Conclusion

CA91 was opened in 2022 for the following reasons:

1. To gain a better understanding of the intentional, stone capped deposits excavated in Civitate A in 1991, 1993, 1998, 2007, and 2009;

2. To search for additional examples of non-elite habitation at Poggio Civitate, especially in the area surrounding the 2014 well;

3. To gain a better understanding of the use of positive or negative space surrounding the 2014 well;

4. To further explore the relationship between non-elite domestic space and industry at Poggio Civitate.

CA91 was not successful in achieving the 1st, 2nd, or 4th of these objectives, though the sterility of this trench may confirm that the negative space surrounding the 2014 well extended to the south and east of that structure. 

The materials recovered from CA91, consisting of only 26 sherds of very abraded pottery, minimal quantities of similarly poorly preserved terracotta fragments, and a single piece of bronze, originated in a decontextualized layer of topsoil and so can reveal little about the use of the space occupied by CA91. The bedrock immediately beneath the topsoil Locus 1 of CA91 bore no indication of human use or manipulation of the natural rock formation. 

CA91’s sterility recommends against the opening of additional trenches in its immediate vicinity. However, further exploration of Civitate A may yet reveal other traces of human activity and yield answers to the questions which the excavation of CA91 during the 2022 season left open.