Science: The Discovery of Spina

Spina, the half-mythical Etruscan “Venice” on the swampy Po delta, was one of the world’s great cities in the 5th century B.C. Ancient writings tell tales of its wealth and luxury, but over the centuries the silt of the Po has been pushing the shore line into the Adriatic. Cut off from the sea, Spina declined in late Roman times to a village; then it disappeared. Cemeteries believed to be connected with it were found and recently excavated by both thieves and archaeologists (TIME, Nov. 8, 1954), but the remains of the city itself lay obstinately hidden under the flats and shallow lagoons of the advancing delta. Some skeptics maintained that Spina has always been only a myth, rather than a real city.

One expert who never lost faith in Spina was Dr. Nereo Alfieri, director of the Museo di Spina in Ferrara. Dr. Alfieri had won a great reputation by finding ruins known only by legend. (Once he found a Roman temple by asking shepherds the way to a “shrine.”) He was sure that sometime, somehow, he would find Spina. Last week he could report results.

For eight years he winnowed cryptic manuscripts, dug test holes in promising bits of marsh. He did not find Spina, but he did not give up hope: a government reclamation project was slowly draining the lagoons that covered its presumed site. When the water receded, the exposed flats showed nothing of interest, but Dr. Alfieri, an old hand at archaeological detective work, waited for nature to add the final, necessary touch.

Telltale Greens. The Valle Pega, the most promising lagoon, was drained two years ago, but for a year it remained as barren as a beach at low tide. This spring the mud turned faintly green with plants. The plants indicated nothing until the reclamation agency had the area photographed from the air. Dr. Alfieri hurried to Ravenna to look at the pictures, which were taken at 12,000 ft. by Italian air force Veteran Vitale Valvassori. Some of the shots showed faint markings that Alfieri’s experienced eye spotted at once. He hired Valvassori, partly with his own money, to take detailed, low-level pictures in both black-and-white and color.

When the new pictures were developed, they showed a broad, L-shaped canal 60 ft. wide and equivalent to the famous Grand Canal that is the main street of Venice. Closer study showed other canals and scores of rectangular blocks for houses and public buildings. The built-upon site covered 850 acres, the plants growing darkly green over silted canals and yellowish green over unnourishing brick and rubble.

Keys to the Past. Cautious digging last fall in the soggy soil uncovered ancient wooden piles like those on which Venice is built. Among them were fragments of pottery that could have come only from the 5th century B.C. “All my doubts dissolved,” said Dr. Alfieri. Other experts agreed, and last week Italian and foreign archaeologists were swarming to his diggings to see for themselves.

The Spina site will produce no stately, columned temples. All that remains is the foundations of the city, but when they are excavated carefully, they may yield information more interesting than any number of temples. The brilliant Etruscan culture, which flourished before the great days of Rome, is a deep mystery. Etruscan tombs are stuffed with striking art works, but Etruscan remains other than tombs are scarce. Out of Spina, covered for 2,000 years with preserving mud, may come knowledge of Etruscan buildings, government, religion and social structure. Historians may learn where the Etruscans came from; they may even find a key to their written language, which turned into a puzzle 2,000 years ago.