During the 7th excavation campaign, work continued in trench VII and a new area was opened in the eastern part of the plateau (trench VIII).
Trench VII
The excavation area was extended to cover c. 150 m2.
Digging took place in two adjacent areas: the ditch, where investigation of the fill continued, and a second area just to the south, where a concentration of limestone and calcarenite blocks were partially visible on the surface.

Ditch area
The exposure and removal of a compact layer of ceramic material was of particular interest. This concentration of heavily concretionary pottery was present in layers US6 and 5 and extended for over a third of the ditch length. The materials, still in the study phase, seemed to represent all horizons of impressed pottery. The roof of an apparently sterile layer with a prevalently sandy matrix was reached beneath US5 and 6.

External area
The investigation in this area revealed the remains of a “wall” formed by large stone blocks arranged in two rows, about 10 m in length, parallel to the south side of the ditch. Only a few of the blocks forming its base remained. It was not possible to determine the wall’s original length or the period of its construction. However, its position running parallel to the ditch and the presence of similar structures at nearby sites, belonging to the same chronological horizon, suggest the ditch and wall were contemporary but this will have to be ascertained by further excavation.

Trench VIII
In this area, east of trench VII, a cavity originally interpreted as an “a grotticella” tomb, and a new section of the ditch were investigated.

The “a grotticella” tomb
The tomb was a natural karstic cavity that had been modified.
An oval opening cut into the bedrock led down into a vertical shaft. The latter provided access to a first chamber, divided by a narrowing of the walls, from a second, smaller one.

Several marks identified on the vault and walls showed that tools were used to enlarge and modify the natural cavity. Traces of this activity were most clearly visible in the first room where a rock outcrop was present in the southern half, which was partially modified to form a sort of “bench”. To date the finds can be attributed to reuse of the structure in more recent periods. The investigation of the cavity continues.

The new ditch sector
This section of the ditch was excavated abutting the eastern side of a calcareous hump occupied by a tumulus (Tomb 2). The ditch presented vertical, parallel walls partially cut in the calcarenite and in part, as mentioned above, in the limestone. At the south-west end of the excavation area, the walls were still parallel, while at the north-eastern end they seemed to reach the point at which the ditch curved sharply to the east to then join with the part that enclosed the north side of the plateau. The layers forming the fill had a predominantly sandy matrix, with slight variations in colour, containing abundant stones some of which large. The finds are still in the study phase and it is not possible at present to suggest a chronological attribution.