The first excavation undertaken on the summit of Monte Palazzi between 14th June and the 4th July, aimed to establish the presence of walled structures on the site, a quadrangular plateau of 40 × 60 m. In the chosen area on the north-eastern edge of the plateau a line of stones on an east-west alignment was clearly visible on the surface, interrupted by a vast lacuna. Two long trenches and numerous holes across the entire area seemed the result of recent digging. A survey of the summit area with a metal detector gave a negative result. The excavation of three contiguous 5 × 5 m squares exposed the inner face (40 cm wide) of a dry-stone wall of granite blocks, on an east-west alignment, of which five courses were preserved. A fill of cobbles and small stone chips along this axis probably constituted the emplekton of a defensive wall with a double curtain, built directly on the bedrock. The central part of the wall appeared to be cut by a recent breach at least 3 m wide. At the eastern end an ‘a sacco’ construction was seen, interpreted as a repair to the structure’s inner face. To date no patches of beaten surfaces or paving have come to light within the perimeter wall.

The pottery finds were datable to between the end of the 6th and the mid 3rd century B.C. They included the rim of an Ionian cup, fragments of miniature kitchen ware forms ( chytra, kotyle ), numerous fragments of black glaze skyphoi and a lamp fragment. There were also fragments of amphorae with a thickened lip and almond-shaped rims, probably made at Locri, and abundant kitchen and cooking wares. A single fragment of choroplastic may belong to a draped figure. A small portable millstone was also found.

Overall this initial data confirms the presence of a settlement of Classical date, with pottery from the Greek centres closest to the Ionia coast (Locri Epizefiri and perhaps Kaulonia), whose layout and functions have yet to be defined.