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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

The trenches are all but closed and the students have headed home. Just some post ex work to be done.

Photo of some tile and rock lying on argilla espansa. A yellow flower lies across a tile. One rock has been inscribed with chalk to read “Roma” and another says “Romanes Domus Eunt.”

Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

And of course our excellent staff who kept everything going and helped our students learn about all the various facets of archaeology.

A photo of six people sitting on the walls in a trench.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

It was the last day in the trenches for our 2025 season. Our students from @boisestate.bsky.social and @utah.edu were amazing!!

A group of six BSU students with Director Katie Huntley sitting on the walls in a trench.

A group of four Utah students with Associate Director Alexis Christensen

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Our team gave a small conference covering our first 2 years of excavation last night in Serravalle Scrivia. A nice little piece on it in today’s La Stampa.

Photo of a newspaper article. It includes a photo of students excavating in a trenchThe text reads: Ogni anno gli universitari soggiornano tra Arquata e Serravalle
Così riscoprono oggetti di vita e reperti di oltre 2 mila anni fa
Gli scavi di Libarna amati e analizzati da studenti americani.

MAURIZIO IAPPINI
Tra Boise, Idaho - profondo ovest americano quasi sulla costa del
Pacifico - e Serravalle
ci sono almeno 9 mila chilometri di distanza e oltre 11 ore di volo. Eppure da anni ogni estate studenti dell'universita
della capitale dello Stato a stelle estrisce non mancano di essere a Libarna per una campagna archeologica che in questi giorni vive una fase crucia-le. Illegame frai resti della città romana di Libarna e 15 fra studenti e professori dell'università di Boise è vecchio di dieci anni, quando un nutrito gruppo di laureandi arrivò nel profondo Sud del Piemonte per conoscere da vicino un caso da manuale di archeologia.
Perché Libarna è per almeno 1 80% sito ancora sotto terra e non approfondito. Il paese dei balocchi per chi studia archeologia.
Dal 2015 quasi ogni anno professori e studenti americano soggiornano per un mese fra Arquata e Serravalle per una campagna di preparazione che quest'anno ha raggiunto il suo apice con una serie di scavi che hanno permesso di mettere in pratica studi teorici. Un progetto che nel corso degli anni ha permesso di saldare un rapporto di amicizia con i professori universitari americani eil territorio di Libarna. Se in passato le campagne erano di georeferenziazione e preparatorie agli scavi con georadar, sonar e droni, quest'anno i ragazzi di Boise hanno messo in pratica quei dati teorici. Così chi passa davanti al sito di Libarna lungo la strada statale 35 dei Giovi vedrà giovani vicino a una ruspa che lavorano su uno scavo in un campo: sono gli universitari americani che operano al di fuori del perimetro archeologico per riportare alla luce un area di Libarna dove erano presenti le «Domus»
degliabitanti, un'area residenzi…

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

@dr-fishbones.bsky.social walks our students through an assemblage of young pig bones from last year’s excavations.

Hannah Russ points out some features on the bones while our students look on.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Students washed some bone this morning while we opened trenches. Everyone was on site in the afternoon to clean trenches and put up safety fences. #LULP #Libarna #archaeology #RomanArchaeology @boisestate.bsky.social @uofuhumanities.bsky.social

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Yesterday our students got an overview of excavations at #Libarna from our Director Katie Huntley, and our trench supervisors Alexis Mosley and Richard Chadwick before laying out this year’s trenches.

Katie reviews past excavations now part of the Libarna archaeological park for a group of students.

Richard reviewing the plan of features in his trench from last year.

Alexis reviewing the plan of features in her trench from last year.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Talking trenches! Picking the placement for this year's trenches using data from our last two dig seasons to help us fill in more of the story of ancient #Libarna #archaeology #fieldschool #romanarchaeology

A group of people sit around a table looking at trench plans.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

For #MosaicMonday - Lycurgus and Ambrosia from Silvana Finocchi’s excavations of the houses near Libarna’s amphitheater. 📸: Silvana Finocchi (a cura di), 1996, Libarna, Maxmi Editore, Castelnuovo Scrivia.

Photo of a damaged mosaic with grape vines and the figure of Ambrosia reaching out to Lycurgus with her right hand beseechingly

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 18/07/2024

And just like that our trenches are closed. A few more days of post-ex work and our second season will end. #archaeology

Students backfilling a trench in a field.

A mechanical excavator packing down the soil over a trench.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 12/07/2024

Our amazing 2024 crew!! Students from @boisestateuniversity & @uofutah have done a brilliant job this season with their amazing trench supervisors Richard Chadwick and Alexis Mosley.

Photo of 9 archaeologists standing in a trench.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 04/07/2024

Our Associate Director Alexis Christensen really loves tile! And this is a good year for tile!! #LULP #Archaeology #UofU #BoiseState

Dr. Christensen sits on green grass beside an orange safety fence gesturing at several piles of tile. Two black buckets sit beside.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 30/06/2024

Since it’s #AncientSiteSunday here’s a nice view of Libarna, a Roman colony established ca. 148 BCE when the Via Postumia was built to connect Genoa to Aquileia across the Po Valley. Read more: the-past.com/feature/liba... 📸 M Boyles

Aerial shot of the site showing the amphitheater, theatre, and two city blocks.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 29/06/2024

Field trip to the antiquities collection in the Musei Reali in Torino today. Our pottery expert Melania Semeraro gave our @boisestate.bsky.social and U of Utah student an excellent tour.

A group of students gather outside the museum to learn about the Roman theater

A group of students gather round an Augustan era bronze bust of a man

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 27/06/2024

Another good day in the trenches. Our @UUtah and @BoiseState students finished cleaning trenches and learned how to draw a trench plan. #Archaeology #LULP 🏺

Three students draft a trench plan while the supervisor looks on.

Students clean a trench in preparation for planning and photography

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 26/06/2024

We have blue skies and flowers at Libarna!! An excellent first day in the trenches.

View of a trench surrounded with orange safety fence and some flower pit on the post at the entrance.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 25/06/2024

Finally made it into the field to bail the trenches and lay out the grids.

Four students bail the water from a tarp-covered trench

A student throws water from a bucket over a safety fence.

A group of students using the Pythagorean theorem to lay out the grid for a trench.

A group of students gridding out a trench.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 25/06/2024

Starting our second rainy morning with a talk by our Director, Prof. Huntley, on Libarna and it’s place in ancient Italy/Liguria. #LULP #archaeology

Photo of students taking notes in a darkened room while Dr. Huntley looks at a slide projected on the wall.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 25/06/2024

When it’s chilly and the rain is filling up your trenches you make a run to the local designer outlet mall to get some sweatshirts and rain gear. #ArchaeologyLife #LULP #SerravalleScrivia #McAurthurGlenOutlet #BiggestDesignerOutletMallInEurope

Photo of seven students standing in front of a mall entrance.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 23/06/2024

Field trip to Libarna Archaeological Park on a rainy Sunday.

A group of archaeology students looking over the remains of a Roman town

Dr. Huntley talking about the Roman theater.

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Libarna Urban Landscapes Project @libarnaulp.bsky.social · 23/06/2024

The shoes have multiplied. Our students are here!!

Ca 20 pairs of shoes in a more or less orderly arrangement on a tile floor.

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