Well known from historical sources, Falerii Novi was the site founded to resettle the inhabitants of Falerii Veteres after their revolt against Rome in 241 BC. The impressive 3rd century BC walls still stand today, enclosing the town which now lies beneath the fields.

Since 1997 the site has been the subject of extensive geophysical survey that has revealed the plan of the buried city, showing evidence of a densely occupied urban centre, structured by a full suite of public buildings. Streets, houses, temples, a basilica and a porticoed theatre were all clearly visible within the walls. The clarity of these results, along with the large area covered by the survey has provided one of the most complete town plans from Roman Italy, with only Pompeii and Ostia offering similarly extensive plans.

Although the geophysical images are essentially unidimensional and lack the chronological information gained through excavation, it has been possible to suggest tentative phasing of the city based on the layout of the streets and their relationship to the town walls, as well as the sizes of insula. The survey highlighted areas devoid of buildings, as well as identifying areas worthy of further investigation.

Results of the magnetometer survey in relation to the city walls, the 1969-75 excavations and the medieval church. The topography is based on the cadastral maps (contours in metres). Scale 1:2000

Recent work has concentrated on the area outside the city walls, especially to the north, alongside the Via Amerina and the amphitheatre. This survey will be continuing in subsequent seasons.

Publications:

Keay, S., Millett, M. et al. 2000. Falerii Novi: A New Survey of the Walled Area. Papers of the British School at Rome 68: 1-93.

Keay, S., Millett, M., Poppy, S., Robinson, J., Taylor, J., and Terrenato, N. 2004. New Approaches to Roman Urbanism in the Tiber Valley. In Bridging the Tiber: Approaches to Regional Archaeology in the Middle Tiber Valley, edited by H. Patterson. Archaeological Monographs of the British School at Rome 13: Rome. 223-236.

Interim reports:

Keay, S. and Millett, M. (with contributions from J.Taylor, S. Poppy and J. Robinson) 1999. Roman Towns in the middle Tiber Valley. Papers of the British School at Rome 67: 419-421.

Millett, M. and Keay, S. 2003. Tiber Valley Towns: fieldwork in 2002. Papers of the British School at Rome 71: 317-8.

The project was carried out in collaboration with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Etruria Meridionale. Support for the project was also kindly provided by the Comune of Fabrica di Roma. Access to the site was generously granted by Sig. Mancini.