The excavations on Monte Cimino undertaken by the Archaeological Superintendency for South Etruria and the La Sapienza University of Rome took place between 2009 and 2012. The settlement, situated on the highest part of South Etruria (1053 m a.s.l.), covers an area of ca. 5 hectares formed by two topographical units defined as the lower plateau and the summit plateau or “acropolis”, both surrounded by massive perimeter walls. The walls on the lower plateau, datable to the Final Bronze Age and preserved to over 4 m in height, were by a dry-stone make-up constructed in steps and timber facings (sector 4). The acropolis walls, preserved to a height of up to 6 m, had at least two construction phases (Final Bronze Age and 4th-3rd century B.C.). A monumental complex was investigated on the summit of the acropolis (sector 1). This was constituted by a massive wall, supported externally and internally by radial walls, which surrounded most of the summit and abutted a series of trachytic stone masses placed so as to form a crown. The stratigraphic deposit (1.60 m) was characterised by alternating layers containing abundant charcoal and archaeological material, probably the remains of ritual fires datable to the Final Bronze Age (phase III), and sterile layers dumped on top to seal them. The monumental structure, its position on the summit, the nature of the archaeological deposit, and the finds suggest that there was a cult site on the acropolis, while the lower plateau was occupied by a fortified settlement. The occupation of the site, dating from at least the Late Bronze Age, ended at the end of the Final Bronze Age. The site was then reoccupied in the archaic and late Etruscan periods. The 2013 excavations confirmed the presence of a _dromos_ entrance structure in the southern stretch of the wall. About one metre wide, the _dromos_ was delimited by two dry-stone, rectilinear and parallel walls at least 2 m long (within the excavation area), standing to a height of 1.7 m. The structure was paved with gravel and cobbles. The finds recovered belong to the south Etrurian proto-Villanovan _facies_ (Final Bronze Age: 1150-950 B.C.). A new trench (11) was opened in the north-west part of the lower plateau. The evidence partially confirmed what had been documented in sector 4. The internal structure of the fortifications, to about 2 m from the wall, was formed by an earth embankment contained by “caissons” (at least 2 x 2 m) built of stones. There was a large amount of pottery in the embankment. Up to 4 m from the fortifications there was a sort of base built of stones interrupted by a series of postholes, probably the remains of a palisade. Therefore, in this case also, the internal rampart was formed by timber constructions with foundations built of stones. Behind the wall traces of possible structures were identified but not excavated. The results of the pollen analyses show that in the Final Bronze Age the site had undergone deforestation, and this has favoured the erosion of the occupation layers causing them to accumulate towards the perimeter walls.

The 2014 excavations exposed an overall area of c. 40 m2 to an average depth of c. 2 m, in order to obtain the maximum visibility possible of the monumental structures situated on top of Mt. Cimino (1053 m a.s.l.). The structure, as suggested in earlier campaigns, was constituted by a massive dry-stone wall surrounding the upper part of the acropolis. The wall, about 3 m wide, enclosed a sub-circular open space of about 100 m2. The wall surrounded a curving line of large standing boulders made of rough-hewn trachyte. These stones appeared “lined” by radial dry-stone walls, roughly turned towards the centre of the open space delimited by the wall itself. In the south-eastern part, in correspondence with a slight slope linking the summit to the acropolis, a corridor (_dromos_) opened within the body of the wall itself. It was the same length as the width of the wall and about one metre wide, delimited on both sides by a dry-stone facing. Most of the structure was built directly on an extensive levelled area cut out of the bedrock. All the materials seem to date to the same phase (Final Bronze Age 3), except for a few elements perhaps attributable to an earlier period of the Final Bronze Age. The excavation on the south edge of the structure, in correspondence with the _dromos_ entrance, revealed a complex stratigraphy, probably to be attributed to two overlying monumental structures. The 2014 investigations clarified several of the earlier structure’s characteristics. It lay below most of the _dromos_ and the southernmost part of the later wall and, indeed, constituted the foundations for both. Excavation also took place for the first time on the eastern edge of the plateau at the base of the acropolis (sectors 13 and 14), where two small trenches confirmed the presence of materials that were exclusively prehistoric. Of particular interest was the identification on the hill slope in sector 11 of the 2013 excavations outside the stone fortifications surrounding the entire eastern plateau (also known as the “lower plateau”) of an artificial terrace created by the construction in antiquity of a wall that is still visible. The excavation exposed a 2 m length of dry-stone wall associated with pottery fragments datable to the Final Bronze Age.

_1. Introduction_ During the 2015 campaign, the activities were carried out in sector 1 (located on the very top of the mountain, in the so-called “acropolis”), where the dry-wall cultic structure was individuated. The excavations focused on the southern part of the sector, by the entrance of the dromos of the cultic structure (fig. 1). The campaign was aimed at verifying the construction sequence, through the investigation of two particular structural elements, both already recognized during past campaigns: 1) the containment fillings of the southern side of the structure, realized through the accumulation of local pyroclastic substratum; such fillings seemed to lean against the wall, encasing it, and apparently sustaining a walkway that linked the structure with the lower plateau; 2) the massive dry stone facility (USM 341), that seems to provide a base for the whole structure, and is covered, in turn, by the containment fillings. _2. The containment facility_ In the past campaigns, in the area immediately before the walled structure, a sequence of fillings was identified, made of volcanic material obtained from the local substratum. The 2015 investigation revealed that such a sequence of fillings is, in fact, very thick (1m average), encasing and containing the walled structure and its foundations, and lying directly on the exposed bedrock. The fillings sequence is made of at least four subsequent layers, of roughly the same thickness. Each layer is characterized by a massive accumulation of rocks (20-40cm) in pyroclastic earth, originally obtained from the local substratum (fig. 2). It appears that the fillings were laid in order to obtain both a stable containment facility, to contain the walled structure, and an incompressible, walkable surface. The upper surface of the fillings is covered by the collapse of the walled structure, indicating that the surface was exposed at the time the structure collapsed. On the surface of the fillings, 2 large pits were identified, namely US 317 neg. and US 371 neg., respectively containing one and two postholes (fig. 1, 3). Given their position, leaning against the outer side of the walled structure, it seems very likely that the wooden facility provided a further stability function, in addition to the containment fillings. It seems plausible that, shortly after the laying of the containment fillings, a second operation was required in order to further improve the stability of the eastern side, whereas the western one wouldn’t have required such an intervention. Anyway, the fact that the fillings on both pits are covered by the collapse of the walled structure, indicates that the wooden facility was contemporary to the structure. _3. The dry-stone foundation_ The massive dry-stone facility USM 341, recognized in the past campaigns, seems to constitute the foundation of the cultic structure. The facility is made of roughly worked stones of ca. 20-40 cm, with a dense and finely realized texture, and possesses a rather regular external curtain (fig. 4). USM 341 is ca. 1m thick, lies directly on the bedrock, and is covered by the containment fillings; the cultic structure proper lies on the top of the facility. USM 341 is the foundation of the whole structure, with the function of creating an regular platform for the construction of the cultic structure. Its most superficial part constitutes, in fact, the “doorway” of the dromos. _4. The materials_ The materials, almost exclusively ceramic sherds, are perfectly coherent with those retrieved in all past campaigns: diagnostic elements of a late phase of the Final Bronze Age (mainly combed and “falsa cordicella” – “fake rope” – decorations; FBA 3: ca. 1050-950 BC) are present even in the deepest layers, lying on the bedrock. It appears, therefore, that the cultic structure was relatively short-lived. For the time being, it is not yet clear whether the area was already frequented during the early phases of the FBA and the Recent Bronze Age, both periods attested, instead, in other locations of the site.