San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project
The San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project (SGARP) is a transdisciplinary project that targets the archaeological past of San Giuliano, a site located approximately 70 km northwest of Rome within Marturanum Park in Lazio. SGARP’s goal is to reconstruct the long-term changes in human occupation of the San Giuliano plateau and the surrounding hills. Hundreds of rock-cut Etruscan tombs ring the plateau, while the plateau was likely the site of the associated Etruscan town. We seek to investigate the Etruscan occupation and understand the transitions that followed, including incorporation into the Roman Empire, transformations in the medieval settlement pattern, and the final abandonment of the site sometime before AD 1300.
We have focused our attention on the Etruscan and medieval periods as eras of particularly significant societal change. These two periods saw the most intensified use of the San Giuliano plateau. We are seeking to understand both the rise and fall of the Etruscan urban center and the medieval incastellamento (castle-building) process that reshaped the Italian landscape in the 10th and 11th centuries. SGARP’s 2016 inaugural season of fieldwork comprised mapping, survey, and excavation of the plateau and the Etruscan necropolis. We focused on three tasks: 1) documentation and registration of the rock-cut Etruscan tombs that ring the plateau, 2) salvage excavation of two tombs, and 3) survey, mapping, and excavation atop the San Giuliano plateau.
We targeted the medieval ruins visible in an area of the plateau known as La Rocca. Early work has revealed a fortified zone with walls surrounding a small castle complex centered on a tower that, but for the base, has now collapsed.
Drs. Colleen and Davide Zori will lead an Archaeology Field Project in Summer 2023 - Session 1. See course offerings below:
Anthropology
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ANT 4670 Field School in Archaeology - 6 credits
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Designed for Anthropology students, but open to all students
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ANT 4V16 Archaeological Research - 3 credits
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For students who return for a second season to conduct further research of their own under the project umbrella
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Baylor Interdisciplinary Core
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BIC 4374 World Cultures 5 - 3 credits
History
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HIS 4326 Early Medieval Europe - 3 credits
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HIS 4340 History and Material Culture - 3 credits
Religion
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REL 4317 Early Christianity in the Roman World - 3 credits
Trip Details - Summer 2023
San Guiliano Archaeological Field Project Information
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