Ardea: le fortificazioni urbane e del Castrum Inui

The thesis concerns the study of the fortifications of Ardea and Castrum Inui - the city harbour - which, being characteristic elements of the ancient town-planning, allowed a reinterpretation of the city and region transformations. The job consists of three sections. The first introductory section is focused on the geomorphology of the sites and on the retrace of the history of former studies and researches. In the second part were analyzed the transformation of the two sites from the earliest archaeological statements – dating back to Bronze Age in the urban area and to archaic age in the Castrum – to the imperial age. The analysis of each phase is introduced by a study on the historical context in order to determine what were the events, not only related to Ardea but more generally to the cities of Latium Vetus, which might have generated the urban transformation. From time to time were examined the issues relating to defence works and their relations with the organization of the city and its port. The opportunity to explore a formerly unpublished monument like the opus quadratum fortification of Castrum Inui has provided important elements of confrontation that led to recognize the existence of different construction phases even in the city walls, never identified up to now. Finally, the third section is the filing of the fortifications and includes the analysis of currently visible rests, made by describing the construction characteristics with particular emphasis on metrology data, which has been used for the chronological definition of the various construction phases. The study is therefore supplemented by tables containing measurements and information regarding the blocks and their installation. The thesis is finally accompanied by two appendices: the first one collects quotations pertaining Ardea coming from literary sources, the second one is a large photographic collection including both the documentation of the remains in its present state of preservation, and the archival records which helped to analyze the characteristics of destroyed traits.