This campaign constituted the renewal of the annual excavations undertaken by Turin University, which began in 1969 and were suspended in 2002. The aim was to acquire new data regarding the organisation and diachronic development of the occupation in the centre of the town. The research concentrated on the area east of Casino Macrì, where exploration continued in a zone previously looked at in 2002. A series of trenches were put in immediately east of the previous intervention. The new trenches revealed an articulated and complex stratigraphic sequence, running from the 7th century B.C. to the late antique period. It was seen that from its origins the area was characterised by the presence of a torrent descending from the highland behind the site and which must have been over 20 m wide. During the course of the 6th century B.C. the water flow was regulated through the construction of a mountain-sea channel, completely restructured in the 4th century. The correspondence between the alignments seemed to indicate that the original structure was associated with the reorganisation of the urban space which led to the development of the urban layout _per strigas_. At the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. the entire system underwent a radical transformation which led to the creation of a road on top of the river sediments. The evidence for the occupation of this zone between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. was scarce, as has been documented for the entire area surrounding Casino Macrì. Only in the 2nd century A.D., with the opening of a building site for the nearby bath complex, was there a renewal of construction, which became particularly intense during the 4th century A.D. During this period new surfaces were put down on the earlier road. A number of rooms from houses facing onto the north side of the road were in phase with the new surfaces. The area was definitively abandoned between the 5th and 6th century A.D.

The excavation continued in the area east of the Casino Macrì, with the extension of the zones investigated in 2010. In particular, structures and occupation levels were reached relating to the first phases of the settlement, datable to the 7th century B.C. The structures were destroyed by a major flood, probably coming from the Milligri gorge. The 2011 excavations were able better to define the characteristics of the man-made channel created during the 6th century B.C. for water regimentation: originally about 25 m wide it was narrowed to less than 7 m in the 4th century B.C. On the north bank of the channel a new sacred area was identified, with rooms arranged around a courtyard open towards the channel. The mid 4th-3rd century B.C. phase was partially investigated. The ritual activity was attested by furnishings (terracotta and marble louteria) and numerous votive offerings (pottery, astragalus, shells, statuettes). Identification of the water cult was supported by the find of a bull protome and a fragmentary model of a grotto, ascribable to the local production of grottoes-nymphaea known from the extra-urban sanctuary of Grotta Caruso. At less than thirty metres from the sanctuary, a perfectly-preserved brick-built well was excavated. The fill contained a substantial amount of pottery and fragments of Hellenistic coroplastics. Exploration of the Roman phases continued with the excavation of the structures dating to the 2nd century A.D., perhaps relating to public baths. The monumental phase dates to the 4th-5th century A.D., from which a building was explored for a length of over 22 m (at present) . The final occupation phase, in the late antique period, saw the creation of small, cell-like rooms, associated with burials in amphora placed at a few metres from the rooms themselves.

Excavations continued in the area on the seaward side of the 19th century masseria known as the Casino Macrì. Further evidence was documented, relating to the layout of the structures dating to the first century of the Greek colony’s life, as well as elements confirming the proposed reconstruction for the central area of the archaic town, characterised by the presence of a wide channel for the regulation of the waters from the Milligri torrent, which had been restructured several times. Particular attention was paid to the exploration of the sacred area situated immediately north of the channel. Four rooms and a corridor arranged around a courtyard were partially excavated. The complex revealed its use for cult purposes between the second half of the 4th-3rd century B.C., with various phases of restructuring. Among the evidence for ritual activities was a deposit containing numerous offerings. These included about sixty loom weights of various sizes, some with relief decorated of _gorgoneia_, associated with plain ware pottery and fine wares, as well as shells and animal bones. More shells and loom weights were found in other points of the sanctuary together with figured terracottas. Numerous fragments of a model grotto, first identified during the 2011 campaign, were recovered. Many aspects of its iconography make it unique in the Locri series of grotto-nymphaeums. The evidence collected confirmed the pertinence of this sacred area to pre-matrimonial cult practices linked to the ritual use of water, similar to those already attested at Locri in the extra-urban sanctuary of Grotta Caruso. The excavation was extended and deepened in the southern part of the area, which was densely occupied during the Roman period. Here, a complex stratigraphy showing five successive phases, dating to between the 2nd and 6th-7th centuries A.D. was investigated. A period of intense building activity was documented for the 4th-5th century A.D.

Research continued in the central part of the flat area of the town, immediately on the seaward side of the Casino Macrì. Excavations resumed in the Hellenistic cult area (mid 4th-end of the 3rd century B.C.) where pre-matrimonial rituals involving the use of water took place. In particular, the excavation of the rooms on the north side of the courtyard (N1, N2) was extended exposing another room west of the first two (N3). The latter was built in a late phase of the sanctuary’s use. Depositions of refractory impasto cooking pots with lids were found immediately outside it. In various points of the sanctuary, vats of various sizes were found sunken into the ground, lined with vertically placed tiles. Alongside the classes of finds connected with ritual activities already widely attested by the preceding campaigns (choroplastics, loom weights, shells, etc.), the fragments of a hipbath were found among the rubble obliterating a structure supplying water to room N2. Together with the numerous examples of _louteria_ recovered, this find confirms the importance of water in the devotional rituals. The wall plaster in the rooms that were part of the sanctuary was restored. Excavations also took place south of the great manmade channel of archaic date, underlying the imperial to late antique occupation phases. A complex stratigraphy relating to the Greek period was explored, with in depth excavations in the area corresponding with the _stenopos_ S6 and the facades of the adjacent _insulae_, I6 to the south and I7 to the north. A stratigraphic sequence relating to the period between the 4th century B.C. – period in which _insula_ I7 was built – and the 1st century B.C., when the road and houses appeared to have been abandoned, was excavated.

Continuing the work of previous seasons, excavations took place in the central, flat area of the city, on the seaward side of the Casino Macri. Work concentrated on the Hellenistic sacred area and in correspondence with the continuation uphill of _insula_ I6 and of _stenopos_ S6. This season’s excavations confirmed that the sacred area was in use between the mid 4th and the late 3rd century B.C., when the complex was suddenly abandoned and the ritual structures deliberately obliterated. In addition to extending the investigation of the rooms already partially exposed (N1-N2-N3), new rooms (N4-N5-N6) situated to the west were identified. In this sector, there was evidence of occupation in the area in a subsequent period, following a long period of disuse. The cult use of the complex was also confirmed, characterised by the ritual use of water attested by further finds of _louteria_ fragments, as well as hipbaths. Intentional depositions of pottery and coroplastic sculptures, in addition to concentrations of bones and shells, were present in the courtyard and some rooms. To the south, the excavations in correspondence with _insula_ I6 and _stenopos_ S6 uncovered new sections of the road and of the fronts of _insulae_ I6 and I7. In this case, the archaic phases were also covered by a complex stratigraphy, dating to the 4th century-1st century B.C., which began at the time of a radical reorganisation of the area. A phase with very little sign of occupation was followed by a prolonged period of construction activity between the 3rd and 5th centuries A.D., attested by the presence of at least three overlying complexes, of which it was only possible to expose limited sections. The latest occupation phase, 6th-7th century A.D., was attested by new residential structures close to the _enchytrismos_ burials that emerged during previous campaigns.

Continuing on from preceding campaigns, excavation took place in the central part of the flat area of the city, on the seaward side of the Casino Macrì. Two main areas were explored: a residential section of the city corresponding with the continuation of _stenopos_ S6 running inland, and adjacent _insulae_ 16 and 17, and the Hellenistic cult area, situated within _insula_ I8. The two areas were separated by a large water regimentation channel, running to the sea from inland, which was transformed into a small road in the Hellenistic period. In the residential area, the excavation reached archaic levels, confirming a dating of around the mid 6th century B.C. for the front of _insula_ I6 and for the earlier beaten surface of _stenopos_ S6. The entire area appears to have been radically changed when the archaic channel was completely restructured and the narrow _insula_ I7 was created. On this occasion, the south bank of the channel, now disused, was partially reused as the foundations of the _insula_ south wall, and partially robbed, as confirmed by the latest discoveries. In the cult area, the excavations revealed that it covered at least 300 m2: indeed, it developed for about 24 m, running from the hill to sea, occupying the entire width of _insula_ I8. Although the north-western part of the sanctuary was heavily disturbed by late antique occupation, with cuts reaching the archaic levels, numerous new concentrations of materials can probably be identified as ritual depositions, including shells, loom weights and choroplastics. The discovery of a votive deposit, placed within a tubular structure made from two vase necks deliberately placed vertically one on top of the other, confirmed the hypothesis that the cult area was used in the archaic period.

Research concentrated in the area of the recently discovered Hellenistic sanctuary situated in _insula_ I8, at about 100 m towards the sea from the Casino Macri, in the central flat area of the city. Here, new sectors of the ritual complex were investigated: in addition to continuing the western area, revealed to be characterised by large scale interventions in the late antique period that cut the earlier levels, extensive excavations were undertaken beyond the modern fencing delimiting part of the archaeological park. This completely exposed the northern parts of two rooms (N1, N2) confirming the presence of particularly refined finishings. In addition, various elements connected with the ritual use of water emerged, further confirmation of the symbolic universe already recognised in the area. New evidence relating to the abandonment rituals was collected, including the intentionally hidden fragments of a _louterion_ associated with a terracotta lion’s head _sima_. The eastern limit of the sanctuary was also identified, while the western one remains unknown. Research also took place in areas immediately outside the complex, the _stenopoi_ S8, to the south, and S9, to the north. In particular, for the latter it was possible to investigate a stratigraphic sequence running from the late antique period to the 4th century B.C., uncovering a large part of the building’s front. The excavations also confirmed the importance of this sector of the ancient complex for evidence about the reconstruction of the different occupation phases of the city, from the archaic to Byzantine periods. A large amount of work was done to consolidate and restore the plastered surfaces, and previously restored surfaces were monitored. At the same time, conservation work continued on the finds (pottery, coroplastics, elements of architectural decoration etc.).