October 27, 2026

by Giacomo Fontana

Supported by a grant from the Ellen and Charles Steinmetz Endowment for Archaeology , the Sangro Valley Project is investigating the origins and development of Monte Pallano, a hillfort in central Italy. Grant recipient Giacomo Fontana shares an update on how new mapping, archaeological surveys, and dating research are challenging long-held assumptions about the site and shedding light on its early history.

In the Abruzzo mountains of central Italy, the hillfort of Monte Pallano has long been described as a Samnite town. That description rests on a small area at the centre of the plateau, a fraction of what lies inside the fortification walls, excavated over several decades and dated mainly after the Roman conquest. What the settlement looked like before then has never been established, so the claim that it was a Samnite town remains unverified.…