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Conclusion

The excavation of CA 62 during the 2009 season can be viewed as successful overall. Though CA 62 did not confirm distinct habitation in the Civitate A area, the presence of Iron Age, or Villanovan, material, such as coil made pottery, 20090234

, and evidence of stone tool working, 20090029 , shows that there certainly was activity there during the Villanovan period. Furthermore, the presence of wheel thrown pottery, and even Medieval pottery, 20090025 , show that this area continued to see activity beyond the Villanovan period.

CA 62 did not reveal any new information about the metal roasting pits in the area. The only ancient metal found in CA 62 were two sheets of bronze vessel, but not any slag or forno fragments to show evidence of metal working.

CA 62 was integral to understanding Civitate AÂ’s stone capping features. There was an intentional stone capping of stones 4-6cm in size, able to be seen at surface level. The feature was rectangular, about one meter by one and a half meters in dimension, and located near the center of the trench on a slight northwest to southeast axis.

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In excavation it was found that a piece of bucchero handle, 20090016

, attached to a piece from CA 36, 19940168 , indicating that these two deposits were open during the same period. Additionally, the joining of pieces from CA 55, 20070251 , and CA 36, 19930049 , indicate that all three were open at the same time.

A plotting of the deposits from CA 36, CA 42N, CA 55, and CA 62 shows that they occur on a roughly regularly straight line, which runs diagonally from the southeast to northwest. Because of this lining up it is inferred that the deposits were made intentionally, though for what purpose is still under debate.

While the nature of materials found under deposits in CA 36, CA 42N, and CA 55 would indicate burial type materials, no human remains have been found to confirm this theory. Under CA 62Â’s stone capping, however, there was no significant quantity of deposited prestige material like in CA 36, CA 42N, and CA 55 to shed light on this phenomenon.

Another theory is that, due to their lining up, the Civitate A deposits are not in fact deposits, but some sort of light frame architectural supports. What seems to be deposited

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material then might be material that existed in the area prior to the building of the architectural supports, but that was used indiscriminately as fill to even out the area later when these stone features were constructed. Neither theory can be supported fully by the information so far recovered from Civitate A, and it is certainly possible, in addition, that neither is correct.

While CA 62 has aided in the understanding of the stone cappings found in the Civitate A area, further excavation is clearly necessary to both understand to the fullest extent these features and their purpose, as well as to answer the questions concerning habitation and metal working on Civitate A.