Inhabited since the Eneolithic age (necropolis in loc. Madonna delle Grazie), in the Passo area of Mirabella Eclano stood the ancient Aeclanum, whose first layout may date back to the end of the 3rd century BC. The town was initially equipped with a wooden city wall (Appian), later set on fire by the dictator Sulla in 89 BC. Around the 1st century BC, at the time of the establishment of the municipium, the fortress layout was rebuilt with opus reticulatum, following an irregular pattern that outlined a triangular plateau. Inside the walls, it has not yet been possible to precisely locate the civil forum, the center of administrative and political life of the municipium, although the area is partly known. Of the macellum (open-air market for meat and fish), a central circular building is visible, located north of the supposed forum and which was presumably surrounded by a porticoed space and by tabernae (shops). Adjacent to a paved road, a house with a peristyle supported by brick columns, originally covered with stucco, is visible. The same house also included other rooms intended for representation purposes. In a later phase, the house appears to change its use, particularly the peristyle, which lost its role as the house’s center to host wells and setups for artisanal production. The discovery during excavation phases of a large quantity of glass waste suggested it was a glass workshop. On a small hill to the northwest stood a thermal complex whose structures are still well preserved to a notable height, in some cases up to the vault junctions. Inside the thermal complex, statues and marble decorations were found during excavations, attesting to the magnificence reached by this Irpinian center, especially during the 2nd century AD. The presence of a Christian basilica intra moenia, dating back to the late 4th century AD, demonstrates continued life in the urban settlement as well as the existence of a diocesan seat, whose bishop was the famous Julian, adversary of Saint Augustine. The city was inhabited until the 7th century AD. From the 8th century, the site is mentioned with the toponym Quintodecimo, indicating the center’s distance of fifteen miles from Benevento.
Information on the Archaeological Park of Ancient Aeclanum
Via Nazionale delle Puglie
83036 Mirabella Eclano (Avellino)
0825449175
sar-cam.mirabellaeclano@beniculturali.it
https://www.archeosa.beniculturali.it
Source: MIBACT
