Conclusion

T110 was opened in 2024 with the following goals:

1. To establish an understanding of the stratigraphy of this area and its potential relationship between the area northeast of OC2 and the area southeast of the Archaic Phase Building.
2. To gain a better understanding of the topography of the hill and to determine whether these potential terraces are anthropogenic or natural.
3. To determine the nature and function of the area, in particular to look for evidence relating to the access to the eastern side of Piano del Tesoro from the valley leading from the Ombrone River and to look for evidence of non-elite habitation. 
4. To investigate the extent of the bedrock and rock assemblages uncovered in T106 in pursuit of potential non-elite architectural features.

During the 2024 field season, the excavation of T110 and the neighboring trenches (T105, T106, T107, T108, and T109) achieved these goals to varying degrees.

T110 is a 2x3 meter trench.  The trench had only one locus, which revealed a bedrock and stone deposit that extended the entirety of the trench and continued into the south and eastern edges. The bedrock outcropping was further identified in Locus 8 of T109, which is bordered by a cobbled surface to the south and east (T109 Locus 9, T106 Loci 5 and 17). This cobbled surface is associated with an Archaic period structure designated as East Terrace Archaic Phase Building 1 (ETAP1) that emerged in T105, T106, T107, T108, and T109 as identified by linear stone features that appear to comprise the full extent of the northern foundation wall, as well as portions of both the western (T105 Locus 23) and eastern (T108 Locus 8, and T107 Locus 9) foundation walls. As of the end of the 2024 season, no southern foundation wall has been discovered. ETAP1 is oriented on a roughly east-west axis and measures 12.1m in length. Work must continue in this area to reveal the building’s full footprint. Additionally, future work will entail identifying and excavating the building’s interior floor surfaces.

The artifacts discovered in T110 are not significant, nor dateable as they were found in a mixed topsoil deposit. The only special find of T110 was a rectangular iron fragment (SF#1) which was not catalogued. From the evidence provided by T110 this season, it cannot be conclusively said that the structure is an elite or non-elite domestic space; excavations in future seasons may address this question. The bedrock found in T110 may be outside of the occupation surface that is north of ETAP1, but the relationship between the bedrock and the cobbled surface is not clear within T110. In T106, Loci 5 and 17 comprise a cobbled surface resting atop a bedrock outcropping, perhaps for the purpose of leveling, but this relationship is not clear in T110. 

The discovery of this new building on a terrace situated to the east of the Archaic Building is suggestive of occupation in the Archaic Phase as well access from the valley if ETAP1 is along the approach to the Archaic Phase Building. It currently is unclear whether ETAP1 stood alone, or was part of a larger set of subsidiary structures situated on this terrace dating to the Archaic Period; potential additional structures could include other domestic structures or wells, similar to those found to the west of the Archaic Building, in CA42 and T62. Future excavations to the east of the Archaic Building are necessary to answer these  questions and will augment our understanding of Poggio Civitate’s domestic architecture and social structures during the Archaic Period.