Méthodes croisées pour réapprendre les agglomérations préromaines dans le nord-ouest italien : l’agglomération à vocation artisanale de Villa del Foro (Alexandrie, Piémont)

In the framework of a joint scientific program, the Iron Age production sites of Villa del Foro (Alessandria, Piedmont) was surveyed by a geophysical campaign in autumn of 2021. The specific application of two complementary geophysical methods, magnetic and electrical, revealed several soil anomalies; they confirm the complexity of the archaeological structures, only partially known thanks to previous field surveys and explorative trenches. At the same time, the geophysical prospecting suggests the presence of new types of evidence, including ditches and possibly an ancient riverbed, pointing at more articulated dynamics between the human presence and the paleoenvironmental setting. The AMP method (magnetics) underlined several linear and punctual anomalies, especially in the south-eastern part of the settlement. In this area, linear and surface anomalies seem to indicate the presence of archaeological remains, according to their morphology and distribution which reveal perpendicular structures together with punctual anomalies. The latter could be interpreted as fireplaces or pottery debris, although the disturbances of a recent gas pipeline are not excluded. The linear anomalies are more likely to be interpreted as ancient channels, ditches, and other negative features filled with domestic and productive debris. A second cluster of anomalies in the western sector shows mainly linear features, aligned north-southwards. A preliminary interpretation, that needs to be confirmed with future excavations, points at defensive or other site delimitations, such as ditches and maybe drainage channels. However, without stratigraphic and material evidence, we cannot exclude a more recent dating of these anomalies, including modern cadastral parcels. To sum up, the first campaign of geophysical survey at the Iron Age site of Villa del Foro was carried out in 2021 by the CNRS with the local Superintendence, and conducted by Geocarta. The preliminary results provide additional data to the reconstruction of the settlement layout, suggesting the presence of unexpected negative features and structures, mainly related, we argue, to water management and delimitations. This interpretation requires further prospection and excavation data to deepen the settlement organisation and functional evolution of one of the key productive sites in northern Italy at the end of the First Iron Age.