I resti della città romana di _Peltuinum_ si trovano in un altopiano circondato dalle montagne più alte dell’Appennino, il Gran Sasso, la Maiella, il Sirente. L’altopiano, posto nell’antico territorio dei Vestini, risultava un punto di sosta strategico nello spostamento delle greggi dalla Sabina all’Apulia settentrionale. Su un pianoro interno all’altopiano, alla metà del I sec. a.C., fu fondata la città di _Peltuinum_, che è oggi divisa tra i comuni di Prata d’Ansidonia e S. Pio delle Camere proprio dalla fascia del tratturo. Il centro urbano fu pianificato per la gestione e il controllo dei proventi della transumanza, ma anche per lo sfruttamento agricolo, entrambi favoriti dall’affioramento di falde acquifere. Sotto l’imperatore Claudio (41-54 d.C.) venne risistemata la strada (via Claudia Nova) che conduceva dall’antica Foruli (attuale Civitatomassa, nei pressi de L’Aquila) a Popoli, collegando le grandi strade che da Roma portavano all’Adriatico: la via Salaria e la via Tiburtina Valeria Claudia. Delle strutture pubbliche sono state portate in luce e restano visibili: un settore delle mura, il tempio, il teatro; mentre resti relativi ad abitazioni e tabernae sono stati ricoperti per difficoltà di conservazione. Il tempio, di cui oggi è visibile solo il nucleo in calcestruzzo, è ricostruibile come prostilo esastilo corinzio; circondato su tre lati da un portico, si affacciava sulla piazza del foro. Sulla base di dati epigrafici è stata proposta l’attribuzione del tempio ad Apollo. Il teatro è ancora in fase di scavo; quanto è attualmente visibile documenta un’interruzione dei lavori in corso d’opera con ripensamento dell’intero progetto e interventi di restauro fino ad età tarda. Alla metà del V secolo, in coincidenza con un forte terremoto ricordato dalle fonti sia a Roma che a Ravenna, inizia l’abbandono della città; la popolazione si sposta verso zone più facilmente difendibili nel contesto di insicurezza e pericolo conseguenti le guerre che, in particolare nel VI secolo, coinvolsero l’Italia centrale. Sin da allora tutti i materiali asportabili furono reimpiegati, senza alcun riguardo per eventuali decorazioni, nelle poche strutture costruite sul pianoro, nei complessi religiosi, nei castelli e nelle abitazioni dei paesi vicini. Un cantiere di demolizione si insediò in piccoli ambienti costruiti appositamente sulla parte meridionale del teatro, collegati in una prima fase ad una calcara posta al centro dell’orchestra. Anche le fortificazioni sono state oggetto di spoliazioni e gran parte del circuito è crollato; solamente la porta ovest con le due torri contigue è rimasta continuativamente in uso come varco di controllo per il passaggio delle greggi; a testimonianza di questo restano le doganelle e il toponimo Prata d’Ansidonia; il nome Ansedonia, comparso già in documenti del XII secolo, trova la sua etimologia nel latino _ansarium_, dazio. Con alterne vicende, dunque, eredi della città romana sono stati un piccolo insediamento monastico addossato alle mura, un fortilizio con funzione di controllo sulla piana circostante, realizzato sfruttando le preesistenti murature del teatro e la chiesa di S. Paolo, unica struttura giunta integra fino ai nostri giorni e in uso fino al terremoto del 2009.

In 2012, investigations continued in the town of _Peltuinum_, in the areas of the theatre and tower no. 7. _THEATRE AND POST-ANTIQUE ROOMS_ In the orchestra, the excavation of the lime kiln identified during earlier campaigns revealed a substantial part of the lining and documented the collapse of the upper elements and, in one sector, the organization of the limestone fragments awaiting firing. Among these were fragments of architectural decoration and steps from the _cavea_, as well as shapeless lumps, some of which identifiable as _caementa_. The deepening of the excavation confirmed the lime kiln to be of the corridor type. The excavation of shafts II, III, and IV, situated in front of the _pulpitum_ wall and connected to the functioning of the stage curtain, was completed. In the shafts there was a layer of fill containing _tegulae_ and _imbrices_ from the roof of the scene building and pottery. Below this lay numerous bones, the analysis of those from II and III, showed that they belonged to infants and dogs, with a very few remains of bones of large animals showing butchery marks. The infants were newborns, premature babies, and full-term fetuses. An exceptional find, it is suggested that this was a sort of cemetery for infants burials used during a period of famine, an epidemic or perhaps for voluntary abortions. The excavation of shaft VI was fundamental for the study of the period in which the theatre was dismantled and the construction site phases, as the structure was sealed by the paving of room ζ and consequently had not suffer the effects of the weather, in particular rain, which, together with small animals (reptiles and rodents), had definitely disturbed the stratigraphy in the other shafts that had remained exposed. Shaft VI also contained layers of collapse and rubble from the theatre building’s demolition as well as a layer of dog and infant bones. Above this level, the find of a few fragments of 15th century majolica provided important dating evidence. The excavation of this shaft was not completed, however the new layer presented several long bones from large herbivores. The excavation of the post antique structures, relating to the demolition site installed in the southern part of the theatre, continued in room ε (the second from the east). Following the removal of the materials from the demolition site that had accumulated up against the west wall, the deepening of the excavation exposed a number of floor surfaces made up of distinctly formed layers. Below these lay two stretches of the water channel and a second lime kiln, installed, like the first, in the orchestra at the foot of the _cavea_ tiers. The position of this new, smaller lime kiln was also determined by the technical requirements necessary for the correct functioning of the kiln. The discovery of the structure explained the presence of the largest of the relieving arches in the west wall of room ε: it was necessary to bridge a sector of unstable terrain constituted by dumped material. The smallest relieving arch in the same wall was built to bridge a sewer. Excavation continued of the theatre’s demolition site, which overlay the southern half of the structure (rooms α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ). Shaft VI was excavated inside room ζ and the investigation was extended to the area outside this room to the south. The area beyond the threshold presented levels of dumped material connected with the work undertaken to turn the nearby fortalice into a museum. _THE FORTIFICATIONS_ The investigations inside tower 7 reached the level of the _euthynteria_, built in an earth foundation trench, exploiting the natural difference in height for the construction of the northern sector. The foundation stratigraphy was also checked outside the tower, but no dating evidence was found here either.

This season continued the work of the previous season in the urban area: excavation in the theatre area and survey along the natural limits of the plateau to find the perimeter of the defences. The theatre: In the orchestra, the excavation of one of the small pits relating to the manoeuvring of the stage curtain/scenery continued. Pit VI was dug down to a gravelly natural deeper than what was reached by the walls of the pit. The layers of fill had reached the natural because the pit floor was missing, as was the case in pits II, IV, and V, and because of the consequent flaking of the geological stratum of un-cemented gravel caused by rainwater penetration. As documented for the structures mentioned, below the layers containing part of the _ scaenae frons_ collapse and elements of re-worked stone, remains of infant and canidae bones were found in pit VI. The position of the bones indicated that they were placed in the pit at the same time. The pit was sealed by the floor of one of the post-antique rooms (ζ); the latest piece of pottery was a 15th century majolica fragment. Post-antique rooms on the south sector of the theatre: In room ε to the west of room ζ, the excavation of an accumulation of building materials found on the floor surface revealed an occupation level on top of the fill of the _euripus_ and an earlier limekiln. In the westernmost room, δ, deepening of the excavation revealed other niches in the walls, a characteristic also present in rooms ζ and ε. The excavation of room δ also exposed a relieving arch in the east wall. Fortifications: The survey along the northern edge of the plateau definitively clarified the question of the Roman city’s extension. In the 1960s, the analysis of aerial photographs had identified an urban perimeter that adhered to the line of the plateau edge. A careful survey identified slight morphological anomalies and subsequent investigations confirmed the hypothesis. Unfortunately, the structure was mainly preserved at foundation level. In the short stretches that were in a better state of preservation it was seen that the wall had an external facing in small blocks and an inner one in _opus incertum_. Conservation: In line with budget limitations, conservation work was undertaken on both previously and more recently excavated structures. Local stone that is not industrially worked has been used in order to preserve the physical homogeneity and avoid a negative visual impact; a specific type of mortar was also used for these reasons.

During the 2014 excavations, a series of surveys were undertaken covering the strip of land north of the _tratturo_ in the area west of the city. A short distance away, on a plateau overlooking the _tratturo_, ploughing has brought to light limestone fragments belonging to structures in _opus reticulatum_, and pottery, in addition to a few imbrices. Low standing remains of several walls relating to terracing and field divisions was preserved. Further investigations and the study of the materials present on the ground will need to be undertaken in order to check the nature of what appear to be production structures, their dating and possible links with stock-raising activities. In the urban area excavation continued in the theatre obliterated by post-antique structures. The work concentrated on rooms ε and δ. In the first, sections of a sewer relating to the theatre structure were identified, the parapets of which had been partially reused as foundations for post-antique walls. In the second room the floor was reached, a beaten composite surface in association with a hearth in the north-east corner. The floor covered a rubble layer resulting from the dismantling of the theatre; the silt forming this layer’s matrix allowed it to be used as the floor make-up. The removal of further layers revealed the preparation for the cavea of the Roman theatre and a new section of semi-annular sewer. It was seen that the post-antique walls, where they could not exploit the Roman structures, rested directly on the silt bank. The excavation of the limekiln, created in the orchestra floor after the removal of the final paving slabs, was completed, reaching the floor on which the elements to be fired were placed. The final part of the fill still contained a few architectural elements. The stones forming the lower part of the lining were mainly fragments from _opus reticulatum_ and small blocks, while the stones forming the upper part were larger and mainly obtained from the fragmentation of larger blocks from the dismantled structures (theatre and temple) and showed a greater level of calcification. The difference between the two sectors is linked to the greater difficulty in substituting the lining material in the part of the limekiln cut into the silt bank. The walls of the limekiln were covered by a layer of slaked lime down to a few tens of centimeters above the floor. The slaked lime was formed by the lime left between one load and the next, slaked by water that penetrated into the structure after its abandonment. At the centre of the flat bottom there was a layer of charcoal, the residue from the wood used during the lime making process. The stoke hole for the wood opened to the east, protected by the cavea from the wind. Work continued on the restoration of the walls in order to avoid further crumbling.

This season, research continued to concentrate on the theatre building with the post-antique structures that reused the area and its walls, but was also extended to the upper terrace. Here, _sondages_ were opened in the forum area and along the via Claudia Nova, built on the line of the drove-road on either side of which the Roman city was founded. Theatre. Work continued in the area in front of the post-antique workers’ quarter, at the height of the _hyposcaenium_ . Here, the seventh shaft forming part of the system for manoeuvring the curtain was identified but not excavated. Over one metre of the shaft was demolished by interventions in the post-antique period during the construction of the fort that stands on the theatre’s southern end and subsequently for the creation of the workers’ quarter. The shaft was buried by a substantial layer of silty soil mixed with rubble. The materials found in the stratigraphic contexts link the dismantling of the shaft with the period of _incastellamento_ (Forum ware) and the reconstruction of the church of S. Paolo (c. 200m further north along the southern edge of the plateau) in the 14th century (archaic majolica). Forum area. A strip of terrain at a tangent to the west side of the temple-portico complex was cleaned and a number of _sondages_ opened in the forum square. To the west of the triple portico, previous excavations had identified a _via_ _glareata_ at a higher level than the portico floor – reconstructable from the column plinths that survived the various episodes of robbing -, and the floor of the square, documented by several paving slabs preserved near the north-western entrance to the portico. The road bed is 10 Roman feet wide with a kerb on the west and a low retaining wall, one Roman foot wide, on the east side. The _glareata_ surface, preserved in patches, presented numerous repairs using pottery fragments. The retaining wall was in _opus_ _incertum_, while the wall bordering the portico was built in _opus_ _reticulatum_. The distance between the two walls was half a Roman foot. An overall analysis suggests the construction sequence was the following: 1. construction of the retaining wall in order to regularise the profile of the lower natural terrace west of the sacred area; 2. construction of the exterior wall of the portico, working from its interior. The _sondages_ inside the forum revealed: 1. a large dump of mixed material in ploughed soil; however, the excavation documented a layer with limestone chippings and pottery dating to the 5th – 6th centuries probably relating to the first robbing of the forum paving; 2. pits containing dumped material, dug in order to free the terrain of bulky materials that inhibited ploughing. On the western side of the forum, small patches of two beaten floor surfaces were preserved, cut by a midden. Roads and residential structures. The investigations along the drove-road on the plateau identified a series of housing sectors. Walls in _opus_ _reticulatum_, _opus_ _incertum_ and mud-brick on a stone footing were revealed below a generally minimal fill. The floors were either beaten surfaces or mosaic neither type being associated with a specific type of walling. Where present the stratigraphy indicated contemporary use. The excavation opened across the pathway that is the only trace of the drove-road exposed the crossroads of the via Claudia Nova and an orthogonal road, whose gravel surface had been re-laid in several phases causing the level of the roadbed to rise. A collapsed structure at one corner of the crossroads was partially excavated.

_FORUM AREA_ Here, trenches were opened along the east side of the temple and in the north-western area of the forum. The excavation along the podium was positioned in correspondence with an irregularity in the coursing of the _opus_ _caementicium_, still clearly visible in the restorations undertaken in the 1990s, which consolidate the masonry that was crumbling due to the post-antique robbing that took place throughout the city. The trench exposed impressions of the podium’s facing blocks and several cuts relating to the restoration and the robbing were documented. In this area, 2015 trench was extended. A very large room (a) was partially excavated. Two adjacent walls were uncovered, only preserved at low level, which were on the same alignment as other forum structures. Wall 1 was built in _opus_ _reticulatum_ with the use of reused materials and repairs. Wall 2 was built in _opus_ _incertum_ and traces of red wall plaster were preserved on its interior face. There were two large patches of floor preserved in the room, seen in section during last year’s excavations. These were beaten surfaces, the latest of which had a plaster make up with some pottery inclusions, compacted on top of the earlier surface. The latter, presented clear traces of burning, clarifying the reason for the construction of a new floor. Several holes in this surface showed that this first floor had been laid directly on a layer of natural gravel. A preliminary study of the finds suggest a 4th-5th century date for the structure’s abandonment. To the east there was a third room (3), also aligned east-west, in a very bad state of preservation. All the structures were heavily cut by middens/robber trenches and ploughing. In the eastern part of the trench, the removal of the agricultural soil revealed a series of quadrangular pits of more or less uniform size. The pits contained ashy soil and abundant pottery fragments. Further excavation is necessary for a better understanding of the occupation phases in this area. Levels relating to the forum’s floor surface were also exposed. The floor was originally constituted by the natural gravel surface, which was then levelled using silty materials. The paving made of local stone differs from the few limestone paving slabs situated in front of the north wall of a small building immediately north of the _temenos_. However, these were reused slabs. _THEATRE AREA_ Excavation in the southern sector of the theatre continued to uncover a complex stratigraphy. The strip of terrain between the _fortalice_ and the theatre had been the object of repeated interventions between the post antique period and recent times: robbing of the blocks from the seating and paving slabs from the orchestra floor, construction of the _fortalice_ and subsequently rooms in the workers quarter, excavation, and the restoration of the _fortalice_. All of this makes it difficult to interpret the relationships between the various structures, in particular the post-antique ones that for a certain period shared the use of the hillside route leading to the church of San Paolo. A short surviving section of the church’s southern perimeter was identified, built in large limestone chips. Continuation of the investigation in room δ reached the level of the theatre’s annular sewer channel. Its cover slabs had been removed and the floor surface of one of the rooms forming the Renaissance workers quarter was constructed over it. The internal walls of the _opus_ _reticulatum_ parapets were all that were visible of the channel dug into the silty soil.

Research continued in the north-western corner of the forum where in the past a room was identified bordered by two sections of wall and with two beaten-earth floors with terracotta fragments, the earliest of which showed traces of burning. The entire area was heavily disturbed by agricultural activity; the floors were particularly badly damaged by the digging of a pit and three trenches (fig. 1 a-d). However, the negative evidence indicated that the silt deposit was very close to the surface in this area of the forum and that the floors were laid on natural with a minimal make-up. The fill of the pit, obviously with a silt matrix, contained pottery fragments, building materials, plaster, and bone fragments. The excavation was not completed and the materials are being studied. A new wall was found outside the room, which further defines a new room to the east of the first, as suggested by the walls uncovered in 2016 (fig. 1, 1-3). In the eastern part of the trench, the investigation continued of the quadrangular pits identified in 2016, which appeared of approximately uniform dimensions. The study of the numerous pottery fragments from the pits is ongoing but shows that the chronology does not go beyond the 5th century A.D. Further investigation will clarify the motive for their presence and deposition, as the data from this year does not seem to support the previous hypothesis. The north-eastern area of the forum was investigated in order to clarify the nature and function of a structure partially uncovered in the 1990s. The excavation remains to be completed but a floor made of terracotta fragments, _cubilia_ and limestone fragments, and part of a badly damaged quadrangular structure built of the same materials (fig. 2) were identified. The only stratigraphy was terrain that was badly disturbed by ploughing. Another trench was opened in correspondence with the south-western entrance to the _temenos_ in order to check the links between this structure and the _via_ _glareata_ running parallel to it at a higher level along the west side (fig. 3). Theatre area: Excavations continued in the south part of the theatre. The sector between the fortification and the post-antique rooms β and γ was deepened, but only reached more levels of disturbed terrain relating to the restoration of the medieval structure that took place in the 1990s (fig. 4). The 2016 excavations inside room δ uncovered part of a semi-annular sewer relating to the theatre and the wall built inside with reused materials it was identified. The archaic majolica found this season in the north-western part of the sewer dates the construction of the wall to the Renaissance period. The material in the fill in the south-eastern part dated to the collapse of the Roman theatre; this included large architectural fragments, fragments of coarse ware pottery and animal and human bone (fig. 5).

The continuation of research in the forum area provided a wider view of the destructive interventions in the late antique period, already documented during previous campaigns in trench 79. Robber trenches, middens, and the razing of the structures for agricultural purposes have heavily compromised the evidence of the city’s occupation phases and the use of the area after the 5th century A.D. earthquake caused it to be abandoned. The enlargement of the excavation area showed that in the late antique period, the large midden inside room A had made use of a cistern dug into the silt prior to the Roman constructions. Parts of the north and south walls were preserved in the adjacent room B, the closing east wall was completely missing. The materials from the latter were present in the area. A vast and irregular layer of imbrices attested the roof collapse. The materials from the layer of burning inside room A and extending across most of the area confirmed that the structures were abandoned within the 5th century A.D. Continuation of the excavation in a small sector revealed two limestone blocks bonded with mortar, and fragments of others that were residual elements from the forum context. In the eastern zone of the forum, the sector was enlarged where excavations in the 1990s had identified part of a room (E), of which the north side was identified. Inside the room, in the new sector, several layers of building rubble were uncovered, relating to the same number of collapses, which seem to attest a gradual falling into ruin of the structure, like rooms A and B, belonging to a phase when the forum was reused. In fact, the impressions of slabs probably belonging to the forum paving were present in the layer below the floor made up of tile and imbrices fragments. _Theatre Area_ Excavations also continued in the theatre area where there were several phases of use. Part of the building’s southern sector was occupied in the Renaissance period by a series of rooms (α-ζ) functional for the demolition of the building. The deepening of the excavation inside room γ revealed the remains of the south wall, in which one of the two doorjambs from the original entrance was preserved. Excavation also continued to the north of rooms γ, δ and ε, the area corresponding with the original theatre orchestra. The stratigraphy related to the fill of the cavea, constituted by materials from the theatre and temple collapses following the earthquake and, subsequently by dumps from robbing activities. The excavations recovered new architectural and sculptural elements.

Durante la campagna di scavo 2019 le nuove indagini sono proseguite nelle aree del foro e del teatro. AREA FORENSE Nell’area della piazza i saggi aperti hanno consentito una conoscenza più approfondita delle fasi di età post antica relative alla distruzione e all’abbandono dell’area come punto focale della vita pubblica, a conferma di quanto era stato già rilevato precedentemente. I lacerti strutturali di età romana hanno comunque fornito elementi essenziali per la ricostruzione della storia urbana. Nel settore occidentale della piazza (saggio 79) erano venuti alla luce dei blocchi di calcare in situ, interpretati oggi come parte della fondazione di una struttura che insisteva nell’area forense. Il rinvenimento di uno strato compatto di ghiaia di minute dimensioni con tracce di calce e di due frammenti di lastre pavimentali poggiate direttamente su di esso è stato di particolare rilievo per la conoscenza della tecnica pavimentale dell’area. Altri dati provengono dal saggio 85 nell’area centrale della piazza che ha permesso di individuare un piano costituito da più strati di gettate di ghiaia al di sopra del suolo naturale; il livello superficiale era composto da piccole schegge calcaree e ghiaia a differente granulometria miste a poca calce. La pavimentazione della piazza doveva dunque essere costituita da lastre solo nell’area antistante al tempio, come avviene in numerosi altri esempi coevi e più antichi. I saggi (86 e 87) aperti nell’area orientale del foro hanno portato alla luce diverse murature e piani pavimentali, sconvolti da successivi interventi. L’indagine, seppure da approfondire per delineare i limiti strutturali del foro, conferma la sequenza già riscontrata nel settore occidentale della piazza: fase di vita di età imperiale interrotta da un sisma, conseguente demolizione e più tarda riconversione dell’area a scopi agricoli. Altri limitati saggi (88 e 89) sono stati utili per rispondere a domande puntuali inerenti il podio del tempio forense e alcuni frammenti di lastre pavimentali in calcare conservati in situ nel settore musealizzato negli anni ’90 a nord del tempio. AREA DEL TEATRO Nell’area del teatro (saggio 49), si è proceduto ad approfondire lo scavo nel settore dell’orchestra a nord degli ambienti rinascimentali δ e ε. In quel periodo una parte del settore meridionale dell’edificio teatrale è stata occupata da una serie di vani (α-ζ) funzionali alle attività di demolizione dell’edificio. La stratigrafia indagata nel 2019 era relativa al riempimento della cavea, costituito sia dai materiali provenienti dal crollo del teatro e del tempio a seguito del terremoto della fine del V sec. dC., sia dal successivo scarico originato dalle attività di spoliazione. Al terremoto del V sec. dC. è seguita una fase di abbandono dell’area che ha visto lo scivolamento verso il piano dell’orchestra dei materiali lapidei dalla parte alta della cavea. Probabilmente si è trattato di più scarichi avvenuti nel tempo, che hanno riempito parte dell’invaso del teatro, trascinando anche grandi blocchi della praecinctio superiore sfuggiti alle spoliazioni. Lo scavo del 2019 ha continuato ad interessare questi diversi strati di crollo/scarico di terra nel settore più basso, nell’orchestra, contro i quali sono state parzialmente costruite le murature rinascimentali. DIDASCALIE Fig. 1 Ortofoto del saggio 79. A sinistra sono evidenti i due blocchi di fondazione di una struttura per ora non identificabile. Fig. 2 Ortofoto del saggio 86. I lacerti di muratura, i piani pavimentali e le fosse di spoliazione attestano le fasi di utilizzo e di demolizione delle strutture romane, così come il successivo cambiamento di destinazione d’uso dell’area. Fig. 3 Ortofoto del saggio 87. Le diverse fasi di utilizzo e smantellamento delle strutture antiche sono anche in questo caso attestate da piani pavimentali ampiamente danneggiati, murature conservate solo a livello di fondazione e fosse di spoliazione. Fig. 4 Approfondimento dello scavo a N dell’ambiente δ. Fig. 5 Pianta del teatro alla fine della campagna di scavi 2019. α - ζ : cantiere di demolizione; 1-2: calcare; 3: fortilizio impiantato sul settore meridionale del teatro.

Due to the pandemic, the investigations concentrated on the enclosed part of the site, which corresponds with a part of the public area of the Roman city. Here, recent excavation campaigns have documented building sites relating to the demolition of several large public buildings (the temple-portico complex and theatre). Forum area In the forum terrace area, the excavation continued of the western part of the piazza (trench 79). During the last season, archaeological levels were identified, which in addition to confirming the well-attested post antique destruction and reconstruction phases, provided new information on the Roman occupation phases. Indeed, part of the forum’s slab paving was exposed, some of the slabs still _in_ _situ_ and bedded on layers of mortar and gravel. Other, fragmented slabs were found in secondary deposition and constitute further evidence of the reuse of stone materials undertaken when the Roman forum went out of use and was demolished. Continuation of the excavation revealed the phases pre-dating the laying of the limestone slabs. A drainage channel came to light that certainly belonged to a substantial building. The blocks used for the channel were still being worked and this may denote a sudden interruption of the work and a consequent rethinking of the construction. In the eastern sector of the forum (trench 90), the excavations confirmed the diverse use of the area in the Roman period and the subsequent different activities in the post antique period. At least three flanking rooms were identified, the preliminary suggestion being that they were _tabernae_/storerooms/offices. The foundations were preserved and, in some cases, a modest part of the standing structures. There was no trace of any floor. The structures were demolished and razed with the aim of reusing the area for agricultural purposes. The reconversion of this sector is attested both by the absence of a stratigraphy that could attest a continuity of urban occupation here, and by the presence of wells for water supply and channels, filled with tile/brick fragments, for drainage, which was indispensable given the silty nature of the terrain. Theatre area Excavation also continued in the Roman theatre (trench 49), in particular in the orchestra, in one of the post-antique rooms (13th – 16th century), which were built in the southern sector of the building, and outside of them. The excavation of the stratigraphic deposit north of rooms γ and δ is providing more evidence on the phases of the dismantling of the Roman buildings (theatre and temple). The excavated layers were formed by several collapses, dumps and slippage that occurred during the course of time. Inside room δ, the excavation of a part of the theatre’s sewer channel was completed, providing further elements for the reconstruction of the structural changes in this sector.