In 1999 a research project began on the Ca’Tron estate, a large farm covering circa 1150 hectares situated on the edge of Venice’s northern lagoon and owned by the Cassamarca Foundation. In antiquity the land fell within the eastern ager of the Veneto-Roman town of Altino (circa 3 km away) and was crossed by the via Annia. The archaeological investigation was undertaken in strict relation with the paleo-environmental research, using the most advanced technology for investigation, survey and data processing. The main objective was to gain an understanding of the relationship between man and the environment.

Investigations along the via Annia

The via Annia had a beaten earth surface, was 70 Roman feet wide (circa 21 m) and flanked by two ditches. Investigations revealed that the Roman consular road followed the line of a pre-Roman road dating to the late Bronze Age (13th-10th century B.C.) and remaining in use during the early Iron Age (9th-5th century B.C.). Following a variation in the sea level, which submerged the road and related wooden bridge/footbridge over the paleo-riverbed of the Canna during the course of the 1st century B.C., the Romans diverted the via Annia onto drier ground further inland. The new road used a more substantial construction technique both for the road bed (a gravel and cobble carriageway 17 m wide, slightly higher than ground level and flanked by two ditches 9 m wide and 1.5 m deep) and for the bridge over the Canna (a stone and brick structure on wooden foundations, associated with a an auxiliary ford). The stratigraphic sequence, the finds and the radiometric analyses of the wooden elements identified the road’s most important phases: two periods of intense use in the 1st-2nd century A.D. and the 4th century A.D., followed by several centuries of “silence” until the 10th century when a wooden footbridge was rebuilt for the road which had by then become a local road, but was still documented on a map of the estate which Francesco Tron had drawn up in 1613.

The surface survey

The surface survey, which to date has covered 81% of the visible territory, identified nine Roman sites, characterised by the presence of clay building materials associated with pottery, and two Renaissance sites (D, L). The concentrations of materials covered areas varying between 1100 and 8000 m2. Two sites (A, B), with an extension of between 5000 and 6000 m2, produced “high quality” materials (mosaic tesserae and painted plaster), suggesting the existence of residential quarters next to the productive sectors. The others, including two of considerable size (M, E), presented elements which characterised them as structures of a rustic nature. A careful study will be undertaken of the sites’ relationship with the environment, as reconstructed by experts, as well as with the traces of anthropological activity taken from satellite images and aerial photographs, traces which will be checked on the ground.

The excavation of the rustic settlements

To date sites A and M have been excavated, whilst excavations on site N are just underway. Work began on site A in 2007 and confirmed the existence of a villa with rustic outbuildings, dating to the early imperial period. On the second site a complex of structures was revealed comprising a modest dwelling, separate buildings for production activities and a large structure with a rectangular plan, which chemical analyses suggest was a stable/sheep pen. This data confirmed the important role of stock raising in the economy of Altino, as already known from literary sources.