Welcome to the The Roman Villa as Ecosystem: Climate, Production, and Society in the Sabina Tiberina project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). This project examines Roman villas in central Italy as interconnected systems of people, work, and environment, rather than isolated elite residences. Focusing on villas in the Sabina Tiberina and nearby burial grounds, it explores how agricultural production, climate, and the lives of enslaved and dependent workers were linked.

It combines archaeological excavation with scientific methods, including DNA, isotopes, and climate data, to reconstruct who lived and worked on these estates, where they came from, and how environmental changes affected their lives and the functioning of the villa.

By integrating these approaches, the project makes visible populations largely absent from written sources and offers a new, more comprehensive understanding of Roman rural society. It also provides insights into how past communities responded to environmental change, with relevance beyond antiquity.