Investigations during the fourth campaign concentrated on two sectors situated on the peak of Monte Giovi (992 m a.s.l.), continuing work in the eastern trench (A-B) and extending the western trench (D).

In trench A-B, the levelling layers put down prior to the construction of the fortification were removed. This revealed the layout and relationships between the various stratigraphic contexts that emerged at the end of the previous campaign and led to the definition of the chronology for the construction of the great double-curtain defensive wall.

Wall USM 009, on an E-W alignment, situated on the south slope of the earthwork and still visible at the time of the construction of the military defences, joined wall USM 060 to the east, the latter on a N-S alignment. The walls formed a corner that was closed to the north-east by a pisé wall, the remains of which, at first identified as a beaten earth surface (US 090), extended for about two metres towards the west. Below the remains of the pisé wall there were two postholes situated on the north edge of the layer. This evidence indicates the presence of a large rectangular structure, on an E-W alignment, open on the long northern side, the only accessible point given the substantial drop on the other side.

The characteristics of its plan and its position – nearly 1000 m a.s.l. – on a windswept mountainside – suggest that it was not a settlement, rather a cult structure, perhaps linked with divinatory practices. This hypothesis could be supported by the analysis of two particular objects recovered from the centre of the four sandstone slabs, as well as by the site’s unique position, on the highest peak in the range, with a clear view on all sides and still today frequently struck by lightning during storms.

The excavation of a part of the structure and the removal of the layer outside the north side revealed a series of rock-cut postholes. The circular holes had diameters of 20-40 cm and were arranged alternately to form two ovals. No stratigraphy survived above the cuts; however, the fills contained a few fragments of coarse impasto pottery from handmade vases, that concord with the finds from the levelling layer. Preliminary dating places them within early part of the later Bronze Age.

On the opposite side, the extension to the west of trench D has yet to reveal any structures inside the defensive wall. The layers of fill produced numerous fragments of pottery and various fragments of brick/tile, some of substantial size, indicating the existence of Hellenistic structures and confirming the area’s use between the end of the 4th and first half of the 3rd centuries B.C. The deepening of the excavation by the access gate through the defensive walls (west side) identified the remains of channelling on the south side of the entrance and confirmed the presence of a structure with large posts inside the wall trench, perhaps supports for an architrave.