The settlement was established in the 6th century BC near the confluence of the Belbo with the Tanaro, one of the main natural communication routes in north-western Italy and a tributary of the Po.
Known since 1982 (Venturino Gambari 1983) thanks to extensive surface collection campaigns carried out under the watchful eye of the Superintendency, the richness and variety of the material collected soon led to the protection of about 7 ha of agricultural land because of its archaeological potential.
The protohistoric occupation of Villa del Foro has been the subject of several excavations and diagnostic surveys, uncovering several hollow structures (pits, post holes, fragments of ovens and rubble surfaces, wells, as well as segments of an artificial canal), describing a complex occupation, characterised by a dense and varied production activity.
Bibliography
– Cicolani Veronica, Dabas Michel, Grout Armand, Zamboni Lorenzo, “Méthodes croisées pour (re-)apprendre les agglomérations préromaines dans le nord-ouest italien. Le cas de l’agglomération à vocation artisanale de Villa del Foro (Alexandrie, Piémont)”, in : Hiriart Eneko, Krausz Sophie, Alcantara Aurélien, Filet Clara, Goláňová Petra, Hantrais Juliette, Mathé Vivien, éd., Les agglomérations dans le monde celtique et ses marges. Nouvelles approches et perspectives de recherche, Pessac, Ausonius Éditions, collection NEMESIS 1, 2023, 103-122. Voir en ligne sur una-editions.fr.
– Gambari F.M. & Venturino Gambari M. (1985) : “ Villa del Foro (com. Di Alessandria)”, Studi Etruschi, 53, 421-425.
– Venturino M. & Giaretti M. dir. (2021), « Villa del Foro. Un emporio ligure tra Etruschi e Celti, Archeologia Piemonte », 8, Genova.
![[fr]Planimétrie de l’emprise avec emplacements des sondages archéologiques et les résultats des levés magnétiques.[en]Planimetry of the right-of-way with locations of the archaeological borings and the results of the magnetic surveys.](https://www.chronocarto.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/nemesis_cicolani_fig_8-scaled.jpg)
