Podcast byeArs 

Archaeological area of Poggio Gramignano

Narrator: We often forget  that alongside ‘History’ with a capital ‘H’, there runs a parallel history, which is made up of stories of ordinary women and men. The site of Poggio Gramignano, in the municipality of Lugnano in Teverina, actually sheds light on some of these stories. You will be guided through them by the archaeologist Roberto Montagnetti, who is in charge of the excavations.

Roberto Montagnetti: From the hill overlooking the Tiber valley where the archaeological remains are located, You can admire the peaks of the Amiata and Soratte mountains, stretching all the way to the Argentario promontory. A landscape that has remained incredibly intact over the millennia to the present day. A Roman villa rustica, which dates back to the middle of the 1st century B.C.E., used to stand in front of this fascinating view.We do not know the identity of the original owner, but we can deduce from the excavation work that this person used to live with the family in luxurious and well-decorated rooms. The servants, on the other hand, resided in a side wing of the villa, which also housed some service rooms dedicated to agricultural activities.

N: If you are wondering what an elegant residence of Roman times must have looked like, your curiosity can be satisfied by visiting this archaeological site. Thanks to the 3D reconstruction of the interior and exterior spaces offered by Tiber Pallia Immersive Discoveries, for a moment you will feel like a guest of the dominus of the house, thus breaking down the temporal distance that separates you from these distant eras. What more can we say about who inhabited the villa?

RM: An interesting discovery was made in 2018: a tile from the late 4th century bearing the name Leonzius, a member of the Gens Leoniana. This name is strikingly similar to that of Lugnano. What if this family owned all the land on which the village would later be founded? The hypothesis is suggestive.

N: In addition, other findings have made this archaeological area a unique place…

RM: Indeed. In some disused service rooms of the villa, a cemetery… of children was discovered, which can be dated back to the years between 415 and 435 C.E. The place contains as many as sixty graves with the remains of both foetuses and older children, all between zero and three years of age, with the sole exception of a girl aged between eight and twelve. The burials, which were made in different ways but always with great care, included objects of everyday life, such as small plates and amphorae, and even a bone doll with jointed limbs. All these artefacts are currently on display in the Civic Museum of Lugnano. Given the proximity to the Tiber, it is likely that these young lives were taken by malaria.

N: However, the children were not left alone while crossing the threshold into the afterlife.

RM: For this journey, they could count on their best friends, such as puppies whose bones were placed inside the graves. The dog was in fact considered the guardian of the home, but also of the passage between life and death. 

N: After the burial phase, there are no other traces. The site was abandoned until its rediscovery.It is now up to the archaeologists, and to those like us who know the story of this ancient place, to preserve its memory for the future…

N: You have listened to Tiber Pallia Stories, a podcast created by Italy’s National Strategy for Inner Areas – South West Orvieto Area. The podcast was produced by Capitale Cultura Group and Artglass.Texts, voice-over, music, and post-production were designed and produced by eArs.
We would like to thank the Umbria Region, the Municipality of Lugnano in Teverina and archaeologist Roberto Montagnetti, who joined us for this episode.To learn more about the ancient history of this territory, we encourage you to visit the archaeological sites of the Orvieto-Amerino area and listen to the other episodes of this podcast. See you soon!