La casa centrale dei fondi ex Cossar ad Aquileia: nuovi scavi e prospettive di ricerca

The archaeological area named "Fondi ex-Cossar" represents one of the most interesting residential quarters in Aquileia. Nineteenth century excavations had already unearthed remains concerning at least three roman imperial houses with rich mosaics; the complex was deeply restored and the area opened to the public during the Seventies. Given the rough knowledge of the internal arrangement and boundaries of the dwellings and observing the very bad preservation of the floors, the Universita di Padova (Dipartimento di Archeologia) and the Fondazione Aquileia decided to set out new investigations in the area, focusing the attention on the central house, known with the name of "Domus della Scena di Pesca". The excavations have been led by professors, researchers and students of the Dipartimento di Archeologia, with the agreement of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Friuli Venezia Giulia. The research has provided both a deeper dig of the area already investigated during the nineteenth century and a new open-area dig of the western part of the block, which had never been investigated before. As a whole, the area covers a complete stripe of an insula between two north-south paved roads; so it was possible, for the first time in Aquileia, to dig an entire private house and not just a part of it. This paper presents an overview of the data gained during the first two campaigns (2009-2010), some chronological references and some preliminary remarks concerning the building.