The archaeological area on the north of the Museum of Altino displays the remains of a Roman river pier (I century B.C. – I century A.D) constituted by a city gate flanked by short walls, by a landing place and by the connected warehouse. These structures were located within a block of 100 x 65 metres marked on the east by the “kardo” leading to the city gate; on the south by the “decumanus”, on the west and on the east by a channel.
The city gate (A) had two towers and inner court, as per a very common typology in northern Italy between the end of the I century B.C. and the beginning of the I century A.D. (see also the city gate “Porta Leoni” in Verona). The foundations of the door were made of big blocks of sandstone and leaned on a massive net of wooden poles for the consolidation of the ground. The inner court was square-shaped and measured 9 metres per side. The two towers were located on the northern side of the gate. Their upper shape was polygonal but their basis was a square of 7,40 metres per side with a circular inside. The building was located on a channel and was directly touched by the water. For this reason it is thought that the building was used as the city monumental landing place/gate.
Short after the construction of the city gate, between the two towers a bridge was built, which was made of big blocks of sandstone kept together by iron cramps. This bridge connected the urban area of Altino to a junction road that skirted the Sioncello up to the “via Annia”.
At the end of the I century B.C. it is also possible to date the compound in the south-western part of the archaeological area (B), a building partially equipped with a porch and with a mooring quay. The building was covered after the excavation and it is thus not visible today. Just as the city gate, it was located along the channel and for this reason it has been interpreted as a warehouse in connection with the river pier. Between the III and the IV century A.D. the warehouse was substituted by a kiln for cooking limestone and, on the east of the gate, some production rooms were built. Between the III and IV century A.D. the city walls were also reconstructed by using waste materials.