For over 20 years, archaeologists from the University of Göttingen have been researching how people lived and traded in ancient times in Sicily. Now, they have made another significant discovery: in the province of Catania, they have excavated the remains of a Roman house with a mosaic floor from the 2nd to 4th century AD. The house was located nearly 500 meters above sea level, near the town of Vizzini in southeastern Sicily, and was part of an entire Roman village.

The Göttingen team, led by Prof. Dr. Johannes Bergemann from the Archaeological Institute, has been investigating here since 2022. First, the entire Vizzini area was examined for potential ancient archaeological sites. After surface studies of the identified sites, a geophysical survey was conducted in 2023. This survey detected anomalies in the Earth’s geomagnetic field and created detailed images of the subsurface without the need for excavation.

These geophysical measurements led the research team to the remains of the buildings that have now been excavated. The building extended 30 by 13 meters, and its remains are just below the current surface. Inside, there is a representative room of nearly 100 square meters, with a floor covered in mosaics. Unfortunately, parts of the mosaic were destroyed by plowing, reports Bergemann.

Roman village uncovered in Sicily
View of the excavations in Sicily, in the province of Catania, near the town of Vizzini. Credit: Johannes Bergemann / Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

The geophysical measurements also revealed that there were other similar buildings in the vicinity. Between the 2nd and around the 6th century AD, people lived here at a high level: there were columns built with rounded bricks, coated with stucco, and probably painted, similar to what you see in Pompeii, says Bergemann. We have found remains of fountains with marble ponds, as well as luxury Roman ceramics known as Terra Sigillata.

Apparently, it is a Roman village covering approximately 15 hectares. The ancient Greek cities were replaced during the Roman period by a new settlement system: large rural settlements and villas, Roman agricultural production facilities that often generated substantial yields. This was made possible by long-distance trade in a globalized Roman Empire.

Numerous small storage sites emerged along the southern coast of Sicily for this purpose. This new settlement system, which was connected to the inland via roads, lasted only a few centuries. The house we have discovered near Vizzini is an important testimony of this era, says Bergemann.

SOURCES

Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

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