In 2005 two new trenches were opened with the aim of continuing the exploration of a drain made of stone blocks which emerged during the 2003-2004 campaign and appeared to form the boundary of a public square in the Roman city.
Excavations to the east uncovered, below a medieval re-management of the area, a building of Claudian date of unclear function. The medieval cuts show the lines of its east and west walls in negative. Numerous cuts emerged that can be interpreted as robber trenches for the recovery of building materials.
To the south, exploration of the area revealed that the medieval plan had been compromised by robbing in the form of deep trenches dug in order to recover limestone blocks and other stone material from the Roman structures, destined for re-use in new buildings and the city walls. The excavation of these trenches led to the recovery of Roman structures untouched by the robbing. At different points in the area emerged the stone drain bordering the square, Roman floor levels and an opus signinum tank, interpreted as a monumental fountain, open to the north and situated along the south side of the square of which the south, west and east limits were identified. These were formed by small walls of which only the brick and tile foundations survive. An opus signinum pavement decorated with black and white mosaic tesserae was found in the western sector and a mosaic with marble inserts came to light in the eastern sector. Moreover, the foundation wall of the portico surrounding the square in the Roman period was also revealed. Below this, to the south, a wall from an earlier phase was identified.
As regards the square, excavation was undertaken towards the centre of the south side. To the south-east the foundations of a large wall were uncovered. This delimited a structure inside the square whose function is unknown. The wall was built when the square already existed and can be attributed to the restoration carried out in the Hadrianic period, as shown by the materials found. After the removal of this Imperial phase the excavation recovered a dolium, an intact amphora and three coins of late Republican date.
Towards the south west an accumulation of votive objects datable to the Claudian period was found. A phase preceding that of the late Republican period was identified by a floor level made up of large stones and a hearth. (MiBAC)