Agrigento (Sicily)
The urban craft area outside Porta V (south-west of the city)
Coordinator/ Excavation Director
Vincenzo Baldoni
Field of research and ERC level II sectors
Excavation activation date and duration
Project active since 2019. Duration: three weeks.
Description
The new didactic-archaeological investigations started thanks to the agreement stipulated in spring 2019 between the University of Bologna and the Parco Archeologico Valle dei Templi (responsibles for the project Prof. V. Baldoni, Dr. M.C. Parello) in an important extra-urban craft area located immediately outside Porta V, south-west of the city.
The strategic proximity to the sanctuary areas, the Chthonian Gods and the Temple of Zeus, have made this productive area worthy of great interest since it was first identified by Pietro Griffo in the 1950s, when three kilns were partially brought to light.
The most recent investigations focus on two other large ceramic kilns (kilns D and E), which are still being excavated and studied. The collected archaeological data seem to indicate the chronological horizon for these plants as the late-archaic period and the decades immediately following.
The project aims at
1) study of previous investigations and materials recovered at the time
2) understanding of the structures and deposits present through non-invasive (geophysical) investigations
3) understanding of the extent of the structures and their phases of use
4) completion of the excavation of the newly identified kilns (D-E)
5) realisation of new surveys of the area and of the investigated structures
6) study of the ceramics produced in the structures
7) investigation of the presence of any other structure functional to production
in order to place this area more precisely within the vast panorama of craft production in the polis of Akragas, a theme that has been the focus of specific research for years promoted by the University of Bologna and the Valley of the Temples Park in Agrigento.
Information for students
The excavation is open to students enrolled in the Bachelor's and Master's degree courses of Ravenna and Bologna and the School of Specialisation.
Only students in possession of a certificate of attendance at courses on safety in archaeological sites and a certificate of fitness for the job of archaeologist (with medical examination) will be admitted to the excavation.
