The first weeks of September marked the end of the archaeological excavation campaign at the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, GR) 2019, which saw the involvement of the ERC nEU-Med project Team along with trainee archaeology students.

The excavation operations focused on the opening of two evaluation trences  in the South-East portion of the site (sectors III-IV) (Fig.1), in order to try to define in more detail the dynamics that affected the construction and the subsequent abandonment/filling of the inner defensive ditch. Already in the previous campaigns, it was shown that this element was decisive for the understanding of the activities carried out in the central area of Vetricella (in relation to the tower) and the area immediately outside.

 

The removal of the last stratigraphies of abandonment allowed us to identify an evident intermediate phase of partial filling, with lithic elements placed inside the ditch to form an inclined surface (Fig.2-3).

The deeper levels of the same deposit have also brought to light a substantial amount of materials (in particular ceramic finds and animal bones) that certainly seem to refer to the stratigraphy of life of the first phases of Vetricella (the materials are currently being studied for a better definition of their chronology).

Finally, the excavation was also extended to the portion outside the ditch where it was possible to confirm the presence, for the first period of occupation of the site, of a large context with production activities and traces of combustion (Fig.4).