Vagnari in Puglia: A Roman Settlement with Illyrian Connections?

Abstract

The Masseria Vagnari lies in a small side-valley of the River Basentello in Puglia, some 12 km to the west of Gravina-inPuglia and 60 km SW of Bari on the Adriatic coast. Excavations here, in open farmland, have since 2000 progressively revealed a village of the Roman period which appears to have been at the centre of an imperial estate. The site is very close to the presumed line of the via Appia, though of this no trace has been detected. The area is still cultivated, and is available for excavation only at the height of summer, once the crop has been harvested. What has been found here is a vicus, an unpretentious settlement with evidence for tile production and iron-working, which stood on an imperial estate, acquired by either Augustus or Tiberius. The site plan shown here is an amalgam of excavated features and others inferred from geophysical survey: it is sufficient to show the regular, but modest, character of the buildings.