AIA Lecture: R. J. A. Wilson on the Gerace Project, 2013-2015

On the evening of January 19th, a large crowd gathered to listen to the University of British Columbia’s very own Professor Roger Wilson present on his findings in Gerace, Sicily. The room was packed with audience members, all of them curious to hear about the 4th century CE Roman villa with its mosaic pavements. As one of the student archaeologists who excavated during the 2013 season, I was especially excited to hear about the presumed owner of the villa, Philippianus, who stamped his name on hundreds of roof tiles on the estate. All of us looked forward to hearing about his findings over the course of two seasons, as well as his plans for the future of the project over the next season.

Photo (c) Chloe Martin

The site of Gerace is located in the centre of the island of Sicily, not far from the city of Enna and the famous villa at Piazza Armerina. The site is situated in a picturesque valley boasting rich farmland which supports a wide variety of crops, orchards and vines today. One can only imagine how ideal the estate would have been for an agricultural enterprise in antiquity. The excavation at Gerace is a significant archaeological opportunity because Sicily was integral to the economy of the Roman Empire, responsible for producing much of the wheat, barley, olives and grapes imported into the city of Rome. Very few villas have been excavated and adequately recorded in Sicily. Many of these projects were clearance jobs which concentrated only on uncovering the mosaics or artifacts beneath the soil, with little regard for recording stratigraphy or finds. Gerace is a significant site because it is expected to provide information regarding the late Roman agricultural economy within the context of a rural villa estate.

The villa at Gerace was discovered in 1994, when a flood broke the banks of a drainage ditch in a famer’s field, revealing that an ancient structure with geometric mosaic pavements lay beneath the soil. Partial investigations of the building by Italian archaeologists in 1994 and 2007 revealed some of the mosaic floors in two rooms of the villa, in addition to medieval structures, and the plan of the Roman walls of the villa. The Italian excavations ground to a halt until 2012, when Dr. Wilson obtained a grant to commission a geophysical survey of the grounds surrounding the villa structure. The survey revealed that the villa estate was surrounded by a number of outbuildings and kilns. In 2013, Dr. Wilson obtained permission to begin excavations of the site, aiming to continue excavations to floor level in order to determine the function of the villa and to confirm the date of the building.

Excavations of the villa structure revealed that it was in use for about a century. It could not have been erected before c. 360 CE, and was destroyed by a catastrophic fire during the second half of the fifth century. It was discovered that the villa was not as luxurious as previously assumed, with mosaic pavements (c. 370/390 CE) laid out in only two of the rooms of the building. The service quarters of the villa featured earth floors with white plaster walls, as well as deep storage rooms which contained large quantities of carbonized seeds, including broad beans, barley, wheat, lentils and grapes. The largest room of the house where the master would have spent the majority of his time was laid out in an opus signinum floor, indicating that the owner of the villa was not an individual who could afford to enjoy the high-status luxuries of the late Roman world. It is assumed that guests visiting the villa would have only seen the rooms decorated with mosaics, and that undecorated areas of the villa would have been closed off while they were present.

An extremely large outbuilding next to the villa was also excavated during the 2013 season. The building most likely served as a granary, with a 1.38m thick outer wall on its east end and intact stone flagged floors. The building was most likely served as a granary, built no earlier than c. 325 CE and in use at a much earlier date than the villa next to it. The building was covered in a colossal tile fall, indicating that it suffered a sudden and catastrophic collapse and could not be rebuilt by its owner. Dr. Wilson believes that the collapse likely occurred during an earthquake which destroyed many buildings in Sicily during the reign of Julian (361-363 CE). The geophysical survey revealed that a large building uphill from the granary may have also suffered a collapse during this period. It is quite likely that this building was the original villa, and that the earthquake destroyed both of these buildings. The late 4th century villa may have been built after the earthquake and the loss of both the granary and larger villa. It is quite possible that the owner of the estate faced financial problems after the collapse of the structures, which may explain why the villa structure is not as luxurious as contemporary estates in Sicily. This is only speculation, however, and more conclusive evidence is expected to be unearthed upon future excavation of the large villa during the 2016 season.

Photo (c) Chloe Martin

The name Philippianus was stamped on hundreds roof tiles which covered the fourth century villa. Interestingly, these stamped tiles were not found on the earlier granary structure, indicating that the roof tiles were specifically made for the villa. Ten different dies were used to produce the tile stamps. The most striking of these is a circular stamp naming PHILIPPIANI in a circular inscription around the edge. A racehorse with a plume attached to its head and a palm branch of victory in front of it is depicted in the centre of the stamp, and a crown with ribbons marks the beginning and the end of the name in the legend. It is almost certain that the tiles were produced in kilns on the villa estate, and Dr. Wilson suggests that the owner of the villa wanted his own name to be stamped on the tiles. The identity of Philippianus and his association with horses is still unclear. It is possible that he was a racehorse owner, as Sicily was a major provider of circus ponies, but there is no evidence for the facilities required to raise horses on the estate. Dr. Wilson has also suggested that the name Philippianus is a play on words, as the name means ‘lover of horses’. It is possible that he acquired the name from his neighbours because he was crazy about horses. If this is the case, it is the only example of name-play in Sicily.

Regardless of his identity, Philippianus was most likely alive to see the collapse of the granary building, overseeing the construction of the replacement villa during the late fourth century CE. The 2016 excavations are scheduled to begin this summer, and further explorations of the kilns and the larger villa beyond the granary are expected to occur during this season. We look forward to hearing more about Dr. Wilson’s discoveries.