City and Territory Museum - Sepino

The settlement of Saepinum was probably born in the 4th century BC as a vicus, a residential site located at the meeting point between two ancient transhumance routes. In the Augustan era (31 BC - 14 AD) the most important buildings were built or restored (forum, basilica, macellum, baths). After the Greek-Gothic war (535-553 AD) the urban area was radically transformed, with the abandonment of many inhabited areas and the use of some of them as burial grounds. From the 18th century the rural buildings were built which are still visible in topographical continuity with the Roman ones. One of these, built on the hemicycle foundations of the theatre, currently houses the Museum of the city and the territory. The collection, displayed in four rooms, brings together finds from the archaeological area of Saepinum , from the necropolises and from the surrounding area, in chronological sequence from prehistory to the Middle Ages. In some cases, the materials are divided into thematic groupings. The first room is dedicated to lithic finds from the Paleolithic, while the second and third tell the story of the daily lifestyle, the productive, commercial and entrepreneurial activities of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The fourth room exhibits the materials of the Longobard tombs (7th century) and a selection of ceramics from the 13th and 14th centuries.