The aims of the 2021 excavation campaign were the continuation of the archaeological investigations and the enhancement of the fruition path inaugurated in 2019, which recorded a strong interest in the public. This interest was confirmed in 2021.
The investigations covered the 4 sectors identified in the previous campaign: – Sector 1 and 2: continuation of the excavation of the cemetery – Sector 3: enlargement towards the west, in order to house the repositioning of the platform of the visitor path – Sector 4: enlargement towards the south, in the area where the old platform for the visitors was located.
As to the cemetery area, 64 tombs have been documented, confirming the considerable exploitation of the complex of Saint Mustiola, whose grave goods are dated to the period of maximum frequentation of the place, i.e. between the 12th and the 15th centuries.
The Sector 1 confirms a large concentration of infantile burials, what was already highlighted in 2020. In the south-west portion, a caisson made of bricks was found along the façade of the church. It has yet to be investigated.
The Sector 3 has returned a portion of the churchyard as well as the portion of a wall whose attribution remains doubtful at the moment.
The collapse of the southern perimeter wall of the church (Sector 4) has been fully documented. The wall was disassembled in view of a future reconstruction. Below it a square brick pavement emerged, close to a wall running in a north-south direction. This could represent either an annex to the church or a totally detached structure with a different chronology.
Indeed, in the nearby stratigraphies several ceramic fragments from the Lombardic period have emerged. They are similar to those found inside the Roman cistern located a little further south and at a lower altitude.