Between September and October 2011 the Istituto Storico Germanico di Roma and the University of Trier excavated an area of the medieval town and bishop’s seat of Tertiveri (FG). Only the remains of an imposing tower-house were visible. The geophysical surveys undertaken between 2007-2010, indicated that the settlement covered an area of circa 7 hectares and also revealed the presence of the foundations of two churches. Based on geo-radar surveys and aerial photographs, the site and extension of the cathedral had been identified previously, as well as a fortification wall which started at the south-eastern corner of the church and was followed for a over 50 m by the geo-radar. The wall had a semicircular tower. The excavations aimed to establish the construction chronology for both complexes. In a 9 x 7 m trench, the south-eastern corner of the cathedral was uncovered, situated just below the topsoil. Inside the building, only the remains of a beaten clay floor, probably dating to the period of its construction, and a wall on a north-south alignment were revea;ed. The outer face of the long southern wall was abutted by a more recent structure. This was 1.65 m wide and inside it was a carefully walled grave, 2 m long, 0.60 m wide and 1 m deep. The tomb contained five complete skeletons, placed one on top of the other, as well as skeletal remains belonging to at least five other individuals. Numerous burials were also present outside of this structure, including the graves of fetuses and infants placed up against the church walls. The fortification was the latest structure uncovered. About 1 m wide, it started at the structure containing the tomb and ran towards the east. The work for its construction appeared to have destroyed some of the earliest burials. Part of the skeletal remains, found during the building work, were reburied in a pit.

Excavations continued in the small town and bishop’s see of Tertiveri, directed by this Superintendency in collaboration with the German Historical Institute, Rome, and the Universities of Trevir and Magonza. Following the first intervention in 2011, this office decided to take over the direction of the excavations in order to protect the site, a unique archaeological site in the province of Foggia. The archaeological research in the small town of Tertiveri is part of the German Historical Institute’s wider project involving the reconstruction of the medieval landscape and settlements in the territory of the Captaincy. In fact, this site is characterised by the settlement of a group of Muslims here at the end of the 13th century. In 1296, the Muslim knight Abd al-Aziz (_Abdelasius_ or variants) _de_ _-Luceria_, was granted in feudal form, as an annuity for military services rendered to Charles II, the _tenimentum_ of Tertiveri with the concession that no Christians could live in the area or be settled there. To date, excavations have investigated the southeastern corner of the cathedral, at the point in which a defensive wall, with a semicircular at about 50 m along it, was built. A later annex was discovered at the side of the church, at the centre of which was a burial pit. Two metres long, 0.60 m wide and 1 m deep, it contained five primary depositions placed one on top of the other, as well as the remains of at least 13 adult individuals in secondary deposition (9 males, 4 females, and six infants). The earliest burial was that of a 70-80 year old male and the presence of a pastoral staff suggests he may be identified as a bishop. The iron tip of the staff together with a simple spiral curl in the form of a dragon, and the knot, finely decorated with circles and dots, both in ivory and attributable to Sicilian-Arabic artisans survived. The artefact is datable to between the mid 12th and early 13th centuries. Three other burial pits were found on the same alignment as the first. These less carefully constructed pits contained multiple burials, but no grave goods were present. The type of deposition (position, placing of the limbs and alignment) suggests that at least one of the individuals could have been of Islamic faith. Trench 2 was opened along the defensive wall US 100, in correspondence with a semicircular tower that was identified by the geophysical survey. A structure was identified and partially excavated, US154, which abutted the exterior of the wall. The presence of iron slag and many iron objects and fragments indicate this to be a workshop.

The University of Trier’s department of medieval history, in collaboration with the Archaeological Superintendency for Apulia carried out new excavations in the area of the bishop’s see of Tertiveri. During the 2011 and 2013 excavations, the cathedral tombs, a late medieval fortification wall and an iron-working furnace (16th century) abutting it were investigated. This season, the excavations further documented the late medieval fortification wall. A second trench was opened in another church situated in the eastern part of the settlement, whose position had been identified using geo-radar in 2009. The eastern apse of the church was found. Its wall was 1.35 m wide (fig. 1) and four masonry-built courses of the foundations were still _in_ _situ_. To the east, there were two masonry-built tombs, positioned directly outside the apse on a north-south alignment. A double masonry-built tomb, trapezoidal in shape, was situated at 2m to the north and aligned west-east. It contained collective burials of which the upper ones were documented and recovered (fig. 2). To the north-east there was another burial cut directly in the terrain and aligned west-east. Finally, on the east side of the trench, a masonry-built ossuary was partially excavated. Below the remains of tiles and bricks, there was a fill c. 35 cm deep formed by human bones, presumably removed from earlier burials in the cemetery area next to the church.