• January 10, 2026 | 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
• Golden Gate 5, Lobby Level

7A: Baths, Markets, Crafts, and Urban Life at Cosa (Colloquium)

Organizers:
Andrea De Giorgi, Florida State University, and Allison E. Smith, Davidson College

Overview Statement:
This colloquium zeroes in on Cosa and the central place it continues to occupy in Roman republican archaeology. It is a small site with an impressive record of research and publication that began more than 70 years ago under the leadership of Frank E. Brown, whose team was also responsible for the creation of a tourist itinerary and, what was still something of a novelty in Italy, an on-site museum. Since 2013, Cosa Excavations conducts fieldwork at the site, leveraging a host of scientific approaches that have greatly advanced our understanding of the colony and its evolution, from its nucleation to the Middle Ages. In particular, the traditional broad views of Cosa’s urban landscape have driven the pursuit of higher resolution data, whether through ex-novo excavations of buildings (the bath and a host of new domestic units) or sampling new areas within previously explored sites (horreum). Complemented by nondestructive field methods, such as geophysical prospections, LiDAR remote sensing, and geoarchaeological surveys, these new datasets provide a revised sociopolitical framework for the discussion of Cosa’s well-known public and religious focal points, while fostering an increasingly sound picture of urban life through the ages.