The S. Omobono Sanctuary in Rome: Assessing eighty years of fieldwork and exploring perspectives for the future

This article presents the preliminary results of a new research and fieldwork project on the site of S. Omobono in the area of the river harbour of Rome. At S. Omobono, a series of excavation campaigns between the 1930s and the 1990s partially exposed a sequence of major cult buildings dating between the 6th century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Important architectural pieces, inscriptions and imported Greek wares found at the site have attracted a lot of attention and have spurred intense debates, but the basic archaeological data were never processed or published in full. Massive amounts of archival material (journals, drawings, photographs) and of artefacts have never been related to the phasing and interpretation of the sanctuary. A new project aims at a full reconsideration of the entire body of evidence, aided by new hypothesis-driven excavations. This article takes stock of the overall situation, critically collates a large portion of the available evidence and outlines a new research agenda for the project. Crucial archival documents, such as the detailed plan of the site, are published at high resolution for the first time, providing all the essential information to open a new phase of the debate on this fascinating archaeological context