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This volume in the Institute of Classical Archaeology's series on rural settlements in the countryside (chora) of Metaponto presents the excavation of the Late Roman farmhouse at San Biagio. Located near the site of an earlier Greek sanctuary, this modest but well-appointed structure was an unexpected find from a period generally marked by large landholdings and monumental villas. Description of earlier periods of occupation (Neolithic and Greek) is followed by a detailed discussion of the farmhouse itself and its historical and socioeconomic context. The catalogs and analyses of finds include impressive deposits of coins from the late third and early fourth centuries AD. Use of virtual reality CAD software has yielded a deeper understanding of the architectural structure and its reconstruction. A remarkable feature is the small bath complex, with its examples of window glass. This study reveals the existence of a small but viable rural social and economic entity and alternative to the traditional image of crisis and decline during the Late Imperial period.

The systematic recording of the archaeological finds, the data which was added to the publication database alongside all the excavation information, was preliminary and fundamental to the study of the farmhouse. All of the finds were quantified and the pottery was subdivided by class and ware. Identifiable fragments were dated on the basis of published parallels: this first stage of recording allowed a preliminary subdivision of the settlement into periods. In the second stage of study, the material was divided according to historical periods (Roman or residual Greek) in preparation for more in-depth study. Using the diagnostic fragments (mainly rims)

The area around the farmhouse site at San Biagio attracted human activity and settlement from the prehistoric period down to the present. The excavation has revealed something about the predecessors of the Roman occupants.¹ The excellent spring drew Neolithic farmers to the site. Greeks occupied the slopes of the Venella on both sides, and may have settled on the very site of the Roman farmhouse. In any case, the cult of Artemis and the same spring, at its heart, were architecturally embellished as early as the end of the 7th century BC, and some of its decoration eventually reached the