Da Maggio 2012 è iniziato lo scavo archeologico nella cavità 254, nel centro storico di Orvieto (proprietà Pagliaccia, concessione ministeriale alla Fondazione per il Museo C. Faina). La cavità, nel corso del ’900, è stata laboratorio di falegnameria ed officina ceramica per i Vascellari (Ilario Ciaurro e Pericle Perali) ed anche per i Riccardi, questi ultimi noti falsari di inizio secolo. La ricerca è parte del progetto “Orvieto Ipogea” e ha interessato un ambiente a pianta quadrangolare, dotato di gradini ricavati nel masso. Le indagini hanno consentito di individuare, a quota -1,75/1,81, un livello tardo-rinascimentale, al disotto del quale è comparso un piano di calpestio che sigillava uno strato caratterizzato da frammenti ceramici d’epoca medievale. A quota di -2,53 è stato individuato un primo livello archeologico databile alla metà del V secolo a.C.; si è documentata una serie di operazioni di riempimento della cavità verticale sia con materiale pozzolanico pressoché sterile sia con scarichi effettuati dai gradini della scala lungo la parete ovest del vano. A quota -3.50, nella parete meridionale, è apparsa la volta di un cunicolo che conduce ad una struttura simile già parzialmente svuotata in passato. Il consistente materiale recuperato, concentrato lungo le pareti del vano, è costituito da forme aperte in bucchero grigio, frammenti di bucchero nero e di ceramica attica a figure nere e rosse, numerose olle di ceramica comune, bracieri, _dolia_, bacini, scarsi frustuli di metallo (oro, bronzo e ferro), laterizi esclusivamente di impasto rossiccio. Interessante la presenza di un numero consistente (almeno 20) di lettere incise e di brevi graffiti su coppe in bucchero grigio e sugli orli delle olle. E’ da sottolineare la presenza di ceramica protostorica negli strati di V secolo a.C. Per i contesti orvietani del pianoro costituisce un dato piuttosto consistente, con frammenti di vasi di grandi dimensioni, decorati a graffito e non, coppe con bugne e, forse, due frammenti dell’età del Bronzo (una parete decorata ed un’ansa con piccolo bottone e presa forata). Dal punto di vista strutturale la cavità si articola su pianta quadrangolare con sezione verticale a tronco di piramide. L’allargamento verso il basso del vano è avvertibile lungo le pareti orientale e occidentale; al momento è comunque prematuro fornire indicazioni sulla natura del vano ad imbuto rovesciato ma si può escludere una utilizzazione quale cisterna in quanto manca uno strato impermeabilizzante, la forma non è quella dei pozzi per acqua noti in ambito volsiniese ed il trattamento delle pareti non consente di individuare con certezza eventuali fronti di cava (solamente su una parete - quella E - rimangono i resti di una risega a scala).

The excavations concentrated on room A, previously used as a truncated pyramid-shaped cellar. A series of distinct fills were identified, dating to the second half of the 5th century B.C. The dating is based on the Attic black glaze pottery present in the fill, in particular a fragment of a _”delicate class”_ _skyphos_ , fragments of a black glaze cup with a white painted olive shoot, and a _kantheros_ fragment with impressed decoration illustrating the story of Perseus. This season, a large dump of material that had been thrown down from the stairway on the west wall was removed. The matrix was predominantly dark brown clay, characterised by the presence of tufa lumps and terracotta fragments, mainly concentrated along the north and east walls. The stratigraphy also presented lenses of diverse consistency and composition, however all part of the same obliteration. A large amount of archaeological material was recovered, grey bucchero and coarse ware open forms were predominant. Among the coarse wares, there were notable examples of cylindrical-ovoid jars and bowl-lids of the so-called “Officina della Spirale a Stralucido”. At least 15 inscriptions were found on the pottery fragments, which add to the site’s substantial epigraphic corpus. The inscriptions were mainly seen inside the bowls of the grey bucchero forms or around the rim of the coarse ware jars; the word “_ati_” is clearly legible inside the bowl of a small coarse ware cup. Pieces of exceptional quality and rarity were among the imported wares, including two fragments from a large open form (_phiale_?) in Attic Black figure on a white background. The Red figure fragments included a _skyphos_ showing a phallic herm. Fragments of a leucite _molae_ _trusatiles_ are of particular importance as they represent the earliest evidence of quarrying in the territory of Volsini, quarries that were to be of great importance in the Roman period. A significant number of handmade impasto sherds were also recovered, dating to the Villanovan and to the early Orientalizing periods. They include a fragment from an open form with a conical boss, which has parallels in examples from contexts at Crocifisso del Tufo, and a handle fragment with applied human protome in full relief. Both were in burnished brown impasto. Some fragments form architectural terracottas were also found. In addition to part of the ‘scaled’ torus from a facing plaque dating to 510-500 B.C. parallel to examples from Veii, fragments of gutter tiles with red and brown painted _anthemia_. A number of miniature grey bucchero forms, in particular a _kyathos_ and several small bowls, suggest a sacred context. A small polychrome terracotta horse is indicative of a domestic context if interpreted as a toy, or again a sacred context if seen as a votive offering.

The excavation activities focused primarily on the interior of room A that in plan was shaped like a truncated pyramid. Several dumps of earth containing a wealth of archaeological material were removed. These dumps had formed cones of detritus near the western wall of the cavity. The various stratigraphic units were again seen to be contiguous. The excavation has now reached a depth of about 10 m below the vault. The finds are heterogeneous, both in type and chronology. The fill can be dated by various fragments of red-figure and black-glaze Attic pottery, plausibly dating to the second half of the 5th century B.C. Of considerable importance are hundreds of handmade impasto pottery fragments. Kitchen wares were represented by cylindrical-ovoid jars and bowl-lids, often attributable to the so-called “Spiral workshop”. The grey bucchero was documented by hemispherical cups and small plates, and occasional miniature forms. Imported Attic pottery was mainly present as red-figure open forms. Fragments from a krater and several _lekythoi_ were also found. Metal finds were very rare and included iron nails, bronze fibulae and an _aes_ _rude_. Among the architectural terracottas a fragment in high-relief representing a fallen warrior, perhaps a giant, is of particular note. Evidence for daily and craft working activities was provided by numerous terracotta loom weights, grindstones in leucitite and fragments of clay matrixes for casting metal. A large quantity of bones belonging to diverse species was present, some with possible showing traces that might indicate butchery or exposure to fire. Inscriptions in Etruscan letters, currently being studied, were frequently found on coarse ware pottery and grey bucchero finds. Analysis of the finds and the stratigraphic sequence indicates that the structure, whose function is still unknown, was filled in during the last thirty years of the fifth century B.C. This may have taken place at the same time as a series of hydraulic structures in the area of Piazza Ranieri were blocked up, in view of a partial reorganization of the urban spaces in this part of the plateau. The rubble produced by the demolition of these buildings could have been used to fill the underground rooms, no longer functional to the future layout of the inhabited center.