Austria’s Gateway
to Ancient Italy

Impact Story


Austrian archaeologists have been studying the ancient trading city of Velia for over 50 years. Verena Gassner was head of the excavations in southern Italy for years, focusing on aspects such as methodological innovations and urban planning analyses. The long-standing continuity of Austrian involvement in Velia has had many positive effects, including providing training to young researchers and strengthening the local economy.

Today’s visitors to the Velia Archaeological Park in southern Italy use the same entrance as the former inhabitants of the ancient port city  did – the southern city gate, Porta Marina. The entrance is dominated by mighty city walls, the oldest sections of which date back to the mid-5th century BC. From there, visitors are guided past past Roman and Greek thermal baths as well as the temple of Asclepius, the god of healing. Next stop is the Porta Rosa, a gate from the 3rd century BC, which was the connection to the northern part of the city. The tour continues to the hill of the Acropolis, where the oldest part of the city was located. Today, a medieval castle thrones over the scene, with a view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. 

If you wanted to condense the history of Mediterranean antiquity in one place, the result would look like Velia. Originally founded by the Greeks under the name Elea, later shaped by the Romans, and transformed again in the Middle Ages, the site displays the complexity that characterizes the history of civilization in the Mediterranean region over thousands of years. The history of the excavations and the development of the modern archaeological park in Velia, on the other hand, are closely linked to a country that in ancient times was considered a provincial region at best – Austria. 

Since the early 1970s, generations of researchers from the Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna have been systematically studying the ancient city in a total of 50 excavation campaigns, thanks in part to significant support from the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The name Verena Gassner has been inextricably linked with Velia in recent years. As an associate professor at the Department of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna, she became head of excavations and scientific research in Velia in 2002, playing a key role in how we see the ancient city today.

Positive effects for the economy and tourism

The activities of Austrian researchers in Velia over the past half a century are not just important for archaeology: Local scientific institutions have benefited from the opportunity to train young researchers directly at excavations of a city of Greco-Roman antiquity. This has led to international research collaborations the Austrian archaeology community continues to benefit from today. At the same time, the projects in Velia have helped disseminate knowledge about the antique world to a wider public. Among other things, the work of the Austrian archaeologists together with their Italian colleagues supported the achievement of UNESCO World Heritage status and accompanied the development of the modern archaeological park in the 1990s. Today, the southern Italian excavation site attracts around 50,000 visitors a year, creates jobs, and strengthens the local economy. 

The odyssey of the Phocaeans

Decades of work by archaeologists have uncovered many details of a story that began over 2,500 years ago. At that time, the Persians expelled the Greek population of the city of Phocaea in Asia Minor. Herodotus reports that their odyssey through the Mediterranean first led them to Corsica. However, after conflicts with the Etruscans and Carthaginians, they soon landed in what is now Campania in southern Italy, where they founded the city of Elea on a bay. The city grew rapidly and was able to assert itself as a local trading hub. At the same time, it was home to important philosophers such as Zeno and Parmenides, who is credited with drafting the “good laws” that enabled the city to emerge victorious from conflicts. 

In the 3rd century BC, the Eleates entered into an alliance with Rome, and came to their aid of in the First Punic War. In 88 BC, the city finally became part of the ancient Roman Empire under the name Velia. Given its thermal baths, which date back to both Greek and Roman times, it can plausibly be assumed that Velia became a resort for wealthy Romans during this period. The city’s decline finally began as the harbor silted up, causing the surrounding area to be come swampland. The Middle Ages put their own distinctive stamp on the ancient trading center, fundamentally altering the character of the city.

In a nutshell

For over 50 years, Austrian archaeologists have played a leading role in researching the ancient city of Velia in southern Italy. What began with investigations in the oldest part of the city by Bernhard Neutsch developed into a multifaceted and internationally networked long-term project under Friedrich Krinzinger and later Verena Gassner. Gassner made her mark on research with the investigation of Velia’s numerous sacred sites, the establishment of new analysis methods, and a focus on urban development. Velia was the subject of a total of 21 projects funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The accompanying studies paint a comprehensive picture of the entire history of the ancient trading hub. It has become a key location for Austrian Mediterranean archaeology, with positive effects not only on academic research and teaching, but also on tourism and the economy in the region.

Grabungsteam steht an einer Grabungstätte in Velia
Half a century and a total of 50 excavation campaigns: Generations of scientists from the Universities of Vienna and Innsbruck have been working on a systematic exploration of the ancient trading city of Velia. Pictured: Verena Gassner (far right) with her team (from left to right): Sophie Dieberger, Julia Stockinger, Matthias Friebel, Sümeyra Alankaya, Aelfric Mayer, Veronika Kolomaznik. © Verena Gassner
Überblick einer Terrasse in Velia mit dem Meer im Hintergrund
The southern Italian excavation site has become a key location for Austrian Mediterranean archaeology, with positive effects not only on academic research and teaching, but also on tourism and the economy in the region. © Verena Gassner

Beginnings of Austrian research

The city’s extensive fortifications with their five-kilometer-long walls are one of the most striking relics of the ruined city. In the first decades of Austrian archaeological work in Velia, investigating these walls was one of the researchers’ main priorities. Bernhard Neutsch, who took up a professorship for archaeology in Innsbruck in 1971, transferred the Velia project, which was launched in 1969, from his previous position in Mannheim. The excavations initially concentrated on the Acropolis, the oldest part of the settlement. Initial key systematic findings included the discovery that the northern part of the city was located within the fortifications from the very beginning. From 1973, Neutsch's assistant Friedrich Krinzinger led the research on the city walls and wrote his post-doctoral thesis on the subject. The work led to a fundamental chronology of the wall extensions, which spanned several centuries. 

In 1989, Krinzinger was appointed Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna and became the scientific director in Velia. Based on earlier work, the investigations of the city walls were advanced and expanded in several projects using new technologies. Verena Gassner, who joined the archaeological team in Velia in the early 1990s and played a leading role in researching the fortifications, embedded the detailed chronology of the walls in an overall urban model of the ancient trading hub. 

Gassner became Krinzinger’s deputy head in 1997, and in 2002, as an associate professor at the University of Vienna, she took over as head of the excavations. One of the focal points of her leadership of the project was the investigation of known or newly discovered temples and sacred sites on the central ridge of the city. These include, for example, what’s known as the Zeus Terrace in the southwest, which was named in earlier Austrian research documents as “Kultplatz 8.” Gassner and her team focused on this excavation site between 2008 and 2013. They were able to document evidence of previous structures, such as stone troughs, stone pillars, and a possible tethering stone for sacrificial animals. Evidence of ritual acts such as burnt remains and calcined bones were found on the site, which was built no earlier than the 3rd century BC. These puzzle pieces fit neatly into the picture of a prestigious element of urban infrastructure that was both a sanctuary and a symbol of power. 

Digital networking on ceramic artefacts

Later, under Gassner’s direction, the focus shifted to the peripheral eastern quarter of the city, which had previously received little attention in the archaeological study of Velia and provided valuable insights into everyday life and urban development. The team also intensified their investigation of material culture, thanks to new research infrastructures such as a temporary on-site excavation depot. The use of new archaeometric methods, which allow ceramic artefacts to be classified by means of complex scientific analyses, opened up new interdisciplinary approaches to the work. At the same time, these artefacts became the basis of the archaeological comparative database FACEM

(Fabrics of Ancient Ceramics in the Mediterranean) developed at the Department of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna. This digital tool helps to determine the origin and distribution of antique ceramics with a high degree of accuracy. 

The systematic approach made it possible to better classify individual artefacts in broader historical contexts, for example with regard to urban development, trade networks, or cultural transitions. For example, chemical analyses of fine pottery suggest the import of North African tableware, so-called African sigillata, and the integration of Velia into supra-regional trade networks in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The researchers were also surprised to find evidence of iron production – not just processing – in Velia at this time, Gassner and her colleagues report in a study.

The excavations in the eastern city of Velia ran until 2019. Gassner retired two years later and devoted herself, among other things, to projects reappraising earlier research in Velia. 2021 was also the year in which Austrian archaeology celebrated its 50th anniversary in Velia. Thanks to the early on-site involvement of students in the research, new generations of scientists have emerged who are committed to maintaining archaeology in Velia and carrying it into the future.

Short bio

Verena Gassner, now retired, worked as an associate professor for Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna. The research in Velia was a crucial part of her career as an expert in field archaeology and material culture: From 1991 she was regularly involved in excavations on site, and in 1997 she was promoted to deputy head of the excavation. In 2002, she completed her post-doctoral qualification and took over as head of the excavation, a position she held for close to 20 years. Visiting professorships have taken Gassner to Graz and Naples. In addition to her work in Velia, the archaeologist also researched ancient sites such as Carnuntum and Mautern as well as the Roman Limes in the Danube region. As editor of the “Velia-Studien” series and co-founder of the comparative database FACEM, she focused on interdisciplinarity and digital innovations in archaeology.

Luftbild von der antiken Stadt Velia
The Velia Archaeological Park attracts around 50,000 visitors a year, creates jobs, and strengthens the local economy. © Verena Gassner

Continuity also in research funding

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) provided continuous, needs-based funding for the longest period of the Austrian excavations, which lasted over five decades. A total of 21 projects with an overall sum of almost €1.8 million were funded between 1978 and 2019. Additional support came from the University of Vienna and the Soprintendenza, the Italian supervisory authority for cultural assets. 

Thanks to this continuous funding, Austrian archaeology has been able to make a name for itself in Velia. A large number of research papers, including those summarized in the multi-volume series “Velia-Studien,” were published with the funding’s support. The development of the FACEM pottery database has created a platform for systematic research into the flow of ancient goods, the relevance of which extends far beyond the southern Italian excavation site. 

On the basis of all these research activities, a comprehensive picture of the cultural shifts as well as the rise and fall of Velia has emerged. If you look out over the remains of the Acropolis to the Tyrrhenian Sea, you can almost feel like a part of this eventful history. 

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