The historical archaeology research programme used for the castle of Montaccianico avails of the latest techniques and started in 2007 with a digital scanning campaign of the land of the castle area (DTM) - performed jointly with the ITABC institute of the CNR in Montelibretti - while in 2008 it concentrated on targeted investigations and stratigraphic excavations over an extensive area.

The aim of the archaeological project is to use the visible signs of the material culture of the fortified site of Montaccianico to study elements of the decline of the feudal overlords in the actual dynamics of the Ubaldini dynasty in relation to their territorial context in the Middle Ages which led to the creation of the ‘Terra Nuova’ of Castel S. Barnaba /Scarperia.

In brief, the historic events to be analysed through the archaeological investigation of the Montaccianico site and its area at the moment of destruction of Montaccianico in 1306, a necessary precedent for the founding of the 'Terra nuova' of Castel S. Barnaba , lend themselves particularly to an investigation of an archaeological nature of the wider phenomenon of the final crisis of feudal systems and the foundation of a system which locally denotes the new balances of power which were to form the basis of modern Europe throughout the XIV century.

2008-2010 campaigns: first results

The particular interest in the investigation of Montaccianico castle derives from its certain date of abandonment and the fact that it was never subsequently reoccupied: a fortification stratigraphically “sealed off” in the medieval era. The various phases of enquiry were divided so as to combine the operative phases of research on the field with those of divulging the data collected and making such data utilisable during the site works.