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Civitate A is the area to the north of the Medieval road leading to Piano del Tesoro, which makes up a large portion of the north slope of the hill.  While excavation had taken place here previously in the eastern extent along the Archaic Period Complex, it was the discovery of Archaic metal roasting pits and pieces of copper slag in CA 33 ( JB I and JB III )which renewed interest in the western area.  Following this discovery, several trenches were excavated in the surrounding area.  Features found include intentional deposits ( TT I , CO III , and AEG I ), an Archaic Period well ( JBB II , LS I , and MG II ), and a lozenge shaped stone capping ( MG II ).  The materials from CA suggest an earlier date than that associated with Piano del Tesoro to the east with some finds characteristic of the late 8th century BCE.

During the 2012 season, test trenches dropped about 60 meters east and 40 meters west of the excavations

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detailed above came down on seemingly linear rock features ( AAF II , CGL I ) and were augmented and extended in 2013 to explore the features further, revealing a more robust linear feature. In 2014, Tesoro West, an area between Civitate A and Piano del Tesoro, was excavated ( AJC VI , FGT III , KRK VII , AEG VIII ), in an attempt to further clarify an area of the hill previously only documented with respect to exploratory trenches ( BH II , BBI , and EN I ) which uncovered a large amount of decorative terra cotta associated with the destruction of the Archaic Period Complex intentionally dumped into a lens.

Within the original bounds of T 62 ( AEG VIII ), a thin linear formation of small stones approximately four meters long and stretching from the northwestern corner diagonally at a shallow angle towards the southeast, was uncovered. In search of any possible parallel features, T 62 was extended two meters to the south. In the eastern baulk wall

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of T 62's extension three stones emerged appearing to be placed in an arcing arrangement. To investigate the western-eastern extent of the linear feature as well as the arcing rocks uncovered in the first extension, a second extension of T 62 was made two meters to the east in order to adjoin it to the western baulk wall of T 63. The thin, linear, stone feature was seen to continue in a more robust form of approximately eighty centimeters in width until it disappeared beneath a large stump in the extension and was not seen to continue in T 63. The three stones which appeared to arc in the first extension were part of a roughly circular stone feature of approximately one meter in diameter. To investigate the nature of the feature and any intentionality behind its placement, the interior was shallowly excavated. Beneath the original circular stone feature a second course of rocks appeared, slightly inset from the upper course, thereby narrowing the diameter of the feature to about eighty centimeters.

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The circular stone feature circumscribed an area which was heavily infilled with artifacts including a large quantity of pan and cover roofing tiles, as well as decorative elements from the Archaic phase of the site, including frieze plaque and sima fragments. The pottery recovered from the circular feature included primarily worn, body sherds of impasto and coarseware vessels. Very little bone was recovered, but many of those found were diagnostic. The feature's shape, coursing, and included materials offer strong parallels to other places of Archaic Period deposition on Poggio Civitate including the pits filled with Archaic material in CB 15 ( PS I ), CB 27 ( EN IV ), CB 32 ( JAL I ), CB 39 ( ARR II ), but especially to the well in CA 42 ( JBB II , LS I , MG II ), the aperture of which was of similar size and sealed with hundreds of terra cotta elements.

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To that end, the goals of T 62 in the 2015 season are:

1. To explore the full extent of the circular stone feature within T 62 through exposure, cross section, and excavation
2. To recover dateable material from the circular stone feature in order to better understand previous features like it discovered in Civitate A
3. To search for evidence of human, and especially non-elite, activity in direct association with the circular feature
4. To see if there is a correlation between the linear features found in Tesoro West in 2014 and the circular feature

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