Between 23rd August and the 11th September 2010 the Prehistory Department of Siena University undertook the sixth excavation campaign at Buca di Spaccasasso (Alberese, GR), in the Maremma Regional Park.

Work continued on the removal of the fill from the Copper Age funerary chamber. Excavation began of the breccia formed from the fine detritus resulting from limestone quarrying for the extraction of cinnabar from the wall in which the chamber had been created. The white breccia must have constituted the boundary of the funerary area.

The situation inside the funerary chamber, towards the west, seemed to relate its earliest phase. The breccia found below US 58 outside of the chamber seemed to enter into the latter and underlie the stones delimiting its southern side (US 70). To the east the situation was more complex. The very narrow area lay between the rock wall and a large boulder situated exactly in the centre of the chamber. Here, human bones were recovered that were less fragmentary with respect to the rest of the chamber; in particular intact arm bones were found in association with a small globular cup, also intact, all preserved in a structure protected by stones along the sides and covering it (US 69-64. The find is distinct from what has been brought to light in the funerary chamber to date, and it will be evaluated whether this evidence relates to the chamber’s “consecration” or may represent an earlier funerary phase.

The phase in which the chamber was created was documented by a 3D laser scan carried out by Dr. Paolo Machetti of Studiosette, Florence.

Whilst the funerary chamber was excavated the survey on the area above (begun in the previous year) continued and a number of artefacts relating to the quarrying of cinnabar were recovered.

The survey was undertaken according to the method established in 2009. Therefore, the morphology of a second sample area of 52 × 20 m was documented at a scale of 1:100 on which the single find spots were positioned. The finds comprised flaked stone picks and mallets used for quarrying activities.