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Walter Widrig papers on the excavation of Via Gabina Villas

 Collection
Identifier: MS 0079
Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents of the Papers

This collection documents the excavation of two suburban Roman villas and a late antique granary-barn 14 kilometers directly east from the center of Rome along the Via Gabina, an ancient Roman road. The goal of this research, directed by Walter Widrig and Philip Oliver-Smith, was to shed light on the economic and social changes which took place from the Republic through the Imperial era in the immediate area of the Via Gabina. The collection consists of 30.5 linear feet (31 boxes) of notebooks, catalogues, plans and drawings covering the years 1967-2004. Copies of many of these items are also kept in the Library of the British School at Rome. The license for digging was issued as a private concession to the directors of the excavations by the Italian Government as overseen by and in association with the Soprintendenza alle AntichitĂ  di Roma. This collection is organized into a series of six catagories.

Series I. Administration: is composed of a variety of papers, letters, articles and publications from Walter M. Widrig’s personal files. Also included are grant proposals, end of season reports, miscellaneous materials from sites 10 and 11 (photographs, survey records, negatives and contact prints, personnel lists, and correspondence between Philip Oliver-Smith and Walter M. Widrig).

Series II. Site 10: This series is composed of miscellaneous materials from the Via Gabina excavation at Site 10. Included are site notebooks and diaries, small find type series sheets, small finds and pottery layer sheets, and stucco and pottery qualifications.

Series III. Sites 11 and 13: This series is composed of miscellaneous materials from the Via Gabina excavation at Sites 11 and 13. All files are from Site 11 unless otherwise noted. Included are site notebooks, diaries, pottery, layer sheets and more.

Series IV: Finds: This series is composed of miscellaneous finds, including a variety of pictures, paperwork, pottery draws, and notes and summaries by Joann Freed (organized by Site 10 and 11).

Series V. Plans and Drawings: This series is composed of two sub-series: sub-series plans and sub-series drawings, each of which is further organized into site 10 and site 11. Sub-series plans contains a variety of drafted plans, reconstruction outlines of certain parts of the site and stone by stone plans of different portions of the sites. Sub-series drawings contains a variety of pottery, mosaic fragments, and elevation drawings. Within these two sections there are oversized works within larger boxes and within the map drawers 94-98. (Note: This series is divided into 6 boxes and 5 map drawers. Overall, Series V is organized by site and therefore, for each given site, the subseries plans and drawings are together.)

Series VI: Slides: This series is composed of slides of the Via Gabina excavations. The slides primarily regard Sites 10 and 11, although the collection also contains miscellaneous slides related to Via Gabina.

Dates

  • Creation: 1975-2004
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1978 - 1989

Creator

Restrictions on Access

This material is open for research.

Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Restrictions on Use

Permission to publish from the Walter Widrig papers on the excavation of Via Gabina Villas must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biography of Walter Widrig

Walter Widrig is professor emeritus of Art and Art History specializing in archaeology at Rice University where he has pursued his scholarly activities since 1969. Among other duties, he served as chair of the department of art and art history from 1982 to 1985. He also taught at Rutgers, Wellesley College, the University of St. Thomas in Houston and the Women's Institute of Houston. He served as a curator of art galleries at Rutgers and the University of St. Thomas. He has directed, co-directed, or worked at archaeology sites in Italy, Libya, Cyprus, Syria, Jordan, the Balkans, Turkey, and Tunisia.

Widrig taught a variety of classes in the architecture and art history disciplines. Widrig was co-director of the expeditions, along with Philip Oliver-Smith who died in 2002, to the Via Gabina sites in Latium in Italy.

Extent

32 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract:

This collection documents the excavation of two suburban Roman villas and a Late Antique granary-barn 14 kilometers directly east from the center of Rome along the Via Gabina, an ancient Roman road. Walter Widrig, Rice University professor emeritus, and Philip Oliver-Smith, Rice University professor emeritus, co-directed this project to shed light on the economic and social changes that took place from the Roman Republic through the Imperial era in the immediate area of Via Gabina. The collection consists of notebooks, catalogues, plans and drawings. Copies of many of these items are also kept in the Library of the British School at Rome. 30.5 linear feet and 31 boxes.

Provenance

These materials were donated by Walter Widrig, professor emeritus of Rice University, in 2007.

Accruals

No future additions are expected for this material.

Related Materials

The Via Gabina Villas web site at http://viagabina.rice.edu

Title
Guide to the Walter Widrig papers on the excavation of Via Gabina Villas, 1975-2002
Status
Completed
Author
Lindsey White
Date
2008
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Repository Details

Part of the Woodson Research Center, Rice University, Houston, Texas Repository

Contact:
Fondren Library MS-44, Rice University
6100 Main St.
Houston Texas 77005 USA
713-348-2586