The 2016 excavations concentrated on the mid to late imperial settlement, identified in the western sector of the southern quarter during the 2000-2001 investigations. Four _sondages_ were opened in order to check the stratigraphy of the archaeological deposits inside Building II and in the area of a narrow road that separated the latter from Building III. In trench 02.8 (Building II, room 5), the entire sequence reaching the late imperial phase and characterised by alluvial events was documented. The perimeter walls of room 5 were preserved to a height of about 2 m, while the floor surfaces appeared to be made of beaten earth. The excavations reached the early imperial levels and those of the Hellenistic period. The walls were built directly on the earlier razed structures, conserving their alignment. Trench 02.9 (Building II, room 1) explored the limited surface of a structure, at present interpreted as a possible stairwell, delimited by a cordon of reused parallelepiped blocks, and positioned in the external courtyard, abutting the building’s perimeter wall. The excavation uncovered the levels that obliterated the structure following an alluvial event in the late imperial period. Trench 02.10 (road between Buildings II and III, positioned in the area of the narrow side-road separating Buildings II and III, was opened in order to clarify the nature of a row of stones just emerging at the level reached during the 2000-2001 excavations. The hypothesis that a wall from an earlier structure was removed during the construction of buildings II and III in the late imperial phase was confirmed. There were also significant traces of the early imperial structure, constituted by a threshold and an _opus_ _signinum_ floor. In Trench 02.11 (Building II, room 4), the effects of the alluvial events were documented, involving part of the possible domestic furnishings, constituted by transport containers, of African production, found in fragments on the floor. The latter was a mosaic of which a small patch was preserved abutting the south-west perimeter wall, while its make up of crushed tile, was quite well-preserved and present across the whole trench.

This season excavations took place in the South Quarter and the West Quarter. South Quarter Trench 02.12 is positioned in the courtyard of building II that in the imperial period occupied part of the road built over the earlier via di Porta. Excavation here revealed the sidewalk of the Hellenistic-Roman phase, obliterated by a sequence of alluvial events. This structure was paved with flysch gravels and bordered by a cordon of sandstone and conglomerate parallelepiped blocks. In trench 02.13, the aim was to check the layout of the mid-late imperial construction phases which, generally, respect the original limits of the Hellenistic _insulae_. The trench was opened in the north-western area of building II, of mid-imperial date, overlying the Hellenistic _insula_ A.III, in correspondence with wall US 020150. It was seen that two other walls abutted this _opus_ _mixtum_ wall at right angles forming a room that dated to the mid-imperial period, showing the continuity of occupation in this sector of the city. Trench 02.15 was opened in building III dating to the mid-late imperial period and overlying Hellenistic _insula_ A.III. The excavations undertaken in 1982 by W. Johannowsky had exposed part of a room relating to a domestic context, dating to the Hellenistic-Roman phase, situated in the north-eastern sector of the original _insula_. The excavations identified the alluvial levels obliterating the structures, the _opus_ _signinum_ floors, unfortunately badly preserved, which however provided the definite floor levels for this phase. _Western Quarter_ To investigate the urban layout of the zone east of the _insula_ of the ‘House of the Frescoes’, geophysical surveys were carried out by the Federico II Naples University. Among the other anomalies, the magnetometer surveys revealed a linear trend that developed in a semicircle from north to south. The alignment of this trend seemed coherent with part of the outcrop of natural bedrock, just to the south, distinguished by regular cuts attributable to a road. In trench 11000, placed in correspondence with the curving anomaly, the excavation revealed part of a road, of which the west side was preserved, constituted by parallelepiped sandstone blocks, and a few remains of the gravel/stoney paving, badly disturbed by a series of alluvial events. This structure seems to date to between the mid and late imperial period. The cleaning of the outcropping bedrock (Trench 12000), just to the south, confirmed the presence of a rock-cut road, with a lateral drainage channel that was also cut into the sandstone bedrock and sloped north-south.

This season excavations took place in the Western and Southern quarters that occupy the south side of the city on the lower slopes of the acropolis. _South Quarter_ Research concentrated on the phases between the Hellenistic and early imperial period. Trench 02.15, opened in 2016, was completed with the investigation of the phases of use and construction of a wall in parallelepiped blocks of flysch, which divided two rooms of a dwelling situated in the northern sector of _insula_ A.III. The rooms, identified in the 1980s, presented an _opus_ _signinum_ floor, of which only a few traces were preserved, on top of which was a second phase in gravel. Trench 02.16 was opened in correspondence with the last north-eastern stretch of the via di Porta V, in order to investigate the road’s phases. There was no evidence for a stone-paved road surface. The stratigraphic sequence was disturbed by alluvial events. The chronology reached the middle imperial period. Trench 03.5 confirmed the presence of _insula_ A.IV, to date only suggested as part of the nucleus of Hellenistic buildings situated in correspondence with a section of the fortifications “B west”. The small excavation area revealed a very close alluvial sequence, analogous to those seen in other trenches excavated in the area. The structures appeared coherent with the alignment of the adjacent _insulae_ A.I-A.III and the via di Porta V. Although little of the walls was preserved, the construction technique using small parallelepiped blocks of flysch was the same as that documented in the Hellenistic houses in the lower city. _Western Quarter_ Trench 11000, which was opened in 2016, revealed evidence of a road. In order to better define the topography and stratigraphic sequence, the trench was extended towards the east. The excavations identified the eastern edge of the road (badly preserved), constituted by reused sandstone blocks, which followed the same curved line as the west side that was identified in 2016. The gravel/stoney road surface, extremely patchy due to the action of hill wash, was laid over levels of soil mixed with gravel and brick/tile fragments that levelled the surface of the natural sandstone bedrock, which was concave probably due to the action of unregimented water. The road seems to date to between the mid to late imperial period.