The excavation was carried out of the site of Cerenzia Vecchia in the territory of Cerenzia (KR). It involved an area of circa 100 m2 situated immediately north of a well preserved building known as the “House of the Prince”. The area was positioned beside what was probably a road inside the urban walls and revealed six rooms of more or less similar dimensions that were connected to or rather belonged to the “House of the Prince”. Immediately below the humus both abandonment layers characterised by sandy-silt soil and a layer of collapse sealing various walled structures were identified.

The walls delimited a complex of six rooms of various sizes which had undergone a series of alterations over the course of time. They were built using large limestone and local stone chips bonded with a very crumbly yellowish-white mortar containing some limestone inclusions. In the stratigraphy at least six different occupation phases were identified. In the first phase the area may have been part of a large open space, although to date its function is unknown. In all probability this space was later transformed into a building through the construction of a number of walls forming a series of large rectangular rooms, all communicating via corridors paved in opus signinum. Subsequently these rooms were isolated when the corridors were blocked. A ramp, visible along the building’s eastern edge, was then constructed which probably related to agricultural or stock raising activities. The two small tanks situated in the north-western corner at the building’s north edge may also be related to such activities.

The excavation recovered a fairly good quantity of fragmentary finds, above all building materials (imbrices and a few bricks) and stone, all relating to later dumps and probable reuse of the collapsed material from the structures. A lesser quantity of pottery vessels was also found. A brief analysis of the material present (still to be studied) dated the definitive abandonment of the examined building to between the 16th-18th century. In fact, during excavation numerous fragments of olive green majolica, white majolica with cobalt blue vegetal motifs and large plain buff ware basins were found. However, at the same time the presence was noted of some pottery fragments probably of graffito ware and plausibly datable to the 11th-12th century (unfortunately to be considered residual in this context). Moreover, coins (in conservation) were recovered which suggest, together with the presence of 11th-12th century pottery, that the area was already in use in this period. Amongst the other material found were a good number of glass fragments perhaps from window panes, two stone sling shots, the body of a pipette, glazed lamp bodies and fragments of clay piping.