The site at contrada Bregatorto occupies an elongated terrace at an elevation of c. 973 m c. 0.5 km to the south of Piano Liso, a small plain on the high plateau known as the Dossone della Melìa or dorsale tabulare which separates the Jonian and Tyrhenian coasts in south-central Calabria. The terrace overlooks the Jonian coast. Remains of three perimeter walls are visible on its northern, eastern, and southern sides. The eastern and southern walls are the best preserved and measure 38 m and 43 m respectively; they enclose a surface exceeding 1000 m². Their masonry, which consists of dry-built cobbles and roughly hewn stones (resembling that of the Locrian fort on the summit of Monte Palazzi), and the presence of numerous Greek roof tiles, identify this structure as a Locrian fortification. The dating of the roof tiles suggests that the site was occupied between the late 6th and the 3rd centuries B.C. The location of this fort on the estern rim of the Dossone plateau suggests that it was a critical node on the most direct overland route from Locri Epizephyrii to the Tyrrhenian coast. After crossing the plateau, this route would have passed by another Locrian outpost at località Palazzo (Cittanova), c. 3.5 km to the south of the Passo del Mercante. The presence of these military installations on the western borders of Locri’s territory is evidence of an elaborate system of defense that may have been in operation from the archaic to the hellenistic period.

The presence at contrada Bregatorto on the Dorsale Tabulare (a high ridge representing a natural boundary along the western edges of the territory of Locri Epizephyrii) of a Greek fortification was first reported in 2001 by Dr. Domenico Raso, who attributed it to ancient Locri. After it was conclusively identified in 2015 on a terrace protected by steep ravines on three sides, at an elevation of c. 980 m above sea level, a geophysical survey – including both a gradiometric survey and two ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey – and test excavations conducted in 2017 and 2018 have located the main features of this outpost. Its perimeter walls followed the contour of the terrace and enclosed an area of 1928 m². The fort was accessed through an entrance on the northern side that appears to have been a recessed gateway, and had an inner courtyard. The presence of a bastion or observation tower in the northeastern corner of the fortification, one of the highest points of the terrace, has been inferred from the quantity of stone visible on the ground and from the high reflectance values shown by the GPR in this area. The pottery from the excavations includes fineware, cooking and commoware that find close comparanda at Locri. The preponderance of the evidence indicates that this fort was constructed by the Locrians in the early 5 th century BCE and was occupied possibly throughout the 3 rd century BCE. A key node on the most direct overland route linking ancient Locri with Métauros, Medma, and the Locrian sphere of influence on the Tyrrhenian seabord, it was also a control point from which several routes converging towards the Dorsale from the Jonian coast could be kept under surveillance.