Fano, the loving embrace between the remains of a mother and her child in the archaeological excavations of Piazza Costa

During archaeological excavations in Piazza Costa in Fano, in the province of Pesaro Urbino, the skeletons of a mother holding her baby at her breast were discovered, dating from the early Middle Ages. “We are certainly in the presence of an adult with a child, and according to the first information provided by the anthropologist of the company in charge of the excavations, the adult subject actually seems to be a woman, although to be certain that “this is the mother, we should carry out DNA analyzes of the two remains”, explains to ANSA Ilaria Venanzoni, archaeologist from the Superintendence of Fine Arts and Landscape of the provinces of Ancona and Pesaro Urbino . “In any case – he explained – it is plausible that a member of the family holds the child in his arms.” “The burial – observes Venanzoni – takes place without funerary objects, so it is difficult to date the discovery precisely, but on a stratigraphic basis we can say that it certainly dates from the beginning of the Middle Ages, therefore between the 6th and 10th centuries AD.

“Recently – he remembers – two others resurfaced near this grave, with as many newborns or fetuses, buried individually, also without funerary objects.” The remains resurfaced in an area near Via Arco d'Augusto. “In this area – concludes the expert – previous excavations have identified Roman remains perhaps belonging to a domus or a thermal installation, it remains to be seen whether we are in the presence of a single building. Also in medieval times, in the same area, a church dedicated to San Daniele was built, then a convent attached to the church.

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