Domus, Villas, Productions and Trade
1.
Pedrignano, Cà Rota Area
In Pedrignano, an industrial settlement was excavated, featuring a kiln and a ceramic waste pit. The finds indicate the site flourished from the late Republican period into the 2nd century AD. Among the exhibits is a sesquipedalian brick, a common construction material produced in large quantities in the Parma region, thanks to the abundance of raw materials.
2.
Baganzola
Recent excavations uncovered several residential spaces, a kiln, and a waste pit associated with ceramic production in a mixed urban-rural settlement. The wide range of materials found, including fine tableware ceramics (both black- and red-gloss) from the Po Valley, shows the settlement was active from the 1st century BC to the 2nd century AD.
3.
Roncolungo di Sivizzano and Sala Baganza
In the Parma area, several brickmaker’s stamps (typari) were discovered, which were used to mark bricks with the manufacturers’ names. A bronze stamp, found in the 19th century in Sala Baganza, is inscribed with “L. L. VAL”, likely referring to a Lucius Valerius. Another terracotta stamp from C. Turpio was found at a villa excavated at Fornovo Taro, Loc. Roncolungo di Sivizzano (PR), along the ancient road to Luni. The villa included both residential and production areas, such as wine-making facilities, kilns, a clay settling tank, warehouses, and drying ovens. The inscription “TVRPIO C. CASSI S.” refers to Turpio, a servant of the powerful Cassi family.
4.
Traversetolo, Lido Valtermina
Excavations in Traversetolo, Loc. Lido Valtermina (PR), revealed kiln waste that provides evidence of local production of a typical late Roman sigillata-style cup, dating from the late 1st to the 2nd century AD.
5.
Traversetolo, Lido Valtermina, and Parma City
The production of grains for domestic use is shown by a hand mill for grinding wheat, found in Traversetolo, Loc. Lido Valtermina (PR).
Some basalt stone weights found in Parma were used as counterweights for large two-arm scales, possibly used for weighing significant amounts of grain, hinting at commercial activities tied to large-scale production.
6.
Parma – Via Palermo
In the northern outskirts of Parma, in Via Palermo, excavations in the 1980s revealed a drainage system made from hundreds of amphorae. These amphorae, turned upside down and empty, were repurposed for land reclamation in marshy areas. They were buried under the Roman road that connected Parma to Brescello, a port on the Po River. The two amphorae on display, dating to the 1st century AD, originally contained oil and fish sauce (garum) from Spain.