At the foot of the plateau of San Teodoro, on the north side of the provincial road "Destra Basento", a group of square oikoi (15 and 19sq.m) have been uncovered. A stone footing, reinforced at the corners with large cobbles, outlines the structure. The walls were probably of mud brick. Two rooms, despite having separate north facing entrances, are associated with each other and have a central wall in common. Inside one of these rooms, amongst the stratified material together with numerous reels, was the lid of a proto-Corinthian pyxis. In a corner of the same room, below a beaten earth surface, was a cooking jar which had been deliberately hidden and protected. Fragments of striped cups indicate an unexpected and hurried abandonment of this complex in the second half of the 7th century B.C., an event which fits perfectly within the historical scenario surrounding the so-called Greek settlement of Incoronata. This discovery can be interpreted as a new area of Greek frequentation, preceding the Achaean foundation of Metaponto, which is scattered across the alluvial plain of the Basento in the proximity of natural water sources. The river Basento and its wide valley seem to re-affirm their importance in the occupation phases that precede the colony's foundation. The new settlement presents itself almost as a "trait d'union" between the hypothesized emporium-workshop structure at the river's delta and the settlement at Incoronata. This form of dispersed settlement, often used to explain the anomaly of Sirtis and its territory, finds interesting confirmation in the evidence from the "Destra Basento". This type of scenario explains the find of several huts, dating to the 7th century B.C., on the terraces of Lama San Nicola, on the north bank of the river Cavone, in the territory of Pisticci. The construction technique and the limited stratigraphy suggest the existence of an indigenous context which was occupied for a short time. (Maria Luisa Nava)

On the right bank of the river Basento, close to the numerous springs by which it is fed, the square structures of the 7th century B.C. Greek oikoi had already been uncovered. This year, the extension of the excavation revealed the existence of wide, open areas, outside these structures, that were used for domestic activities. Cooking areas were visible, as were stretches of pavement made up of fragments of pithoi and other large impasto vessels. The signs of violent destruction (shortly after the mid 7th century) that characterize the Greek settlement at Incoronata are also present here. Several votive deposits came to light near the remains of the houses and along the banks of the streams formed by the springs. The majority comprise female figurines wearing a high polos (either conical or of truncated-cone shape), their arms outstretched, typical of the archaic Metapontine coroplastic tradition. These types are present in the urban and extra-urban sanctuaries of nearly all the Achaean colonies. Also found in these deposits were figurines of a later date, representing enthroned deities. A female bust, characterized by a polos decorated with modelled circles and leaves, holds what is probably a dove in its right hand. This attribute may be a reference to the cult of Aphrodite, practised in the areas of earliest Greek occupation, without a major structural manifestation. The only element of protection or sign of recognition that accompanied these offerings was a sandstone slab (sema), fixed vertically in the ground. The assemblage of materials seems to have been chosen specifically for use as offerings. All have links with the feminine world and practices involving water. Together with the figurines were numerous miniature pyxis with lids, small hydriai, krater-like vessels and small cups. The use of this area for ritual purposes can be dated to between the mid 6th and the mid 5th century B.C. (Maria Luisa Nava)