The 2009 campaign of the Porolissum Forum Project was conducted June 22-July 24 with
a Team of about 45 members. While we are still far from a full understanding of
the forum, this was an important field season which added considerably to our
knowledge of the site’s chronology. We are also certain of the function of one
structure.
By
now, we have established the basic patterns of development in the area of the
forum. The first phase (Trajanic) consisted in the construction of a large
concentration of wooden buildings and earthen fortifications consistent with a
fortress. During the early Antonine period, the wooden structures were
dismantled and we note the construction of stone buildings. We are still
uncertain about the function of the small number of Antonine structures
excavated to date, but the fact that the structures surround the later forum’s
courtyard and do not intrude within, suggests that the area already served the
function of a forum by the mid 2nd century AD. Two coins from
foundation trenches on the west side of the courtyard confirm the Antonine
phase. The third phase, which represents the regularization of the forum
appears to be Severan, based upon ceramic evidence. Such a building project
makes sense if we consider the renaming of the city Municipium Septimium
Porolissensis. The 2009 season yielded evidence of at least two post-Roman
phases. The earlier of the two, likely 4th-5th century,
involved utilizing the still-preserved Roman masonry for domestic or
utilitarian purposed. We had already noted the sealing off of the colonnades
(2006-2008) and revealed further evidence for the re-utilization of the Roman
buildings. In one case (Trench 22) the excavations revealed post holes and hearths;
in another case (Trench 24), we revealed a sequence of narrowing and raising a
pair of doorways. At a later date, possibly 8th-10th
century, a thick layer of lime was cast upon rubble, probably to serve as a
more solid foundation. There are a number of cuts/channels in this lime level
whose function is not clear.
One
of the many highlights of the 2009 season was confirmation that the feature
excavated in 2004 in Trenches 1 and 3 was indeed a bath complex. This bath
measured approximately 100 x 60 Roman feet. There is an extensive hypocaust
system and the caldarium was situated on the south side. To date a single
semicircular hot water basin has been identified.
We
excavated the west side of the forum for the first time, revealing a series of
architectural spaces whose function remains unclear. The features are united by
three parallel walls; hence, it was built in a single phase together with the
west porticus (Severan period). The south side of the structure is paved with a
thick cocciopesto floor, suggesting liquids may have had a role in this
building. The cocciopesto only forms a low molding at the base of the walls (it
did not line the walls as in the caldarium, for example); therefore, we exclude
the idea that this served as a water basin. One hypothesis is based on the idea
that this overall complex served as a marketplace, namely that the area with
the cocciopesto floor represents a macellum.
A macellum is indeed one type of space that would frequently have liquids on the
floor (i.e., blood of animals and water to clean the surface). The entire
west side of the forum required additional study.
