The Gabii Project’s 2013 campaign was the fifth undertaken in the Archaeological Park of Gabii. Work concentrated on two sectors of the area under investigation, denominated Area D and Area F, corresponding with distinct stratigraphic contexts delimited by walls and particular topographical elements.

Area F, situated on the western edge of the excavation area, included an entire insula. In this zone, the excavations were extended to the south and west, with the aim of identifying the perimeters of the building partially excavated in 2012, and linking these structures with the those facing onto the town’s main street. The building excavated here was organised on two levels delimited by a monumental wall in opus quadratum¬ of tufa blocks and linked by a perfectly preserved flight of steps. The upper terrace appeared to be completely open, while the lower presented a series of rooms facing onto open areas paved with tufa slabs. The rooms were aligned along a north-south axis, corresponding with the porticoed entrance of the building on the town’s main street, delimiting a large courtyard closed to the north by two large square rooms paved in opus signinum with geometric decorations. The original phase of this monumental building dated to between the 4th and 2nd century B.C. During the imperial period it underwent a series of changes that created a gradual and dramatic reduction in the size of the sector facing south onto the main street. The western perimeter of the complex was identified, but its interior remains to be excavated during the next campaign.

Area D, situated on the southern edge of the excavation area, was extended towards the west revealing other parts of the archaic structures investigated from 2011 onwards. The area was largely occupied by a building bordered by a wall of tufa slabs and fragments. Inside this area there were two axial rooms, on a different alignment from that of the regular town grid. They presented two occupation phases dating respectively to the beginning and the second half of the 6th century B.C. The clear delimitation of the area occupied by the two rooms suggests that this was a compound, probably for use by a high-ranking elite, with very well-defined spaces.
During this campaign, the excavations investigated the earliest stratigraphy relating to this building and preceding levels relating to at least two oval huts were exposed. The occupation phase of the hut settlement has not been extensively investigated, but a number of isolated finds including two wealthy tombs and an infant’s grave of the Orientalising period, similar to those found in 2009, appeared to be associated with it. Overall, the 2013 campaign provided important information regarding the settlement dynamics of the original nucleus of Gabii and its urban and architectural development during the Republican and imperial periods.