THE VICUS

In July 2013, the University of Sheffield conducted a second season of exploration in the central village (vicus) of the Roman imperial estate at Vagnari in the Basentello valley. Through excavation of the buildings and manufacturing provisions in the vicus, the project aims to shed light on both the economic role of a settlement servicing imperial landholdings in the surrounding countryside and the range of specialist crafts and industries carried out by the resident workforce. Our investigations concentrated on the northern edge of the vicus in and around the so-called North Building, a tile-roofed structure almost 30 m long consisting of a series of rooms and corridors with plastered and painted walls of daub that had burned and collapsed onto the floors (Fig. 1). The pottery and coins suggest that this building was in use from the late first to the mid-fourth centuries ad. However, residual pottery of the second and first centuries bc and a silver coin (victoriatus) of the late third century bc indicate that the imperial vicus was not the first settlement on the site, although no actual structures of an earlier age have been identified as yet.

Fig. 1. Vagnari. Excavating rooms and corridors at the western end of the North Building, looking south. (Photo: Maureen Carroll.)

Evidence for the production of building ceramics and for iron-working in the second and third centuries ad was retrieved. In addition, a range of lead objects and lead scrap, as well as the contents of a crucible, prove that this toxic material was being recycled and smelted here too. The floors in the North Building generally were of beaten earth, although we encountered a thick mortar floor in one of the rooms, and a chunk of mosaic floor of white marble tesserae also was retrieved, although out of context. The different floor types in the building may indicate that various activities took place that required different surfaces, a hypothesis that is supported by the finds. Two stone weights were found in the mortar-floored room, perhaps pointing to some sort of commercial activity occurring here. One of the other rooms with a beaten earth floor had been swept clean from the centre to the edge of the room where charred plant remains were retrieved in a concentration along the base of an internal wall. This suggests that cleanliness was an important factor here, possibly because the room was used for living or cooking. The building, therefore, probably functioned in multiple ways, providing domestic quarters as well as manufacturing and commercial facilities.

Archaeobotanical analysis has furnished evidence for a mixed crop economy on the estate. Various cereal crops and associated plants were identified, including bread wheat and durum wheat, oat, einkorn and barley, as well as winter wild oat. The co-occurrence of glume-wheat and free-threshing wheat indicates that farming at Vagnari utilized a variety of processing techniques. Notably, chaff, the waste product from wheat processing, was mixed with clay to make daub for the internal walls of the North Building, indicating that all components of the cereal crops were exploited.

THE NECROPOLIS

Excavations in the summer of 2013 focused on exposing an area in the eastern part of the necropolis, immediately adjacent to trenches excavated in previous field seasons. Ten tombs were excavated (nine inhumations and one cremation), the majority of a cappuccina type, consistent with the burials found in other parts of the cemetery. Three additional tombs were identified (but not excavated) along the eastern edge of the trench, indicating that the cemetery continues to the east.

Preliminary osteological analysis indicates that there were five adults, three children, and two infants (<1 year old) buried in this area. This is consistent with our earlier findings, indicating that individuals of all ages were buried in the necropolis, and that there was no specific area for the burial of infants or children. Grave-goods were found in all but one of the burials, and are also consistent with the quantity and quality of grave-goods found previously, with one notable exception discussed below (F302).

The 2013 excavations provided additional evidence for the intentional burial of individuals in association with earlier burials, possibly indicating family relationships. Two intact a cappuccina burials (F290 and F291) were uncovered in the southwest corner of the trench and a third individual (F312) was placed in between these burials at a later date. The two earlier tombs were undisturbed by this later deposition, which suggests that their location was known, although there are no surviving indications of grave markers. Stable isotope and aDNA analysis will help to explore possible biological relationships between these individuals.

Another a cappuccina burial with a libation tube (F306) was found adjacent to a partially preserved small circular structure (external diameter of 45 cm) consisting of five broken tiles and lined with mortar (Fig. 2). The depression within the tiles contained fragments of glass, pottery, and burned bone (likely animal). It appears that this structure was constructed at a later date and was possibly a location for funerary offerings. This further supports the view that the location of the burials was known and that people returned to the grave sites.

Fig. 2. Vagnari. A cappuccina burial (F306) with a libation tube, and the adjacent circular structure made from tile fragments and lined with mortar. (Photo: Tracy Prowse.)

Excavations in the Vagnari necropolis have uncovered so far 108 burials, 97% of which are inhumations. To date, only three cremation burials have been discovered, including one excavated in 2013. This in situ cremation burial (F302) contained a large number of grave-goods, surpassing all other burials in the cemetery in terms of the quality and quantity of items recovered, including: three coins, two glass vessels, a marble patera, a bronze-alloy mirror, two lamps, two intaglio gemstones (likely for rings), an African red slip ware flask, numerous burnt bone pins, and other items. In fact, all three cremation burials found at Vagnari contain more grave-goods than the inhumation burials. The variation in burial practice (that is cremation versus inhumation) and the comparative wealth of the cremation burials may be evidence for social stratification at the site, with wealthier individuals opting for cremation. All three cremation burials date to the second century ad.

OUTLOOK

The role of the vicus in manufacturing, exchange and consumption will be a focal point of future research, which will help us understand better élite involvement in the exploitation of the environment and control over labour. Research on the necropolis and its occupants continues to investigate the geographic origins of the Vagnari population and explore evidence for diet, health and disease in this Roman sample. By combining archaeological and bioanthropological evidence, the potential for significantly advancing our understanding of health and disease, and of the living and working conditions of a rural population in Roman imperial Italy, is considerable.