Le Curiae Veteres sul Palatino nord-orientale: nuove acquisizioni tra alta repubblica e tardo impero

We present here the preliminary results of investigations conducted in the so-called "Area III" of the excavation of the northeast slopes of the Palatine Hill. These investigations have shed light on the building history of the area from Republican times until Late Antiquity, and particularly on the timespan from the Middle Republic to the Neronian-Flavian age. Area III is the easternmost of the four Areas the excavation site is divided into. It is situated at the northeast corner of the hill slope, looking out onto present-day Piazza del Colosseo, within the limits of a vast sanctuary identifiable as the Curiae Veteres. According to tradition, this cultic complex was built by Romulus and totally rebuilt after the fire of July, AD 64. Its reconstruction was begun by Nero and completed by the emperors of the Flavian dynasty. The sanctuary lived on, through various sometimes radical renovations, until the fourth century.