Professional profile
Classical and Late Antique Archaeology. |Settlement Archaeology | Greek and Roman archaeology | Digital Heritage
Classical archaeologist with a specific focus on settlements and material culture of southern Puglia. Her early research focused on the study of convivial practices and social forms of domestic life through archaeological investigations and the analysis of pottery production. Her work at the Laboratory of Computing for Archaeology at the University of Salento (established under Strategic Project No. 251100 CNR and MISM: Research Methodologies for Archaeological Cultural Heritage of Southern Italy) allowed her to collaborate on the development of an integrated system for material and excavation data analysis. In this role, she managed classification systems and the digital archiving of archaeological finds. Specifically, her research addressed the creation of controlled vocabularies for Hellenistic Messapian pottery, which are essential for database management.
Her most recent studies are part of the research project on the Sanctuary of Athena in Castro, conducted by the ISPC in collaboration with the Archaeological Museum of Castro, the Superintendency (ABAP) of Brindisi-Lecce, and the University of Salento, within the framework of an agreement for which she is responsible. The analysis of the extraordinary quantity of materials recovered from the sanctuary’s ritual deposits has allowed her to highlight the potential of these ceramics in understanding productions reserved for the sanctuary, as well as the practices of libation and shared meals and drinks held therein. Her studies on production systems have expanded through archaeometric research, particularly aimed at the characterization of raw materials.
Her long-standing participation in the Italian Archaeological Mission in Hierapolis of Phrygia (Turkey) has enabled her to develop a research line on ancient thermal buildings: from investigations of the Flavian Baths to the early-Byzantine octagonal baths of the Sanctuary of Saint Philip, highlighting the unique features of Byzantine bath culture.
A significant portion of her research in Hierapolis is dedicated to the Sanctuary of Saint Philip, which originated in the 4th century around the Apostle's tomb and remained in use until the 10th-11th century AD. The reconstruction of the architectural space of the church and its furnishings has been of great importance; she successfully defined the 6th-century layout, including the ablution basins, and the 9th-century refurbishment featuring new flooring and the arrangement of the ambo and solea. The richness of the archaeological deposits allowed her to launch several research strands and tackle the challenges of integrating humanities and hard sciences, collaborating with geologists, chemists, and art historians to determine the provenance of the church’s architectural and decorative marbles. This collaboration led to research on mosaics, marble floors, mortars, and pigments of painted plasters, aimed at reconstructing decorative complexes and identifying material origins through an archaeometric approach.
The discovery of sectors of the Roman and Byzantine necropolises within the Sanctuary of Saint Philip provided the opportunity to launch multidisciplinary research involving archaeologists, anthropologists, engineers, and chemists. This work focused on the reconstruction of building phases, the identification of different burial types, the study of anthropological remains, radiocarbon dating, and the analysis of textile fragments found in Middle Byzantine tombs.
In addition to these activities, she collaborates on the drafting of restoration and heritage enhancement projects for ancient buildings. She also serves as an editor for scientific volumes dedicated to the results of research conducted at Hierapolis, contributing to the dissemination and systematization of excavation data within an interdisciplinary perspective.
CNR Disciplinary Fields and Research Management Sectors
- SH6 The Study of the Human Past
- SH6_1 Archaeological methods and theory, history of archaeology
- SH6_3 Archaeology of early literate societies and early civilizations
MUR Italian Scientific-Disciplinary Sector
- ARCH-01/D Classical Archaeology
- ARCH-01/G Archaeological Research Methods
Groups & Labs CNR ISPC
Archaeology and Environment Research Group →
Archaeological Mapping Lab →
Publications
Highlight
Caggia, M. P., & Scardozzi, G. (2024). Il Nuovo Museo Archeologico di Ugento. Edizioni Esperidi. ISBN 978-88-5534-176-9.
D’Andria, F., Degl’Innocenti, E., Caggia, M. P., Ismaelli, T., & Mancini, L. (2023). Athenaion – Tarantini, Messapi e altri nel santuario di Atena a Castro. Catalogo della mostra MArTA – Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto, MAR di Castro – Museo Archeologico “Antonio Lazzari” di Castro. Edipuglia. ISBN 979-12-5995-036-9. ISSN 1973-025X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4475/0369
Caggia, M. P. (2022). Il terrazzo mediano del Santuario di San Filippo: dalla Chiesa all’occupazione selgiuchide, campagne 2012–2015, in D’Andria F., Caggia M. P., Ismaelli T. (Eds.), Hierapolis di Frigia XV. Le attività delle campagne di scavo e restauro 2012–2015, Vol. XV,2, pp. 675–714, Ege Yayınları. ISBN 978-625-8056-05-1.
