The 2026 Via Belvedere Excavations Conclude with further Surprises

The 2026 excavations at the Via Belvedere site concluded on 9 July 2026. This year’s discoveries include further evidence for the Etruscan cobbled road, which certainly extends across the slope from the southwest to the northeast. North of the road, we have uncovered evidence of a building that burned down, likely at the end of the 2nd or beginning of the 1st century BC, and which was abandoned and then completely covered by deposits of stone and soil. Although we only have one corner of the building so far, we can see that there are several dolia (large storage jars) in situ. The jars were crushed when the roof collapsed. In the Roman bath complex, efforts were focused on better understanding the collection, distribution, and drainage of water between the various rooms. Excavation on the southwest side of the complex revealed the stoke hole for heating the rooms of the bath and another piece of the lead piping used to distribute the water. Another pipe, which was laid across the Etruscan retaining wall, indicates that the source of the water for the bath complex was higher up on the slope in an area not yet excavated. A press conference to report the finds for 2026 was held on 7 July.