Sirolo (Ancona)

Coordinator/Director of the Archaeological Mission

Vincenzo Baldoni

Field of research and ERC level II sectors

• Archaeological disciplines from prehistory to the Middle Ages
• SH6: The study of the human past: archaeology, history and memory (12 Level III)

Excavation activation date and duration

Mission active since 2020.

Description

The "I Pini" Project is part of a wider research of DiSCI - University of Bologna, which since 2016 has been dealing with the study of the necropolis and the topographical reconstruction of the ancient Piceno centre of Numana, which extended in the territories of the current municipalities of Sirolo and Numana. The archaeological mission has been active since 2020 thanks to a concession from the Ministry of Culture- Marche ABAP Superintendency: the focus of the investigation is the archaeological area "I Pini" in Sirolo, which contains the only Picenian necropolis that is currently musealized and open to visitors in the Marche region (https://sabapmarche.beniculturali.it/nuove-ricerche-archeologiche-presso-la-necropoli-picena-i-pini-di-sirolo/).

The burial ground, discovered in the 1980s and already the subject of excavation campaigns by the Marche Region Superintendency, has yielded three monumental circle burials, including the so-called 'Queen's Tomb'. The context, datable to the end of the 6th century B.C., is located within a ring ditch with a diameter of 40 metres and is extraordinarily important for both the quantity and the quality of the objects selected at the time of deposition.

The project aims to investigate, through the integrated use of non-destructive methodologies (geoelectric, geomagnetic and georadar surveys) and excavation activities, different sectors of the archaeological area in order to reconstruct the ancient landscape and the necropolar context in which the monumental burial was placed.

Information for students

Only students in possession of a certificate of attendance at courses on safety in archaeological sites and a certificate of aptitude for the job of archaeologist (with medical examination) will be admitted to the excavation. Participants are guaranteed board and lodging, also thanks to the support of the Municipality of Sirolo.