The treasures of the Domus dei Mosaici: expansion of the Turris excavation
Evidence reveals that the building had at least two periods of use
A preliminary project to expand and complete the excavation of the splendid Domus of marine mosaics, the structure that emerged in the archaeological area of Turris Libisonis, the Roman city of Porto Torres.
With the surplus funding of 100 thousand euros, allocated by the regional secretariat of the Ministry of Culture with funds amounting to 577,200 euros, we will proceed with the preparation of a small project to define the latest discoveries. A further 1 million euro loan will allow work to begin on an expansion of the excavation in the first months of 2024.
«The intervention involves the definition of the entrances to the entire building complex, which still do not appear clear», explains archaeologist Gabriella Gasperetti, responsible for the procedure, planning and scientific direction of the archaeological excavation. «Furthermore, there are impressive sections of land still to be discovered and, above all, the entrance road from Via Ponte Romano has not been found».
We will continue with the restorations and the preparation of a competition of ideas to guarantee the coverage of the entire excavation, a structure created specifically that can act as a model for other archaeological areas to be preserved. It is, in fact, a three-level building with ten rooms with mosaic coverings of particular beauty: a rectangular floor, an apsidal room, a small apsidal room, a corridor, a room with a large basin, two small lateral rooms, a to which are added the latest discoveries of the changing room, the large rectangular room and the larger apsidal room on the ground floor.
The elements reveal that the building had at least two periods of use, one in the 3rd century AD and a final one in the 4th - 5th century AD. In the 2003-2004 excavations the complex looked like a luxurious patrician Domus of the ancient Po Valley city, with rooms arranged on multiple levels, panoramic on the Rio Mannu, a complex of notable richness. The excavation carried out in 2022, currently 30 meters wide on each side with an extension on three sides of approximately 15 metres, revealed new details on the domus which allow us to put forward the hypothesis that it is a thermal apparatus that extends for an entire block. The presence of a heated area and cold environments suggests a spa environment which later became a place of Christian worship.
