On the Apennine watershed in the locality of Sant’ Eleuterio in Ariano Irpino, visitors can explore the remains of the ancient center of Aequum Tuticum, a road junction from which numerous routes branched out, connecting the Samnium region to Campania from north to south, and the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic coast from east to west. In the Republican era, the Via Aemilia linked Aequum Tuticum with Fioccaglia di Flumeri and Aeclanum. In 109 A.D., the center was crossed by the Via Traiana and later by the Herculia. Although the name Aequum Tuticum suggests a Samnite settlement, the earliest phase identified by archaeological excavations dates back to the Imperial age. The most significant remains are those of a bath building dating to the 1st century A.D., whose central room featured a mosaic floor of black and white tiles in a pelta motif. To the second half of the 2nd century A.D. belong a series of adjoining rooms, probably used as horrea (storehouses) or tabernae (shops). Behind these structures, a large rectangular room has come to light, likely belonging to a villa and decorated with an elegant multicolored mosaic floor with an intricate ornamental design. The vicus (village) shows continuous occupation at least until the mid-4th century A.D., when it was struck by the earthquake of 346 A.D., after which building activity resumed, as documented by the mosaic room. In the late antique and early medieval period, the site took the name S. Eleuterio, identified with the Roman martyr who was highly venerated in Rome during the 8th century A.D. The medieval settlement appears to have been divided into blocks gathered around a courtyard with a well. These medieval spaces encompassed and overlapped the Roman and late antique structures, changing their orientation (rotating them by 45°). The study of medieval ceramics (glazed, enameled, and incised ware) has allowed scholars to suggest continued habitation from the 13th to the 14th century, when the site was once again devastated by an earthquake.
Information about the Archaeological Area of the ancient Aequum Tuticum
località Sant’Eleuterio
83031 Ariano Irpino (Avellino)
0825.824839
sar-cam.avellino@beniculturali.it
https://www.archeosa.beniculturali.it
Source: MIBACT
