The archaeological interest of the area emerged after the preliminary investigations undertaken by the local Superintendency identified the remains of a Roman rural settlement, perhaps a villa divided into several parts, both residential and working, arranged along a road. That it was well built was attested by the construction technique and the remains of mosaic pavements. The finds indicate that the structure was occupied between the 1st and 4th century A.D.
The excavation permit granted to Turin University under the direction of Prof. M. Barra Bagnasco covers part of an area of municipal land that is under a restriction order.
The first excavation campaign (2003) was preceded by a geophysical survey which verified the presence, confirmed by excavation, of a large building (11 m wide, 23 m long) the perimeter of which was not identified on all sides. The structure was divided internally by four parallel walls on a N-S alignment belonging to different building phases and had five large rooms (known as A, B, C, D, E).
The building technique is characterized by a stone or cobble and broken tile footing bonded with mortar, with mud brick walls; the numerous fragments of white and pinkish plaster found in the layers of collapse indicate that the walls were well finished on the interior. The abandonment levels were investigated, their chronology runs from the early Imperial period (1st-2nd century A.D.) and a subsequent revival in the 4th century A.D., as attested respectively by fragments of ARS “A” and coins of Constantius and Constans II.
The second campaign (2004) brought to light other parts of the building, including a large courtyard paved with white cobbles and rooms which still preserved the remains of black and white mosaic floors. Moreover, the existence of an earlier phase was confirmed by the presence of walls made of stone slabs and brick pilasters in room A. (MiBAC)