Today was the last day of combined effort at Podere Cannicci before the students assigned to Castellaraccio return to the structures uncovered a week prior. One team under the supervision of Michael McCabe focused on weeding and cleaning the previously excavated Room II while a second team led by Elisabeth Woldeyohannes under the guidance of Alessandro Carabia continued to remove the soil of Context 36 to make it level, moving in two groups to meet at the southeastern corner of the site. One of the excavators under Michael, Lilli Antonelli, discovered terra sigillata fragments in Room IV, the team under Elisabeth found a worn bronze coin, and both groups documented a large amount of both black gloss ware and coarse ware as well as bronze and, mostly, iron slag. On a macro scale, students and directors measured the limits of the excavation using Total Station and sketched the site before lunch; afterwards, Alberto Ghini assisted in draining the water from Room III, which was excavated in the previous year, and Pepa Souček took a photo of the site upon its cleaning.
On the other side of the trees, a small group led by director Dr. Edoardo Vanni found numerous objects and avenues of interest in Area 1000 upon reaching a burnt layer of charcoal and red clay in the excavation’s eastern end. These include three dolia, one defined by its edge in the corner of the area and the other seemingly collapsed inward, possible carbonized beams which left charcoal streaks, a potential necklace found in the middle of the burnt area, a possible door hinge found on the site’s northern end, broken iron nails, and a solid metal object, made of iron and likely lead, of unknown significance. This group spent the day attempting to reach the red clay amidst the burn layer.
Over the following days, the IMPERO team plans to both create a trench crossing through Rooms I, V, and the southernmost drain in the main excavation area and to continue to expose the charcoal and red-clay context at Area 1000, investigating aligned stones which possibly indicate a wall as well as the finds and features already discovered. While the work is strenuous and the goals are large, the team remains both ambitious and light-hearted—making playful bets with one another and bonding over music as we strive to understand Podere Cannicci’s past.
Interconnected Mobility of People and Economy along the River Ombrone 