The 2017 campaign saw the extension of the excavation area in order to completely expose the stratigraphic contexts identified last season.

The first levels of dumped material, made up of dark organic soils with a sandy-silt matrix, were removed in the central part of the site. Below lay the base geological level, constituted by a layer of compact gravel in a silty matrix, identified as the body of an ancient conoid/alluvial fan. There were several postholes and pits in the smoothed surface of this natural terrain. One of The remains in one of the pits (layers of charcoal and reddening of the walls) showed it had been used for fires. These are the earliest traces found to date within the site’s stratigraphy, which needs to be examined over a greater surface area. In the first external sector investigated (Sector I), work continued to remove the modern agricultural layers down to the first layer of better-preserved stratigraphy. Here an intense phase of alteration to the occupation level (with levelling and make ups) was identified, which involved the creation of a series of structural elements, with the partial use of masonry and perishable materials. As modern ploughing cut the stratigraphy it was difficult to interpret this context, although it can be related to iron working.

In the adjacent Sector II, work continued on exposing the context relating to the funerary use of the area, partially identified last year, which produced significant archaeological evidence. The excavated burials contained the remains of individuals of different ages and sex, with a particular presence of sub-adults in the northern part of the area. Sector III, immediately south of II, was excavated in order to understand how the wall footing (investigated in earlier seasons) was destroyed (built after the mid 10th century on top of the fill in the inner ditch). The excavation of the different layers of fill revealed the remains of two different construction phases of the masonry-built base, characterized by the substitution of an earlier phase dry-stone and timber post construction with a later phase in masonry and plaster.

The last sector investigated corresponded with the south-western area of the excavation (Sector IV), situated in front of the tower-shaped building. Here, the excavation confirmed the presence of a level of reorganization of the area with the presence of a sort of gravel make up over the abandonment layers in the ditch. The removal of this stratigraphy exposed a first series of layers filling the defensive ditch, which included a lining made up of lime mortar. Outside this area, below the levelling mentioned above, the excavation identified the remains of a first structure possibly associated with metalworking, characterized by a sub-circular pit with reddened walls.