The Riparo (refuge) del Broion opens at 135 m a.s.l. in the eastern flank of the Colli Berici, near the Grotta del Broion (locality of Lumignano). The upper part of the deposit below the refuge (US 1) was divided into seven sub-layers: excavations begun in 1998 recovered flint artefacts and other objects that can be attributed to the archaic phase of the late Paleolithic, probably to the Aurignacian culture (sub-layer 1g÷1f, dated to circa 30,000-32,000 years ago), the Gravettian (sub-layer 1e÷1c, dated to circa 26,000 years ago) and the early Epigravettian (sub-layer 1b÷1a, dated to circa 18,000 years ago).
In June and July 2006 the ninth excavation campaign took place. The stratigraphy was partially disturbed, sometimes constituted by reworked earth and often with unclear limits between the layers. The only layer that was clearly identifiable was 1g, which contained amongst other things an ogival tipped scraper and three lamellated nuclei.
During its occupation in the early Epigravettian period the site was immersed in a typically periglacial environment, as attested by the dominance of the marmot in association with the chamois and ibex. The assemblages from sub-layers 1f and 1g were less homogeneous, with examples that indicate very different environments: together with marmot, hare, chamois, ibex, bison and probable aurochs, are the remains of mainly boar and some deer and roe deer. The presence in all the assemblages of remains of elk, beaver, pike and aquatic birds (wild duck and teal) attest the constant presence of water on the plain below. The lower sub-layers attest more intense occupation than the upper ones and are characterised by the more abundant remains showing clear signs of butchering and some concentration of flakes around a hearth S3. (Alberto Broglio, Marco De Stefani, Fabio Gurioli)