The excavations carried out at the site of Li Castelli in 2007 and 2009 are located in the southwestern part of field 24 of sheet 34 of the cadastral map of the Municipality of San Pancrazio Salentino. Most attention was paid to a large ‘open area’ trench of some 2000 sqm, containing the structures found in test pits dug by the same institute in 1999 and 2001. Although modern deep-ploughing and stone extraction have done considerable damage to the ancient remains excavated in this trench, the preliminary analysis allows us to make a series of observations on chronology, function and spatial organisation.

First, the excavations have confirmed earlier field surveys, which suggested that this particular field was characterized by a domestic area that was in use from the Archaic to the Roman period. The ancient structures uncovered with the excavations can, indeed, be dated between the 7th/6th centuries BC and the 1st century AD. The Archaic period is represented in the deeper archaeological layers of the trench. These layers have been largely untouched by the plough and were only incidentally destroyed by recent digging. Also the early 5th- century BC burial III turned out to be well-preserved. This burial is located within a short distance of a dwelling complex, part of which was in use, most probably, during this period.

Most of the structures excavated, however, date to the early Hellenistic period, the later 4th-early 3rd centuries BC. According to the surveys, this is the period in which the settlement reached its maximum expansion of more than 50 ha and a central area clearly manifested itself, just northwest of the field excavated in 2007. The surveys, indeed, suggest that this field is part of the immediate periphery of the central area. Our trench has yielded additional evidence to support this hypothesis. It has uncovered a series of rooms that is aligned alongside a road, running straight in the direction of the settlement’s centre. In general, the excavated remains reflect a well-organised plan, at least in the northwestern portion of the trench. The road here is bordered on both sides by channels that align a series of buildings. The space between the channels and the façades of the buildings is reinforced with large stones and may be interpreted as a side-path or a portico. The assemblages excavated in the rooms of the buildings in most cases refer to domestic contexts.

Assemblages from the late Republican and early Imperial period were found in several waste pits throughout the excavations, but are not related to any of the structures. It seems likely that the occupation of the area, after the Roman conquest of Salento in the 3rd century BC, witnessed a reorganisation and decline in intensity, as can also be deduced from the survey results. The area was plausibly turned into farmland occupied by several larger villas. Some of the waste disposal could be considered as evidence of the clearing of the terrain for farmland use.