Camerino: Iron Age settlement and necropolis traces found during Pedemontana works

Construction-related excavations for the Pedemontana Regional Road between Fabriano and Muccia have revealed multiple archaeological sites. One significant area near Camerino produced the remains of an Iron Age settlement together with traces of funerary features.

The investigation was carried out under the direction of the regional Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape (provinces of Ascoli Piceno, Fermo and Macerata) and executed by the contracted firm. While the corridor yielded evidence from the Upper Paleolithic to the Roman period, the key recent finds relate to the Iron Age occupation.

Discoveries at a glance

• Iron Age settlement: several dwellings attributable to the 7th–6th centuries BCE were identified, including three main huts.
• Main structures: Structure 1 (about 35 m long and 6 m wide) and Structure 2 (about 38 m x 7 m, roughly 266 sqm) feature posthole alignments and trench foundations; a smaller Structure 3 measures approximately 15 m x 6 m.
• Ancillary features: multiple aligned postholes suggest secondary constructions used for domestic and craft activities.
• Ring ditch: a circular ditch roughly 13 m in diameter was recorded near the huts, likely associated with a burial whose primary deposit is no longer intact.
• Later reuse: Roman-period material—black-gloss pottery sherds, plain wares and brick fragments—was found in fills and agricultural cuts, indicating later activity on the same plateau.

Value and protection

The Superintendence highlighted the exceptional importance of the context: the Iron Age settlement appears to be unique within the municipal area for its construction techniques and dimensions. Protective measures have been implemented in agreement with the project clients and contractors to secure finds and ensure proper documentation.

Implications for research and public outreach

This discovery refines our understanding of human presence in the Marches uplands during the protohistoric period and offers new material for studies on building methods, settlement layout and funerary practices of the 7th–6th centuries BCE. Detailed technical reports and decisions about conservation and potential public valorization will follow based on the Superintendence's guidelines.