Realmonte begins excavation campaign at the Roman villa of Contrada Durrueli

Last Updated: June 5, 2024

Realmonte, parte la campagna di scavi alla villa romana di contrada Durrueli

The first excavation campaign at the Roman Villa in contrada Durrueli in Realmonte has started recently, conducted by the School of Specialization in Archaeological Heritage and the Institutes of Cultural Heritage Sciences (secondary seat in Catania) and Studies on the Ancient Mediterranean of Naples, and by the Archaeological Park of the Valley of the Temples, directed by Roberto Sciarratta.

“The Roman Villa, located a few kilometers from Agrigento, represents an extraordinary archaeological context delimited to the south by the sea coast, and to the east by what remains of the Cottone river. It was discovered in 1907, during the construction of railway tracks, and partially explored by Antonino Salinas,” says a note from the archaeological and landscape park of the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento. “Six rooms with mosaic floors were then brought to light. The investigations in the villa resumed only in 1979 with a team from the University of Tsukuba (Japan) under the direction of Masanori Aoyagi who, in several campaigns between 1979 and 1983, managed to bring to light the peristyle surrounded by a covered ambulatory, some rooms in the southern sector, two thermal sectors, and a long wall parallel to the coastline, already partially investigated by Salinas and interpreted as a retaining wall of the entire area on a steep north/south slope.”

“The objective of the current investigation campaign is to clarify the nature, structure, and functions of the villa,” the note continues. “The stratigraphic investigations in some sectors of the residential complex will help define aspects of the structure that have been unclear until now, built just steps away from the sea and the wonderful Scala dei Turchi.” The multidisciplinary team currently at work is led by Daniele Malfitana, professor of archaeological research methodology and director of the School of Specialization in archaeological heritage of the Catania university, and by Maria Serena Rizzo, an archaeologist at the Agrigento park.