Entrenched in Italian Dig and Culture

Saint Anselm College made some fascinating discoveries in its 2009 excavating season in Coriglia, a site is located on the Palia, a major tributary of the Tiber River. The Palia allowed people to sail to Rome and helped connect Corigilia to the outside world. Saint Anselm College's excavation efforts are led by Classics Professor David George, PhD. Since the project's conception, Saint Anselm students have been excavating six different trenches to learn everything possible about the region.In Trench A, there were seven pieces of 6th BC pottery along with copious coins. According to Professor George, the presence of coins suggests that this site once featured a road. In the 2009 season, the Saint Anselm team found an old Etruscan wall lined in rock estimated to originate from 600 B.C. The builders of the wall had carefully removed the etufa. The wall was thought to hold demons, and the area was probably sacred to a deity. Excavators had found a dolium in Trench B inverted in a perfect circle. This device was used to sacrifice to the gods of the dead by sending wine, blood and honey down to the Gods. During the 2009 digging season, Saint Anselm's team found the same tufa it found in Trench A, demonstrating a continuity between the two sites.

Trench C featured a wide range of structures, from early Etruscan structures dating back to 500 B.C. to late antique structures dating back to 500 A.D. It also contains a large bath-like structure along with an extensive pipe network. Professor George believes this area was once a shrine to a water deity. In 2009, the Saint Anselm team found a hypocaust, a heating element for Roman baths on top of an enormous foundation. Excavators also found a 2nd Century B.C. Republican coin. This makes this one of the oldest baths ever built and probably dates back to Augustus's reign.

Trench D was closed down in 2006 since it was not yielding any significant results. Trench E contained a hydraulic structure and the corner of a wall. Trench F contains structures from a variety of time periods, spanning from the Etruscans to the Romans to the Late Antique era. Six walls discovered in the area appear to be superimposed on one another from these different time periods. Professor George reports that this area is possibly connected to Trench A.

Throughout the endeavor, the Saint Anselm team encountered articles about the Etruscan religion. Excavators found artifacts that featured Tolkens, a health deity that righted wrongs, Vanth, a demon who guided souls to the underworld and had the power of life and death, and Lasawagu, a water nymph who issued prophecies when she was struck by lightning. This area most likely started out as a healing shrine judging by the deities present here. The site later became a large Roman bath as well as a shrine complex. The area had probably developed into a small Roman town. Later, Coriglia's complexes became hotels of a sort for administrators of the Empire to stay during the Antique period.

Saint Anselm has made huge strides in its understanding of Coriglia, but their work is not done. Excavation 2010 will run from May 24, 2009 through June 25, 2009. All majors are welcome on this five week excavation which can be used to get summer credit. The trip costs $2,900, which covers room and board for those five weeks.