On the basis of the results of pre-excavations carried out in 2021 with a grant from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, in the year under review the archaeologists started an excavation series in order to study the early phases of Vulci using a focused, high-resolution excavated section. The construction of the new temple in the Late Archaic period provided a secure terminus ante quem at the end of the 6^th century BCE for the strata lying below it. A large amount of roof terracotta was used as filler material for the building work and together with the other finds points to the site being used for religious purposes before the construction of the temple itself. The filler shards include panelling with figurative decorations that must have belonged to earlier monumental buildings. The excavation was conducted over large enough an area to allow an examination of how the cliff had been cut away. Of particular interest in this context was whether the cliff had been cut to form pieces that could be combined to render larger structures and whether for example they belonged to buildings made of impermanent materials such as huts. Taken together, this information provides an indication of how exactly the site’s use evolved.

The excavation contributed significantly to answering questions on how cities evolved in Etruria, with reference to the example of Vulci. It expanded our understanding of the architectural forms of the Early Iron Age and/or the Orientalizing Age, above all the formation of public-religious areas as key stages in the emergence of Etruscan society. The results of the project will be presented at the “Vulci. Work in Progress 2” convention in spring 2023 and initially published as a preliminary report in the convention proceedings.