This was the fifth campaign of excavations at grotto delle Nottole in the locality of of Fondarca, near Pieia in the territory of Cagli (PE – Marche). The cavern, situated on Monte Nerone in the northern Marche, is an important context for knowledge of the use of natural cavities for ritual purposes in the Bronze Age in central Italy. After the first research between 2001 and 2005 undertaken by the University of Tuscia, investigations resumed in 2013.

The cavity relates to the group of caves in the Sentino ravine, with elements suggesting contacts within the context of the Grotta Nuova culture along the middle Tyrrhenian. The grotto was in use from the Early to the Recent Bronze Age. Excavations have confirmed the periodic use of the cave, the lack of burials and lack of structures indicating the cave was inhabited, but the presence of numerous hearths in a space dominated by dripping water.

The faunal remains comprised sheep-goat, bovines and one example of bear. There were clear butchery marks on the bones. A deep stratigraphic sequence confirmed occupation of the inner part of the entrance to the grotto in the Roman period. This use in the Roman period can be dated to between the 3rd century B.C. and the 3rd century A.D. The final days of the 2017 campaign identified prehistoric structures below the Roman layers. The 2018 campaign showed that the Roman sequence directly overlay the Bronze Age one.

Further excavation took place in the quadrants in front of the entrance. This revealed for the first time a small stone structure, probably a foundation, at the centre of which there were two deep postholes surrounded by stones for support. Also present was a partially preserved, but clearly distinguishable, hearth situated at one end of the wall, on axis with the centre of the entrance. The hearth was made up of stones arranged in a circle and a thick layer of “baked clay” with a smooth surface altered by contact with fire. The limited amount of pottery recovered seems attributable to the early Bronze Age.

The 2018 campaign did not enlarge the excavation area (almost 100 m2), but for the first time the earliest occupation level, constituted by well-defined structural elements (partially exposed), was reached.