A home from the archaic period
has been found on the Quirinal Hill in Palazzo Canevari, the
former geological institute in the Italian capital.
The sixth-century BC abode had a rectangular layout most
likely divided into two rooms, on a tufa stone base and with an
entrance possibly preceded by a portico opening onto one of the
long sides, with wooden walls covered in clay under a tile roof.
The discovery was made this summer during preliminary
archaeological excavations conducted by the superintendent's
office on the historic building and is considered one of the
most important of recent years, as it redesigns the map of Rome
between the sixth and the fifth centuries BC.
It is also remarkable for the good state of conservation of
the structure and since it had previously been thought that the
area in which it was found was used as a necropolis and not as a
residential area.
Since 2003, Palazzo Canevari - which is now owned by the
Italian savings and loans bank, which took charge of the
excavations when it purchased the property - has been surveyed
to see whether ancient relics were on the premises. Following a
period of extensive excavations, in 2013 an enormous
fifth-century temple was found.
And now this latest find, dating back to the time of the
Servian Walls, has been considered revolutionary.
"This building is basically absent in archaic Rome, and
there are only traces in the Forum area. The home was probably
used for about 50-60 years prior to when the temple was built
that was discovered in 2013," Mirella Serlorenzi said during a
press visit, who directed the excavations on behalf of the
superintendent's office.
"The position of the house near the temple hints at it
being a sacred area, and that whoever lived there was watching
over what happened therein. But it is even more important that
we can now retro-date the urbanization of the Quirinal zone. The
Servian Walls encircled an area that was already inhabited and
not a necropolis."
"This means that Rome at the beginning of the sixth
century was much larger than what we expected and not closed in
around the Forum," she added, stressing that "the excavations
will continue for months more. But everything depends on what we
find."
Superintendent for the Colosseum, il Museo Nazionale Romano
and the archaeological area of Rome, Francesco Prosperetti, said
that he hoped "adequate valorization" of the find would ensue.
The issue now is over how to let the public enjoy the find,
located as it is in a privately held building that may soon
lodge the offices of the Italian savings and loans bank.
"We are weighing project proposals for making the building
into a museum," he said, ensuring "use compatible with the
purpose of the building and that the excavations will not be
covered over."
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