Geophysical prospection of the eastern Caelian: large-scale urban research by the Rome Transformed project
Data evento
27 April 2022
Launched in 2019, the Rome Transformed Project is investigating the Eastern Caelian, from the period of the Principate of Augustus to the Pontificate of Leo III. Drawing upon a range of advanced recording techniques, traditional archival research and documentation, the project aims to assess Rome’s place in cultural change across the Mediterranean world by mapping political, military, and religious changes to the Caelian hill over a period of eight centuries.
A significant part of the programme is the investigation of 12.5 hectares of central Rome using geophysical prospection, comprising parks, private gardens, piazzas and the principal throughfares around the Caelian. The project has brought together a large team of specialists from the British School at Rome, the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and GeoStudi Astier to apply a range of techniques, from an examination of the near surface through to an analysis of the underlying morphology of the area inside the Aurelian walls.
This paper will discuss the first result of these surveys, drawing upon surveys conducted inside the grounds of Villa Wolkonsky, the amphitheatre Castrense and around the Basilicas of San Giovanni in Laterano and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
Stephen Kay (BSR)