On the western outskirts of Bari a late Neolithic settlement came to light as the result of a chance find. It is situated on the edge of the “Lama Valenzano”, one of the ancient torrent beds running across the “Conca di Bari” towards the coast. The archaeological deposit was severly eroded and only slight traces remained of what was a storage area occupied by silos and pits dug into the limestone bed-rock. Nearby, in trench F, excavations revealed an intact underground structure “a pozzetto”. It had a circular plan and section shaped like a truncated cone (depth 1.70m, diam. 1m), and was lined on the south-west side with stones and the fragments of a limestone mill. The bottom contained a deposit comprising 5 horns (Bos) with parts of the skull attatched, a complete human skull and parts of another human skull and human long bones arranged in a circle. This structure must have had some role in the ritual activities of the period.
The finds from the deposit, sub-oval millstones and pottery vessels ( a truncated cone shaped cup of grey impasto with internal incised decoration, grey impasto bowls of varying sizes with tenons, necked vases with either a light coloured or bright red shiny surface, wall sherds from grey impasto jars with incised reticulate decoration) date the structure to the second half of the 4th millenium B.C. The deposition was accompanied by obsidian and flint artefacts including several arrow heads arranged around three large, flat stone slabs at the centre of the “pozzetto”. Lenses of ash on the bottom of the feature show that fire had been lit there.
At 20m to the north-east is the site of an occupation area, contemporary with the above structure, consisting of a beaten clay surface and a pit filled with burnt stones and ash. Nearby lay a human skeleton which was still articulated but lying in a very distorted position. The skeleton was not within a grave and it seems likely that the cause of death was accidental and the deposition of the body was not intentional. (Francesca Radina)