Excavations were carried out in two sectors of the Punic settlement: the southern quarter (Area A) and northern quarter (Area B).

AREA A: Excavations continued in room II, which together with room I formed a single dwelling. The earliest occupation levels in the area were reached in room II, where they overlay the bedrock. Constituted by dark brown sandy soil (US 112, 118, 119) containing pottery (including numerous diagnostic fragments), they may represent hut bottoms. A preliminary examination of the materials placed them within the prehistoric Abealzu-Filigosa facies that is also well-documented at the site of the domus de janas overlooking the plateau facing Area A.

The area remained abandoned for almost two thousand years and an Aeolian deposit (US 113) accumulated on top of the prehistoric layers, recognisable by the lighter colouration and finer type of sediment that was depurated and in which no materials were present. This layer constituted the surface on which – following its levelling (US 111) – the Punic settlement was constructed. The walls of rooms I and II were built on top of this deposit.

The abandonment of the area led to the formation of a soil deposit across the whole of room II (US 55). Together with the underlying layers, this raised the floor level of the original entrance to the east, making it necessary to block the threshold (US 58) in order to use the floor surface that was created by the compacting of the deposit itself and of the passage between the two rooms.

At the end of this final phase, the stone walls collapsed. Evidence of this event was only preserved next to wall USM 15 (US 51) as the excavations in the 1970s had removed most of the collapse and part of the layers relating to the last phases of the structure’s occupation.

A layer of humus containing sparse ceramic material (US 41=49) formed across the area following the 1970s excavations.

AREA B: Excavations took place in trenches/rooms 1, 4, and 5.

Trench/room 1, the northern end of the structure, was about 7.6 m long and 2.5 m wide (internal area c. 17 m2). This is an anomalous room, with similar perimeter structure to those of the other rooms except for the absence of evidence confirming its use in phase 1.

Room 1 did not appear to communicate with rooms 2 and 3; rather it seemed to be independent and accessed from the south-western corner on the long side. At the rear in the opposite sector, there was a sort of three-sided bench. Its northern corner was missing, perhaps robbed or because it housed an element in timber or some other perishable material. A miniature amphora and numerous beads and pendants made of glass paste, faïence, and pottery attested the probable cult nature of this room.

Trench/room 4: 8 × 3.5 m covering an area of 28 m2. There was an opening in the south-eastern corner and an earlier one in the south-western corner that was blocked in a second phase. During the 2009 campaign, the so-called second phase occupation layers were removed and recorded. It is presumed that the southern part was restructured in this phase when the lateral accesses and the central passage between rooms 4 and 7 (to the south) were monumentalized by the positioning of two piers at the sides and two central “steps”.

Room 5 was situated on the eastern side of room 4 and was of the same length but narrower (8 × 2.34 m, area 18.5 m2). Collapses of various sized stones were removed revealing accumulations of collapsed mud brick sealing abandonment layers containing a substantial quantity of Bartoloni type D3 and D4 amphora fragments.