Niccolò Mugnai is collaborating with the Universities of Siena and the Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia (Livorno, Italy) in an excavation-based project that is investigating the rise and decline of private and public life on the acropolis of Populonia during the mid- to late Republican period. Archaeological discoveries are showing that some traditional narratives of the history of this site need to be reassessed. Fieldwork in the summer of 2023 focused on a sector of a large elite house that was destroyed by fire around the mid-first century BCE. Excavations have revealed a rich assemblage of in-situ finds (pottery, coins, metal artefacts) that were left in the rooms where they were used when the fire suddenly broke out. CAAH undergraduate students from Oxford participated in the dig along with colleagues from Siena and Paris - it is envisaged that this exciting, collaborative experience will continue with the next excavation season in 2024.