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Archaeological survey along the Nocella River (Carini, Palermo)
Giovanni Polizzi
To cite this version:
Giovanni Polizzi. Archaeological survey along the Nocella River (Carini, Palermo). International Mediterranean Survey Workshop, Dec 2016, Palermo, Italy. �hal-02049269�
The thermal building (5, 6)
This building is localized in the South of the Amone Farm. During the modern period it was incorporated in a modern building probably used as a storage room.
The state of preservation allows us to identify at least three rooms located by series.
The first should be recognized as calidarium and tepidarium. The west room, ap- sidal and with a praefurnium, still retains the vertical tubules built on the walls and consistent traces of cocciopesto. From this room we can access to the
contiguous one in the north east passing by a threshold with cocciopesto. The actual floor level matches with the ipocausto level.
The third room is only visible with the external south east wall.
We have here an “axial type” building, where the bather was performed a retro- grade routing, from the frigidarium to the calidarium and vice versa. This is the most frequent typology in the little provincial thermal buildings. In Sicily, the most ancient example is in Solunto.
Archaeological survey along the Nocella River (Carini, Palermo)
Toponymy
The actual local name, Amone, derives from the name of one of first owners of the modern farm, Joseph Muni, referred in the 18th century notarial acts. Recent searches in archival
sources have allowed us to learn for this place the local name Tenimentum/Casale Calidum that derives probably from the existence of a roman thermal building, still known during the medieval period.
The site (3)
Because of its size (10 ha) the site has been split into smaller peripheral units, defined by the property line of each field, in order to be more accurate about the localisation of the histori- cal remains. In one of the peripheral units was realized a total collection of the finds (4).
From this collection we can deduce that the site of Amone was especially used from the late republican until the byzan- tine period. This long frequentation is due to the strategic po- sition of the site, near the sea and very close to a peripheral street which was linking the internal and maritime routes of via Valeria
The adjacency to the Nocella River is fundamental for the
water supply, but also important to achieve the harbour of San Cataldo, distant of 8 km from the site, on the mouth of the
river.
Conclusions
By the evidences of this site, we can suppose that between the middle of the im- perial period and the beginning of late antiquity, a villa took the place of a
modest settlement from the late republican period. The African pottery of IIIrd- Vth centuries BC suggests that the site was well placed for the commerce with the Cap Bon area and the Carthage region; in the VIth and VIIth centuries BC we can record a sharp fall of the pottery, consistent above all in tiles with a
streaky surface. They are concentrated in different locations of the site and sug- gest a downgrading of the precedent villa to a modest rural agglomeration, very similar to the one recognised in Cignana, on the territory of Agrigento.
International Mediterranean Survey Workshop
Palermo 2-3 dicembre 2016
Dipartimento Culture e Società, Viale delle Scienze, Edificio 15, Aula Magna, Piano V
Giovanni Polizzi - Doctorant contractuel en archéologie antique Centre Camille Jullian [email protected]
1
2 3 5
6 4
During 2012-2013 has been implemented an intensive and systematic survey In a specific area of Carini's territory (Palermo).
The explored area covers 3 km² (1, 2) and goes from the Nocella River in the south up to the hills of Cozzo Palombaro e Balzo Rosso in the north.
Here, it was possible to recognise a number of sites attended from the prehistory until the byzantine period.
Among these, the rural settlement in Amone district raised particular attention.
