Conference Presentations by David Pickel
Poggio Gramignano, located in the territory of Lugnano in Teverina (TR), Umbria, is famous for it... more Poggio Gramignano, located in the territory of Lugnano in Teverina (TR), Umbria, is famous for its Augustan era villa and Late Antique (450 C.E.) infant and child cemetery. Recent fieldwork, however, has brought to light new archaeological discoveries that reveal a more ancient history, extending the evidence for occupation at Poggio Gramignano back into the Orientalizing and Archaic periods. These new discoveries include a large pit and burning deposits containing numerous impasto ceramics and other artifacts indicative of a settlement dating at least from the seventh to sixth centuries B.C.E. Also, cursory field survey conducted at and nearby Poggio Gramignano has identified additional pre-Roman materials and a possible pre-Roman necropolis. What is more, a remarkable stratigraphic relationship between Poggio Gramignano’s pre-Roman and Roman archaeological phases has been uncovered, suggesting that the builders who constructed the Augustan era villa were in fact archaeologists of sorts themselves, having been the first to discover and interact with the pre-Roman pit and burning deposits.
In this poster we first detail this new evidence, in particular the stratigraphic relationship between the pre-Roman deposits and the Augustan era villa’s sub-structure. Following, we contextualize this evidence with what is currently known about Southern Umbria’s pre-Roman archaeological landscape. To conclude, we discuss the significance of these new discoveries. Not only do they considerably expand Poggio Gramignano’s chronology and suggest that the site was an important economic center at the border between Etruscan, Faliscan, and Umbrian territories, but they also provide new insight into the practice of Roman building and builders’ encounters with archaeological deposits in antiquity, possibly adding for the Romans special new meaning to Poggio Gramignano as the site of an elite villa and later infant and child cemetery.
This poster discusses the results of the 2019 field season of the ‘Villa Romana di Poggio Gramign... more This poster discusses the results of the 2019 field season of the ‘Villa Romana di Poggio Gramignano Archaeological Project’. This project -- a partnership between the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti, e Paesaggio dell’Umbria, the University of Arizona, and the Commune di Lugnano in Teverina -- aims to better understand the development of the Roman villa at Poggio Gramignano and its associated late Roman child cemetery, as well as their connection to malaria and the larger history of Roman central Italy.
Located near the Umbrian town of Lugnano in Teverina (TR), this Augustan period villa was originally excavated in the 1980s and early 1990s under the scientific direction of David Soren. These first excavations not only uncovered significant sections of the villa’s living quarters, but also a unique child cemetery. It is currently hypothesized that this cemetery was the result of a malaria epidemic that struck the region sometime in the middle of the 5th century CE.
Recent excavations have focused on the area of the cemetery. During the 2019 field season eight new burials of varying types were uncovered, including two inhumed infants whose bodies were weighed down with stones and concrete. These newly discovered burials, together with those recently discovered during past seasons, brings the total count of distinct individuals found deposited within the villa’s ruins to sixty. In addition, re-study of those burials previously discovered by Soren and his team has found evidence of mid-wife assisted birth. Finally, the 2019 field season saw the completion of a pre-Roman deposit of artifactual material, found to have been cut by the villa’s foundation walls in close proximity to the area of child cemetery. Although study of this material is ongoing, it likely originates from an archaic settlement formerly located on or near Poggio Gramignano.
This poster reintroduces the Roman Villa at Poggio Gramignano (VRPG) and presents a preliminary r... more This poster reintroduces the Roman Villa at Poggio Gramignano (VRPG) and presents a preliminary report of new excavations of the villa conducted between the summers of 2016 and 2017 by American and Italian archaeologists. These two seasons are the first in a multi-year research project—a partnership between the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio dell’Umbria, the University of Arizona, and the Commune di Lugnano in Teverina. The project aims to better understand the development of the villa and further contextualize it and the late Roman (mid-fifth century C.E.) infant cemetery discovered within its storage magazines with the larger history of Roman central Italy.
Located near the Umbrian town of Lugnano in Teverina (TR), this Augustan period villa was originally excavated in the 1980s and early 1990s by Prof. David Soren. These first excavations not only uncovered significant sections of the villa’s living quarters, but also an abnormal infant cemetery. Here the remains of 47 children were discovered, ranging in age from prenatal to three years. Taking into account much material and textual evidence, Soren suggested that this cemetery was the result of an acute malaria epidemic. Subsequent analysis of the oldest individual (B36) utilizing more precise methodologies (aDNA extraction and hemozoin isolation analysis) corroborate this interpretation - B36 most likely died from an infection of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, the most malignant strain of malaria.
The 2016 and 2017 campaigns further excavated the area of the infant cemetery, specifically Rooms 11, 12 and 17. Three burials of varying types were newly discovered. In addition, a curious trace of piping was revealed within Room 16 of the upper villa area. Also, aerial photography and GPR revealed many new structures nearby.
VRPG provides a rare opportunity to not only study the deadly history of malaria, but also the history of central Italian Roman villas. This poster reintroduces the villa and presents the preliminary results of the 2016 and 2017 excavation campaigns. This poster also discusses the novel protocol developed by the project’s bioarchaeology specialist, Dr. Jamie Inwood, for identifying infections of P. falciparum within ancient human remains.
Cycladic “frying pans” remain one of the most enigmatic and exhibited artifacts of the Aegean Bro... more Cycladic “frying pans” remain one of the most enigmatic and exhibited artifacts of the Aegean Bronze Age, and while many theories have been suggested regarding their possible function(s) and the symbolism of their decorative features, little attention has been paid to their manufacture, even in the key publications of Coleman (1985) and Rambach (2000). A close analysis of their chaine operatoire and morphological characteristics (e.g., weight, measurements, syntax of decoration, and rendering of idiosyncratic motifs) can reveal aspects of manufacture and artist’s intent and may also invite reconsideration of some proposed functions.
Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the Cycladic frying pans, we have chosen to re-create one, specifically inventory number NAM 4974 (Tomb 174, Chalandriani, Syros), its with forked handle, central ship motif, and network pattern of spirals. Our final replica has taken into consideration the scholarship concerning Bronze Age ceramic technology, first-hand observations of select Cycladic frying pans at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, including inventory number NAM 4974 itself, micro-imaging, and three-dimensional laser scanning. In the course of examining multiple frying pans, precise weights, never before considered, and measurements were recorded, and careful attention was paid to their morphological and decorative characteristics, their fabric, and the white-paste filling of their impressed designs. With these observations, we were able to better inform the production of our 1:1 scale replica, which in turn has revealed new thoughts concerning the time and tool kit required by Early Bronze Age Cycladic potters. Furthermore, with our finished replica we were also able to perform complementary experimentation, putting to the test popular theories regarding Cycladic frying pan function.
This study brings new attention to one of the most iconic artifact types of the Aegean Bronze Age. Our poster provides the results of our experimental study, including not only the methodology and procedure of our reproduction but also our observations on manufacture, design, and possible function(s). Alongside the poster is our scale reproduction of inventory number NAM 4974 and the tools used in its manufacture.
Papers by David Pickel
ARCHEO n. 412, 2019
During the 2018 field season of the Necropilis of Poggio Gramignano - Lugnano in Teverina (Italy)... more During the 2018 field season of the Necropilis of Poggio Gramignano - Lugnano in Teverina (Italy), a remarkable discovery was made. In the early afternoon under the beating July sun, while the cicadas sang out from the old oak tree looming over the villa’s ruins, the archaeologists involved in the project began to reveal the first signs of a new burial. Amphorae sherds capped a tegula (roof tile) leaning up against one of the storage magazine’s walls. But as excavation continued, it became clear to all that this burial was different. Not long after Gabriele and Danny had come across the first signs of this burial, the two had fully uncovered a partial “alla cappuccina” style burial, much larger than those so far discovered at Poggio Gramignano. Alla cappuccina burials are typical of this cemetery and Roman Italy in general, in which tegulae are stacked and pitched against one another to create a make-shift tomb, often for ordinary individuals. This was a partial alla cappuccina burial, constructed by leaning two large roof tiles against an existing wall of the room. Beneath the tegulae was found the remains of a single individual placed resting on the left side and facing the wall of the room. Designated as “Burial 51,” this individual and the burial are remarkable for two reasons. First, this child is much older than those infants and children so far discovered (52 in total). Based on the stage of dental development evident, this young child (whose sex remains undetermined at this moment) was around 10 years old at the time of its death. While the body had been subject to some taphonomic disturbance over time, it was well-protected by the tegulae, evidenced by the skeleton’s completeness and the high degree of articulation. This preservation made the second remarkable fact of this burial all the more apparent. A stone was found within his or her mouth. This stone was revealed to be a small limestone cut in a shape similar to a wall cubilium. A cubilium is a kind of cut stone crafted by the Romans, pointed on end and inserted into stone-faced cement walls. Because of the way the child’s head was positioned, the jaw would not have fallen open as the masseter muscles decomposed, suggesting that the placement of the stone was intentional and did not result from the slow collapse of the surrounding edifice. Moreover, this stone had cement on two sides, in which small tooth-shaped depressions are visible, lending further weight to the interpretation that the stone was purposefully inserted within the child’s mouth.
LA VILLA DOPO LA VILLA - 2 Trasformazione di un sistema insediativo ed economico nell'Italia centrale tra tarda Antichità e Medioevo - Collana « FERVET OPVS » - n° 9, 2022
A project of the Comune di Lugnano in Teverina and the University of Arizona continues the invest... more A project of the Comune di Lugnano in Teverina and the University of Arizona continues the investigations carried out by the Soprintendenza Archeologica dell’Umbria and then the University of Arizona in the 1980s and 1990s in the villa of Poggio Gramignano. This is a villa on a naviga- ble stretch of the Tiber upstream from Rome. It is possible to follow the transformations of the SE corner of the villa from its foundation in the 1st century BC to frequentation after the mid 5th century. The discovery of a cemetery was not unusual. Here, however, the deceased are babies, which has given rise to the hypothesis of an epidemic. The comparison of the pottery found in 3rd- and 5th-century layers allows some considerations on the inhabitants of Poggio Gramignano. In both periods, they had access to a range of goods not only from the region but from various parts of the Mediterranean. Their comparable material culture argues for a certain continuity and against the idea of squatters in the 5th century.
American Journal of Archaeology, 2024
Malaria has persisted in Italy since the Roman Imperial period, if not as early as the second cen... more Malaria has persisted in Italy since the Roman Imperial period, if not as early as the second century BCE. Yet little is known regarding Romans’ everyday interactions with this historically oppressive mosquito-borne disease, knowledge of which is crucial for understanding the broader significance of malaria in Roman history. This is in part due to the limitations of current approaches for studying ancient malaria which focus primarily on diagnosing specific incidences of infection. Drawing on landscape epidemiology and contemporary malariology, this article shifts focus towards a more holistic understanding of the multifaceted determinants of malaria and its transmission in antiquity, with particular emphasis on Roman villa estates in central Italy. It is argued that, despite the presence of malaria and the naturally high risk of transmission throughout much of the region, villa estates very likely reduced local risk of malaria transmission by utilizing a suite of agricultural practices that reduced local mosquito densities and separated susceptible hosts and malaria’s mosquito vectors. In addition to improving our understanding of the specific entanglement between Roman villa estate agriculture and malaria in central Italy, this article demonstrates the benefit of an interdisciplinary approach and the interpretive utility of archaeological evidence for ancient disease studies more broadly.
Frontiers in Public Health, 2022
COVID-19 continues to be a public health crisis, while severely impacting global financial market... more COVID-19 continues to be a public health crisis, while severely impacting global financial markets causing significant economic and social hardship. As with any emerging disease, pharmaceutical interventions required time, emphasizing the initial and continuing need for non-pharmaceutical interventions. We highlight the role of anthropological and historical perspectives to inform approaches to non-pharmaceutical interventions for future preparedness. The National Academy of Medicine, a not-for-profit, non-governmental US-based medical watchdog organization, published a key document early in the COVID-19 pandemic which points to inadequate quarantine and containment infrastructure as a significant obstacle to an effective pandemic response. In considering how to implement effective quarantine policies and infrastructure, we argue that it is essential to take a longitudinal approach to assess interventions that have been effective in past pandemics while simultaneously addressing and eliminating the negative socio-historical legacies of ineffective quarantine practices. Our overview reinforces the need for social equity and compassion when implementing containment.
Environmental Archaeology: The Journal of Human Palaeoecology, 2023
The late antique (ca. mid. 5th century CE) infant and child cemetery at Poggio Gramignano near Lu... more The late antique (ca. mid. 5th century CE) infant and child cemetery at Poggio Gramignano near Lugnano in Teverina (Umbria, Italy) is well-known for its association with malaria. However, less is known about the community members most closely connected to this cemetery space-in particular, the the infants' mothers. This paper more closely explores the health of the 62 individuals who have been recovered from the cemetery to date with the goal of exploring maternal health status at the time of infant death. Skeletal pathologies are reconsidered within the specific context of the placental fetal environment. Using a biocultural framework and analysis of nested environments, we explore the likely corresponding health of these infants' mothers during late pregnancy and breastfeeding, taking into consideration the wider context of social and cultural factors that mediated Roman women's behaviour, status, and access to resources in rural late antique Umbria. We conclude that these factors, combined with disease stress, profoundly shaped the fertility, morbidity, and mortality of this late antique community. In this context, fetal and perinatal health serve as a useful proxy for community health in the absence of adult remains.
Fra tutela e ricerca, Indagini Archeologiche in territorio Amerino, a cura di Elena Roscini, 2022
This contribution is a preliminary report of the new excavation season (2016-2019) at Poggio Gram... more This contribution is a preliminary report of the new excavation season (2016-2019) at Poggio Gramignano, an archaeological site located in Lugnano in Teverina (Umbria). This is a multi-year project, a partnership between the University of Arizona, Yale University, Stanford University and the Municipality of Lugnano in Teverina, that continues previous reasearches begun over three decades ago, from 1982. The new excavation campaigns aim to better understand the Roman villa and its surrounding area, with particular focus on the late Roman infant cemetery discovered within the storage magazines.
European Journal of Post-Classical Archaeologies, 2020
Begun in the Summer of 2016, the Villa Romana di Poggio Gramignano Archaeological Project – a par... more Begun in the Summer of 2016, the Villa Romana di Poggio Gramignano Archaeological Project – a partnership between the Soprintendenza Archeologia dell’Umbria, the University of Arizona, and the town council of Lugnano in Teverina – continues a work initially begun in the 1980s. The present report illustrates the preliminary results obtained after the years of excavation 2016-2019. The aim is to contribute to the debate concerning
the causes of the end of Roman villas in the western part of Empire.
Keywords: Roman burials, Roman infant cemetery, plasmodium falciparum, Poggio Gramignano, Lugnano in Teverina
Iniziato nell’estate del 2016, il progetto archeologico Villa Romana di Poggio Gramignano – in partenariato tra la Soprintendenza Archeologia dell’Umbria, l’Università dell’Arizona e il Comune di Lugnano in Teverina – continua un lavoro iniziato negli anni Ottanta. Questo articolo illustra i risultati preliminari ottenuti dalle campagne di scavo 2016-2019, con la
speranza di contribuire al dibattito che concerne le cause che sancirono la fine delle ville romane nella parte occidentale dell’Impero.
Parole chiave: sepolture romane, cimitero infantile romano, plasmodium falciparum, Poggio Gramignano, Lugnano in Teverina
Ecology Letters, 2021
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) are embedded within complex socio-ecological systems. While research... more Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) are embedded within complex socio-ecological systems. While research has traditionally focused on the direct effects of VBDs on human morbidity and mortality, it is increasingly clear that their impacts are much more pervasive. VBDs are dynamically linked to feedbacks between environmental conditions, vector ecology, disease burden, and societal responses that drive transmission. As a result, VBDs have had profound influence on human history. Mechanisms include: (1) killing or debilitating large numbers of people, with demographic and population-level impacts; (2) differentially affecting populations based on prior history of disease exposure, immunity, and resistance; (3) being weaponised to promote or justify hierarchies of power, colonialism, racism, classism and sexism; (4) catalysing changes in ideas, institutions, infrastructure, technologies and social practices in efforts to control disease outbreaks; and (5) changing human relationships with the land and environment. We use historical and archaeological evidence interpreted through an ecological lens to illustrate how VBDs have shaped society and culture, focusing on case studies from four pertinent VBDs: plague, malaria, yellow fever and trypanosomiasis. By comparing across diseases, time periods and geographies, we highlight the enormous scope and variety of mechanisms by which VBDs have influenced human history.
Thesis Chapters by David Pickel
Front matter, including abstract and Table of Contents, of Stanford University doctoral dissertat... more Front matter, including abstract and Table of Contents, of Stanford University doctoral dissertation (submitted 2021).
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Conference Presentations by David Pickel
In this poster we first detail this new evidence, in particular the stratigraphic relationship between the pre-Roman deposits and the Augustan era villa’s sub-structure. Following, we contextualize this evidence with what is currently known about Southern Umbria’s pre-Roman archaeological landscape. To conclude, we discuss the significance of these new discoveries. Not only do they considerably expand Poggio Gramignano’s chronology and suggest that the site was an important economic center at the border between Etruscan, Faliscan, and Umbrian territories, but they also provide new insight into the practice of Roman building and builders’ encounters with archaeological deposits in antiquity, possibly adding for the Romans special new meaning to Poggio Gramignano as the site of an elite villa and later infant and child cemetery.
Located near the Umbrian town of Lugnano in Teverina (TR), this Augustan period villa was originally excavated in the 1980s and early 1990s under the scientific direction of David Soren. These first excavations not only uncovered significant sections of the villa’s living quarters, but also a unique child cemetery. It is currently hypothesized that this cemetery was the result of a malaria epidemic that struck the region sometime in the middle of the 5th century CE.
Recent excavations have focused on the area of the cemetery. During the 2019 field season eight new burials of varying types were uncovered, including two inhumed infants whose bodies were weighed down with stones and concrete. These newly discovered burials, together with those recently discovered during past seasons, brings the total count of distinct individuals found deposited within the villa’s ruins to sixty. In addition, re-study of those burials previously discovered by Soren and his team has found evidence of mid-wife assisted birth. Finally, the 2019 field season saw the completion of a pre-Roman deposit of artifactual material, found to have been cut by the villa’s foundation walls in close proximity to the area of child cemetery. Although study of this material is ongoing, it likely originates from an archaic settlement formerly located on or near Poggio Gramignano.
Located near the Umbrian town of Lugnano in Teverina (TR), this Augustan period villa was originally excavated in the 1980s and early 1990s by Prof. David Soren. These first excavations not only uncovered significant sections of the villa’s living quarters, but also an abnormal infant cemetery. Here the remains of 47 children were discovered, ranging in age from prenatal to three years. Taking into account much material and textual evidence, Soren suggested that this cemetery was the result of an acute malaria epidemic. Subsequent analysis of the oldest individual (B36) utilizing more precise methodologies (aDNA extraction and hemozoin isolation analysis) corroborate this interpretation - B36 most likely died from an infection of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, the most malignant strain of malaria.
The 2016 and 2017 campaigns further excavated the area of the infant cemetery, specifically Rooms 11, 12 and 17. Three burials of varying types were newly discovered. In addition, a curious trace of piping was revealed within Room 16 of the upper villa area. Also, aerial photography and GPR revealed many new structures nearby.
VRPG provides a rare opportunity to not only study the deadly history of malaria, but also the history of central Italian Roman villas. This poster reintroduces the villa and presents the preliminary results of the 2016 and 2017 excavation campaigns. This poster also discusses the novel protocol developed by the project’s bioarchaeology specialist, Dr. Jamie Inwood, for identifying infections of P. falciparum within ancient human remains.
Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the Cycladic frying pans, we have chosen to re-create one, specifically inventory number NAM 4974 (Tomb 174, Chalandriani, Syros), its with forked handle, central ship motif, and network pattern of spirals. Our final replica has taken into consideration the scholarship concerning Bronze Age ceramic technology, first-hand observations of select Cycladic frying pans at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, including inventory number NAM 4974 itself, micro-imaging, and three-dimensional laser scanning. In the course of examining multiple frying pans, precise weights, never before considered, and measurements were recorded, and careful attention was paid to their morphological and decorative characteristics, their fabric, and the white-paste filling of their impressed designs. With these observations, we were able to better inform the production of our 1:1 scale replica, which in turn has revealed new thoughts concerning the time and tool kit required by Early Bronze Age Cycladic potters. Furthermore, with our finished replica we were also able to perform complementary experimentation, putting to the test popular theories regarding Cycladic frying pan function.
This study brings new attention to one of the most iconic artifact types of the Aegean Bronze Age. Our poster provides the results of our experimental study, including not only the methodology and procedure of our reproduction but also our observations on manufacture, design, and possible function(s). Alongside the poster is our scale reproduction of inventory number NAM 4974 and the tools used in its manufacture.
Papers by David Pickel
the causes of the end of Roman villas in the western part of Empire.
Keywords: Roman burials, Roman infant cemetery, plasmodium falciparum, Poggio Gramignano, Lugnano in Teverina
Iniziato nell’estate del 2016, il progetto archeologico Villa Romana di Poggio Gramignano – in partenariato tra la Soprintendenza Archeologia dell’Umbria, l’Università dell’Arizona e il Comune di Lugnano in Teverina – continua un lavoro iniziato negli anni Ottanta. Questo articolo illustra i risultati preliminari ottenuti dalle campagne di scavo 2016-2019, con la
speranza di contribuire al dibattito che concerne le cause che sancirono la fine delle ville romane nella parte occidentale dell’Impero.
Parole chiave: sepolture romane, cimitero infantile romano, plasmodium falciparum, Poggio Gramignano, Lugnano in Teverina
Thesis Chapters by David Pickel
In this poster we first detail this new evidence, in particular the stratigraphic relationship between the pre-Roman deposits and the Augustan era villa’s sub-structure. Following, we contextualize this evidence with what is currently known about Southern Umbria’s pre-Roman archaeological landscape. To conclude, we discuss the significance of these new discoveries. Not only do they considerably expand Poggio Gramignano’s chronology and suggest that the site was an important economic center at the border between Etruscan, Faliscan, and Umbrian territories, but they also provide new insight into the practice of Roman building and builders’ encounters with archaeological deposits in antiquity, possibly adding for the Romans special new meaning to Poggio Gramignano as the site of an elite villa and later infant and child cemetery.
Located near the Umbrian town of Lugnano in Teverina (TR), this Augustan period villa was originally excavated in the 1980s and early 1990s under the scientific direction of David Soren. These first excavations not only uncovered significant sections of the villa’s living quarters, but also a unique child cemetery. It is currently hypothesized that this cemetery was the result of a malaria epidemic that struck the region sometime in the middle of the 5th century CE.
Recent excavations have focused on the area of the cemetery. During the 2019 field season eight new burials of varying types were uncovered, including two inhumed infants whose bodies were weighed down with stones and concrete. These newly discovered burials, together with those recently discovered during past seasons, brings the total count of distinct individuals found deposited within the villa’s ruins to sixty. In addition, re-study of those burials previously discovered by Soren and his team has found evidence of mid-wife assisted birth. Finally, the 2019 field season saw the completion of a pre-Roman deposit of artifactual material, found to have been cut by the villa’s foundation walls in close proximity to the area of child cemetery. Although study of this material is ongoing, it likely originates from an archaic settlement formerly located on or near Poggio Gramignano.
Located near the Umbrian town of Lugnano in Teverina (TR), this Augustan period villa was originally excavated in the 1980s and early 1990s by Prof. David Soren. These first excavations not only uncovered significant sections of the villa’s living quarters, but also an abnormal infant cemetery. Here the remains of 47 children were discovered, ranging in age from prenatal to three years. Taking into account much material and textual evidence, Soren suggested that this cemetery was the result of an acute malaria epidemic. Subsequent analysis of the oldest individual (B36) utilizing more precise methodologies (aDNA extraction and hemozoin isolation analysis) corroborate this interpretation - B36 most likely died from an infection of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, the most malignant strain of malaria.
The 2016 and 2017 campaigns further excavated the area of the infant cemetery, specifically Rooms 11, 12 and 17. Three burials of varying types were newly discovered. In addition, a curious trace of piping was revealed within Room 16 of the upper villa area. Also, aerial photography and GPR revealed many new structures nearby.
VRPG provides a rare opportunity to not only study the deadly history of malaria, but also the history of central Italian Roman villas. This poster reintroduces the villa and presents the preliminary results of the 2016 and 2017 excavation campaigns. This poster also discusses the novel protocol developed by the project’s bioarchaeology specialist, Dr. Jamie Inwood, for identifying infections of P. falciparum within ancient human remains.
Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the Cycladic frying pans, we have chosen to re-create one, specifically inventory number NAM 4974 (Tomb 174, Chalandriani, Syros), its with forked handle, central ship motif, and network pattern of spirals. Our final replica has taken into consideration the scholarship concerning Bronze Age ceramic technology, first-hand observations of select Cycladic frying pans at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, including inventory number NAM 4974 itself, micro-imaging, and three-dimensional laser scanning. In the course of examining multiple frying pans, precise weights, never before considered, and measurements were recorded, and careful attention was paid to their morphological and decorative characteristics, their fabric, and the white-paste filling of their impressed designs. With these observations, we were able to better inform the production of our 1:1 scale replica, which in turn has revealed new thoughts concerning the time and tool kit required by Early Bronze Age Cycladic potters. Furthermore, with our finished replica we were also able to perform complementary experimentation, putting to the test popular theories regarding Cycladic frying pan function.
This study brings new attention to one of the most iconic artifact types of the Aegean Bronze Age. Our poster provides the results of our experimental study, including not only the methodology and procedure of our reproduction but also our observations on manufacture, design, and possible function(s). Alongside the poster is our scale reproduction of inventory number NAM 4974 and the tools used in its manufacture.
the causes of the end of Roman villas in the western part of Empire.
Keywords: Roman burials, Roman infant cemetery, plasmodium falciparum, Poggio Gramignano, Lugnano in Teverina
Iniziato nell’estate del 2016, il progetto archeologico Villa Romana di Poggio Gramignano – in partenariato tra la Soprintendenza Archeologia dell’Umbria, l’Università dell’Arizona e il Comune di Lugnano in Teverina – continua un lavoro iniziato negli anni Ottanta. Questo articolo illustra i risultati preliminari ottenuti dalle campagne di scavo 2016-2019, con la
speranza di contribuire al dibattito che concerne le cause che sancirono la fine delle ville romane nella parte occidentale dell’Impero.
Parole chiave: sepolture romane, cimitero infantile romano, plasmodium falciparum, Poggio Gramignano, Lugnano in Teverina