The aim of the excavations was to completely expose the large octagonal hall in the residential sector of the 6th century A.D. villa. Its northern half, paved with a fine geometric polychrome mosaic was found during Bologna University’s 2012 excavations. This excavation was made possible by work to alter the line of via del Pantano, and the opening of trench 54 in which the southern half of the octagonal hall lay, which to date had been covered by the old road.

The octagonal hall occupied an area of c. 32 m2, excluding the space occupied by the walls, each internal sides measuring c. 2.65 m. The walls were built in a mixed technique using cobblestones, small and medium sized sandstone blocks and occasional tiles, arranged in farily regular courses and bonded with pink lime mortar. At some points, the walls were robbed down to the foundation offset while others, in particular to the south, were preserved to a height of c. 0.50 m.

In addition to making it possible to completely reconstruct the octagonal hall, with its precious mosaic floor, the 2018 excavations identified the entrance vestibule that also presented a well-preserved mosaic. It was also seen that the architectural complex built in the early 6th century A.D. and used as the villa’s reception room, after a first abandonment in about the 7th century A.D., underwent a change in function. This was shown by the rise in the floor level and probably related to the development on the site of a religious conplex between the 8th and 12th centuries. The finds study will certainly improve the dating for these changes that took place during the centuries in the Theodorican complex.