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Roman Latrine found

We have just unearthed a Roman latrine within the Imperial Palace. Initial evidence around the edges and on the exposed floor suggested that this was a well-appointed room. It forms part of a complex of small rooms on the eastern end of the Imperial Palace trench, adjacent to the road. Continue reading →

The Portus Project Team

The team are all now settled into their roles. Students and staff alike are getting on with the daily work of excavation, surveying and post-excavation. The day is broken into four work sessions with welcome drinks. Shade from the trees on the east makes up for the lack of shade on much of the site. We have removed a small number of trees to allow safe excavation on the western area. Continue reading →

Stratigraphy

Leonie's area has now been cleaned and we will plan the Opus Spicatum floor this week, once Nathan has finished recording the walls in Rose and Greg's area. Gareth has completed a new survey of the area to the north of Leonie's trench and produced a series of volumetric models to explore the stratigraphy. We use the models to discuss the progress of the excavation and to bounce around ideas. Continue reading →

ARK

The Archaeological Recording Kit (ARK) written by L-P Archaeology has been further updated on site by Henriette and Hembo. This is the centre of all our archaeological data management processes. All data gathered on site are ingested and made available on our on-site wireless network. ARK looks after all our many photographs, the raw data from the geophysics and surveys, processed plans and sections and the database of all finds. Continue reading →

Excavation Week One

Today work started on the main excavations. We have been joined by some additional staff and students from Italy and the UK. Leonie has already cleaned off a large section of Opus Spicatum floor to the west of the large cistern. This seems to be the floor of a complex building running westwards. On the west of the path in the area adjacent to the amphitheatre the walls are becoming clear, perfectly matching the geophysical results in this area. Continue reading →

Training

All of the undergraduates and some of the other students new to the project spent the day in training. Jess gave her GPR masterclass, Steve an introduction to surveying and Geoff, Belinda, Greg and Leonie explained our recording techniques and conventions used on site. Elsewhere we have managed to assemble and test all of the kit and the post-ex, recording and visualisation teams are all ready to go. Continue reading →

Arrival at Fiumicino

Today we all travelled. Some from Colombia, some from the UK, some from Italy and another from Taiwan. So, everyone had to be met and set up in their accommodation. It was a busy day but by the end of it, particularly once the pizza was served, everything settled down to normal. We are a large team this year - about 70 in total - so everything becomes that bit more complicated. Still, the team are great and we are all really excited about the coming couple of months. Continue reading →

First day on site

We arrived on site today and set up the dig house. Simon gave his traditional tour of the site and excavation area. The excavation area is already looking amazing, with Fabrizio and his team having been busy preparing the ground. The geophysics team will be busy, in particular looking at the Imperial Palace via Ground Penetrating Radar. Continue reading →

An Archaeological Survey of the Port of Imperial Rome

Portus: An Archaeological Survey of the Port of Imperial Rome book is published. By Simon Keay, Martin Millett, Lidia Paroli and Kristina Strutt. This volume presents the full results of the survey and uses them as the basis for a re-evaluation of the whole port complex. The geophysical survey results are interpreted in the context of earlier work at the site in order to offer new perspectives on the character and development of the site. Continue reading →