The site of Tassignano-Tax C is situated in the territory of Capannori (Lu), in an area whose rural nature, as in many other cases on the plain that extends to the east of Lucca, has helped preserve the remains of ancient settlements, which usually appear as remains brought to the surface by ploughing.

The Gruppo Archeologico Capannorese identified the site when a survey was undertaken in spring 2002 and two small trenches were excavated. These investigations revealed the presence of structures and floors belonging to a Roman building, in a period dated by the material finds to between the 2nd century B.C. and late antiquity. Over ten years on, the GAC has created a project for an archaeological field school in collaboration with Tassignano primary/junior school, with the aim of resuming the research, and at the same time, beginning didactic activities aimed specifically at the year V children, including an introduction to archaeological theory and practical experience in the field. The project took place in spring-summer 2014 and was a great success. The pupils’ attentive and lively participation confirmed the importance of making the new generations aware of the themes of the preservation of the historical heritage existing within the territory where they live.

The excavations revealed the perimeter of a room, probably a production structure, part of a vast building. Its walls were two Roman feet wide, and were built using mortar, which is unusual in rural Roman contexts on the Lucca plain, where mainly earth was used both as a bonding agent and construction material. The building was probably divided into a residential sector, to which a room with an opus tessellatum floor identified in 2002 belonged, and a production area of which the room with a beaten earth floor excavated this season was a part.

As regards the settlement’s chronology, the following phases were identified: an occupation phase datable to the 1st century A.D. that ended with a collapse (perhaps only partial) in the early 2nd century A.D. The site was reused in the 3rd century A.D. Between the 3rd century and late antiquity, the walls were used to define a cemetery area with burials in earth graves. Finally, in the late antique period, the walls were systematically robbed and the site definitively abandoned.