The first excavations in the area of the “Castellazzo” of Jato were undertaken in 2011 as part of an agreement stipulated between the Archaeological Park of Iato and neighbouring towns (Dir. F. Maurici) and the “Valle dello Jato” Archaeological Group (Dir. A. Scuderi). The structures stand on a plateau facing the eastern entrance to the ancient city of Jato the site of Federico II’s final siege of the Muslim rebels in the first half of the 13th century. The excavations exposed the remains of a curtain wall surrounding the entire plateau, characterised by the presence of regularly spaced projecting towers. An entrance was identified on the north side while another entrance probably existed on the south-western side. The archaeological levels lay immediately below the ground surface, which had remained relatively undisturbed apart from the creation of a vineyard. A quadrangular room abutting the curtain wall was completely excavated, outside of which a single burial was excavated, probably that of a soldier. The survey on the plateau recovered materials relating to the area’s use as a necropolis in the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Following the excavations, a large-scale project to survey the entire Jato and Belice Destro valleys began, which has surveyed over 200 localities with a wide variety of archaeological and monumental remains.