A05_P12

A radiocarbon chronology for “Grotte di Pertosa” in Campania, Southern Italy

Larocca F^1,2, Breglia F^2,3, Calcagnile L⁴, D'Elia M⁴, Quarta G⁴

¹University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, Gruppo di ricerca speleo-archeologica, Bari, Italy, Bari, Italy, ²Centro di ricerca speleo-archeologica “Enzo dei Medici”, Roseto Capo Spulico (CS), Italy, ³Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy, ⁴CEDAD-University of Salento, Lecce, Italy

The Pertosa Caves, today also known as the Pertosa-Auletta Caves, constitute an important karst system in the Campania region (southern Italy). Crossed by the waters of a river that re-emerges on the surface, they have an overall development of about 3 km. Thanks to the width of the entrance, the excellent position, the general convenience and the natural availability of water directly on the site, the initial part of the cavity was frequented by humans, without interruption, from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. During the protohistory, in particular, the moment of most marked human presence is recorded in the cave: in this phase an extensive pile-dwelling system was built on the waters of the underground river. The system was probably created to make the environment, subject to frequent flooding, suitable to settle. This structure today constitutes an archaeological unicum not only in Italy but throughout Europe. We briefly analyze its general characteristics providing a radiocarbon chronology which allowed to assess the occupation phases of the contexts and the life span of the wooden artefacts, which came to us to us in a very good state of preservation.