In 2000 a project of historical and archaeological investigations began with the aim of gathering information on the natural and anthropological landscape of the Ca’Tron estate, situated between the territories of Roncade (TV) and Meolo (VE), which in antiquity was part of the eastern agro of the Roman town Altinum. The archaeological investigations concentrated on the route of the via Annia, the consular road which crossed the S-E sector of the estate, forking into two branches in correspondence with a military base which is no longer in use, and on a Roman rural structure. Evidence emerged which suggests that the outer route was the consular Via Annia, following the line of an earlier track (perhaps late Bronze Age), which was then abandoned in the 1st century B.C. due to flooding from the lagoon caused by a rise in the sea level. This would have determined the opening of the inner route on higher ground. Two large trenches (7 and 8) brought to light the two structures on which the two roads crossed the ancient river named “della Canna”: the earliest bridge, partly uncovered, was made completely of wood, the later bridge which was completely excavated, had a foundation of 560 oak piles (perfectly preserved) and upper part in stone and brick (almost completely robbed). The excavation of the rural structure (trench 8) identified by the presence of bricks on the surface, revealed a large stall/sheepfold (33 x 10m) datable to the 1st century A.D. Its use was suggested by the plan and chemical soil analyses which revealed the presence of organic phosphorous within the building. The structures had been completely robbed. The palynological and radiometric analyses, undertaken by Dr. A. Miola, provided information on the territory’s environmental characteristics between the Bronze-Iron Age and the medieval period, documenting the ancient exploitation of the area for agriculture and pasturing (Iron Age-Roman period), the transformation into a lagoon environment (Roman period), the formation of a swamp in the medieval period and the return of fresh water in the post medieval period. (MiBAC)

The 2007 excavation involved sites A and M, two of the nine Roman rural settlements identified during the 2006 survey. Site A, characterised by a spread of tile covering circa 5000 m2, was surveyed with a magnetometer as a guide for the excavation. A large trench was opened in correspondence with the clearest anomalies: that to the south resulted as belonging to the western sector of a rustic villa (a large aula with two naves and two smaller adjacent rooms, one of which originally paved with a white mosaic), and to the north there was a large room divided into two sectors by a wall, probably an outbuilding or stall. Whilst the villa dated to the 1st century A.D., the room to the north was built towards the middle of the 4th century A.D. On site M, where investigations undertaken in 2004 and 2006 had revealed a large stall/sheepfold (330 m2) and a small dwelling of two rooms with adjacent well, the excavation was extended to the east. This sector was occupied by a vast courtyard with a system of small channels (heavily robbed), numerous midden pits and the foundation of an isolated production structure (mill, oven?).

In 2009 excavation was completed of the two rural settlements identified by a survey: sites A and M, the first a “large” site (5000-8000 m2), the second of medium size (3000-4000 m2). On site A the rural villa was seen to have a linear development on a east-west alignment, its main section being circa 40 m long. It was constituted by two buildings separated by an open-air passageway with a small channel. The western nucleus comprised a rustic aula divided by two naves with two pilasters (basilica type) and another three rooms (unified in a later phase), partially paved with a mosaic of large white tesserae. The eastern building comprised two large rustic rooms with beaten earth floors. North of the villa a series of pathways made of fragmented brick/tile emerged, leading to other small outbuildings of which only patches of wall were preserved. The complex was bordered by a perimeter wall identified on the east and west sides. The complex dates to the early imperial period and was occupied until the 4th-5th century A.D. Site M was a structure specialising in stock-raising and was also delimited by an enclosure. The complex comprised a modest dwelling, separate production and storage structures and a large stall/sheepfold (330 m2). The archaeological data confirmed the important role of stock-raising in the economy of Altinum, already known from the literary sources. The 2009 investigation involved the southern sector (inside and outside the complex), where walls emerged whose function was to regulate the movement of the livestock, a probable underground silo for grain storage, small conduits for the water supply which came together in an artificial channel probably deriving from the paleo-riverbed of the Canna, a small water course running to the south of the complex. A number of trial trenches dug in the northern sector confirmed the presence, also on this side, of the enclosure wall and, further north, of a system of small parallel ditches on a north-south alignment, probably linked to the agricultural organisation of the surrounding territory. During the excavation samples were taken for future geo-archaeological, chemical and paleo-botanical analyses, destined to provide further information regarding both the functional characteristics of the complex and the environment.

In 2010 the investigation of the Roman site identified during a survey and partially excavated in 2006 was completed (site N: surface scatter circa 1400 m2). Few structural remains emerged in the area (two post holes and an irregular-shaped packing of bricks and earth) and two large sub-circular middens. The latter contained fragments of brick/tile, coarse ware pottery and above all amphorae which date the dumps to within the 1st century B.C. (globular Adriatic, late Lamboglia 2). In 2010 the area occupied by the pre-Roman timber structure for crossing the ancient bed of the Canna was reopened, as was a sector of the outer route of the via Annia that was investigated in 2003. Two trenches were opened, one crossing the riverbed immediately above the timber structure and one across the Roman road and the ditch on its eastern side. All of the surviving elements of the timber structure were identified and it was seen that they had been put into place when the water course was already almost completely filled in. It was also noted that an area of the substrata on the north bank of the ancient bed of the Canna had been cleared prior to the laying down of the Roman road. The geometry of the ditch flanking the road was reconstructed and the levels of fill, characterised by lagoon dwelling malaco-fauna, were excavated. All of the elements from the timber structure were sampled for future radiometric and dendrochronology analyses. Samples were taken from the N-S section opened across the ancient riverbed for thin-section analysis in order to gain data regarding the filling in of the riverbed and for palynological analyses useful for a diachronic reconstruction of the landscape.