Investigating transformation through the archaeological record in the heart of Tuscany: the case of the late roman villa at Aiano (4th-7th cent. AD)

Cavalieri, Marco [UCL]

Since 2005 a Belgian-Italian expedition, supported by the Université catholique de Louvain, has been managing the archaeological excavation of a roman villa at Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (near Siena). The building witnesses various phases of occupation. This monumental villa longinqua in agro Volaterrae was built in the heart of Tuscany between the end of 3th and the beginning of 4th century A.D. At the end of the 5th century A.D. it was abandoned, and during the 6th c. A.D. the complex was deprived of a great part of its decoration (marbles and glass), whose elements were recycled in the productive process implanted inside the villa. This site appears to be not only a real “mine” of reusable material, but also a centre manufacturing metal objects, glass and gold, and probably also pottery. The aim of this paper is to present the transformation (after abandonment and re-occupation) of the villa, according to the results of nine excavation campaigns.