Rescue soundings were carried out during building work in the area surrounding the old Coletta ceramics factory at Civita Castellana, in Scasato. The existence of an important urban sanctuary in this area was already known, and other archaeological features had been suggested. As early as 1924, the foundations of a monumental temple were discovered during construction work, along with numerous architectural terracottas that are now on display in the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia and in the Museo Archeologico dell’ Agro Falisco at Civita Castellana. The new research has revealed walls of the medieval period associated with materials of the eleventh through thirteenth centuries, and a series of cuts in the tufa bedrock, datable to the Faliscan phase of occupation of the ridge. Also discovered was a rectangular trench with small pediment and probable funerary use that could attest to the presence of a necropolis at the eastern extremity of the ridge. None of the structures discovered in the course of this research could be related to the foundations of the temple discovered in 1924 by R. Mengarelli. The excavation, however, further defines the zone where the ancient building must be situated, while archival research has suggested the sector where future investigations will take place.
(Maria Anna De Lucia Brolli-Lucia Suaria)