Three excavations were undertaken prior to the start of work to reorganize the Villa Comunale (public gardens) and re-pave the Abbey of S. Maria.
An area of 100 × 7m was investigated, alongside the oratory wall, within the Villa Comunale near to the site where Mario Torelli found the Auguraculum at the end of the 1960s. Excavation revealed evidence of a pit, circa 3m deep, dug during the 18th century when the Cappucine monastery was built. Two cist tombs survived this intervention, covered by large sandstone slabs they had been in continuous use between the mid 6th to mid 5th century B.C.
The tomb groups was composed of local pottery and black glaze ware, iron weapons were present in male burials and a female burial produced an amber pendant.
Five rooms in the abbey’s main building have been investigated. Substantial remains were revealed of an earlier structure that was part of a large, medieval building. This was destroyed between the 12th to 14th centuries and contained large dumps of polychrome, glazed pottery. The structures were partially reused in the foundations of the building which is visible today. These results, despite the limited excavation area, seem to indicate the existence of an earlier abbey, which was completely destroyed. The cause of this destruction is unknown for the moment, but it may be connected to the Saracen raids of the 15th century, cited in historic sources. (Maria Luisa Nava)