The complex of the “Palazzo della Regina” is situated north of the area denominated “i Giardini” on the road linking Sulmona to Samnium. An inspection in the locality of “Lama Soriano” had already revealed the remains of walls and an opus spicatum floor damaged by illegal excavations. At about 300 m further west, in the locality of “Giardino a caldo”, a complex of dry-stone structures had also be the object of clandestine digging. In 2013, trenches were opened in two areas that had been previously cleaned (2010-2011).

Trench 1, locality of Giardino a Caldo

The excavations documented three phases of occupation and reuse of the site, datable to the 4th century A.D. and a later occupation phase.
1. The building and occupation of a dwelling, partially paved in terracotta slabs and roofed with tegulae and imbrices, that was destroyed by fire. A bronze coin of Constantine II was found in the burnt layer, which together with the preliminary study of the pottery suggests that phase 1 dates to no later than the 4th century A.D.
2. Reoccupation and construction of a new residential structure, paved in beaten earth, on top of the earlier one,. A fire also caused this structure to be abandoned.
3. Sporadic occupation on the site, perhaps as a temporary shelter. One of the interior walls of the earlier house was razed and a cooking plate was built on top of it with reused slabs. Following the definitive abandonment of the area a substantial landslide sealed the deposit.
The preliminary pottery study for phases 2 and 3 suggest a date between the mid-end of the 4th century A.D.
4. A brief late occupation of the complex. A cut for the construction of a roughly built dry-stone wall cut the second phase abandonment and touched natural. No ancient materials were recovered.

Trench 2, locality of Lame Soriano

The area is situated on a manmade terrace contained by a wall of irregular limestone blocks. The extension of the excavation area in 2011 revealed the edges of the partially preserved paving, and identified two adjacent rooms.
Room I. This rectangular room was paved in opus spicatum. Modern robbing has reached the floor and walls, completely removing the abandonment and occupation layers inside the room. However, the type of paving and presumed original dimensions of the room suggests it was either a service structure or an outside area. The finds from the layers of dumped material, typologically very heterogeneous, were datable to the late imperial period (3rd-4th century A.D.).
Room II was less disturbed by modern activities. It was adjacent to and later than room I in terms of relative chronology, as shown by an analysis of the walls. The final occupation layers in the room were excavated; a rubbish dump from the abandonment phase produced materials dating to the second half of the 4th century A.D.