Late Antiquity
1.
In 1953, an excavation in the basement of the Orsoline convent, located in the southwest part of the Roman city, uncovered a large dolium containing around fifty bronze objects. It had been buried beneath a Roman mosaic, likely as a result of the invasions at the end of the 3rd century, with the aim of storing goods for future melting down.
Among the finds were two balance scales, vessels of various shapes and sizes (some used as measuring tools), handles, ladles, spouts, and a pair of winged cupids, all made in Cisalpine Italy. Also hidden were a statuette of a satyr covering his eyes, probably made in Alexandria, an oil lamp shaped like a sandal-clad foot crushing a butterfly, a two-spouted oil lamp, and a handle with the face of Silenus, all produced in Southern Italy.
The two balance scales discovered in Borgo delle Orsoline were similar in shape but varied in size and capacity. The larger scale could weigh up to 12 pounds on one side and 32 on the other, while the smaller one could handle 6 and 21 pounds, respectively. Both scales featured a rectangular cartouche with raised letters, each naming a different manufacturer: Marcus Sextilius Mulsus for the smaller scale, and Dionisius, servant of Lucius Messius Pe[…] for the larger one.
2.
There is little evidence from excavations and artifacts that can be firmly dated to Late Antiquity.
From the urban excavation at Palazzo Sanvitale, a varnished ceramic jug and a grey ceramic pot, dating from the 4th to the 6th century AD, were found. These items were discovered alongside several coins from the late 4th century, one of which was issued by Emperor Gratian (367-383). The excavation also uncovered the remains of walls and buildings from the Late Antiquity period.
In the northwestern area of the forum (Piazza Garibaldi), one of the Late Antiquity tombs yielded an Italic oil lamp, an imitation of African products from the 4th to 6th centuries AD. Additionally, two cross-shaped fibulae with bulbous ends, dating from the mid-3rd to early 5th centuries AD, were discovered in 19th-century excavations (from Salsomaggiore and Fontanellato). Both were gold-plated, with one bearing an inscription on the arch (IOVIORUM HERCULIORUM). This type of fibula, worn by Roman soldiers stationed in the Danubian regions during the early imperial period, was also worn by the emperor in military dress when made of gold.
Gold rings from Late Imperial burials were found in 19th-century excavations at the Palazzo del Tribunale in the southwest quadrant of the Roman city.