Between the Roman and Middle Ages: changes and persistence in a central place: S. Maria di Mesumundu (Siligo- SS, Sardinia- Italy)

The site of S. Maria di Mesumundu is located in Northern Sardinia, along the Roman road A Karalibus Turrem (current SS 131), in the Valley between Monte Santo and Monte Pelao. Il includes a Byzantine church, Roman ruins and arches of a small aqueduct. It has always been know to scholars, but this notoriety has not roduced adequate information assts due to unpublished investigations and conducted with inadequate methods. The excavation carried out starting in 2013 are pointing out the history of the site in all its chronological phases, a history that seems to know a moment of particular importance between the 5th and the 6th centuries, with the de-structuring of Roman structures, the construction of a large building, the centerpiece of a necropolis and the erection of a Byzantine church. The dating of these structures is difficult because of the lack of precise dating elements, so far the findings studieed, often residual, confirm the site's frequently in the Middle Ages.