Archaeological investigations were undertaken at the Abbey of S. Lucia in Rocca di Cambio (AQ) in 2007 and 2008. The area in front of the church was excavated, where bands of earth of a different colour were visible, indicating the presence of walled structures below ground. The church is known as an abbey but in practice there are no structures in the vicinity to suggest the presence of buildings relating to a monastery, a fact which increased interest in the archaeology of the site. Furthermore, the geographical position of the excavation area has always fuelled the hypothesis that it could be the site on which the ancient oppidum of Frusteniae, an ancient city in the Vestino valley, stood, situated half way between Alba Fucens and ancient Aveia.

The excavations exposed four quadrangular rooms situated side by side; three on a north-south alignment, the other to the east. The eastern perimeter wall of the latter continued to the east, beyond the excavation edge, in the direction of the church. The relationship between these structures and the church will be investigated during subsequent campaigns. At present this is not possible due to the need to leave access to the church parallel to the façade. Only a few courses of the walls remained due to the continuous use of the area up to the present day. The latest archaeological traces dated to the 16th century, in particular in room 1. In rooms 2 and 3 occupation levels were not reached, only the stratigraphy obliterating the razing of the walls was investigated.

On the basis of a preliminary analysis of the finds, this stratigraphy dated to the 12th century, period in which the structures were probably abandoned. The presence of burials cut into these abandonment layers shows that the site was used after the structures fell into disuse. In fact, seven burials were uncovered (four juveniles and three adults) containing “a stoia” type pottery datable up to the 12th century. One burial contained a pair of “globular” earrings datable to within this chronological range. In room 1 a stretch of wall emerged on an east-west alignment, made of large squared stones bonded with a strong pink mortar. The eastern perimeter wall of room 1 was built on top of this structure, partially using as a foundation. It continued beyond the excavation edge.