During the course of two campaigns, an integrated geophysical survey was completed in the urban area of the ancient city of Gabii. Beginning in 2007, the utility of magnetometry survey at the site was tested over a 6-hectare area within the hypothesized line of Gabii’s ancient walls. These initial tests produced good results and were encouraging enough to warrant a large-scale magnetometry survey of Gabii’s urban area, a project that was carried out during the course of the summer and autumn of 2008. The high-resolution magnetometry survey (25x50 cm) ultimately covered more than 40-ha of surface, an amount that reflects almost the entire surveyable area within the walled area of the ancient city. In tandem with the magnetometry survey was a systematic core-sampling survey that was carried out in summer 2008. Employing both manual and mechanical coring machines, the team collected data from 52 points, allowing for the construction of stratigraphical profiles along two axes across the site. The results of the core sampling, and resultant profiles, revealed the presence of well-preserved stratified deposits on the site. With the combined geophysical results, a picture of the subsurface deposits at Gabii began to emerge and a complex urban network was revealed, including the presence of a road system and the remains of architecture within the site. The urban grid itself represents an important outcome of the survey, in that primary urban centers tend not to have regularized urban grids, owing to their mode of formation, yet the survey data clearly revealed that Gabii has such a grid system, composed of a main trunk road whose profile follows the topographical contours of the down-slope of the volcanic crater of Castiglione and off of which radiate side streets.

The summer of 2009 marked the beginning of large-scale excavations at Gabii carried out by the Gabii Project. With the plan produced by the geophysical survey in hand, two excavations areas were chosen; one of them on the slope of the Castiglione crater to the northeast of the Iuno Gabina sanctuary and the other to the south of the modern via Prenestina. Over the course of 8 weeks, these areas were cleared and excavation commenced, with the main activity in 2009 concentrated on the more northerly of the two study areas; in the southern area test trenches were opened. Within the main area of investigation was a strong magnetic anomaly detected during the survey that appeared to be a side street in the urban grid, and this feature helped determine the placement of the excavation area. One immediately visible archaeological feature was the side street that had been identified by survey. This street, which should go on to join the main trunk road of the city center, has already demonstrated multiple phases, including preliminary evidence that suggests the initial road bed dates to the fifth century B.C. Other preliminary findings include a possible industrial complex ranging from Late Republican to early Imperial in date, as well as a growing number of Late Roman inhumations that clearly represent a decisive shift in the usage of the urban space, and possibly reflect the overall contraction of the occupied portions of the city as suggested by the surface survey carried out by M. Guaitoli in the late 1970s. In 2010 excavations will continue, probing the already open areas and expanding them to expose even more salient archaeological features.

In 2010 work at Gabii continued on two areas of investigation – a main, open-area excavation sector located north of the modern via Prenestina and under the authority of the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Roma and a second area to the south of the modern road under the authority of the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici per il Lazio. A private airfield for light aircraft currently occupies part of the southern portion of the ancient city. In the main excavation area, work resumed within three separate stratigraphic basins that were initially identified and opened in 2009. These sectors, identified as Areas A, B, and C, respectively, continue to provide evidence for multi-phase use of the site of Gabii and all demonstrate a complex site formation process in which the destructive intervention of both natural weathering processes and mechanical erosion have played a significant role. Area A, the locus in which two elite Sub-Geometric infant burials were discovered in 2009 (viz. Becker and Nowlin, forthcoming), continued to offer evidence for an occupational sequence that centers on an oblong structure whose limits are defined by a system of channels cut directly into the bedrock of the slope of the crater of Castiglione. These occupation levels contained a sequence of floors fashioned in crushed tufo. In Area B, a locus that thus far has proven to contain ca. 25 Imperial inhumations – including a massive lead sarcophagus excavated in July 2009 – has proven to be the site of a multi-phase structure, possibly domestic in nature, that includes a number of rooms as well as a tufo-paved courtyard containing a well shaft cut into the bedrock. The ashlar masonry of the structure suggests that its initial phase may belong to the middle Republican period, but subsequent use, re-use, and modification complicate the picture. The final phase of the structure may belong to the late 1st century AD, at some point after which the sector of the city that contains the house seems to make the transition from occupied zone to ad hoc necropolis. A number of possible tree-planting pits may suggest a post-abandonment landscape program that could be connected with the contracted Imperial urban nucleus that is presumed to lie along the line of the ancient Via Praenestina. Area C is a locus delimited by two side streets of Gabii’s urban grid that were discovered via geophysical survey in 2007 and 2008 (viz. Becker et al. 2009). Contained within the block is a multi-phase architectural complex whose last phase seems to be industrial in nature, perhaps a fullonica. Earlier structures in ashlar masonry are also evident; these are in phase with floors in cocciopesto. A feature of significant interest in the western part of Area C was a monumental rock-cut tomb that contained two adults; an adult female was deposited in a monolithic tufo sarcophagus while an adult male was found in a stone-cut loculus. The tomb belongs perhaps to a pre-5th c. BC phase of the area as adjacent structures are truncated by the creation of the quasi-orthogonal grid of streets, for which the terminus post quem is the 5th c. BC; ceramics recovered from the fill of the tomb’s cut suggests a date in the first half of the 5th c. BC. Area C also shows, by way of residual pottery, evidence for significant Iron Age activity – and perhaps occupation – in this part of the site. Investigation of these three areas will continue in 2011. In the southern work area (south of the modern via Prenestina), two new sondages were opened, with the goal being to intercept subsurface features identified in 2008 by means of the magnetometry survey. The archaeological materials in these sondages served to confirm the interpretation of subsurface linear features as elements of the quasi-orthogonal grid of streets within the formerly walled urban area of Gabii.

In the summer of 2011 the Gabii Project completed its third consecutive season of excavation and fifth overall fieldwork campaign in the ancient Latin city of Gabii. Over the course of three campaigns, a nearly 1-hectare area has been explored by means of excavation. In 2011 a team of over 90 students and archaeologists participated in the work of the project. The 2011 season involved the continued exploration of significant tracts of the city center that were initially opened in 2009, with some portions being subsequently expanded in 2010 and 2011. This summary proceeds in order of overall chronology. For the early first millennium BC the previous excavation [2009] of elite infant tombs (see Becker and Nowlin 2011) signalled the presence of social stratification during the later eighth and seventh centuries BC. Now a series of seventh and sixth century BC occupation horizons within an elite compound points to the continuation of earlier traditions of social complexity. In addition, the deposition of numerous intramural adult inhumation burials in the post-abandonment levels of this elite compound suggests not only that a re-appraisal of adult intramural burial in the archaic period is required but also that the autonomous actions on the part of elites may have played a significant role in the archaic city. The abandonment of archaic levels gives way to a re-planned urban center with a quasi-orthogonal layout, an occurrence of the later fifth to early fourth centuries BC (see Becker, Mogetta, and Terrenato 2009; Mogetta forthcoming). The evidence for this layout was first detected by means of the Gabii Project’s geophysical survey (2007 and 2008; see Becker, Mogetta, and Terrenato 2009; Terrenato et al. 2010) and confirmed by means of the excavation of portions of three side streets. This Republican phase of the city is yielding significant evidence for Mid-Republican architecture with three buildings being excavated in two separate sectors. The early phases of these structures are marked by well-dressed ashlar masonry, paved interior floor surfaces, and the use of massive, monolithic tufo slab pavements around wells and cisterns. These structures are multi-phased and see re-use and re-building until at least the first century AD. The Imperial levels explored so far have yielded over 30 inhumation tombs, most of which are consolidated in an area that seems to be an ad hoc necropolis from the first century AD onward. Remarkable among them is a trio of tombs in which the deceased in encased in lead sheeting; one such tomb was excavated in 2009 and two additional tombs came to light in 2011. This cemetery demonstrates evidence for the contraction of the Imperial city, precipitated at least in part by the activities related to massive quarries along the rim of the Castiglione crater that aimed at exploiting the local bedrock, lapis Gabinus (a type of peperino tufo). The Gabii Project will continue to explore portions of four city blocks of the urban layout in its 2012 excavation campaign.

The fourth excavation campaign of the _Gabii Project_, inside the Archaeological Park of the ancient Latin town of Gabii, took place between June and August 2012. The excavation continued of the archaic levels, already partially investigated in 2011, and work began on a large Republican building. The sequence excavated in the area of the archaic house revealed a new occupation phase datable to the beginning of the 6th century B.C., as well as evidence relating to the Orientalizing period. The house stood inside a sort of enclosure constituted by a wall built of large stone chippings/fragments and is looking increasingly like an elite compound. The presence of an infant burial with a very rich assemblage of pottery and bronze vessels, datable to the Orientalizing period and similar to that found in 2009, provides new evidence for the reconstruction of Gabii in the period preceding the Republican urban re-organisation. The large building was identified in a new area, extending the excavations to the west and bringing the total area excavated by the _Gabii Project_ to over a hectare in four years, including another _insula_ of the ancient town’s uniform urban layout. A new road was excavated, running north-south perpendicular to the main road crossing the town and adjacent to the large building on two levels with monumental walls built of local stone. The focal point of this building was a massive wall in _opus quadratum_ visible between the lower and upper terrace. This was probably a public structure, datable to the Republican period. The full extension of this complex remains to be defined. The 2012 excavations provided fundamental new evidence relating to the history of urban development and architecture at Gabii, improving the understanding of the site’s settlement dynamics between the Orientalizing period and the end of the Republican period - beginning of the Empire.

The Gabii Project’s 2013 campaign was the fifth undertaken in the Archaeological Park of Gabii. Work concentrated on two sectors of the area under investigation, denominated Area D and Area F, corresponding with distinct stratigraphic contexts delimited by walls and particular topographical elements. Area F, situated on the western edge of the excavation area, included an entire insula. In this zone, the excavations were extended to the south and west, with the aim of identifying the perimeters of the building partially excavated in 2012, and linking these structures with the those facing onto the town’s main street. The building excavated here was organised on two levels delimited by a monumental wall in _opus_ _quadratum¬_ of tufa blocks and linked by a perfectly preserved flight of steps. The upper terrace appeared to be completely open, while the lower presented a series of rooms facing onto open areas paved with tufa slabs. The rooms were aligned along a north-south axis, corresponding with the porticoed entrance of the building on the town’s main street, delimiting a large courtyard closed to the north by two large square rooms paved in _opus_ _signinum_ with geometric decorations. The original phase of this monumental building dated to between the 4th and 2nd century B.C. During the imperial period it underwent a series of changes that created a gradual and dramatic reduction in the size of the sector facing south onto the main street. The western perimeter of the complex was identified, but its interior remains to be excavated during the next campaign. Area D, situated on the southern edge of the excavation area, was extended towards the west revealing other parts of the archaic structures investigated from 2011 onwards. The area was largely occupied by a building bordered by a wall of tufa slabs and fragments. Inside this area there were two axial rooms, on a different alignment from that of the regular town grid. They presented two occupation phases dating respectively to the beginning and the second half of the 6th century B.C. The clear delimitation of the area occupied by the two rooms suggests that this was a compound, probably for use by a high-ranking elite, with very well-defined spaces. During this campaign, the excavations investigated the earliest stratigraphy relating to this building and preceding levels relating to at least two oval huts were exposed. The occupation phase of the hut settlement has not been extensively investigated, but a number of isolated finds including two wealthy tombs and an infant’s grave of the Orientalising period, similar to those found in 2009, appeared to be associated with it. Overall, the 2013 campaign provided important information regarding the settlement dynamics of the original nucleus of Gabii and its urban and architectural development during the Republican and imperial periods.

The 2014 season of the Gabii Project was the sixth consecutive campaign within Gabii Archaeological Park. Excavations took place in area D and area F, corresponding to distinct startigraphic cont exts clearly delimited by walls and particular topographical elements Area F, situated along the western edge of the excavation area, includes an entire _insula_. In this zone, the excavation was extended to the south and west in order to find the limits of the large building partially excavated in 2013, and link these structures to the remains facing onto the main road through the town. The building was arranged on three levels delimited to the east by a monumental wall in _opus_ _quadratum_ of tufa blocks, and connected by a perfectly preserved flight of steps, which also formed the break between the east and west parts of the large building. The upper terrace appeared to be completely open, while the eastern part of the lower terrace presented a series of rooms facing onto a vast atrium-shaped courtyard paved in tufa slabs. The rooms were on a north-south axis corresponding with the porticoed entrance on the main road. The large courtyard was closed to the north by three large square rooms paved in _opus_ _signinum_ decorated with geometric motifs. The central terrace was occupied by a series of rooms paved in tufa slabs and _opus_ _signinum_ that faced onto open areas. This zone of passage to the upper terrace was not marked by the _opus_ _quadratum_wall, but by a possible water feature associated with a _viridarium_. The original phase of this monumental building can be dated to between the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. During the course of the imperial period, it underwent various transformations, with a progressive shrinking towards the south, that is the zone facing onto Gabii's main road. The next campaign should provide further details regarding the function of this part of the complex and its later phases. Area D, situated along the southern edge of the excavation area, was extended to the west revealing more parts of the archaic complex of structures investigated from 2011 onwards. The area was mainly occupied by a building delimited by a wall of tufa slabs and fragments. Within this area, there were two axial rooms on a different alignment from that of the town plan. The rooms had two occupation phases datable to the beginning and second half of the 6th century B.C. The clear definition of the area occupied by these rooms suggests that it was a compound, probably elite, perfectly defined in its spaces. This would seem to be confirmed by this season's discovery of a rich infant burial in the north-west corner of the building with walls built of tufa fragments. This season also began to look at the stratigraphy relating to two huts of the Orientalising period, the bottoms of which partially identified in 2013. The occupation of the hut settlement can certainly be associated with the discovery of three rich infant graves of the Orientalising period, similar to the one found in 2009. The 2014 campaign acquired new data for the reconstruction of the earliest phases of Gabii in the Orientalising period and further defined the plan and chronology of the monumental Republican complex.

This was the seventh campaign of the Gabii Project inside the archaeological park. The fieldwork took place in three sectors of the area under investigation, Area D, Area C, and Area F, corresponding with different stratigraphic contexts clearly delimited by walls and particular topographic elements. Area F, situated along the western edge of the excavation area, includes an entire _insula_ of the city’s orthogonal grid. Here, the excavations were extended to the south-west in order to investigate the last small sector of the _insula_, which included the large building identified last season and so complete its excavation. The building stood on three levels, delimited to the east by a monumental wall in _opus_ _quadratum_ of tufa blocks and linked by a perfectly preserved flight of steps that also marked the division between the eastern and western parts of the monumental building. Its original phase can be dated to between the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. and it underwent several transformations during the imperial period, with a gradual and dramatic narrowing towards the south, that is, the zone facing onto the main road. This campaign concluded the excavation of the entire building. In Area D, situated along the southern excavation edge, the investigation continued of the stratigraphy relating to two huts dating to the Orientalizzing period. The 2015 campaign made a complete investigation of the remains of the hut settlement, which also included tombs and small structures in perishable materials situated near the huts themselves. This phase can certainly be attributed to a chronological horizon that runs from the last quarter of the 8th century to the second half of the 9th century. The excavations reached natural across the entire sector. Lastly, in 2015 excavations continued in Area C, situated east of Area D. Here, a small extension was opened to the south, in an attempt to complete the plan of the late Republican house already partially excavated in 2009-2011. This season’s excavations exposed the earliest remains of an atrium _domus_, datable to the 4th century B.C. The house did not appear to have undergone any major alterations in the layout of the rooms between the initial phase and the final one datable to the Augustan period, apart from the insertion of an atrium in the 2nd century B.C., in the typical style of the period. The rooms were arranged around an atrium with an entrance that was not on the same axis as the _tablinium_ and with a single _ala_. A large room was investigated to the south of the atrium that probably functioned as a storeroom, perhaps linked to the _tabernae_ that it is suggested were situated beyond the southern edge of the excavation area. The results of the 2015 campaign provided better definition of the earliest phases of the town of Gabii as well as of the transformations that took place there during the Republican and imperial periods. This new and important data will aid in the diachronic reconstruction of the history and life of this important site in ancient Latium.

The 2016 excavation season of the Gabii Project (Mogetta Becker 2014) in the Archaeological Park of Gabii took place as usual between June and July. It was the eighth season in a row. The field operations had been concentrated around three sectors of the area, each of them representing different stratigraphic basins delimited by built up features and key topographical elements. Just one of these sectors, the Area C, had been previously excavated whereas Area G-H and Area I had been opened this year. In Area C, the investigations were carried out mostly in the southern sector of the atrium house stretching across the whole city block. The excavation of the few preserved floor levels of the house dating to the 3rd -2nd c. BCE (Mogetta- Becker 2014; Gallone- Mogetta 2013) revealed evidence of the first occupational phase of the complex, preliminary dated to the 4th c. BCE. The evidence consists of construction levels and drainage systems associated with a cistern. The investigation of the latter, brought back to light Archaic levels and features such as post-holes in association with an earth beaten floor of crushed yellow tuff, a rectangular hearth made of horizontally laid pottery fragments, in addition to other badly preserved floors and an infant burial with no grave goods. Furthermore, a tuff curvilinear wall was exposed: it might be the continuation of the delimiting wall of the adjoining Archaic compound in Area D (see Fasti 2014 and 2015). The Area G-H is a vast sector including sections of two city blocks overlooking the main thoroughfare to the North and to the South respectively, as well the road itself (Mogetta 2014). In Area G the excavation was carried out in the front of the city block occupied by an Imperial building with walls in opus mixtum and opus incertum. Unfortunately, deep late Antique spoliations had truncated and destroyed all the floor levels of these rooms. Dry little walls, arranged in rough parallel lines and made of stones, architectonic fragments and pottery sherds had been uncovered either inside the rooms and on the basalt road surface. These features, dating to the late antique period, probably had an agricultural function since they retained selected soil and bear witness of the abandonment and obliteration the urban layout. The Area G instead includes the thoroughfare and a pluristratified monumental complex located to the south of it. The excavation was limited to a room originally built in tuff _opus quadrarum_, dating to the Republican age, which underwent major transformations in the Imperial age with the construction of walls in opus incertum, opus reticulatum and and opus mixtum. Area I is located in the southern part of the city block with the Area C Republican house. It opens directly on to the main thoroughfare (Mogetta 2014). The excavation revealed here a productive complex dating between the 2nd and the 3rd c. CE. The rooms alongside the northern limit of the complex were used for the wine production as clearly testified by a press, the bottom of a cocciopesto low basin and a deep settling basin connected to the latter with a lead pipe. Another elongated rectangular basin had been uncovered in the NW sector of the area. Round cuts, probably for embedded dolia (not preserved in situ) had been excavated in the central section of the complex. Finally, in the sector opened towards the main road, the evidence had been badly truncated by spoliations reaching even the earlier levels of the complex. The 2016 exacation season allowed us not just to confirm the existence of extensive evidence related to the Archaic phase of the site, but also to better understand the transition to the Republican age. Furthermore, it was possible to investigate for the first time mid and late Imperial levels and to shed light on the abandonment of this crucial site of ancient Latium.

The 2017 excavation season of the Gabii Project (Mogetta Becker 2014) in the Archaeological Park of Gabii took place as usual between June and July. It was the ninth season in a row. The field operations had been concentrated around four sectors, each of them representing different stratigraphic basins delimited by built up features and key topographical elements. Just one of these sectors, was newly opened, whereas in the others the investigation had already started in 2016. In Area C, the investigations were carried out mostly in the southern sector of the atrium house stretching across the whole city block (Mogetta- Becker 2014; Gallone- Mogetta 2013). The excavation under the Republican sequence has shown evidence referring to the Archaic and Orientalizing Age The evidence consists mostly of occupation levels, post-holes, possible hut foundation trenches connected with the hut compound adjoining the one discovered few years ago in Area D (see Fasti 2014 and 2015). The Area G-H is a vast sector including sections of two city blocks overlooking the main thoroughfare to the North and to the South respectively (Mogetta 2014). In Area G the excavation was carried out in the front of the city block occupied by an Imperial building, later crowded with dry little walls, arranged in rough parallel lines and made of stones, architectonic fragments and pottery sherds. The excavation of some of these dry walls allowed to expose the level on which they were built, that has provided a crucial 5th c. BCE terminus post quem. In the Area G instead the excavation of the Imperial sequence has revealed the Republican floors and walls built in local tuff ashlar. Some of these are facing toward a wide open area at the main road crossing of the city. Furthermore, it has been identified a smithing facility most likely dating to the abandonment phase of the 5th c. CE. In Area I, facing the main thoroughfare (Mogetta 2014), the excavation was carried out within the productive complex dating between the 2nd and the 3rd c. CE, reaching the early Imperial and Republican levels. These levels, unfortunately, have been deeply impacted by the later re-functionalization of the complex. Furthermore the excavation area has been extended to the west bringing to light some ten new rooms. The investigation was here mainly limited to the destruction and abandonment levels dating to the 4th c. CE. The function of this section of the complex seems not to be related to productive activities even if it is characterized by an articulated hydraulic system. Finally, the investigation of the new area, named J, focused on the road cross between the main thoroughfare (Via Gabina) and the NO-SE artery stretching out from it (Via Prenestina). The excavation of the fill of the NE-SO ditch, cutting through the whole central sector of Gabii, allowed to record the sequence under the preserved basalt paving of the Via Gabina. Various earlier road levels had been reviled, spanning from the early Republican Age to the Imperial time. The ditch instead seems to be a late Antique defensive feature marking the abandonment of the road system. The 2017 excavation season confirmed the extensive nature of the Orientalizing deposits and yielded new data on the Republican and Imperial phases. Even more importantly, it has provided substantial evidence for the re-use and re- occupation of the site during the late antique age and possible even later.

The 2018 excavation season of the Gabii Project (Mogetta Becker 2014) in the Archaeological Park of Gabii took place as usual between June and July. It was the tenth season in a row. The field operations had been concentrated around three Areas, each of them representing different stratigraphic basins delimited by built up features and key topographical elements. Investigation of the three areas had already started in 2017 season if not earlier. In Area C, the excavation was carried out mostly in the southern sector of the atrium house stretching across the whole city block (Mogetta- Becker 2014; Gallone- Mogetta 2013). The excavation under the Archaic sequence has shown evidence referring mostly to the Orientalizing Age The evidence consists of occupation levels and post-holes connected with the hut compound adjoining the one discovered few years ago in Area D (see Fasti 2014 and 2015). Furthermore, two Orientalizing infant burials associated to the hut habitations have been investigated in Area C. The Area G-H is a vast sector including sections of two city blocks overlooking the main thoroughfare to the North and to the South respectively (Mogetta 2014). In Area G the excavation was carried out in the South-North road, branching out from the main thoroughfare (via Gabina). The investigation has shown a sequence of road levels paved in basalt or consisting of glareate surfaces dating from the 3rd c. BCE down to the 5th c. CE. Additionally, the excavation was carried out in two rooms located South to the via Gabina and partially investigated in 2017. Here, beneath the Imperial levels, a complex hydraulic system has been brought back to light. In Area I, facing the main thoroughfare (Mogetta 2014), the excavation was carried out in the Western sectors, continuing the investigation of the rooms partially uncovered in 2017 and opening new ones towards west. The excavation reached the floor levels of the complex (of which the western limit is still unknown). It is a large doums with central atrium built in the Imperial age, characterized by extensive rooms paved with mosaic floors with black and white geomentric decorations. The domus has been de-functionalized in the late Imperial age, as proven by the destruction and abandonment levels dating to the 4th c. CE. The 2018 excavation season confirmed the extensive nature of the Orientalizing deposits, displaying once again the association of huts and infant burials, and yielded new data on the road sequences, proving the continuing and long term occupation of the site. The excavation of the Imperial doums, on the other hand, shed new light on the economic and construction vitality of this sector of the city of Gabii in the middle Imperial age.