A summary of our 2018 season is now available at FASTI Online and can be accessed here.

We will also present the results of the first four seasons of fieldwork at the AIA Annual Meetings in San Diego, Jan. 3-6, 2019. Look for us in session 5E, Jan. 5, 10:45-12:45.

For a preview, here is our abstract:

A Roman Villa in the Lower Val di Chiana: Report on the First Four Seasons of Fieldwork
Rebecca K. Schindler, DePauw University, Pedar W. Foss, DePauw University, Giampiero Bevagna, The Umbra Institute, and Stefano Spiganti, Intrageo.

The Trasimeno Archaeological Field School is a regional archaeology program co-sponsored by the Umbra Institute (Perugia, Italy), DePauw University (Greencastle, IN, USA), and the Comune of Castiglione del Lago (Umbria, Italy). Since 2015, we have been investigating a Roman villa under the auspices of the Soprintendenza Archaeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio dell’Umbria. The site, which was first identified by local famers, is located on a gentle hill to the north of Lago di Chiusi near the border between Tuscany and Umbria. To the east of the site is the ridge road that from the 7^th century BCE onward connected Chiusi to Cortona. Several Etruscan tombs have been excavated along that road.  However, our project is the first systematic excavation of a Roman site in the territory. We have three primary research questions: (1) to understand the relationship between the environment and the site, particularly the role of the Clanis River (now dried up) in the economic, social, and political development of the territory; (2) to understand the cultural transformation that took place in this region as the Romans gradually took over the territory from the Etruscans; and (3) to identify the phases of the villa itself, which we believe was occupied from the 2^nd century BCE to the late 3^rd century AD and which underwent several architectural modifications as buildings were repurposed for different functions.

A preliminary surface survey (2015) and topographical study of the site indicates that the Roman period villa was likely spread out over at least three terraces. Due to modern agricultural work, remains on the upper terrace have been heavily damaged and we are focusing our excavations on the central and lower terraces. This report presents the results of those excavations. This includes a bath house on the lower terrace, the first phase of which was constructed directly into and against the natural sand substratum, a curious practice that we are investigating. In the central area, we have identified a series of structures representing at least three architectural phases. Here the accumulated clay fill is almost two meters deep. The nature of the construction in this area, including the use of cocciopesto for the walls and a tile pavement, indicate a production and storage area. From the fill in this area we recovered over 500 pieces of intonaco, an indication that some parts of the villa were elaborately decorated.