This was the 15th campaign of excavations in the archaeological area of Castello di Monte Copiolo (PU) carried out by Urbino University’s School of Medieval Archaeology.

After three years of investigating the area of the Complesso della Misericordia (Area 9) situated in the lower part the town, during this campaign the investigations returned to focusing on the interior of the summit enclosure around the ‘rocca’.

A new trench was opened in Area 2, trench H, south of the previous trenches G and D2. The chosen area provided elements that were helpful in understanding and investigating the final section of the summit palatium of the ‘rocca’. The trench measured c. 4.5 m(east-west) x 5 m (north-south).
According to 17th century iconographic sources (a watercolour by Francesco Mingucci), the palatium was closed to the south by a quadrangular tower. The trench aimed to check whether any of the tower structures remained in the area, given that a number of anomalies in the terrain suggested the presence of a structure below ground.

The remains of a large quadrangular room emerged from underneath several layers of material from the post-16th century demolition of the castle, interpreted as probably the tower visible in the watercolour. The excavation of the area is ongoing and the coming campaigns should provide evidence for the chronology of the structure’s use.