Excavation of the Vagnari cemetery resumed in July 2011 under the direction of Tracy Prowse (McMaster University), with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, as part of the Basentello Valley Archaeological Research Project. Excavation of the cemetery started in 2002, with the majority of burials dating between the first and third centuries ad, plus a small number from the fourth century ad. Excavation of the settlement portion of the site has been underway since 2001, under the direction of Professor Alastair Small (University of Edinburgh). An edited volume on the settlement excavations has been published recently (Small, Reference Small2011).

The goal of the 2011 field season in the Vagnari cemetery was to complete excavation of a trench (59) initially opened in 2009 and to expose a new trench (69) immediately to the west of a trench excavated in the 2007–8 field seasons, bringing the total area excavated to date to approximately 400 m². A total of nineteen tombs was uncovered during the 2011 field season; six in Trench 59 and thirteen in Trench 69. Twelve tombs were excavated fully (six in each trench), with seven reburied for excavation in subsequent seasons. All of the burials were aligned in an east–west or a southeast–northwest direction. As in previous years, the majority of the tombs (ten) was ‘a cappuccina’, with the deceased buried in a shallow pit and covered by a series of large tegulae in an inverted ‘V’ shape. Of the two remaining burials, one was a libation burial in which a child was interred with grave-goods, covered with horizontally-laid tegulae, and then a curved tile (imbrex) was inserted vertically in the soil above the burial for libations. The final burial excavated in 2011 was a poorly-preserved skeleton found with no evidence of a tomb structure, but with a small plain-ware pot and other ceramic fragments in association with the skeletal remains, and was likely a simple pit burial.

All of the burials contained grave-goods, typically deposited near the lower legs and feet of the deceased, with the exception of a small number of metallic objects and objects of personal adornment (for example, bone pins and beads). As in previous years, grave-goods consisted of plain-ware pottery, lamps, iron nails (often bent) and a small number of bronze coins (three). Seven of the burials contained lamps, including one with the stamp ‘AVFFRON’ (Auffidius Fronimus, second century ad) on the base, providing a date for this burial that is consistent with other burials in the cemetery. When iron nails are found in the graves, they typically are bent and placed inside a ceramic vessel. To date, 88 burials have been excavated within a total area of approximately 400 m². The excavation and analysis of the tombs provides abundant evidence concerning attitudes towards death, the funerary customs and the burial practices of the inhabitants of Vagnari. The ongoing bioarchaeological analysis of the human remains within the burials provides an opportunity to investigate evidence of health, diet, social structure and migration in a rural Roman population. Preliminary isotopic and ancient DNA analysis of the human remains indicates that at least some of the people buried at Vagnari came from regions outside Italy (Prowse et al., Reference Prowse, Barta, von Hunnius, Small and Eckhart2010). Work continues on the preparation of a volume on the 2003–6 excavations of the cemetery. Excavation will continue in the cemetery with the goals of understanding its extent, its chronological distribution, patterns in burial practices and the quality of life in a rural Roman population.

The excavation was carried out with a permit granted by the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali to Tracy Prowse, arranged through the British School at Rome with the kind assistance of Dott.ssa Roberta Cascino. Survey of the site and essential technical support was provided by Franco Taccogna (Gravina), and cleaning and restoration of the metal objects is currently in progress by Tonia Petrafesa (Gravina). The excavators are grateful to numerous organizations and individuals for their support of the project, and especially to the landlord of Vagnari (Mario De Gemmis Pellicciari), the Fondazione Ettore Pomarici Santomasi of Gravina, the British School at Rome, and the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Puglia, in particular the Superintendent, Dott. Antonio De Siena, and Dott.ssa Donata Venturo, Inspector and Director of the Centro Operativo in Gravina in Puglia. We are also grateful to the students from Canada and Italy who participated in the 2011 field season.