Marble at Aeclanum (Italy): New evidence from three public buildings

The city of Aeclanum was an important regional centre in the southern Apennines from the Samnite period through to late antiquity. It developed as a Roman municipium in the 1st century BC before becoming a colony under Hadrian; it then continued to prosper in late antiquity as a bishopric. Excavations in the 20th century uncovered various public buildings (baths, macellum, church) and a residential zone; more recent work in the early 2000s identified a further large public building, thought to be a nymphaeum, now shown to be the theatre. Most of these buildings have produced reasonable quantities of marble, primarily revetment but also some column shafts. Although an inland centre, Aeclanum was connected by the Via Appia to both coasts of the Italian peninsula. This examination of marble revetment from three public buildings provides new insights into the extent of these connections and the architectural aspirations of the city’s elites.