Eastern Sigillata vessels from the Roman Cistern at Spoletino (Civitella D'Agliano, Viterbo, Italy)

The paper presents some unpublished Eastern Sigillata vessels (chiefly Eastern Sigillata B) that were uncovered during the excavation of a Roman cistern carried out from 2014 to 2018 at Spoletino (Civitella D’Agliano, Viterbo, Italy), a site in the Middle Tiber valley. The cistern was filled up in two different phases (mid-1st century AD, and mid-4th century AD) with the furnishings of a – not yet uncovered – villa located in the vicinity. The occurrence of imported Eastern Mediterranean tableware – even if in a very limited quantity if compared to Italian Sigillata and, for the later phase, to African red slip ware – in an almost remote site is significant. An overall reconsideration of lifestyle in “rural” villas scattered in the Italian countryside can be traced through the analysis of these imported vessels, that were considered as valuable products, and that mirror the riches and the international connections of their owners.