The 2017 excavations took place in the ancient urban area today opposite Casale Alibrandi, on the slight rise at km 64.400 of the via Aurelia, in the locality of Capo Linaro (Santa Marinella). Work continued in the sectors investigated last season (Sectors D I, D III, D IV and D V).
In sector D I, the excavation of Room 1 continued with the exploration of the stratigraphy below the floor surface of imperial date. Half of the room was excavated revealing two earlier beaten earth floors, probably of late Republican date.

In sector D III, the excavation area was extended in the direction of the via Aurelia and to the south, exposing more of the basalt-paved “Piazzale” and continuing the investigation of the walls just visible above the ground surface nearby. The stratigraphy and the finds confirm that occupation continued until at least the 4th century A.D.

In Sector D IV, the excavation of the Roman colony’s large defensive wall continued. The wall was identified in 2015 by a magnatometer survey. This season about 30 m more of the wall was exposed. It was 2.80/3.00 m wide and built in opus quadratum of stone chippings, and to date a length of c. 105 m has been excavated. The excavations have reached the south-eastern corner of the castrum were the wall turns a right angle to the north. Two more tombs were excavated immediately outside the wall. Dating to the late antique period, one was of the ‘a cappuccina’ type (Tomb 5) and the other was a simple earth grave covered by two horizontally placed tiles (Tomb 4).

The excavation of room 1, which abutted the inner side of the wall, continued and a geometric mosaic floor was uncovered. In rooms 2-4, also abutting the north side of the wall, a rectangular structure in opus reticulatum emerged that was situated within a much larger quadrangular room. The materials found in US 0 in Sector IV document occupation between the 3rd century B.C. and the 4th century A.D., with traces of prehistoric (Bronze Age?) and Etruscan occupation.

In Sector D V, the investigation of the four separate rooms identified last year continued. With walls built of stone and clay, they were part of the same residential complex investigated in Sector D I, revealed by the survey. In this case, the stratigraphy also confirmed occupation between the 3rd century B.C. and the 4th century A.D. Part of an opus_spicatum_ floor dating to the imperial period was still visible although cut by several modern robber trenches.