Villa A at Oplontis provides a unique testimony to the lives of the Roman elite and their slaves in the period between 50 BCE and 79 CE.  The publication of the architecture, sculpture, painted decorations, and material culture is a primary goal of the project.  Within the matrix of this study, the Oplontis Project seeks to address questions raised by the remains of the villa: 1) What is the exact chronology of the villa, and how did its appearance change over its history? 2) What was this villa's relationship to the sea and ancient landscape? 3) Was this complex always used as a villa, or did its function change during its later history? 4) What can the villa tell us about the complex social structure of Roman Italy and the live of its inhabitants, guests, and slaves?

The Oplontis Project utilizes a three-prong methodology in its study of remains of Villa A which includes excavation, systematic analysis of decorative ensembles, and an exhaustive masonry study.  In addition collaborating scholars will provide supporting studies of ceramics, sculpture, pigment, small finds, graffiti,  paleobotany, hydraulics, depictions of flora and fauna, the culture of the Roman garden, social history, geology, the archaeology of the Oplontine area, a history of the Oplontis excavations.

Dissemination will include a born digital primary publication to be published by the American Council of Learned Societies Humanities E-book series, a secondary print publication, a navigable 3-D model, and a comprehensive on-line database that will be made available to researchers.