Enrico Stefani cites chamber tombs identified in this locality west of the great plateau on which Veii stood. At the beginning of 2013, a survey recovered the remains of cremation urns, bowls, cups and glass paste beads of Final Bronze Age date on top of the small rise that overlooks the area (perhaps one of the “tumuli” of Oliveto Grande). A number of _sondages_ revealed the existence of several “well” tombs. Subsequently, a first excavation campaign took place in June-July 2013, directed by the Roma Tre University in collaboration with the Soprintendenza all’Etruria Meridionale, the Direzione Generale alle Antichità del MiBACT, the Soprintendenza al Museo Preistorico ed Etnografico “L. Pigorini” and the Scuola di restauro di Venaria Reale. Twenty-five burials were excavated, the majority damaged by modern ploughing or illegal excavations. Several cinerary urns were found in double housings made of a poorer quality tufa than the bedrock in which the tombs were cut. Both covering slabs and floor slabs were present in the tombs. In two cases, the slabs lining the “well” formed small pentagonal cists. It may be suggested that during the funerary ritual the personal ornaments of the deceased were also cremated. In the case of the best-preserved tomb group (tomb 6), the biconical urn was covered by a pointed lid (in other cases the urn was closed by a bowl); the urn was accompanied by a small jar, two cups with bifid handles, a jug and a carenated bowl. The urn, lid, and jug were decorated with bands of grooved and circular decoration, according to a repertory also identified on other artefacts in the necropolis, which together with other vessel typologies, indicate a date within the Final Bronze Age. Material from the settlement identified during the rescue excavations at Isola Farnese (c. 700 m away as the crow flies) also dates to this phase (3A), immediately preceding the beginning of occupation on the Veian plateau. Only three bronze artefacts were found, two small finger rings and a large fragmented pin. Various types of glass paste beads were recovered and a spindle whorl was found in one tomb. The urns were excavated in a laboratory and this led to the recovery of two palette-shaped razors with rectangular hollows, one associated with a double folded fibula, the other with a large pin. The number of tombs identified to date makes Pozzuolo one of the largest Final Bronze Age necropolises in south Etruria. It is estimated that the next season will bring the total number of excavated tombs to fifty.

This season’s excavations continued work on the summit of the small hill overlooking the area of Pozzuolo, identifiable (even if of natural origin) with one of the “tumuli” mentioned by Stefani. Following the surveys and first excavations in 2013, which uncovered 23 tombs, this season’s investigations identified a further 32, bring the total to 55 burials, a substantial number that is destined to increase as other burials (at least 3, not yet excavated) are present in the research area and probably present beyond the wall that separates the Brecciarolo property (where the excavations took place) from the adjacent land. Several burials were badly disturbed by ploughing, and in some cases, the vases forming the tomb group had been moved. At this point, it may be suggested that a nucleus of at least 80 burials exists on the site, a number in a single Final Bronze Age necropolis that is only paralleled by the cemetery at Poggio della Pozza, evidence of the unstructured and sporadic nature excavations undertaken to date in the mid Tyrrhenian cemeteries of this phase. At the moment (the materials are still in the study phase), all the burials appear to date to a late but not final phase of the Final Bronze Age, forming part of a necropolis belonging to the small proto-Villanovan settlement of Isola Farnese, immediately preceding the birth of the great proto-urban settlement of Veii. The excavations identified an irregular semicircular cut partially filled/packed with tufa blocks that may correspond to the construction of a tumulus that is clearly visible in old aerial photographs. The discovery of an “a caditoia” tomb containing material datable to the mid 7th century B.C. that appeared to be cut by the tumulus may provide a _terminus_ _post_ _quem_ for the latter. The osteological analyses on the remains recovered during the 2013 campaign revealed that they were primarily single burials. Three infants I (0 – 6 years), one juvenile individual, a young adult female (20-25 years), two adult males, and seven adults of indeterminate sex, were identified in addition to three individuals of which hardly anything remained (no more than 2 grams in weight). The preliminary analyses of the 2014 remains identified another 30 cremations and one inhumation in a grave (Pozzuolo T. 37). Only the cranium and two cervical vertebrae were present, and the development of the teeth suggested the age at death to be about 5-6 years. The series included other infant burials: T. 30, 51, 63, and 67 (all 0 – 6 years). The remaining individuals were probably adults, both male and females were identified. CAT scans were also made this year of the urns as an aid to the micro-excavation of the better -preserved examples. The scans revealed the precise position of the grave goods, particularly the bronze artefacts, within the urns.