The ruins of Manzano castle stand on the summit of a hill overlooking the ancient Aquileia-Cividale road. They consist of a curvilinear curtain wall 14m long, with uncoursed walling in which a postern gate is still visible. Earlier excavation campaigns (1989 and 1990) had identified a rich dump of materials consisting mainly of pottery (second half 14th – first quarter of the 15th century).Renewed archaeological research beginning in 2001 aimed at identifying the line of the perimeter wall and the eventual existence of evidence for earlier settlement. The perimeter wall followed the contours of the hill, determining an irregular polygonal conformation. During the 2005 campaign, a deep ditch was found outside the perimeter wall. Its dimensions are still to be defined. In layers that had been redeposited early medieval pottery came to light (8th century) which demonstrates the site’s occupation in that period, but no structures have been identified which belong to this phase ( a keep?). The presence of coarseware datable to the 11th-12th century confirms the presence of a “caminata patriarchalis” (elite residence with a chimney) in a period which pre-dates the first mention of the castle. The excavation has recovered numerous fragments of production waste of plain buff coarsewares of post-medieval date, relating to a small kiln, set up after the dismantling of the fortress. (Flavio Beltrame, Sandro Colussa)

Excavation continued to remove the layers of fill (trench 6) in the ditch along the southern slope of the hill. It was ascertained that the ditch was obliterated as a consequence of a single intervention as the material within the layers is, on the whole, homogeneous. The latest material recovered dates to the first twenty-five years of the 15th century. Therefore, it can be assumed that the ditch was filled when the castle was demolished, which according to documentary sources occurred in 1431. Excavation continued on the foundation trench of the outer defensive wall (trench 9), where a cut was found which had been filled in two separate stages, as attested by the very different composition of the fills and materials contained within them. Inside the perimeter walls a cut forming a sort of straight channel in the sandstone natural came to light. It was only partially uncovered, and its function is yet to be defined (trench 8). (Sandro Colussa)