This campaign continued the investigation of the deposit discovered by chance in the area denominated “Il Pianoro Ovest” in 2014.

Two main sedimentary bodies were identified. The first lay below 5-10 cm of humus and presented a silty matrix (US Brown Silt) and a substantial concentration of radiolite detritus and lithic industry. The second, underlying the first, was clearly different as it showed a drastic decrease in the soil skeleton size and number of archaeological finds, it also seemed to have a larger proportion of clay and was lighter in colour (US Yellow Clays).

This year, 1.5m2 were investigated to a depth of c. 60 cm. Having checked that in the upper layer there was a mixture of Palaeolithic and Holocene lithic industry, it was decided to excavate in 1 × 1m squares. Therefore, the division into 5cm spits was maintained.
The lower layer was excavated in 50 × 50 cm squares.

At the top of the Yellow Clays there were random outcrops of clasts and lithic industry. A 5 cm spit (Yellow clays spit 1) was created at the base of which an almost continuous surface of lithic industry came to light.

The positioning of the finds (mainly sub horizontal) their concentration and the coherence of the matrix enclosing them, suggests this was a surface, which if it does not represent occupation still in situ, may however represent a rapidly formed deposit that remained well-preserved. This level is denominated “Yellow Clays, Surface A”. It was decided to extend the excavation in the part of quadrant K10 next to the small channel (K10 II and part of III), as it was effected by a large root and the continuous slippage of the Brown Silt.

Between quadrants L10 and K10, the removal of some finds in Surface A revealed an unusual concentration of lithic industry immediately below it. This accumulation was denominated “Structure 1” as the lithic industry was concentrated in a very limited area characterised by the presence of four radiolite clasts whose position formed a sub-circular border c. 20 × 23 cm. The clasts were all between 10 and 14 cm long. The flakes and other lithic elements rested one on top of the other, in some cases without sediment between them.

It may be suggested that the large clasts are in random positions, but the accumulation of lithics is difficult to explain if not as the result of a deliberate action whose traces remained relatively in situ.

The structure was excavated in 2 cm spits over 25 × 25 cm sectors. Once the first spit was removed, the quantity of finds remaining decreased. Following the removal of these finds it did not seem necessary to excavate other spits, given that below there was compact soil with few finds that were only partially visible. Overall, the lithic industry present in this area numbered 99 pieces over 1 cm in size.

From the preliminary observation of the lithic industry, showed that no retouched elements were present. It was also seen that both in Surface A and in Structure 1, there were cores and flakes attributable to the Levallois method and therefore to a Mousterian context. This evidence, together with that relating to the large core found last year within the layer of Yellow Clays, suggests this was a Neanderthal lithic workshop.