La stipe votiva del Tarugo a Isola di Fano (Fossombrone, PU): un esempio di continuità di un luogo di culto italico agli inizi della romanizzazione

The accidental discovery of bronze ex-voto representing gods and offerers dates back to the second half of the nineteenth century and happened along the Tarugo torrent, near Isola di Fano, about 5 km south of Fossombrone. During 1928 the Authorities started a scientific investigation on the area of the previous discoveries. This research brought to light only some votive terracottas dated to a more recent era than those found in the nineteenth century. These terracottas are now in the Archaeological Museum of Fossombrone. These objects prove that there were Roman settlers in the Metauro Valley during the third century b.C. and maybe these settlers used to live together with local Italic people. This coexistence seems to be proved also by some new descoveries in the forum area of Forum Sempronii, where Roman Republican pottery has been found in the sane layer with pottery of local tradition. The votive objects found along the Tarugo torrent prove that the sacred area continued its life also after that via Flaminia was opened in 220 BC. Only after Augustus’restoration of via Flaminia the ancient protostoric route along Tarugo was abandoned, and with it also the sacred area.