The Etruscan settlement of Pietramarina is situated on the southern part of the summit of Montalbano, overlooking a vast territory. This strategic position caused the site to be occupied for a long period, which at present is documented from the 7th B.C. – 1st century A.D., with some traces of medieval use. The site was discovered during the surveys undertaken by F. Nicosia at the end of the 1960s. In 1973 some trenches were excavated as a consequence of forestry work and in 1984 two small trenches were opened on the eastern side but were then closed.

The summit area is characterised by a horseshoe shaped mound which still covers most of the Etruscan perimeter wall (investigated on the west and south sides). Inside are Etruscan buildings, already partly identified in the more elevated northern zone (“alpha”, “beta” and “gamma”), and in the centre of the walled area (“delta”). Over the last few years research has looked at the southern part of the settlement, astride the perimeter wall where there was a substantial monumental structure with a series of rooms.

The perimeter wall enclosing the hill summit was circa 360 m long, with internal and external facings in polygonal blocks. The walls stood directly on the rock and on the interior were protected by a drainage layer filling the foundation trench from which was recovered a few fragments of refined pottery and a body sherd of bucchero which provide a terminus post quem for this section of wall, placing it in the post archaic period.

The most important building amongst those found to date, defined “beta”, had its long sides orientated on an east-west axis and an internal dividing wall. It stood in an area that was previously occupied by a hut settlement of the Orientalising period, evidence for which there was evidence in the form of post holes, rock-cut sockets and fragments of impasto dating to the 7th century B.C., and by the first fixed settlement, probably of archaic date (partly collapsed and in part cut, designated “gamma”). There was evidence of subsequent restructuring, which in part made use of earlier structures, up until the late Hellenistic period. Further south, a new building (“delta”) came to light, delimited to the east by a wall circa 16 m long, on the same axis as the archaic wall relating to structure “gamma”. Within the space enclosed by these structures there was an esarca sealed by a layer of baked clay. As the foundations have not yet been reached, it is not possible to provide precise dating, however, the fact remains that its orientation corresponds to that of the archaic structure and that the base of a bucchero vessel was found.

In 2004 and 2005 the southern sector and the flat area outside of it were investigated. Here, evidence emerged of restructuring which also seemed to have involved the perimeter wall and a series of monumentalising interventions. Inside the wall a paved structure (“kappa”), was originally covered, at least in part, by a roof that was destroyed by fire, many traces of which were visible. The roof also covered two large semi-interred jars placed to the side of the paving and a hearth which produced remains of burnt bone and pottery fragments which may possibly be linked to a ritual function connected with this building.

On the exterior of the northern side a square space paved with basalt (“zeta”), bordered by a large podium, perhaps with portico (“theta”), faced onto a large covered space (“epsilon”) containing four rectangular, aligned and equidistant structures. These were delimited by vertical slabs and filled with soil and stones so as to form a series of bases of unknown function. The fifth base, further east, was aligned with the others but was situated inside an adjacent room (“eta”).