ArcheoNevola Project. Preventive archaeology and excavations in Contrada Nevola, Corinaldo (Ancona)

ArcheoNevola is a project launched in 2017 as part of a preventive archaeology procedure aimed at the planning of a new sports complex in Corinaldo (Ancona) in the middle Nevola Valley. Integrated non-invasive surveys led to the identification of a vast funerary area, recognised in its extension and main features of topographical and monumental articulation thanks to the specific contribution of geophysical, aerial and surface prospecting. The excavations then undertaken on a regular basis until 2024, in agreement with SABAP AN-PU, revealed its long-standing frequentation, with an original monumental core referable to the Italic occupation of the mid-7th century BCE, and a flourishing phase in the mid-imperial Roman age (2nd-4th centuries AD). The experience underway represents an important opportunity on several fronts: on a scientific level to understand the forms and uses of the funerary spaces typical of the apogee phase of Picenian culture in the northern Marche region, and the management of its cultural and monumental heritage in the centuries following the Roman conquest of the territory; on the level of dialogue between different institutions as an operation of concrete interaction to reconcile the assessment and protection of the buried archaeological heritage with territorial planning; on the educational level as a teaching training site for young archaeologists also in the field of preventive archaeology.