Chiaramonte (675m a.s.l) is situated on the summit of a hill dominating the valley of the Torrente del Castagno, which divides Chiaramonte from Monte Moltone to the north.
Investigations were undertaken over a limited area of a farm dating to the period of Lucanian occupation and subsequent Roman conquest of the area. To date, two rooms characterized by dry-stone walls with traces of red wall plaster have been examined. One room contained a tank (3.52 × 2.17m) built of squared stone blocks and lined at floor level in cocciopesto. This most probably indicates the presence of an impluvium. Segments of terracotta columns (diam. 45 and 65cm) indicate the presence of a portico. In one of the rooms a base (1.28 × 1.23m) made of flat tile fragments was found, this was probably part of a cupboard. To the north is a hearth, comprising two large tiles (62 × 86cm) placed side by side. Outside the room, tiles placed edge-up and covered with mortar, formed the make-up for a pavement which has not survived.
The plan of these structures shows evident similarities to contemporary buildings excavated at nearby Monte Moltone and Cività di Tricarico.
The abandonment of the settlement can be dated to the last decades of the 3rd century B.C. or the first half of the 2nd century B.C. Surface finds of kiln wasters and a mould suggest the presence of production on the site. Fragments of bi-coloured jars and other vessels of the local subgeometric tradition, also surface finds, date to the 4th or end of the 5th century B.C. (Maria Luisa Nava)