Discovered among the ruins of the Villa of the Pisones, not far away from Punta Epitaffio, this lead water pipeline allowed for identifying the owners of the entire complex: the inscription on the artefact “L. Pisoni” allows us, in fact, to identify the submerged remains of walls and buildings of a gigantic villa owned by the Pisones family; following an unsuccessful conspiracy against the emperor Nero, the villa became part of the imperial possessions. For a place such as the Gulf of Naples, plenty of seaside villas owned by the most important families of the ancient Rome, a proof so certain as this inscription remains a precious rarity.
The artefact does not show signs of biological degradation.
Maniscalco, F. 1995, ‘Un ninfeo severiano nelle acque del porto di Baia’, Ostraka, 4(2), pp. 269-270. Maniscalco, F. 1997, Ninfei ed edifici marittimi severiani del Palatium imperiale di Baia. Napoli: Massa Editore, pp. 44-46. Napoli, M. 1953 ‘Di una villa marittima di Baia’, Bollettino di Storia dell’Arte. Istituto Universitario di Magistero, Salerno, III(1), pp. 100-101. Zevi F. (cur.) 2009, Museo archeologico dei Campi Flegrei. Castello di Baia. Napoli: Electa Napoli, vol. 3, p. 130.