La villa romana di Matrice (CB) tra geofisica e scavo

Elena Pomar

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.1, 329-348; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.1.2024.21

Abstract

The Roman villa at Matrice, located in Molise, central Italy, offers a rare opportunity to reflect on a typology of site that is sparsely documented. The building at Matrice presents distinctive elements of a rural villa of the 1st century AD, dedicated to agricultural, pastoral and wine production activities. However, these elements are adapted here in a decentralized area of the Roman State, where the local elites did not exhibit the same opulence of those belonging to major urban centres. The villa displays peculiar aspects and reflects local economic, social, and geographical conditions. After the excavation of the 1980s, archaeological research at Matrice was renewed in 2017 by a joint team from the British School at Rome, King’s College London, and the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford. The project used a preliminary geophysical survey to explore the area around the site, discovering new archaeological features. The following excavation season assessed the geophysical results and provided significant stratigraphic information. The paper focuses on the methodological aspect of the research, comparing the geophysical results with data from the excavation. It also underlines the potential implications of the new evidence for the understanding of the site.

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