Introduction

5

I. Introduction:

Civitate A (CA) is the area to the north of the main road leading to the Piano del Tesoro and constitutes a considerable portion of the north slope of the hill. Excavation did occur on this part of the hill in the early phase of work on Poggio Civitate, but is associated with the agger and deposited materials from the destruction of the Archaic courtyard building complex.

Interest was renewed in the excavation of CA with the discovery of roasting pits in CA. (see JB-I and JB-III). Additional trenches were excavated in the area in subsequent seasons. CA-37 contained what appeared to be an intentional deposit that contained full profiles of coarseware and impasto (see TT-I). Excavation of CA-36 in 1991 and 1993 uncovered an intentional deposit which contained full profiles of coil-made ceramic and a bronze fibula and was capped by an intentional deposit of stone. The artifacts from CA-36, especially the fibula and coil-made ceramic point to an earlier date for the deposit than those associated with the building

6

7

complexes on the Piano del Tesoro. (See JB-IV and TT-IV).

Additional excavation of CA in 1997 revealed an Archaic well in CA-42 (see JBB-II, LS-I, and MG-II) which was sealed with many roofing tiles. At its bottom several nearly intact Archaic-period vessels were discovered. In 1998, the area north of the well was excavated in CA-42N (see MG-II). Another intentional deposit of material was discovered, dug into sterile soil and capped with a diamond pattern of rocks. Materials recovered included bone, coil-made ceramic, bronze, iron, and an unusual concentration of implements associated with textile production (rocchetti and spindle whorls.)

The excavation of Civitate A resumed again in 2007. CA-55 was dug adjacent to CA-36 in order to further explore the deposit from 1993. The soil was similar and bronze, iron, and coil-made ceramic was also recovered. A decorated handle fragment (20070251) was recovered and was found to join with a fragment from CA-36 thus conclusively proving that both deposits in CA-36 and CA-55 were open at the same time.

8

9

In 2009, CA-62 revealed what appears to be a similar stone capping feature as those in CA-36 and CA-55 (see AEG-I). It contained much less material than the other two deposits, but appeared to be oriented with the other two in a line to the southeast.

Excavation of CA-66 will occur in the area just to the north of CA-42 N (See \x93Trench Layout\x94 for more information about the coordinates of CA-66) to see if there are any more stone features or deposits in the area. Hopefully, the erosion endemic to this part of Poggio Civitate will be at least partially counteracted by the nearby \x93medieval footpath\x94 just to the north of CA-66. It is hoped that the compacted gravel substructure of the path will have prevented at least some erosion and thus preserved some intact contexts from ancient phases of activity.

The goals for the 2010 season are as follows:

\xa7 To explore the possibility of further Iron Age deposits in CA, such as those found in CA-36,42N, 55, and 62.

\xa7 To explore the possibility of habitation, especially non-elite habitation, on this part of the hill, either in the Iron Age or in the periods of

10

11

occupation associated with either of the building complexes on the Piano del Tesoro.

\xa7 To explore possible activity associated with the well in CA-42.

\xa7 To explore the possibility of further metal working associated with the roasting pits in CA-33.

\xa7 To gain a better understanding of the topography and stratigraphy of Civitate A.

12