In the summer of 2008 during work for the construction of the Locone aqueduct at Canosa di Puglia, an Eneolithic “grotticella” tomb containing six depositions was identified and excavated. The area is situated in the Ofanto valley, circa 500 m as the crow flies from the river, and falls within a palm tree plantation a few kilometers from the town. This flat area is at 65 m a.s.l.
Unfortunately the planting of the palm trees and laying of the water pipe removed the structure’s upper and central sections.
The tomb, on a north/north/west-south/south/east alignment, was constituted by two sub-elliptical cells and an access well of sub-circular shape (reconstructed dimensions 0.80 m N-S; 1.10 m E-W) placed between the cells, delimited by two limestone slabs which probably closed the latter.

Two adult individuals were buried in cell 1 (2,50 m N-S; 2 m E-W), one female and one male. The first was in a contracted supine position, the second in a fetal position. The slight overlaying of the bones noticed during the excavation suggested that the male was buried before the female. A mono-face flint “dagger” (Gaudo type) was found by the man’s knees.

Cell 2 (2 E-W m; 1,70 N-S m – reconstructed dimensions) housed four individuals, three adults in fetal position and a child whose bones were not connected. The anthropological data seems to indicate that the depositions did not occur at the same time, rather, the child’s body was deliberately moved in order to make room for a successive burial. One of the adults was certainly female. A flint dagger of the same type as that in cell 1, although smaller, and a flint arrow head were associated with this body.

The grave goods that were part of the burial ritual comprised various pottery vessels (at least three were over fifty percent reconstructable), found in the area of the “access well”, as well as the flint artefacts associated with specific individuals. It was interesting to note that objects generally attributed to males, such as arrow heads and ‘daggers, in this context were associated with both sexes and that, as shown by preliminary analyses on the traces of use, they were used for working vegetal material. Moreover, a difference was noted in the use of space between the inhumations in cell 1, where the bodies were given more space and cell 2 where they were placed very close together, and amongst which there were traces of non contextual depositions.

Although the tomb in via Salinelle provides sporadic evidence, it represents an opportunity to make some considerations regarding an Eneolithic funerary context that is still little known in Apulian archaeology, relating to the Gaudo culture as shown by the typology of the tomb and grave goods. Moreover, it cannot be excluded that there are further funerary remains in the area, as attested by the find, close by, of pottery fragments of the same Eneolithic facies and faunal remains. These were not associated with a particular structure but make it possible to suggest that the area was not occupied by just the one tomb.