Monte Giove (Cermignano e Penna Sant'Andrea, TE): Abitato e Necropoli. Campagna di scavo 2021

The sanctuary of Monte Giove in Cermignano and the underlying necropolis in Penna Sant’Andrea provided important archaeological documents, such as the lithic steles with paleosabellic inscriptions from the necropolis that mention a self-defined Sabine community (touta safina; found by means of short archaeological excavation during the 1970s). This paper concerns the preliminary results of the first excavation campaign (2021). The investigations are concentrated in two different areas: the necropolis area and the settlement area, the latter identified during the survey carried out in October 2020. Taking advantage of a landslide (that was in the 90s) it was possible to identify the presence of probable structures related to counter-slope terracing in association with layers of collapse. The artifacts that were found are mainly represented by architectural material, cooking and black-glazed pottery that attest a period of occupation comparable to the one known also for the sanctuary.