Quadro generale e contesti di età alto-arcaica, arcaica e classica a Cuma: gli scavi dell’Università di Napoli L’Orientale

Since 2007, archaeological research carried out by the University of Napoli “L'Orientale” in the area located between the Forum Baths and the Northern Walls has brought to light part of the Greco-Roman settlement. The extensive excavation has uncovered a significant part of the insula of the Roman period, with its domus. The analysis of these allows us to observe phenomena of continuity and transformation in the period between the late Republican age and the 3rd century AD. Earlier phases are known through deep excavations: these document a stratigraphy that allows us to trace all phases of occupation of the site, from the pre-Hellenic, to the foundation of the colony, to the phases following the Campanian conquest of 421 BC. The first part of this paper will summarize the different phases that mark the occupation of the area. In the second part, instead, stratigraphy and materials referable to a domestic structure of the Geometric and Archaic periods will be presented in more detail. In particular, stratigraphic excavation uncovered a sequence of five stratified hearths in the inner part of the house. These evidences are of great interest as they testify to domestic activities of food preparation and consumption in a chronological period ranging from the late 8th to the early 6th centuries B.C.