The 37th excavation season on the Final bronze Age settlement of Sorgenti della Nova (Farnese, VT) took place between 22nd august and the 15th September 2011.

The work concentrated on sectors Vb and XII.

Sector Vb, situated at the base of the southern face of the rock, was reopened in 2007, after several years, with the aim of continuing the investigation of one of the settlement’s most interesting structures. Due to its considerable size, it was only partially excavated, in the 1990s. Thirty metres of this long “ditch” hut, about 4 m wide and 2 m deep, was exposed, but it certainly continued beyond the eastern excavation edge. Only four metres were fully excavated, showing its residential function and the fact that it had already been deliberately filled in the Final Bronze Age.
This year the investigation of a zone close to the western edge was completed. It was here, close to one of the entrances, that in preceding campaigns the levels of collapse sealing the dwelling were removed and several occupation layers and floor surfaces were uncovered. This year’s campaign exposed the structure’s rather irregular floor in its entirety. An abundance of pottery was recovered, all dating to the Final Bronze Age.

In the same sector, work continued on a second front, at the opposite end from the ditch dwelling, beyond the stairway leading up to the upper terraces, where an area was opened in 2008 in order to investigate the hypothetical continuation of the ditch hut (sector Vb, eastern area). In preceding years a part of the artificial terracing with at least two occupation phases, both in the Final Bronze Age, was removed here. The parapet above the terracing was not reached due to the considerable amount of material covering it. At the uphill excavation edge, along the section, a cut in the rock was exposed which seemed to relate to another sunken structure. This year a mechanical digger was used to enlarge the sector uphill and towards the east, finally reaching the rocky parapet above. The distance between the latter and the edge of the cut may be compatible with the presence of a continuation of the ditch structure, however, due to the limited time and the great quantities of earth removed, it was not possible to reach the rock surface but only the first layers of collapse below the humus.

Sector XII, situated to the eastern part of the rock, was identified during the last days of the 2008 season. In fact, at a point a short distance from sector VIII, south-east of the medieval tower, it was noted that there was an unusual presence on the surface of numerous impasto pottery fragments. To date only surface cleaning has been undertaken on a limited area, however, this was sufficient to reveal the presence of a cut in the rock, completely filled with collapsed material containing almost exclusively proto-historic material. The extension of the explored area and the beginning of removal of the humus and layers of collapse, led to a better definition of the rock-cut structure, a large hut with a sunken base, or the base of a grotto, facing onto terracing that was almost completely eroded away. The medieval rock-cut structures situated slightly downhill were also better defined. A small curving channel was identified on the terrace, perhaps the foundation of an elliptical hut. On the parapet above there was a niche whose function has yet to be defined.

This year the occupation layers in the hut with the sunken floor were excavated and produced a large amount of pottery. A baked clay hearth was identified on the structure’s floor, probably from the first occupation phase. It was subsequently destroyed by the creation of a small channel relating to the installation of a structure (a loom?) still to be defined with certainty. The uphill sector was also enlarged, where a narrow corridor leading from the main room seemed to indicate the presence of another room in the hut, abutting the rocky parapet to the rear, according to the dwelling type already documented in sector Ve. So far, only the collapse sealing the structure has been reached and the structure’s perimeters are still to be identified.