Interim report on the Falerii Novi Project, 2021–2023

Presented are the results of the Falerii Novi Project, a multi-year international archaeological research project at the ancient urban site of Falerii Novi, in the Comune of Fabrica di Roma (Viterbo, Lazio), in the middle Tiber Valley. According to ancient sources, the Roman town of Falerii Novi was founded in the mid-third century BCE, when the nearby Faliscan center of Falerii Veteres (modern Civita Castellana) revolted and was conquered by Rome. The site, which measures nearly 32 ha and presents as a greenfield site today, lies along the ancient via Amerina, approximately 50 km north of Rome. The only standing premodern remains on site are the city’s walls, generally dated to its foundation in the 3rd century BCE, an extramural amphitheater to the northeast, peri-urban tombs, and the complex of Santa Maria di Falleri, whose monastic community is first mentioned in the 11th century CE. Previous work in the 19tth century and that carried out by the Soprintendenza during the late XXth century remain largely unpublished. More recently, however, non-invasive work using magnetometry and Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) has generated plans of the Roman town. The interim results of the FNP presented here build on this remote sensing to create a detailed understanding of the site’s development over its full history. Pursuant to our aims of exploring a range of urban spaces, trenches have been excavated across the intramural area, guided by magnetometry and GPR results. We detail results from an initial campaign of test pits (2021) and two years of open-area stratigraphic excavation (2022–23). Five areas of exploration (Areas I–V) are discussed below, including one, Area IV, restudied by the FNP after some initial, unpublished excavation by the Soprintendenza.