Uno scavo “dimenticato” in via dell’Olmata a Roma. Archeologia, tutela e mosaici nella documentazione archivistica degli anni ’60 del secolo scorso

The article aims to illustrate the “rediscovery” of a forgotten excavation on the Esquiline, through the reconstruction of archival documents. The context and history of the discoveries are emblematic of the difficulties always encountered by the authorities in charge of safeguarding archaeological heritage. Specifically, in the early 1960s, during the construction of a building between Via dell’Olmata and Via dei Quattro Cantoni, a series of ancient rooms with mosaic floors were found and the Superintendence of Rome took charge of their preservation, not without encountering problems with the periodical press. However, these findings were never published and the memory of them was lost until the discovery of related documents and photographs taken at the time, which made it possible to recover valuable information on an otherwise completely unknown context and on the mosaic floors that decorated a series of rooms from the Roman period.