The excavation today
In the last years the excavation area has been equipped in order to respond in a better way to the demands of a modern interdisciplinary archaeological research.
The excavation has been covered by a 700-square metres pavilion where it’s possible to lead the exploration activities for long periods. For instance, during 2003 the excavations, started at the beginning of April, have ended in December. The pavilion is equipped with fixed instruments for remarks and documentation, namely a GEOTOP total station, several computers and a 3D scanner when it’s necessary.
The pavilion has been built in order to allow the public visit even during the excavation phases. So the visitor can be present at the different excavations stages: identification and isolation of finds, restoration of materials on the archaeosurfaces, manual and computerized techniques of documentation, restoration of materials, etc.
Also the washing and assessment sector has been organized appropriately to allow the collection of the smallest materials in the best conditions of work.
 
Deposit formation
Nowadays the excavations and interdisciplinary studies of the deposits, explored at a 6-metres thickness, allow to draw an articulated and sufficiently clear summary of the succession of the natural phenomena that have affected the area since at least 700.00 years ago until today.
The Palaeolithic hunters took possession different times of small relieves near humid environments, sometimes overflowed by sudden floods. After abandoning the camp, it was rapidly buried by a powerful blanket of alluvial sediments, coming from a rapid erosion of the surrounding relieves raised by the Quaternary tectonics activity. Volcanic eruptions followed this phenomena different times, producing the formation of tuffs and ashes with tens-centimetres thickness strata.
This caused a rapid burial of the archaeological signs, allowing to start completely favourable conditions for the preservation of the inhabited places that today are explored systematically.
So, the sequence characterising the succession of Isernia can be sum up in the following way:
1- Originally the area is occupied by a lacustral basin that deposits sands and silts;
2- The basin fills with earth and deposit a travertine level that emerges and is altered by natural agents;
3- The altered and eroded inhabited place, indicated with 3c mark, takes a position on the travertine.
4- The first camp (3c) is covered by a flood, depositing clay, silt and contextually volcanic ashes;
5- The area is newly frequented different times by human communities leaving strong testimonies of their activities; they are a new archaeosurface indicated with 3a mark;
6- The second archaeological level is buried by a colluvium (mudslide) formed by thin materials; it’s about 600-700 thousand years old;
7- Then there is the period in which the fluvial and volcanic bringing, characterised by gross sands (pyroclast), become dominant again;
8- This is the moment when men camp for the third time contributing to the formation of an archaeosurface known as 3S10;
9- The third camp is covered by thin fluvial deposits becoming grosser towards the top; the sequence is alterned by paleogrounds and volcanic tuffs dating back about to 500 thousand years ago;
10- The archeological site is uncovered and the excavation begins.