Founded by Tarquinia in the last quarter of the 4th century BC, the city of Musarna (44°24'43.44 "N - 11°58'35.40 "E) occupies a central position within the vast territory of the great Etruscan metropolis. Along with other contemporary foundations, it was intended simultaneously to counter the Roman advance and to exploit the agricultural resources of the hinterland. Research carried out on the site by the École française de Rome between 1983 and 2003 has enabled to reconstruct the rigorously orthogonal layout of the city, to excavate several sectors of the settlement, to study the mighty and complex defensive system, and to resume the research in the necropolises, both Etruscan and Roman. These excavations therefore provide a close-up view of the remarkably slow process of romanisation of the Etruscan population of the site, over a period of almost three centuries.
Within the settlement, the domus unearthed between 1985 and 1991, occupying an area of around 900 m2, is of exceptional interest, given the length of time it was occupied and its planimetry. Probably created in the 3rd century BC as a domus publica, devoted to the city's cults and the reception of foreigners, it was privatized in the 1st century BC, and appears then to have been occupied continuously until the end of Antiquity. From the beginning, it had a canonical layout generally associated with Roman houses, particularly Pompeian ones, but this very peculiar plan was certainly invented by the Etruscans, during the first half of the 6th century BC.
The excavation revealed a number of specific areas, well dated, containing a wealth of archaeological material in context, with many forms found intact, which illustrate thoroughly the different phases in the life of the building and will contribute to a better understanding of the material facies and the consumption habits of this part of Etruria between the Hellenistic period and the end of the Roman Empire.
The publication project is directed by Vincent Jolivet.
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