
and new, to the first expert analysis ever performed
on material from the site. We were interested in a
number of questions that inevitably arise for a site
such as this: the history of its ownership (including,
of course, the matter of Horace’s connection to the
property); the history of its occupation, abandonment
and reuse through the centuries; and the degree to
which features of this particular site reflect broader
regional trends in the Anio valley and the Roman
hinterland generally. Finally, we wished to determine
the extent to which new discoveries could still be
made on the site. We hoped to lay the foundation for
new fieldwork by other excavators in the future, and
to provide raw materials for further analytical studies
(for example, about the design, decoration, and use of
the villa in the various phases of its existence), which
might be more readily undertaken by other scholars
after all the disparate materials of earlier excavations
and our own were organized, synthesized, and
presented in a coherent and manageable fashion.
In the course of 25 weeks spread out over the five
seasons, an overall surface area of almost 600 square
meters was studied with the help of teams composed
of 10-15 people, generally a mix of professional
archaeologists and volunteers with little or no
previous field experience (fig. 3). Considering both
the scientific and didactic aspects of the excavation,
the ratio of time devoted to excavation and the area
studied is extremely favorable, taking into account
not only the stratigraphic complexity of a site
characterized by a long succession of settlements,
but also the thickness of the deposits, which varied
between 40-50 centimeters and 1.5-2 meters.
While excavations were underway, the process of
documenting, analyzing, and restoring the finds
through laboratory work was carried out (fig. 4). An
information management system capable of handling
all the excavation data was created, and this greatly
facilitated the cataloguing of the considerable quantity
of data accumulated in the course of the fieldwork.
Manuale di scavo archeologico (Torino 1991,
1996).
The first season lasted only three weeks and had the
goals of orienting the team to the site, testing the
hypothesis that good ancient stratigraphy was still
to be found there, and providing the kind of graphic
documentation that would be useful as the project
continued. The Superintendency’s state plan of
1993 was scrutinized and determined to have some
significant flaws (see Colosi et al., E.5). A new zero
point was established, and a survey was made, based
on the use of a laser theodolite, preparatory to the
creation of a new, more accurate state plan. Close
study of the site revealed that the most promising
area for undisturbed ancient stratigraphy lay on the
western side of the site in the area of the baths (Areas
35, 37-40, 50). The hillside abutting this area was
cleaned and studied. Excavation was concentrated
in an area we denominated Sector I (=Areas 37, 50;
for Sectors see fig. 5; for Sector I, see also figs. 67). Here there had already been some excavation and
restoration carried out in the early 1980s, which had,
however, left out an area approximately rectangular
in shape (see Frischer, B.4.7).
.���������������������������������������������
On the method as practiced in Italy, see the
overview of A. Guidi, I metodi della ricerca
archeologica (Rome and Bari 1999) 41-50. For a
current handbook on the method in English, see
S. Roskams, Excavation. Cambridge Manuals in
Archaeology (Cambridge 2001).
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One of the goals of the Horace’s Villa Project was
to offer training to such inexperienced volunteers.
C.1.5. Archaeological strategy
The original plan was to excavate for three seasons
(1997-1999) and to study the results in two seasons
(2000-2001). In the event, the need and opportunity
arose for two additional short seasons of fieldwork in
2000-2001, and so the study seasons were postponed
until 2002-2003.
56
C.1. The “Horace’s Villa” Project, 1997-2003: Organization, Strategy, and
Objectives
The objective of this trial excavation was to
understand not only the nature and purpose of the
rooms along the western limit of the baths, but to
add to our knowledge of the whole bath complex.
We hoped to understand the relationship between
these rooms, where previous work had resulted only
in surface cleaning, and those already excavated in
previous interventions (32, 33, 34, 36, 41, 42, 43, 45,
46, etc.). Because the area had been only superficially
altered by the previous interventions, it promised
to present intact stratigraphy that could be used to
establish the transformations that had occurred here
and perhaps elsewhere during the various phases of
the villa’s existence.
pool in the garden of the villa. The goals were to
describe the stratigraphy, which turned out to be still
intact, and at the same time to determine the type of
the flooring and wall covering of the structure.
Prof. Kathryn Gleason of Cornell University directed
second trial excavation inside the garden (Sector
VII=Area 24, fig. 9). The Cornell team excavated
close to the access staircase between the residential
area and the garden itself, in order to determine the
ancient levels and their dating, to see if there were
any remains of the garden that could still be found,
and, if so, to better understand the garden itself.
Prof. John Foss of the University of Tennesee, a
soil engineer, worked closely with the Cornell team.
Foss’s involvement was aimed at clarifying nature
of the geology and soils of the villa and surrounding
territory. He also pursued a specific study of the
leaching of lead from the water pipes on the site,
something he had earlier done at Hadrian’s Villa.
Foss’s main technique was boring with a bucket-type
auger to determine the stratigraphy; then various
laboratory methods were used to measure the amount
of lead in the soil in and around water pipes and in
randomly chosen other locations (see Foss et al.,
E.1.2.2 for details). Foss did fieldwork on the site in
1998, 1999, and 2000.
In addition to this trial excavation, another excavation
was undertaken next to the south wall of the villa
in Area 54, which corresponds to the short side of
the quadriporticus. Our goal was to understand the
break in the enclosing wall of the villa and to verify
the standard interpretation of this area as the main
entrance to the villa.
Geomagnetic and geoelectric prospection (fig. 8) was
undertaken on the grounds of the archaeological park
and just beyond in order to find evidence of structures
beneath the surface that might be investigated in the
next two seasons. Promising results were found in
various places, but, in the event, for practical reasons
only those on the grounds of the archaeological park
could be examined. Nevertheless, we note here the
desirability of undertaking new excavations just
across the street from the park (land parcels 109 and
111 in the most recent cadaster) and on the terrace
above the site (land parcels 152, 153, 179, 180, 693,
and 694 in the most recent cadaster).
Another trial excavation (Sector IV=Area 23, fig.
10) was opened on the inside of the western branch
of the quadriporticus, in front of the access staircase
to the residence. The purpose was to establish the
relationship between the outside and the inside of the
portico and to identify a probable floor level relating
to the earliest phase.
The fifth excavation area (Sector VIII=Area 55, fig. 11)
was opened about halfway along the eastern branch
of the quadriporticus. The goals were to establish the
purpose of several structures that encroached upon
the east corridor of the quadriporticus, to verify the
consistency and the nature of the stratigraphy in this
area, and to study a fragment of a circular structure
positioned in the middle of the quadriporticus and
located on the line of the main axis of the pool (25).
The date and function of the latter had been much
debated, and we hoped to shed further light on this
matter.
In 1998, a second archaeological study was organized
with a larger team and more time at our disposal.
Sector I was enlarged to include two additional
rooms (38 and 40), which had been excavated in the
past by the Superintendency, but not to virgin soil.
These previous excavations had not been published
and, given their incomplete nature, did not permit any
conclusions to be drawn about the date or function of
this part of the villa.
A new excavation sector (Sector V=Area 25) was
opened in the north-west corner of the big rectangular
57
Bernard Frischer, Stefano Camaiani, Monica De Simone
The last trial excavation (Sector IX), to the east of
the residential area of the villa, was carried out to
verify some anomalies observed in the course of the
previous year’s electrical and magnetic prospecting,
but it produced no results worthy of note.
Finally, in 1999 (and in some cases, in subsequent
years) a number of experts visited the site, local
museum, and storehouse of the Archaeological
Superitendency at Tivoli in order to autopsy the
material they had agreed to publish. The classes of
material studied included architectonic elements,
architectural terracottas, bricks and rooftiles, ceramic
pottery, coins, inscriptions, marble flooring and wall
revetment, mosaics, sculpture, wall paintings, and
water pipes.
The 1999 season saw the most archaeological activity.
The excavations were completed in Sector I, with
work extending into the new Areas 35 and 39. The
goals were to understand the original dimensions and
function of Areas 38-39-40, to study their connection
to Area 35, and to shed light on the nature and phases
of Area 35. At the end of the season, these areas were
backfilled, with the exception of Area 39, where the
newly found remains were conserved and left exposed
for public viewing. A small stratigraphic excavation
was undertaken at the southern limit of Area 23 in
the western corridor of the quadriporticus. The
purpose was to pursue the previous year’s studies in
this area with respect to phasing, occupation levels,
and building techniques as well as to examine the
masonry stratigraphy of this part of the residential
complex. The area just to the north of the residence
was cleaned, with the goal of determining whether
the villa structures continued beyond the point
where Pasqui’s excavations had stopped. Finally,
several studies were pursued in the garden, including
Areas 24 and 25. In Area 25 the southern face of the
southeast pier was excavated in an attempt to find
dating elements for the pool and to better understand
the stratigraphy in this part of the garden. Meanwhile,
work continued in Area 24.
In 2000 and 2001 (originally planned as study
seasons) modest additional archaeological studies
were undertaken to finish some work in progress and
to fill in some gaps in the new picture of the villa that
was gradually emerging. In March, 2000 the work in
Area 24 was brought to a conclusion and the trench
was backfilled. In June 2000, the area just to the west
of 37 and 50, which had been cleaned in 1997 and
protected from slides and erosion by a temporary
wooden wall (fig. 12), was landscaped and secured
with a permanent green wall (figs. 13-14) by the
Israeli firm, PRS Mediterranean. In the preparatory
work carried out in June, 2000, the opportunity of
further cleaning in this area was utilized to record the
ancient remains, which turned out to add important
new information about the hydraulic system supplying
the baths.
In July 2001, a three-week excavation was
undertaken in Area 12. Archival research had turned
up some previously unknown drawings of plans
showing hitherto unrecorded features from the time
of Pasqui’s excavations in Areas 6, 11, and 12. If
accurate, the plans would provide important, yet
previously unknown, evidence of several structures
in the area of the residence that Pasqui had found
and reburied, but never mentioned in his reports or
interviews. Ideally, all three areas would have been
excavated to test the reliability of the documents and
to record, date, and interpret any features found, but
a variety of practical considerations made it possible
to do only a limited test excavation in one area. The
modern surface of Area 11 has a significant fragment
of an ancient mosaic, and work in this area might
have put the mosaic at risk. The ancient structure
drawn in Area 6 was smaller than that in Area 12; and
Area 12 (and the adjacent Area 11) were documented
with a section as well as a plan, so that it provided an
In 1999, the wall census project was initiated to
create a detailed and accurate catalogue of all the
walls on the site. This was advisable because the
heavy restorations made by Pasqui had, in the
intervening 80 years, weathered or been degraded
in other ways, making it difficult in many places
to distinguish ancient from modern material and
thereby complicating the interpretation of the site. In
connection with this project, an extensive collection
of mortars was made.
.���������������������������������������������������
In the backfill here, as elsewhere on the site, we
scattered many coins minted in the late 1990s to
help future investigators to distinguish our fill from
other stratigraphic units.
58
C.1. The “Horace’s Villa” Project, 1997-2003: Organization, Strategy, and
Objectives
opportunity to test the validity of the documentation
in two dimensions. For these reasons, the test
excavation took place in Area 12.
Capitolino, but have gone missing.10 They might have
10.���������������������������������������������������
By an act of the City Council of Rome, the gift of
Lugli’s professional correspondence was accepted
and the order given for them to be deposited in the
Biblioteca Sarti of the Accademia Nazionale di San
Luca, of which Lugli was a devoted member. The
text of the act follows:
C.1.6. Resources utilized in archival research
As mentioned, a second goal of the project was to
collect information about the history of the site
from antiquity to the present day, with a special
emphasis on previous archaeological interventions
and excavations.
Archaeological materials from the twentieth century
excavations were found on the site, in the Licenza
Museum, formerly the Antiquarium (including
its small storage room), and at the storehouse of
the Archaeological Superintendency of Lazio at
Ercole Vincitore. The major gap in the collection
of archaeological finds comes from the theft in the
Licenza Antiquarium in 1978 (see Frischer, B.4.7). For
the objects stolen, we attempted to use photographs
in the Archaeological Superintendency that were
taken before the theft, and, except for the coins, they
provided an acceptable makeshift. Unfortunately, the
coins were photographed many decades ago at small
scale and so could not be interpreted at all from the
images (see Buttrey, D.11).
For published sources on the site, good bibliographical
information existed, starting with Lugli’s bibliography
but also including the unpublished comprehensive
bibliography of Prof. Charles Henderson, which
contains materials printed through 1993 and which
the author kindly put at our disposal.
For unpublished, archival materials (including
photographs as well as documents), there was no
previous research to rely on, and, as with any archival
research, the search required persistence and luck.
The biggest gap in the archival record is the working
papers of Angelo Pasqui, which are still missing, as
Lugli noted with regret in 1926. Another gap are the
professional papers of Lugli himself; upon his death,
these were donated by his family to the Archivio
.
Lugli 1926, cols. 593-598.
.
Lugli 1926, col. 461.
59
“1531a Proposta (Delib. Della G.M. n. 3229 del 75-1969)
Ratifica di deliberazione presa dalla Giunta
Municipale ad urgenza relativa a: Accettazione
offerta di donazione del Prof. Arch. Pier Maria
Lugli a favore del Comune di Roma.
Premesso che il prof. Arch. Pier Maria Lugli con
lettera pervenuta il 28 marzo 1968 (prot. Rip.ne X
5048) ha offerto al Comune in adempimento del
desiderio espresso dal suo compianto genitore,
prof. Giuseppe Lugli, illustre cultore di studi di
topografia romana, deceduto nello scorso anno,
di donare al medesimo la parte più notevole della
biblioteca paterna e dell’annesso archivio perché,
con la denominazione ‘Fondo Lugli’, sia sistemata
nella biblioteca ‘Sarti’, di proprietà comunale,
presso la Accademia Nazionale di S. Luca e ivi
aperta al pubblico;
Che la biblioteca e archivio predetti comprendono:
a) una importante miscellanea di opuscoli di
topografia romana;
b) libri e pubblicazioni varie sullo stesso
argomento;
c) un complesso di schede manoscritte disposte
per materia;
d) il manoscritto inedito del quarto volume
dell’opera ‘Monumenti antichi di Roma e
Suburbio’;
e) la corrispondenza privata del prof. Giuseppe
Lugli relativa agli argomenti suddetti, da archiviare,
previa selezione;
Che il materiale di cui sopra dovrebbe costituire
presso la Biblioteca Sarti una sezione romana
destinata a facilitare gli studi e le ricerche nel campo
della archeologia e della topografia romana;
Che le condizioni apposte alla offerta di donazione
per il conseguimento delle finalità culturali sopra
citate vincolano l’Amministrazione:
Bernard Frischer, Stefano Camaiani, Monica De Simone
shed a great deal of light on a number of matters,
1) a sistemare decorosamente il ‘Fondo Lugli,’
d’intesa con la Accademia Nazionale di S. Luca;
2) a compilarne uno schedario in duplice copia;
3) a completare la classificazione delle schede
manoscritte di cui alla precedente lettera ‘C’ nel
termine di due anni dalla accettazione dell’atto di
donazione;
4) a consegnare tutto il materiale di cui sopra
all’Istituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia
dell’Arte nel caso che la Biblioteca ‘Sarti’ cessasse
la sua attività o fosse trasferita fuori Roma.
Ravvisata l’opportunità di accettare l’offerta di
donazione di che trattasi;
La Giunta Municipale
Assumendo, per l’urgenza di provvedere, i poteri
del Consiglio Comunale, ai sensi dell’articolo 140
della Legge Comunale e Provinciale, Testo Unico
4 febbraio 1915, numero 148, delibera, salve le
autorizzazioni di legge, di accettare l’offerta di
donazione del Prof. Arch. Pier Maria Lugli di cui in
narrativa, vincolata alle condizioni sopra riportate,
esprimendo i sentimenti di gratitudine della Civica
Amministrazione al donatore e a la memoria del
prof. Giuseppe Lugli.
Le spese notarili e di registro, a carico del Comune
come parte accettante, saranno impugnate e
liquidate con successivo provvedimento.
L’on. PRESIDENTE pone ai voti, per alzata e
seduta, il suesteso schema di deliberazione che
resulta approvato all’unanimità.
Non sorgendo osservazioni, l’on. PRESIDENTE
pone ai voti, per alzata e seduta, la ratifica della
suestesa deliberazione: la ratifica viene approvata
all’unanimità.
La presente deliberazione assume il n. 1050.”
According to the resolution, Lugli’s private
correspondence (item [e] in the text of the
resolution) was to be given, along with everything
else, to the Biblioteca Sarti of the Accademia di San
Luca. But Pier Maria Lugli, in an interview, states
that he personally carried the correspondence to
the Archivio Capitolino shortly after May 7, 1969;
and he understood that the letters were to be stored
there.
including Lugli’s 1926 article, his excavation with
Thomas Price in 1930-31, and his restorations of the
site in the early 1930s.
The fact that the Pasqui and Lugli letters are missing
was ascertained through helpful interviews with
Pasqui’s grandson, Giorgio Pasqui of Bibbiena,
and with Lugli’s son, Pier Maria Lugli of Rome.
In general, such interviews with persons connected
to the site in the past proved useful. In addition to
Mssrs. Lugli and Pasqui, we interviewed several
present or former employees of the Archaeological
Superintendency responsible for Licenza, including
Domenico Facenna,11 Adriano La Regina,12 and
Antonio Muzi.13
The following archives were consulted for
documentation illustrating the history of the site:
• Archivio Capitolino,14 Comune di Roma, Fondo
Orsini. ��������������������������������������
Here are to be found several medieval
60
The archivists of the Archivio Capitolino kindly
made a search in the summer of 2001 and reported
that the Lugli papers were not in their collection.
Lugli’s notes on a variety of archaeological topics
are to be found in the library of the Accademia
di San Luca, Rome; there was nothing pertinent
to Horace’s Villa in the notes; nor is the private
correspondence to be found there.
We may here express the hope that Lugli’s private
correspondence is someday found since it would
undoubtedly (as he himself wrote) shed much light
on the period 1920-65, which was so important in
the history of Roman topographical studies.
11.
Now a distinguished archaeologist working for the
National Research Council of Italy, Facenna was an
employee of the Archaeological Superintendency
for Lazio in the late 1940s, with responsibility for
Licenza.
12.
Now one of the leading archaeological
superintendents of Italy, La Regina was an inspector
in the Archaeological Superintendency for Rome
and Lazio in the 1950s, with responsibilities in
Licenza.
13.
Antonio Muzi has been the senior guard on the
archaeological site for many years, and his wife has
been the guard in the Licenza Museum.
14.
See G. Scano, “L’Archivio Capitolino,” Archivio
della Società Romana di Storia Patria 111 (1988)
381-446.
C.1. The “Horace’s Villa” Project, 1997-2003: Organization, Strategy, and
Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
•
documents for the history of Orsini holdings in
the Licenza Valley.15 ���������������������
See also below, UCLA.
Archivio Centrale dello Stato (EUR/Rome).16
This archive contains the documents from the
Direzione Generale delle Antichità e Belle Arti.
Here can be found documentation pertaining to
Pasqui’s excavations of 1911-14, including the
Pasqui-Ricci correspondence (Ricci’s letters
are usually drafts).
Archivio della Soprintendenza Archeologica
per il Lazio. This
������������������������������������
archive contains adminstrative
documents pertaining to “Horace’s Villa” from
the early twentieth century until the present day.
It includes messages sent to Pasqui by his staff
from Licenza during the 1911-14 excavations
as well as the Pasqui-Ricci correspondence
(Pasqui’s letters are often drafts).
Archivio della Soprintendenza Archeologica
di Roma (Palazzo Altemps). This
�������������
archive
contains one file of the graphic documentation
of Pasqui’s excavations of “Horace’s Villa”.17
Archivio di Stato, Roma. This collection
contains the archive of the Ministero per
Lavori Pubblici of the Papal States, which in
the nineteenth century had to give permissions
for private archaeological excavations.
Excavators were required to file regular
reports on their finds. It also has copies of the
cadasters of property in Licenza under the
Papal government.
Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Archivio Borghese.
Here may be found documents pertaining to
ownership of land in Licenza by the Borghese
family from the seventeenth through nineteenth
centuries.18
Archivio Storico, Comune di Licenza. �����
This
archive contains municipal documents,
including the minutes of meetings of the
15.
Cf. Fondo Orsini II.A.III.n.o 17. On the Fondo
Orsini generally, see Scano (as n. 14) 412-423.
16.
See M. Musacchio, ed., L’archivio della Direzione
generale delle antichità e belle arti (1860-1890), 2
volumes (Rome 1994).
17.
Sez. I Sfusi, Busta 18, Fascicolo 10: appunti, schizzi,
piante c.d. “Villa d’Orazio-Licenza (1911).”
18.
F. X. Blouin, Jr., ed., Vatican Archives: An Inventory
and Guide to Historical Documents of the Holy See
(New York 1997).
•
•
•
•
•
61
city council, from the Risorgimento until the
present day.
Biblioteca Angelica, Rome. This library holds
the correspondence of Felice Barnabei, a friend
of Angelo Pasqui, in the Archivio Barnabei.19
Its holdings also include the Archivio Academia
degli Arcadi.20
Biblioteca Classense, Comune di Ravenna.
Here may be found the Carteggio Corrado
Ricci,21 the archive of Ricci’s extensive
correspondence.
National Library of Scotland, Special
Collections. The earliest known version of
Allan Ramsay’s treatise on Horace’s villa22
may be found here, as well as the diary of his
son, John,23 from the trip father and son took
to Italy in 1783, when Ramsay was putting the
final touches on his treatise.
UCLA Young Research Library, Special
Collections. Here are to be found the parts of the
Orsini Archive not in the Archivio Capitolino24
and the fair copy of Allan Ramsay’s treatise on
Horace’s Villa.25
University of Edinburgh Library, Special
Collections. The library owns a copy of Allan
Ramsay’s treatise on Horace’s Villa that dates
19.
On Felice Barnabei (1842-1922) see F. Pellati in
Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 6 (Rome
1964) 418-419; Le memorie di un archeologo, di
Felice Barnabei, eds. M. Barnabei and F. Delpino
(Rome, 1991).
20.
See B. Tellini Santoni, Arcadia. Accademia
letteraria italiana. Inventario dei manoscritti (141) (Rome 1991).
21.
See S. Secchiari, ed., Corrispondenti di Corrado
Ricci. Indice-inventario della serie ‘Corrispondenti’
nel Carteggio Ricci della Biblioteca Classense
(Ravenna 1997).
22.
NLS, MS730, on which see Frischer and Brown,
105-107.
23.
NLS, MSS1833-4.
24.
See M. L. Capparella, “Appunti sulle ultime vicende
dell’Archivio Orsini,” Archivio della Società
Romana di Storia Patria 103 (1980) 283-294.
25.
UCLA Bound Mss., Coll. 170/376, on which see
Frischer and Brown, 105-107.
Bernard Frischer, Stefano Camaiani, Monica De Simone
to a time between the copies in the National
Library of Scotland and UCLA.26
amount of information can be captured and saved.
The greater the amount of this information, the more
complex becomes its management and synthesis. But
the act of documenting an excavation is not limited
to collecting data in the field; it also concerns the
digitization of data in the field or, as in our case,
immediately afterwards in the laboratory, with the
aid of an appropriate relational database.
The following photographic archives were also
consulted:
• Archive, British School at Rome. The archive
contains the Thomas Ashby photographic
collection, including 14 shots of the Licenza
Valley taken in 1927.
• Archivio Fotografico, Corriere della Sera.
The archive kindly made available to us copies
of the photographs in its files that were made
in 1913 to illustrate the article in La Lettura
written by Paolo Giordani about the Pasqui
excavations.
• Archivio
Fotografico,
Soprintendenza
Archeologica per il Lazio. The
���������������
collection
contains all the official photographic
documentation for Licenza taken by the
Superintendency (or, its predecessor, the
Ufficio Scavi per Roma e la Provincia di Roma
e Aquila) from 1911 to the present day.
• Fototeca Unione. The collection includes 13
photographs taken by Ernest Nash on the site
of “Horace’s Villa” in 1955.
• Gabinetto Fotografico Nazionale. The
collection holds five photographs of “Horace’s
Villa” taken in ca. 1914/15 at the conclusion of
Pasqui’s excavations.
• Photo Archives, German Archaeological
Institute (Rome). The collection was searched
for useful photographs of the remains or finds
of “Horace’s Villa,” but nothing of interest was
found.
• Aerofototeca, Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo
e la Documentazione (Rome-EUR).27 ����
The
holdings include four aerial photographs of
“Horace’s Villa” taken in 1970.
C.1.7.1. Data collection
The Excavation Notes were filled out every day by each
trenchmaster (fig. 15). Here the archaeologist’s first
impressions were recorded, along with all the activities
carried out in the work area and including the finding
of any noteworthy objects. The Excavation Notes
form also included room for sketches and measured
drawings. This kind of documentation, written in a
discursive style, might seem old-fashioned, but it has
proven to be a tool that retains its usefulness today,
both for the interpretation of data recorded elsewhere
in the information system (generally by various
experts), and as an aide-memoire to the trenchmaster
for the doubts, second thoughts, and the day-to-day
unfolding of the excavation—all of which becomes
important to review when the time comes to write a
final report.
To register the data pertaining to the stratigraphic units
(SU), we used as a model the forms developed by
the Italian Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali
and approved by the ICCD (Istituto Centrale per il
Catalogo e la Documentazione, a unit of the Ministry;
figs. 16-17).28 A similar form was used for registering
walls (Mural Stratigraphic Unit, or MSU). For the
28.
C.1.7. Documentation and database
During fieldwork, trench supervisors were responsible
for recording data. Given the fact that excavation
is destructive, it is necessary to provide for careful
and effective documentation so that the greatest
26.
EUL, MS.La.III.492, on which see Frischer and
Brown, 105-107.
27.
See
http://www.iccd.beniculturali.it/download/
aerofot.pdf.
62
For samples of forms in use, see Norme per la
redazione della scheda del saggio stratigrafico,
eds. F. Parise Badoni and M. Ruggeri Giove (Rome
1984). For the cataloguing standards of the ICCD
in general see: www.iccd.beniculturali.it/standard/
index.html and www.iccd.beniculturali.it/istituto/
beniarcheologici.html. For the design of MSU
forms, see R. Parenti, “La lettura stratigrafica delle
murature in contesti archeologici e di restauro
architettonico,” in Restauro e città I, 2 (1985) 5568; and R. Parenti, “Le tecniche di documentazione
per una lettura stratigrafica dell’elevato,” in
Archeologia e Restauro dei Monumenti, eds. R.
Francovich and R. Parenti (Florence 1988) 249279.
C.1. The “Horace’s Villa” Project, 1997-2003: Organization, Strategy, and
Objectives
numbering system used to identify each SU or MSU,
we decided to build into the code an indication of the
excavation sector from which the SU or MSU came.
The archaeological site was divided into the following
sectors: I, bath complex; II, southern branch of the
quadriporticus; III, residence; IV, western branch
of the quadriporticus; V, pool; VI, central area of
the garden; VII, northern area of the garden; VIII,
eastern branch of the quadriporticus; IX, zone to the
northeast behind the structures currently visible on
the site and near the entrance from the parking lot;
X, sector used to denote studies of the walls (see
fig. 5). Each SU or MSU is identified by a number
of four figures (five for Sector X) composed of the
sector number at the head and then by a progressive
numeration of the SU found in it. For example, if the
sector is IV, the numeric series will run from 4,000 to
4,999; if VII, from 7,000 to 7,999; if X, from 10,000
to 10,999. Sector I has available all the numbers from
0 to 1,999.
individual SU he or she found, giving the reference
number and position for each.
During the excavation, once a SU had been identified,
the trenchmaster prepared an overlay (or singlecontext plan)31 and documented it photographically.
Survey was done by a hybrid method utilizing a total
station and traditional surveying tools (measuring
tape, plumb line, drawing frames). Each photograph
was entered into the photo list and annotated when
shot. The photo lists were then matched with the
photographs once they were developed and contact
sheets printed, and an inventory of the photographs
was created.
Photography was both chemical and digital. Black and
white 35 mm chemical photographs were taken of all
stratigraphic units and small finds (Kodak 5052 TMX
was the preferred product). Important stratigraphic
units and all small finds were also photographed
with 35 mm slide film (Kodak Ektachrome was the
preferred product). Small finds were also recorded on
35 mm color print film (Kodak Gold 200-6 was the
preferred product). During the course of the project,
consumer digital photography made great strides. In
1997 and 1998, digital photography was only used
for informal shots to be used on the project’s Internet
site. By 1999 and thereafter, a Nikon Coolpix 2.1
megapixel camera was purchased and used for
supplementary documentation of stratigraphic units
and finds. All non-digital photographs were digitized
at high resolution and included in the photographic
database described below.
By SU we mean every recognizable action changing
the surface of the earth, whether human or natural.29
The registration of all the elements useful for
identifying a SU is an indispensable means for
being able to reach a comprehensive interpretation
of a site, by means of—wherever possible—the
recognition of activities. Thus, both in the moment
of excavating and in the act of recording the data,
particular attention must be paid to the characteristics
and stratigraphic relationships so that the sequence of
individual actions or activities can be reconstructed
in the matrix.30 The design of the forms we utilized
satisfies these requirements, obligating the person
responsible to fill out all the fields on the records. In
this way, next to the discursive and sometimes rather
informal comments appropriate to the Excavation
Notes, the trenchmaster also must record the data in a
precise and concise way.
In 1999, an aerial photographic survey of the site was
carried out by a small radio-controlled helicopter,
under the supervision of Robert Ajtai of VE.DO.
At the end of each season, reports were produced by
each trenchmaster, synthesizing the results for his
sector and including, as an appendix, the filled-out
forms (Excavation Notes, SU and MSU forms, photo
lists, etc.).
As the excavation proceeded, the trenchmaster had
the responsibility of creating a catalogue of all the
29.
For the concept of stratigraphic unit, see: E. C.
Harris, Principles of Archaeological Stratigraphy,
2nd edition (London 1989); P. Barker, Techniques
of Archaeological Excavation (London 1977); and
Carandini (as n. 4).
Once archaeological material left the site, it was
taken to the project’s nearby laboratory in the Mulino
of Licenza for inventory and study. All the material
taken to the laboratory was cleaned and classified and
30.
For the Harris matrix, see Harris (as n. 29), 151170.
31.�����������������������
Roskams (as n. 5), 140.
63
Bernard Frischer, Stefano Camaiani, Monica De Simone
C.1.8. Disposition of finds and documentation
entered into a related catalogue. For the noteworthy
materials, a special form was developed (fig. 18),
which reflects the main fields of the so-called “precatalogue.” The noteworthy material, after being
photographed, was then inventoried according to
the rules and procedures of the Archaeological
Superintendency for Lazio.
The small finds were taken to the Archaeology
Laboratory of the American Academy in Rome,
where they were studied by various experts. At the
conclusion of the 2002 study season, all objects
were inventoried according to the system of the
Archaeological Superintendency for Lazio and
transported to the storehouse of the Superintendency
at Ercole Vincitore (Tivoli). There, they were stored
in the same general area as the older finds from
Licenza.
C.1.7.2. Data management
Throughout the project, written forms were digitized
and included in the project’s information management
system. The processing of information from the
catalogues, inventories, and forms was carried out
with the aid of commercial software such as Microsoft
Word, Access, and Excel. In addition, all the slides
taken of excavated material were digitalized with the
Epson GT7000 scanner at a resolution of 1200 DPI
(dots per inch). The scans were saved in JPEG (Joint
Photographic Experts Group) format at the medium
level of quality. In this phase of the work, our priority
was to maximize efficiency in managing data and not
to prepare publication-quality images. We knew that,
in the end, few of our thousands of images would
be published, and those could be digitalized anew in
uncompressed format at the highest level of quality
in the production phase of publication. All of the
overlays were digitalized and then vectorialized with
AutoCad.
Upon publication of this report, all original versions of
the written, photographic, and digital documentation
will be deposited for long-term storage with the
Archaeological Superintendency for Lazio.
Luca Passalacqua and Stefano Camaiani, then two
laureandi in the Department of Archaeology at the
University of Siena, were responsible for our data
management and for designing an information system
that allows the user to make queries across most of
the data categories (fig. 19).
Initial plans called for all the individual databases to
be combined in a composite Geographic Information
System (GIS) utilizing ArcView. In the event, this part
of the data management project was not implemented
for lack of personnel and funds. On the other hand,
the lack of a GIS interface, while regrettable, did not
materially compromise the usefulness of the system,
which greatly facilitated analysis and interpretation
during our study seasons and, afterward, during the
production of this volume (fig. 20).
64
C.1. The “Horace’s Villa” Project, 1997-2003: Organization, Strategy, and
Objectives
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65