Italian to English Art/Literary Archaeology Foreword to book on Archaeology at Herculaneum

This is the context.
"... sono gli anni in cui Ostia viene sterrata in tutta fretta per mettere in luce la fase più monumentale, asportando senza tanto riguardo i livelli di vita meno appariscenti e gli strati di abbandono."
The part before and after are on different subjects, so there are no further details on the strata or even on Ostia. This is a passing reference. The period is the 1930s and fascism.
I can only guess. I have pencilled in waste strata. The author of the book, who didn't write this in the foreword can also only guess: an area abandoned and then reused.