Important Roman ruins have been discovered near the town of Vizzini in the province of Catania in southeastern Sicily. The ruins of a Roman house with an intricate mosaic floor date from the 2nd to 4th century AD and are part of a large Roman village covering approximately 15 hectares.
Archaeologists from the University of Göttingen have been investigating how ancient Sicilians lived and traded for more than 20 years. A team led by Professor Johannes Bergemann from the Institute of Archeology began research in the Vizzini region in 2022. After conducting surface inspections, the team conducted a geophysical survey in 2023 to detect anomalies in Earth’s geomagnetic field and provide detailed information. Capture images of underground structures without the need for immediate excavation.
One of the important discoveries from these surveys was a Roman house measuring 30 by 13 meters. Just below today’s surface, a large room of approximately 100 square meters in size appeared, with a mosaic floor of the building. Unfortunately, parts of this mosaic have been damaged by centuries of agricultural cultivation. “Inside there are representative rooms with mosaic floors. Unfortunately, some of the mosaics have been destroyed by cultivation,” Professor Bergemann said.
Excavations also revealed other important architectural features, such as round brick columns covered with plaster and possibly painted, similar to those found at Pompeii. The remains of a fountain with a marble pool and fragments of terra sigillata, a type of fine Roman pottery, were also discovered. These findings suggest that the region’s inhabitants lived a life of relative luxury between the 2nd and 6th centuries AD.
The site represents a Roman village that emerged at a time when Sicily’s early Greek cities were replaced by large rural settlements and villas. Roman agricultural production facilities, often yielding large harvests, became an important feature of this settlement system. This system was sustained by the vast Roman Empire’s long-distance trade routes, linking inland areas with coastal depots along the southern coast of Sicily. As Sicily played an important role in the imperial economy, numerous small warehouses were established for trade purposes. However, this payment system was short-lived, lasting only a few centuries.
“The house discovered near Vizzini is important evidence of this period,” Bergemann said, underscoring the importance of the discovery. The research team also identified similar buildings nearby, indicating that the entire village was likely an integral part of the agricultural and trade network of the Roman Empire.
The Göttingen archaeological team announced its findings publicly for the first time on October 16, 2024 at Vizzini Town Hall. A more detailed presentation is scheduled for February 3, 2025 at the University of Göttingen as part of the Archeology Lecture Series.
Georg August University of Göttingen
