The excavational intervention begun in 2001 in the area of the Orto dei Canonici nearby the Cattedrale di Anagni has brought to light a stratigraphical sequence that cover a chronological span between the mid-Republican era and the 16th century. The results have shed new light on the period of occupation of Anagni, of which we still know little.
Eight phases of occupation have been reconstructed. The the city walls were constructed to the mid-Republican period (phase 1, 4th-3rd century BC) after the annexation of Anagni among the territories controlled by Rome (end of the 4th century BC). These were created in blocks of local limestone, arranged in headers and footers. Between the 2nd and 1st century BC (phase 2) the walls lost their defensive function and were obliterated by the construction of structures in opus reticulatum, belonging to a residential complex or temple building. Between the 1st centuries BC and AD (phase 3), a residential complex was constructed using the preceding plan. In this phase the walls were frescoed with decorated plaster, and the pavements were covered with decorative black and white mosaics. In a period not yet definable (phase 4), the Roman structure was abandoned and following this, perhaps in medieval times (5th phase), partially destroyed for the construction of a series of pillars that divided the areas in covered vaulted compartments. In other rooms, beaten pavements terminating with a ramp suggest the passage of animals, hypotheses linked to the toponym noted in the area of “stalle di Bonifacio” that allude to the presence of episcopal or pontifical ownership. In the early medieval period (phase 6) new areas were constructed, modified between the late-medieval era and the 16th century (7th phase), owing to the construction of balconies on the inside of one of the rooms. The last interventions of the 16th century (phase 8) include the installation of a lime kiln for the withdrawing of the lime, necessary for the building of fortification bastions.