The excavations in the Grotta dell’Eremita are carried out by the Laboratoire d’archéologie préhistorique et anthropologie – Institut F.-A. Forel – Sciences de la Terre et de l’environnement of Geneva University.

The principal objective of this season’s work was to complete the excavation of the surfaces investigated in 2015 (strips F and G in Quadrants 1-6, the niche to the rear). A total area of about 10 m2 was excavated.

The chronological and stratigraphic observations from the preceding campaigns were confirmed with new evidence regarding the spatial distribution of the finds: numerous pottery fragments (some reconstructable), occasional lithic industry in flint (1 arrowhead), numerous faunal remains, some of which burnt, and a bronze arrowhead.

The charcoal samples that were sent to the Swiss Federal Institute for Technology (ETH) in Zurich for dating confirmed the Bronze Age horizon for several levels.
It was not possible to complete the excavation of the middle Bronze Age level across the entire internal surface of the cavern. The new evidence provided a more complete picture of how the cavern was occupied and of its geological history.