Excavations in the Grotta Rufina uncovered a large quantity of paleo-ethnological material, comprising mainly flakes from flint working, occasional fragments of pottery and some obsidian flakes. The mixture of flint and obsidian lithics and handmade impasto (some with characteristics similar to some Copper Age groups), suggests that the upper layer in which they were found constitutes a palimpsest representing different occupation phases. The great quantity of flint suggests the cave may have been used for working flint collected locally from outcrops in the area. The stone working was characterized by chipped striking platforms whilst lamellar supports were rare. This aspect together with the presence of obsidian suggests that at least a part of the lithic material came from later flaking activity associated with the Neolithic culture. As regards the lower levels, these attest decidedly earlier climactic and cultural phases, probably attributable to the Lower Pleistocene and to the populations of the Upper Paleolithic and Musterian periods. (MiBAC)