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Highway construction in northern Italy revealed traces of an ancient religious site, with temple structures, rare inscriptions, and marks left by a flood that covered the area for centuries.
A verification and cleaning of war artifacts before the construction of a highway in northern Italy revealed an archaeological site in Ponso, in the province of Padua.
Under layers of sediments associated with ancient floods of the Adige River, teams found temple structures, stone pieces with inscriptions in Latin and, mainly, in Venetic characters, linked to a cult area used before Roman domination.
The discovery occurred during the works of the first functional lot of the new Strada Regionale 10 “Padana Inferiore”, in the section between Borgo Veneto and Carceri.
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The technical safety stage, necessary to clear the land before the advancement of the work, led to the identification of traces that began to be investigated by archaeologists under the coordination of the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio of the provinces of Padua, Treviso, and Belluno.
The first findings attracted attention because of the inscriptions engraved on stone elements.
Part of these objects was preliminarily dated between the 5th and 4th centuries BC, a period before the full Romanization of the region.
According to the Italian superintendency, many of these materials have a votive character, meaning they were linked to religious practices and offerings made at the site.
The set includes cippi, small stone pillars used in the ancient world as markers, supports for inscriptions, or elements associated with rituals.
Some of these pieces have engravings on three sides, a detail that interests researchers responsible for studying the writing and religiosity of the ancient peoples of the northeastern Italian Peninsula.
Archaeological site in Ponso reveals ancient temple structures
As the excavations progressed, archaeologists identified rectangular structures at the foundation level, interpreted as temples.
One of them features characteristics of a peripteral building, an architectural model surrounded by a row of columns around the sides.
This type of construction, according to the interpretation of the specialists involved in the investigation, usually appears in more prominent buildings within certain religious spaces of Antiquity.
In the case of Ponso, the presence of the foundations, columns, and votive materials supports the interpretation that the area had a cult function.
The area does not seem to have been simply abandoned after the pre-Roman phase.
According to the Italian superintendence, the evidence points to a continuity of use, with transformations over time.
The agency reported that the site maintained significant function also during the Roman period, although with forms and expressions different from previous practices.
Among the findings is a pavement of still uncertain function, probably made in the 1st century AD, according to the evidence disclosed so far.
In it, some inscribed stone elements were reused, a practice documented in different contexts of Antiquity, when materials from previous phases were incorporated into new structures.
This reuse helps to delimit a longer occupation than that of an isolated temple.
Based on the available data, the site underwent changes in function, architectural reorganizations, and cultural adaptations as the region integrated into the Roman world.
Venetic and Latin inscriptions preserved under sediments
The central point of the discovery lies in the inscriptions.
Most of them appear in Venetic characters, associated with the ancient Veneti, a people who occupied areas of northeastern Italy before the Roman expansion.
There are also inscriptions in Latin, indicating the presence of records linked to different cultural phases.
The Venetic writing is relevant for linguistic and historical studies because it offers clues about names, votive formulas, religious practices, and aspects of the social organization of pre-Roman populations.
Each preserved inscription can help specialists understand how these groups recorded offerings, identified sacred spaces, and related to the territory.
Researchers are still working on the reading and interpretation of the material.
For this reason, there is no definitive translation of all the inscriptions publicly disclosed.
The epigraphic analysis should more precisely indicate who made the offerings, which deities might be associated with the space, and how the sanctuary was articulated with the surrounding landscape.
Flood of the Adige River helped preserve archaeological remains
The flood of the Adige River played a decisive role in preserving the site, according to the assessment released by the Italian authorities.
At some point in Antiquity, a flood covered the area with layers of silt, gravel, and mud, creating a deposit that kept part of the remains protected for centuries.
The force of the water probably damaged or destroyed parts of the constructions, but also sealed the complex under the sediments.
For archaeologists, this process contributed to the conservation of foundations, inscribed stones, and architectural remains that could have been affected by erosion, new occupations, or later interventions.
The region of Ponso is in an area where the course of the Adige had historical importance.
The superintendency highlighted that the river ran close to the site at the time when the flood covered the complex, a fact considered essential to explain why a religious site remained hidden under alluvial deposits.
Discovery expands studies on the ancient Veneti
The discovery reinforces, according to the Italian bodies responsible for the excavation, the archaeological importance of the Lower Padovana.
Before the highway advancement, the land verification allowed the identification of a cult space active since the pre-Roman phase and still relevant in the Roman period.
The find also expands the material available for the study of the ancient Veneti.
Unlike more well-known Roman monuments to the public, Venetic remains depend on the analysis of fragments, inscriptions, and contexts of use.
In Ponso, the combination of temples, votive cippi, Venetic writing, Latin, and flood marks provides a data set for future research.
The investigations continue under the scientific coordination of the responsible superintendency.
The next studies should better define the organization of the complex, the extent of the occupied area, and the different phases of use.
So far, the disclosed data indicate a religious space that changed over the centuries and maintained relevance during the transition to the Roman period.
The discovery in Ponso shows how infrastructure works can reveal little-documented layers of ancient history.
Under the future highway, sediments linked to the Adige river preserved signs of rituals, inscriptions, and buildings that remained out of reach of researchers for more than two thousand years.
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