Between 2004 and 2006 three excavation campaigns were undertaken at the Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina. As a result the Arab-Norman settlement, built on top of and around the noted late antique residence, was brought to light. The excavated structures can be attributed to three main occupation phases: the first dating to between the end of the 10th century – beginning of the 11th century, a second phase in the Norman period (11th century) and a third phase falling between the end of the Norman period and the beginning of the Svevan domination (end of the 11th – first half of the 12th century). As regards the earliest phases, the first occupation evidence on the site dates to the late Roman period and there are some traces of Byzantine date. Finally, there is evidence of sporadic occupation in the post-medieval period (14th – 15th century). The excavated area revealed domestic structures made up of rectangular rooms arranged in the same way as plans that are known from other medieval Sicilian contexts such as Segesta and Monte Iato. The complex known as the “house with courtyard” is of particular interest, with its series of rooms placed around a central open area. The courtyard provided access to all the rooms and was used as a work area: roofed hearths were found in the proximity of a room used for the storage of dry food stuffs. The settlement’s craft working area was situated in the zone nearest the river Gela, as attested by finds relating to pottery making and metalworking activities. Over time the structures in the residential area suffered changes due to the frequent floods which devastated the area causing collapses and landslides; the reconstruction technique generally consisted in the reuse of existing walls that were levelled as necessary.

In 2007 a new excavation campaign began at the Vìlla del Casale at Piazza Armerina. The work involved the areas up against the Villa’s perimeter walls and most of the peristyle and oval courtyard, bringing to light new data regarding the construction phases and use of the building during the 6th century A.D. Evidence regarding the transformation of the complex during the Byzantine, early medieval and Renaissance periods was also uncovered. In particular the remains of productive structures were found inserted into the exterior spaces of the Villa at the moment when living conditions in the territory were destabilised by the fighting which effected the peninsula (Vandal invasions, the Gothic War, Muslim attacks and invasions). Further new information regarded the stratigraphy and structures belonging to the period between the 1st and 3rd century A.D., which previous excavations had attributed to a villa which covered almost all of the area later occupied by the late antique residence. The evidence relating to the medieval history of the area was closely linked to what emerged from research, ongoing from 2004, at the Arab-Norman settlement situated above and near the villa. The excavation of the villa, begun in 2007, identified numerous wells, cisterns and middens, whose fill contained large quantities of pottery, in some cases intact vessels. The material dated from between the end of the 10th century and the beginning of the 11th century, therefore still of the Islamic period, when the economy of the area was relaunched, as occurred in the rest of Sicily with the renting of “casali” throughout the territory. An important part of the research project is also dedicated to the study and survey of the villa’s walls. The aim is to create a complete map of the elevations on which it will be possible to distinguish between the ancient and restored parts, and to develop new theories regarding the spaces within the building.