The excavation continued of a large Roman villa rustica, identified in 2006. Situated in an area dominated to the north by mount Volturino and flanked to the east by the La Molinara torrent, tributary of the river Agri, the villa was occupied in alternating phases from the Gracchan period until the late Middle Ages, with sporadic occupation during the 4th and 3rd century B.C. The only surviving evidence for the late Republican period was constituted by two dry-stone walls. Monumentalised during the Augustan-early Imperial period, its alignment was altered and a different construction technique used. The building was arranged around a large central courtyard onto which three service rooms and a probable production area opened. Of the three northern rooms, the central quadrangular one (23 m2) was flanked by two smaller rooms (11 and 12 m2). The southern part of the excavation area was occupied, in this phase, by a large space that was either open or had a light covering, in which there were two drainage channels, one with a central settling sump and terminating with an imbrex for draining liquid, probably into wooden tubs The channels were connected to two sub-rectangular structures, probably the bases of two olive presses. This phase was very probably interrupted by an earthquake, also attested in the nearby city of _Grumentum_. In the second century A.D. the villa’s spaces were reorganised. The fulcrum of the complex remained the central courtyard, which became a peristyle surrounded by a portico. The three rooms north of the courtyard were substituted by a single space, paved with large tiles which obliterated the collapses and internal dividing walls from the earlier phase. The villa’s pars fructuaria was situated to the west. It had a central entrance with two pairs of symmetrical rooms on either side, and was probably the residence of the _vilicus_. The entrance was monumentalised with a half-column made of rows of semicircular bricks, alternating with layers of whitish mortar. Some of the bricks were found, still joined, among the collapse of the west side of the portico. Based on the position of the pilaster and the way it fell, it is suggested that its collapse was caused by another earthquake, which occurred at a distance of about a century from the previous one. The same event probably caused the death of an adult male, found in one of the rooms of the pars rustica below a roof collapse and lying on a floor surface. The skeleton was on its side, with the lower limbs bent and one of the arms raised towards the head as if to protect it, which together with the stratigraphic position, indicates that this was not an intentional burial. A bronze seal was found on the floor below the collapse, close to the pilaster. It was half-moon shaped and inscribed MODERATI AUG(usti) N(ostri), attesting that this complex was an imperial property. The final occupation phase dated to between the 3rd and 4th century A.D. This phase was attested by the burials of two infants, placed in a supine position on a surface created from tile fragments, overlying the latest collapse of the courtyard. A rectangular room (25 m2) overlying the 4th century A.D. collapses also dated to this phase. It partially reused the earlier walls and had two new dry-stone walls.

This campaign mainly concentrated on the western sector of the complex where the late antique levels of the _pars rustica_ and _fructuaria_ were uncovered. This was entered via a corridor lined by a series of symmetrical rooms, arranged around the large peristyle. This was probably the residence of the _vilicus_. The quadrangular peristyle (13.10 x 10.30 m) was built of imposing pillars, six on each of the long sides and five on the short sides. The rectangular, plastered bases were perfectly preserved. The pillars were abutted by semi-columns. The peristyle was the fulcrum of the complex during the monumentalising phase dating to the Antonine period. It was reoccupied in the late antique period, when it was radically restructured: new walls reduced its size and several thresholds were reused as the bases for the new portico. Between the 6th-7th century A.D., the peristyle lost its residential function and was transformed into an area used for the butchering and cooking of meat and the production of lime from the stone building materials. The thresholds were again reused, this time as work surfaces connected with the use of nine hearths found within this space. The hearths were constituted by cooking surfaces made of tile or baked clay. Two contained soap stone vessels, and the remains of a large quantity of bovine and horse bones were found close to a third hearth. A tank built of mortar, used for slaking lime, was built in the centre of the peristyle and was linked, to the north, to a service room, storeroom and a circular limekiln (diameter 1.20 m). Evidence of the later occupation of the complex was also found in the rooms situated around the peristyle. These were clearly used for craft-working activities as attested by cooking surfaces, the limekiln and a stone bench used for butchering meat. Rooms 16 and 9 were respectively, a dump (which produced large amounts of pottery, above all plain and painted coarse wares and cooking wares), and a deposit for stone which was to be thrown into the limekiln. Among the most interesting finds for this phase were a series of fibulae in the form of horses and peacocks, a bronze buckle and hook, an _anulus signatorius_ with a monogramme (probably that of the property owner), a bronze ring with a snake engraved on the bezel (probably to be associated with a mystery cult), bone combs with incised decoration, a bead made of amber and glass paste and a glass appliqué of a theatrical mask. The later occupation layers in rooms 11, 16, 17 and 18 produced seven stamped tile fragments, adding to the two already found, bearing the formula _C. Brutti Praesentis_ members of the family of _Bruttia Crispina_, who married the emperor _Commodus_ in 178 A.D. Lastly, two late burials came to light in room 9, which was used for storage in a late period. These were a mother in an “a cappuccina” tomb, wearing a bronze bracelet on her wrist, and her baby which died immediately after birth and was buried beside her in an earth grave covered by tiles. A Latin cross was impressed on one of the tiles and a small jug, used for the Christian ritual of the _refrigerium_, was stuck in the ground next to the grave.

The late antique levels were excavated, attesting the reoccupation, reuse and, in some cases, the defunctionalisation of the Antonine structures (the monumental phase of the complex). For example, the peristyle was firstly reduced in size by the positioning of an alignment of large limestone blocks, and then transformed into a work area (see above). The 2008-2009 campaign continued excavations in the _pars rustica_. Work continued in room 12, in the far north-eastern part of the residential quarters. During its latest occupation phase it was used as a work area, as attested by a hearth, a drain, four postholes and two domestic ovens, one in the shape of an elongated rectangle, the other square with rounded corners. The latter was connected to a reused pithos (diameter 136 cm), which was preserved to a depth of 1.10 m. The earlier occupation phase in this room was attested by a splendid _opus signinum_ floor decorated with small white, red and blue tessera. Two late burials were uncovered in room 12, attributable to a period of sporadic occupation. The first (tomb 19) was that of an adult male in a supine position, situated in the north-west corner of the room. The second (tomb 17) contained the remains of two individuals, perhaps juveniles, laying side by side, in a supine position (the head of individual beta was resting on the left shoulder of individual alpha). Excavation also continued in the peristyle area, reserving many surprises. The _opus signinum_ floor of Antonine date, had been almost completely destroyed by successive restructuring and reuses of the space. However, below it, an earlier room with a square plan came to light, the excavation of which is ongoing. The later levels in the rooms around the peristyle produced three more stamped tile fragments (bringing the total to 12). The stamp is in relief, within a rectangular cartouche and the abbreviated formula refers to the rich and powerful family of the _Bruttii Praesentes_, and in particular one well–known member, that is _Caius Bruttius Praesens_. He was either the grandfather or father of _Bruttia Crispina_, wife of the emperor _Commodus_. These epigraphic documents attest the importance of the villa, which during its long history became part of the _patrimonium principis_.

This campaign, undertaken between 2009 and September 2010, concentrated exclusively on the _pars rustica_ and _fructuaria_, continuing previously begun investigations and also opening new areas. Excavation of room 25 was completed, the first phase room above which, in the Antonine period, the rectangular peristyle was built. This was a square room covering an area of 85 m2, of which the original cobbled floor was also uncovered. A narrow drain on a north-east/south-west alignment, 8.5 m long, lined with tiles laid flat with the raised flanges facing upwards, was connected to the room. The start of excavations in room 44, the corridor along the western side of the peristyle, revealed a circular structure (diameter 2.10 m), bordered by large to medium un-worked limestone blocks, and filled only with partially or totally calcified stones. The nature of the fill suggests this feature was related to lime production, which was undertaken using stone building materials recovered _in loco_. The circular structure may be interpreted as a limekiln to be associated with the nearby lime-slaking tank (2.90 x 1.80 m), which abutted the structure itself. A _lacus_ and three pithoi used for oil production during the villa’s Augustan phase were uncovered in room 46. The lacus was square (1.60 x 1.60 m, 1.68 m deep) and its sides were faced with a layer of _opus signinum_. There was a settling-well in its floor. In the east side of the _lacus_ there was a drainage imbrex which ensured the flow of liquid from nearby room 19, which was probably where the press was housed. The presence of the press was attested by the postholes which cut the _opus signinum_ floor. Therefore, rooms 46 and 19 constituted a functional unit where olives or grapes were pressed and the liquid obtained collected, via the imbrex, in the _lacus_. Once settling had occurred then the liquid was removed and stored in the _pithoi_. These were situated along the north and south sides of the room and pithos n. 1 (max. Diam. 1.23 m, depth 1.20 m) was the best preserved. It was inserted in a sheath of waterproof mortar (35-45 cm thick) and the body presented numerous fractures which had been repaired in antiquity using lead ties. A new excavation area (35 x 5 m) was opened on the west side, bringing the total excavation area to 2,300 m2. In the new area what was probably the western perimeter wall of the _pars urbana_ was uncovered, together with five new rooms (49, 56, 61, 62, 63), square in plan, which closed the residential quarter to the west. Evidence for later, sporadic occupation of the site, included a burial – tomb 25 – found in the north zone. This earth grave, overlaying the latest layers of collapse, contained an infant buried in a supine position. The grave goods comprised a pair of bronze earrings with triangular section, and a button, both decorated with short, slanted incisions, and a small iron punch. The excavations at the villa of Baricelle have produced a great number of finds, among which a silver anthropomorphic belt point; the terminal of a bronze belt with a clinched nail at one end; a large bronze pin, the head decorated with short incisions; a bone comb with “dice-eye” decoration. Excavations are to continue in the new, extended area, in order to gain a better understanding of the layout and function of this complex.