Initiated in 2015, the British Archaeological Project at Grumentum oversees the excavation of a large trench in Settore S at Grumentum, a Lucano-Roman town in western Basilicata. The aims of the project are twofold: (1) to explore the growth of Grumentum’s economy between the late Republic and the early Dominate through the excavation of commercial and industrial structures (e.g. shops, bakeries, workshops, etc.), and (2) to examine the town’s pre-Roman layout by analysing material evidence from the period prior to installation of the Roman colony in the mid-1st century BC.

Previous excavation campaigns in Settore S revealed the presence of a large building positioned to the east of the forum. The building consisted of a long row of single rooms and was constructed in the 2nd century AD; in its initial phase, it was flanked by a broad portico (c. 5 m wide) immediately to the west. Though canonical shop doorways (broad openings accompanied by long thresholds) have not been identified at the entrances to the rooms, the scale of these spaces (each approximately 33m²) and their positioning (situated one after another, opening onto the portico) suggests that they were probably shops or workshops. In 2017, we began digging inside one of the rooms, but as yet have not identified evidence to confirm that they were indeed tabernae. However, a test trench located beyond the building’s back wall revealed a compact tile and mortar surface probably associated with another room (or series of rooms) further to the east. If this interpretation is correct, the entire structure is likely much larger than originally thought.

Excavations on the western side of Settore S in 2015 and 2016 revealed a colonnade that supported the roof of the portico. It is now clear that the colonnade was rebuilt on multiple occasions during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD; the earliest of these events was probably the result of a fire. By the end of the 4th century, the portico was completely destroyed and the building’s rooms subdivided by a series of interior partition walls. The space occupied by the interior of the portico was converted to a street, roughly paved with tile, brick and small stones.

A trench positioned next to the building’s western façade (that is, the wall linking the building and the portico) revealed the remains of an earlier structure underneath, set on roughly the same alignment. Though we cannot yet provide a definitive date for the earlier remains, the ceramic assemblages recovered from surfaces removed by its construction cut indicate a terminus post quem in the mid-1st century BC. Many of the buildings in and around the forum were erected during the early Augustan period and thus it would not be too surprising if the earlier structure in Settore S also hails from this time. Further excavation in this area during the 2018 season will hopefully clarify the situation.