Suburban and Urban Development in the Western Section of Aquileia

In 2011, new research was carried out in the western section of the urban area of Aquileia, by the area of studies for Central European Archaeology (ZEA) of the OeAI. In cooperation with the Ministerio per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Friuli Venezia Giulia) aspects of urbanism, as well as the cultural and economic history of Aquilieia, were investigated. The research is in accordance with the scientific programme of the Soprintendenza and the Fondazione of Aquileia. Within the framework of a research project designed to last for five years, the focus on »Suburban and Urban Development in the western section of Aquileia« will be carried out, applying primarily ›non-invasive‹ methods of archaeology and resulting in research on the diachronic development of this trading metropolis in the upper Adriatic.

The research intentions at Aquilieia are in direct connection with the focussed research programmes ›Bernsteinstraße‹ (Amber Road) and ›Markomannenkriege‹ (Marcomannic Wars) carried out by the area of studies for Central European Archaeology (ZEA).

Aquileia, founded in 181 B.C. as a colony with Latin law, played a key role in the economic and political development of the northern provinces. The trading metropolis was the starting point and the termination of the Amber Road, and the most important river port and goods handling site of the Regio X. Aquileia, moreover, had the function of a strategic base for campaigns in Illyria, Pannonia and Dalmatia under Octavian and Tiberius in the first decades before and after the birth of Christ, as well as for campaigns during the Marcomannic Wars.

At the time of the threat to Italy by the Germans who were attacking from the north, Emperor Marcus Aurelius moved his headquarters in A.D. 168 to Aquileia; in A.D. 170 the city was besieged by the Marcomanni and Quadi tribes and Opitergium was destroyed. The political and military reactions to the bellicose events are reflected in the establishment of the Praetentura Italiae et Alpinum, as well as in the conscription of the Legions I and II Italicae in A.D. 165/166. The latter was first stationed around 168/169 A.D. and at the latest around A.D. 171 in Ločica (Slovenia), and after the Marcomanni Wars was transferred to Enns/Lauriacum.

Within the context of the new research at Aquilieia, the diachronic urbanistic development of the western civic area and suburban area should be investigated. The dynamic processes of development of a city can best be recognised at their border areas. In Aquileia, an expansion of the city area from the centre to the west is indicated by the spatial and chronological sequence of the Republican and Imperial/Late Antique fortifications. Settlement structures inside and outside these battlements illustrate the diachronic changes in function of the urban and suburban spaces.

The area under investigation extends over agricultural areas, from the Republican, Imperial and Late Antique city walls, up to the Canale Anfora at the furthest western extent of the ancient city. Within the city in the north, the investigated area incorporates the circus and the civic area up to the forum; the theatre is located in the central area, while in the south the large baths and the amphitheatre are situated. Outside the city, structures in the mid-segment of the investigated area are known (›Villa suburbana delle Marignane‹), and in the southern area a continuation of the street grid can be identified (›Via lungo il fiume Natissa‹, ›Necropolis sudoccidentale‹).

Of particular interest appear to be the regions which have scarcely been explored, a ca. 40 ha. large region between the Late Antique city wall and the mouth of the Canale Anfora into the Terzo River at the far west of the city. Aquileia is connected to the lagoon and to the open sea via the Canale Anfora and the River Natisone. The Canale Anfora flows into a river- and canal system bounding the urban area of Aquileia, from the River Terzo in the west and the River Natisone to the south and east. In the eastern section of the city region, an extensive harbour installation situated on the River Natisone was excavated.

In 2011 an area of 17 ha. was explored using geophysical surveying for the first time (magnetic and georadar). It is evident that in particular magnetic surveying is an appropriate means for the clarification of many questions regarding the urban development of Aquileia. The results of these surveys are very promising. The geophysical surveying brought to light new information regarding the development of Aquileia in the area near the circus. It was possible to identify a workshop quarter with a street grid that clearly deviates from that of an earlier period. The suburban workshop quarter situated outside the Republican/Imperial city wall was abandoned when the circus was established. Excavations of the 20th century suggest a date for this construction in the last third of the 2nd century A.D. The abandonment or destruction has been connected by F. Maselli Scotti and L. Bertacchi with the impact of the historically attested besieging of Aquileia by the Germans in ca. A.D. 170. At this time period, the economic quarter was part of the western suburban region, outside the old Republican city wall. This city wall, following Herodian, ought to have been restored in the course of the besieging by the Germans. A Late Antique/early Medieval usage of the area, after the circus was abandoned, cannot be strictly assumed based on the geophysical survey data, and can only be clarified by additional surveying and excavation.

In the course of the research project, intensive surveys and excavations took place in the area of one or more manufacturing workshops of the postulated craftsmanship quarter in the area of the circus. The results of this research activity can, on the one hand, provide insights into the daily life and livelihood of the ›working class‹ population and, on the other hand, offer new information regarding craft production in Aquileia. It should be clarified whether the suburban workshop quarter was destroyed during the besieging by the Germans in ca. A.D. 170, or whether it was razed when the circus was established.

Based on extensive geophysical surveying between the Canale Anfora and the city walls of Aquileia, an overview of the suburban development of the western sections of this trading metropolis should be made possible.

Bibliography

• L. Bertacchi, Nuova Pianta Archeologica di Aquileia (Aquileia 2003).
• F. Ghedini – M. Bueno – M. Novello (eds.), Moenibus et portu celeberrima. Aquileia: storia die una città (Roma 2009).
• L. Fozzati (Hrsg.), Aquileia. Patrimonio dell’Umanità (Udine 2010).
• F. Ghedini – L. Fozzati – D. Mazzoleni, Fondazione Aquileia, Piani di Valorizzazione per Aquileia, Progetto scientifico (Aquileia 2011).
• L. Fozzati – A. Benedetti (Hrsg.), Per Aquileia. Realtà e programmazione di una grande area archeological (Venezia 2011).

Contact

Stefan Groh

Patrizia Donat

Helga Sedlmayer