ICA’s involvement at Metaponto began in June 1974 at a single site in the chora located on a hilltop about three kilometers from the ancient city. Over the course of 15 years of intensive exploration at this site, Pantanello became a primary source of information for the region, incorporating a late Neolithic settlement on its summit, a Roman ceramic production center on its slope, and at its foot a Greek rural sanctuary centered on a spring.