A large pre-Roman sanctuary has been discovered in Ponso, in the province of Padua in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. Archaeologists discovered the remains of a sacred area with the remains of columns, pavements and dozens of stone slabs inscribed in the Venetic language. The inscribed stones have been tentatively dated to between the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.

The site was excavated in a salvage excavation along the route of a planned regional road. The first discovery was a cylindrical stone inscribed in Latin. Over the next few days, more stones emerged, these inscribed in the Venetic language of the people who inhabited the area before the arrival of the Romans. Some of the inscriptions run across two or three sides of the stones. Preliminary translations point to the inscriptions being votive requests which include the name of the person petitioning the gods. The name of the god being addressed has not yet been found.

The inscriptions are written in “Venetken” characters, a version of the Northern Italic alphabet similar to the Etruscan alphabet. The Venetic language drops off the archaeological record in the 1st century B.C., indicating the Veneti were fully assimilated into Roman culture and language by that time. About 300 inscriptions in Venetic are known, ranging in date from the 6th century B.C. to the 1st century B.C., so the discovery of dozens of them in a single location is extraordinary.

The sanctuary’s layout and remains were preserved for 2,000 years under 6.5 feet of mud deposited in a flood of the Adige River which at that time flowed through the area. allowing archaeologists to identify at least two phases of construction over five centuries of continuous use. Some of the inscribed stones were reused in a pavement dating to the 1st century A.D. Others were found in their original locations, although the force of the flooding has tilted them.

The investigation of the site is ongoing, and archaeologists are hoping to be able to pin down the dates of the construction and renovation phases and the different cultural practices associated with the phases.