Excavation in 2017 at Poggio Civitate and Vescovado di Murlo continued the exploration of features identified in earlier years of excavation.

Atop Poggio Civitate, excavators expanded upon an area first revealed in 2012-2013. This portion of Poggio Civitate, called by its modern property zone name of Civitate A, revealed traces of non-elite domestic structures. These small buildings typically consist of narrow stone socles arranged in rectolinear forms. The width of the socles and dearth of terracotta roofing materials suggests these structures did not support terracotta roofs but were instead covered with lighter forms of roofing such as thatch.

To the east of Civitate A, excavation continued within the area of a building identified two years earlier. This structure, currently referred to as Early Phase Orientalizing Complex Building 4 (henceforth EPOC4), is a large structure with robust foundation walls and dimensions suggestive of the use of terracotta roofing tiles. This fact encouraged excavators to continue the examination of the floor of EPOC4’s eastern porch in an attempt to better determine the date of the building’s construction and ultimate abandonment. While conclusions remain tentative and awit additional excavation and study, at present we believe EPOC was constructed in the final years of the 8th or early years of the 7th century BCE and dismantled at some point within the second quarter of the 7th century BCE.

Excavation in Vescovado di Murlo returned to a space originally identified in 2015. The 2017 excavation focused on the eastern extend of a massive wall and defensive moat present on a terrace in the Colombaio district of the town. The remains recovered confirmed previous conclusions that the feature was originally associated with a terrace or platform located to the immediate north and was likely destroyed at some point before the middle of the 4th century BCE.