Italferr, a Company of the Infrastructure Hub of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group, has been the first Italian engineering company to equip itself, since the 1990s, with its own staff of professional archaeologists capable of managing all archaeological activities functional to the design and construction of railway works.

The Infrastructure Project

As part of the realization of the new Palermo-Catania-Messina link, an integral part of "Scandinavian - Mediterranean Core Network Corridor No. 5 (Helsinki-La Valletta)", Italferr is at the forefront in providing services involving Design, Works Supervision, process coordination and support to the RFI Contracting Authority.

A strategic project that will guarantee significant reductions in travel time together with numerous benefits in terms of general transport safety and the economic and social development of the territories involved.

The archeological finding

In detail, on the Palermo-Catania main line that, when fully operational, will reduce travel time by about 60 minutes, thereby connecting the two metropolitan cities within 2 hours compared to the current 3 hours, preventive archaeological investigations carried out by Italferr have allowed to make an important discovery.

On a hill overlooking the Dittaino River (anciently known as 'Chrysas') on the Palomba-Catenanuova section, in a position favorable to the strategic control of the valley and of communication routes, a vast settlement has been found that can be traced back to the age of Imperial Rome (between the mid-1st and 3rd centuries AD), with signs of reoccupation in later periods as well.

To the west of the settlement, at the top of the hill and on its northwest slope, an extensive necropolis was also identified that yielded 168 burial sites. The data associated with it tell us of a significant social stratification, with a set of tombs of the "earthen pit" type, with roofs consisting mainly of tiles and roofing tiles, as well as cores of monumental tombs, offering further evidence of the complexity and social diversity of the main settlement.

Undeniable confirmation of the area's levels of wealth is provided precisely by the necropolis' core of monumental burials, consisting of a 'cappuccina' tomb, a 'bustum' (sepulcrum) and an incineration in a marble urn. In particular, the bustum has yielded an exceptional trousseau consisting of five necklaces and two gold rings, while the cinerary urn, made of Carrara marble, bears an inscription testifying to the presence on the site of a "Magnus Magister Pecoris," thus a figure in charge of the administration and management of sheep farming, and a 'dispensator', i.e. an administrator, who donates the urn to the deceased. Two figures that suggest a complex administrative structure and the permanence of individuals in charge of the management of assets and certainly of breeding activity.

Surveys involving the settlement report of an organization of spaces that confirms the complexity of the settlement, presumably a rustic villa with a central room and at least three 'ambulacra'. Remnants of pavements and of collapsed roofs confirm the special importance of the settlement, whose strategic position originally dominated the entire slope.

The characteristics of the structures that have emerged suggest that they cannot be interpreted as living quarters, but rather as areas attributable to a productive activity to be connected with the pars dominica of the Roman villa.

Finally, thanks to the results of magnetic surveys, an area of possible cult use was found in the eastern sector of the site. This is a natural ditch within which several traces of burnt animal bones were found, alternating with layers of burnt and alluvial deposits, suggestive of the performance of rituals. The area has yielded several oscilla specimens, needles and pins made of worked bone. Prominent is the presence of a cube with an inscribed letter not yet deciphered.

Excavation activities, which began in 2020 in collaboration with the Enna Cultural and Environmental Heritage Superintendency, are still ongoing with the aim of documenting the archaeological area in all its extent and of developing a project to enhance the site.

This is an important activity confirming how Italferr's approach towards preventive archaeological analysis through the use of innovative tools and methodologies is a winning one, aimed as it is at safeguarding and making usable the heritage of our ancestors and at the same time enabling the passage of an infrastructure of strategic national and international importance.