An archaeological context of exceptional importance has emerged in the municipality of Ponso (Province of Padua) during works carried out by Veneto Strade S.p.A. for the construction of the first functional section of the new Regional Road 10. The preventive excavation carried out is under the scientific direction of the ABAP Superintendency for the provinces of Padua, Treviso and Belluno.

The first discoveries were made during the removal of wartime munitions and led to the opening of a series of trial trenches. The stratigraphic layers consisted of stone elements bearing inscriptions in Latin and, mostly, Venetic script (fig. 1).

Many of these stones, preliminarily dated to the 5th–4th centuries BCE, had been reused in a paved surface whose function remains unclear, while some remain in their original position. Evidence currently under study suggests that the paving itself was created during the 1st century CE (fig. 2).

Based on the epigraphic evidence discovered so far, the inscriptions — some carved on three sides of the stones — appear to have a votive character.

As excavations went on, additional large rectangular foundation structures came to light, possibly belonging temples. One of them displays the features of a peripteros temple, surrounded by a perimeter made up of columns (fig. 3).

The remains uncovered, later buried by a major flood from the nearby Adige River (which at that time flowed through this area), therefore indicate the presence of a cultic site already frequented in pre-Roman times, with subsequent phases of use continuing into the Roman era.

Taken together, the evidence gathered so far suggests continuity in the use of the site, with transformations over time rather than abandonment. The site appears to have retained an important function during the Roman period as well, although with different practices and cultural expressions from the earlier phase.

Investigations continue and will allow researchers to define more precisely the organization of the area and the different phases of occupation and use (fig. 4).