“Progetto Velia”: lo scavo degli horrea Piperataria nel Foro Romano (campagne 2019-2020)

The paper presents the first results of Progetto Velia, which aims at a general review of the geomorphological, topographical, architectural and historical problems of the urban sector extended between the Sacra Via and the Colle Oppio, known as the Velia neighborhood. The project consisted of several phases, which included archive research and geomorphological analysis through core drilling – all preparatory to the study and excavation of the complex of the horrea Piperataria, the spice warehouses built during the reign of Domitian and partly discovered beneath the Basilica of Maxentius at the beginning of the last century by M. Barosso. The excavation of one of the courtyards of the horrea has brought to light a complex stratigraphic sequence, with the succession of a series of buildings from the Augustan age up to the last interventions on the horrea, occurred in the Severan age. The complex, damaged by the construction of the basilica of Maxentius, had a long history in the post-antique period, partly testified by the spoliation activities recognized thanks to the recent excavations and partly reconstructed thanks to archive research