XI. Conclusion

83

The excavation of CB-38 was largely successful in meeting the goals of the field season. In terms of topography the trench shows the presence of a slope sloping down from south to north. The difference in soil between CB-38 and the three other nearby CB trenches is striking. While CB-35, CB-39 and CB-40 all came down on a bright, yellow sandy soil rather quickly, CB-38 presented a very deep layer of a dark claylike soil, the bottom of which was not found (despite excavating about 1 meter into the soil). The rock feature in CB-39 could be part of the same surface as the rock packing in locus 3 of CB-38 which would fit with the idea of a slope. The presence of frieze plaque fragments in both trenches seems to support this conclusion.

The frieze plaque fragments (see p. 47 and p. 53) present two distinct possibilities. Either the fragments come from the Archaic building on Piano del' Tesoro or they come from another building with similar ornaments located either in the CB area or someplace else on the hill. Either way it shows human activity in the area of the trench during or soon after the archaic phase of the site.

The presence of pottery and tile fragments (which included both bricks and cover tile fragments) that are medieval or modern suggest the presence of buildings in those periods, but on a much smaller scale than the Etruscan phase. The amount of terracotta found that seems to be Etruscan is so large that it is hard to imagine it being a result of something else than houses with tiled roofs located somewhere in the CB area. Considering the fact that the absolute elevation of the area is higher than the Piano del' Tesoro it is unlikely that the material recovered in CB-38 is erosion material from there.

In order to answer these questions further excavation is needed, both within CB-38 and in the areas to its south and north.

84