The excavation campaigns undertaken between 2007 and 2009 were concentrated in the area of the church dedicated to Sant’Agostino (Area 15) – already previously investigated – in order to complete the research on the cemetery area found in the interior and to the exterior of the religious building. To date numerous burials of infants and adults, probably datable to several phases, have come to light.

The data obtained during the 2008 and 2009 excavations allowed not only the reconstruction of the sequence relating to the cemetery area of Sant’Agostino, but also the tracing of a first outline of the cemetery’s phases of use. The earliest phase probably dated to a period prior to the construction of the church and can be attributed to the early medieval phase of Poggio Bonizio; the second phase is datable to the 12th-13th century coinciding with the occupation phases of the town of Poggio Bonizio and the church. As regards the organisation and layout of the burials, in the early medieval period there seemed to be no differentiation of the areas: burials were placed regardless of age or sex and in many cases the tombs were partially removed by subsequent burials. However in the late medieval period, the area was characterised by greater spatial organisation: inside the building, above all in the south nave, only infant burials were present whilst the adults – with the exception of a tomb situated at the centre of the central nave, containing three individuals – were buried around the church, in tombs with masonry coffins, up against the perimeter walls of the church.

A new excavation area was opened (Area 16), situated in the eastern part of the archaeological area. This revealed the existence – during the occupation phases of Poggio Bonizi castle (1155-1270) – of a large rectangular building, set back from the main road crossing the settlement. In a first phase the structure seemed to have been constituted by a single large room divided into two “naves” by five pillars, with a single side entrance facing towards the nearby church of Sant’Agnese. It was only in a second phase, attributable to the central decades of the 13th century, that the internal spaces of the building were transformed. A wall built of split stones and brick was constructed to close the space delimited by the last pillar, thus creating a small inner room, perhaps a service area. In the space between the road and the building, in a moment subsequent to the latter’s construction, a smaller structure was built. It had three aligned pillars – perhaps the remains of a loggia – delimiting the space remaining between this structure, the road and the large rectangular building behind.

The situation and alignment of the larger building, its internal divisions, the entrance facing the church and the presence of what was probably a loggia in front of the road suggest – although the investigations are at a preliminary stage – that rather than being a permanent dwelling this large structure was used for offering temporary accommodation to travellers.