This was Rome University’s first season of excavations in the abbey complex of Sassovivo (Foligno, PG). This research is part of a wider study on one of the most important abbeys in the region as regards both historical and architectural, characterised by good building stratigraphy. The excavation area (9 × 12 m) was opened in part of the churchyard at the front of the building. Although it was a short season, several unknown structures were exposed that shed new light on the medieval phases of the monument. The first wall was the facade of the church built of limestone ashlar blocks, 9.10 m long, 1.13 m wide and preserved to a maximum height of 1.30 m, as seen in a modern interspace built along the south side of the area. This unexpected evidence showed that the Romanesque church, datable to the late 12th century, had a single nave, with an apse to the south-east and was over 27.50 m long.
During the 13th century, an imposing U-shaped structure of limestone blocks was built abutting the facade, which together with another wall, now incorporated in the external front of the monastery facing onto the churchyard, constituted a sort of forepart similar in shape to a galilea, combining a portico and a vestibule. This level was accessed through an opening in the east end of the north wall, while the vaulted roof was attested by the traces of two adjacent arches visible in the monastery facade.

Over the course of time, the exterior and interior of the forepart were used for funerary purposes. To date, at least three masonry-built tombs (in ashlar or roughly worked stone blocks) have been identified but not excavated, in addition to a nucleus of human bones in a pit whose edges have not yet been found. Two monumental “a cassone” tombs built along the north side of the forepart were of particular interest, perhaps relating to high-ranking individuals although at present their social status, religious or lay, cannot be established. The covering of the tombs was not preserved. Their excavation had to be put-off until next season due to lack of time, however, the material from the post-depositional layers in the tombs suggests a date within the full medieval period for the cemetery area.
All of these structures, like the facade, were demolished and obliterated following work by the architect Carlo Murena in the 18th century, involving the moving back of the facade and creation of a new architectural look for the interior.

Lastly, the date and function of a sub-circular kiln found inside the forepart remain to be established, determining whether it was a limekiln or for bell-making. However, this and other questions regarding the stratigraphy must be left until the 2015 campaign.