Cecilia Crasto presented findings from her work on the Falerii Novi Project at the Faculty of Arts and Science’s Undergraduate Research Poster Fair in September. Led by Professor Seth Bernard in collaboration with colleagues from Harvard University and the British School at Rome, the archaeological research undertaken at Falerii Novi, a Roman city founded in 241 BCE, was featured in A&S News last year.
As a third-year student double majoring in Evolutionary Anthropology and Archaeology, with a minor in Geoscience, Cecilia joined the Falerii Novi Project through the Research Excursions Program, which allows students to earn credits by joining an instructor’s research project. As part of the research team, she participated in the excavation of the site, collected and catalogued samples of charcoal, soil, and other relevant matter, cleaned recovered bones, pottery, and various artifacts, and recorded elevation measurements and other pertinent data.
With previous fieldwork experience at the Byzantine site of Huqoq in Israel and lab experience working with pottery and soil samples from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods at Jordanian sites, the opportunity to work at Falerii Novi aligned with her interest in studying the paleoclimate of past cultures from soil and biological sampling.
Her poster, titled “Falerii Novi 2023: Methods of Excavation & Analysis” and attached below, describes the history of work done at Falerii Novi by previous researchers and FNP teams, and outlines the project’s mission for the 2023 season. She specifies the methods of excavation and processes of documentation, the results of her team’s work, including the excavation of and identification of the architectural elements in Area 2, the domus (a walled structure), and lists recovered geological, biological, and artificial findings.
Given her interest in biological sampling, she also expands on flotation—that is, the process through which minuscule debris filtered from soil is collected for microscopic analysis—a crucial procedure in understanding the site's paleoclimate.
We look forward to Cecilia’s future findings and wish her all the best for the remainder of her degree and beyond.
