The Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Province of Viterbo and southern Etruria resumes work at the Grotta Porcina site in Vetralla

VETRALLA (Viterbo) – The important archaeological area of ​​Grotta Porcina in Vetralla, the subject of excavations since the 1920s, consists of a complex “rock funerary system”, chronologically placeable between the end of the orientalising age and the archaic. To the princely and monumental mound of approx. 28 meters in diameter and 3.5 meters high, which dominates the vast necropolis, is accompanied by a quadrangular sacred area characterized by the presence on three sides of three steps which, most likely, allowed one to witness the rites that took place there; at the center of the sacred area is a circular altar decorated with a bas-relief frieze with orientalizing animals. The Superintendency with an initial loan (3-year planning LL.PP. 2022-2024) has started a program of works aimed at enhancing and using the site, works that will be completed thanks to PNRR funds.
The project, managed by officials of the Superintendence: the architect Giuseppe Borzillo and the archaeologist Beatrice Casocavallo, in this first phase focused on the study and analysis of the diagnostic framework of the site. These preliminary actions are fundamental to outline the critical elements that characterize the state of the places so as to activate the fundamental operations for the conservation and protection of the site. Considerable cleaning operations were carried out in the vast area with the removal of weeds, activities carried out by the company Lepsa srl. coordinated and constantly followed by internal and external technical staff of the Superintendency. Thanks to this cleaning, it was possible to carry out all the survey operations in the area, work conducted by the Società Explorer srl (Academic Spin-Off of the University of Trieste), in order to map the area with the positioning of all the archaeological evidence . The work will allow reading not only the data archaeological but also landscape so as to better understand the relationships and integration between these two aspects which was even stronger in the ancient world.
It will thus be possible to draw a framework of reference not only historical/archaeological but also landscape and define the subsequent interventions especially in relation to the potential that these could have to trigger processes of valorization of the site with the archaeological sites present in the municipality of Vetralla, of the nearby Blera and in the more distant city of Norchia.
The basic objective of the intervention tends, in this first phase and as a priority, to improve the conservation conditions of the archaeological structures, also aiming at a new and global scientific study of the context and then concentrating the work towards valorising the area, with the aim of increasing the usability of the site. In this sense we intend to address a greater number of audiences through the promotion of cultural activities within the area, such as cultural events, teaching activities, etc., with the aim of offering diversified experiences so as to make this area more and more known. extraordinary site that must be known and enjoyed but also respected and defended.