This season work took place in three areas. In the first, situated along the Milan-Bologna railway line, in the territory of Gattatico, south-west of the village of Taneto, a field with an abundant scatter of pottery was identified in 2016. A Late Iron Age fibula attributable to the Celto-Ligure culture was also found in the field. The excavations revealed the damage caused by centuries of ploughing and agricultural work. The stratigraphy was disturbed and only the sub-foundations of structures built in perishable materials survived. As this is the only substantial find in the area of this date, it can be suggested that it relates to the stories of Polybius and Livy that describe Tannetum in 218 B.C. as a Celtic village, which housed a Roman military garrison in difficulty, during the years of Hannibal’s descent into Italy.

The second area is situated close to the station of S. Ilario d’Enza. Some 19th century reports and excavations in the 1970s provided slight information about the discovery of Roman road cobbles in the zone, in an area that is thought to be one of the most probable sites for the lost Roman town of Tannetum. The 2018 excavations revealed a Roman road, hitherto unknown, running north-south. It was over 4 m wide and presented cartwheel ruts. The road surface was paved in carefully laid cobblestones, which, in ancient Aemelia, was only typical of urban roads, or of those immediately outside the town. This is an important discovery as it provides the certainty of being in the immediate proximity of Tannetum, if not inside the town itself. The coming excavation campaigns will provide further details.

Lastly, investigations took place in a medieval fortification known as “il Castelazzo”. During the 2017 campaign, a tower was uncovered (one of 8 according to the sources); this year its interior was investigated. The final occupation layers and traces of a probable violent end, perhaps a fire, were sealed below a layer of collapse. The finds included pottery, beads, a silver coin, which like one found last year, dates to the reign of Otto III (Holy Roman Emperor 996-1001 A.D.), weapons (an arrowhead, lance point, a bone element from a crossbow), as to be expected in a military structure. An exceptional find was formed by 6 finely-worked ivory gaming pieces, largely intact (to which several fragmentary gaming pieces, at least two of which identifiable).

Many of these gaming pieces belong to chess sets, which only entered Europe in the 9th century. The study is only at the beginning, but this could be the earliest and largest find of this typology in Italy to date. The excavation of the tower will probably continue for some years, and it is hoped to find further example.