The research undertaken inside the Grotta della Cala examined the Neolithic level of the cavern’s Holocene stratigraphy. The presence of plain ware pottery decorated with simple red bands confirmed the layer’s cultural attribution. There was a lack of finds in the Mesolithic layer and the stratum itself gradually thinned out towards the cavern’s interior, where it finally became totally depleted above a level of compact stalagmite. The latter is the roof-like surface of the “beta” stalagmite, datable to circa 30,000 years ago, which constitutes the base of the Gravettian – Epigravetian levels. The stalagmite lies sloping towards the exterior of the cavity, the incline rapidly increasing in correspondence with the threshold between the grotto’s two chambers. Along the steepest tract of the stalagmite surface the Gravettian and Epigravetian layers form sacs and then diminish. (MiBAC)

The is no summary for this season. The coastal area between Marina di Camerota and Scario (Salerno) is particularly important for the presence of a good number of prehistoric deposits often represented by deep stratigraphic sequences. Among these, the site of Grotta della Cala has the most complete sequence, as it covers a period of time running from the middle Palaeolithic period until the Copper Age. Palma di Cesnola of the University of Siena began excavations inside the cave, working between 1966 and 1971. Since then Paolo Gambassini, Annamaria Ronchitelli, and Adriana Moroni have worked on the site. In 2014, after several years during which work on the site was suspended, research in the Grotta della Cala resumed thanks to a collaboration between the Archaeological Superintendencies of Salerno, Avellino, Benevento and Caserta, the town of Camerota, the National Park of the Cilento and Vallo di Diana and Siena University. The research, part of a project to enhance prehistoric sites in the Cilento, aims to: 1) continue excavation of the upper Palaeolithic levels (Uluzzian, Aurignacian, Gravettian) in the atrium of the cave (Gambassini excavations); 2) extend the trench opened by di Cesnola in 1966-71 in the inner part of the cave; 3) take new samples for sediment, chronological and paleo-environmental analyses, 4) programme the retrieval of new dating evidence, particularly for the early upper Palaeolithic period. The 2014 season was largely undertaken to check the deposit’s state of preservation. Firstly, all exposed levels and sections in the atrium of the cave were cleaned, area in which the stratigraphic excavations began. The excavation examined a part of the deposit that had collapsed following erosion caused by the Holocene sea. This erosion had removed the Epigravettian and part of the Gravettian levels in the front part of the cave, exposing the roof of the Aurignacian levels in some places. This deposit, which is therefore in secondary deposition, preserved materials primarily dating to the Upper Paleolithic period (Gravettian-Epigravettian), but also to the Holocene period (Neo-Eneolithic and Iron Age). The removal of the collapsed deposit, which varied in thickness from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 50 cm, was necessary in order to enlarge the excavation surface and therefore the investigation of the early ancient Gravettian occupation levels and then of the Aurignacian and Ulzzanian levels. One of the main aims of the new investigations in the Grotta della Cava was in fact that of obtaining information about how the groups of humans who used the cave during the early phases of the Upper Palaeolithic period organised the space within it (and thus about the distribution of the various categories of materials).

This season, excavation continued in quadrants D-E/8-9-10 and extended into quadrants C9-10 and B9. The removal of a disturbed deposit from across the entire area exposed a layer of coarse sand thought to be of marine origin. Its presence justified the substantial erosion that had affected the Palaeolithic deposit in the area by the cavern entrance. Both layers contained abundant archaeological materials. The situation below the so-called “marine deposit” was varied and complex. In addition to the erosion, which varied according to the area, the roof of the early Gravettian period, particularly in some quadrants, was dimpled by the action of dripping water. In quadrants D-E/8-9-10, a large pit was identified within the early Gravettian deposit, filled by brown friable soil containing abundant finds (particularly faunal remains), to be associated stratigraphically to level Q (full Gravettian period). In addition to the soil sediment type of the fill, the presence of stone tools (micro and nano burins of the para-Noailles type), typical of this cultural phase and absent from the underlying early Gravettian layer, also provided evidence that the pit related to layer Q. The erosion, combined with the dimpling caused by dripping water, made it difficult to read the stratigraphy for the later phases of the early Gravettian period, as only two patches were unaffected by these phenomena. One included a hearth that was partially eroded and partly cut by the pit of full Gravettian date. The hearth, situated in quadrants C9-10 is still in place and is constituted by a thick plaque of hardened ash. The roof of the proto-Aurignacian layer was reached in quadrants D9 sectors I-II, D8 sector I, E9 sector III, and E8 sector IV. The first geomorphological and sedimentological investigations began this season. Samples were taken from all visible layers.

La campagna di scavo 2016 alla Grotta della Cala si è svolta nel periodo dal 3 al 21 ottobre. Sono stati indagati i quadrati E8, E7, B7, B8, B9 e B10 dove sono stati scavati il livelli GB3d e GB3m del Gravettiano antico fino al raggiungimento del tetto dell’Aurignaziano. Anche in questi quadrati, come nell’area indagata lo scorso anno, l’erosione dovuta all’ingressione del mare olocenico aveva risparmiato solo alcuni lembi della porzione superiore del deposito relativo al Gravettiano antico. Il tetto del GB3d risultava anche qui danneggiato da intensi fenomeni di stillicidio. In E7-8 e B9 il sedimento appariva maggiormente concrezionato per quel che concerne sia il Gravettiano base 3 duro (GB3d) sia lo strato sottostante, il Gravettiano base 3 morbido (GB3m), che, pur formato da un sedimento sciolto pulverulento, presentava a luoghi delle aree indurite. In E7 IV/ E8 III è stata messa in luce alla base del GB3m, e quindi alla base del Gravettiano antico, una fossetta ricavata (?) nel sottostante livello aurignaziano, il cui contenuto è stato trattato separatamente. In E7 si è iniziato a scavare l’Aurignaziano seguendo una suddivisione in settori di 25x25 cm. Nel quadrato B9 l’intero livello del Gravettiano antico appariva più spesso e maggiormente ricco di materiali, in particolare ossa. In B9 settori III-IV e in B8-7 è stato messo in luce il tetto del livello Aurignaziano, caratterizzato, in quest’area, dalla presenza di numerosi materiali. Nel quadrato B10, tolto il rimaneggiato dovuto all’erosione marina, è stato scoperto il tetto del Gravettiano antico che, come ovunque, risultava tormentato da fossette di stillicidio di varie dimensioni e profondità. Nell’ambito dei campionamenti svolti per indagini cronologiche è da segnalare l’intervento, nel mese di luglio, di studiosi dell’Università di Oxford che hanno prelevato campioni di carbone e di sedimento lungo tutta la serie stratigrafica per datazioni 14C e OSL.

During the 2017 campaign, quadrants C9, C10, D10, E, F, G 6 and F7 were investigated. Quadrants C9, C10, and D10, correspond with the area where in 2015 the remains of a large hearth formed by a thick layer of compacted and hardened ash was excavated, situated immediately at the top of level GB (= Gravettian base) 3d. The hearth was housed in a slightly sloping hollow and appeared damaged by various types of event, in particular the digging of a pit containing materials from the overlying evolved Gravettian layer. In quadrants E, F, G 6 and F7, tg 1 (spit 1) was excavated in the proto-Aurignacian layer. The top of this level was a paleo-surface characterized, according to the zone, by varying concentrations of materials and attesting the final occupation of the cave by groups of Aurignacians. Samples were taken, including for the first time sediments from several layers for human DNA analysis. This type of analysis is still in the experimental phase and is being carried out at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig. In 2017, the Grotta della Cala, like the Grotta di Castelcivita (another Palaeolithic site investigated by Siena University’s Department of Prehistory and Anthropology) became one of the key sites in the European project ERC Consolidator SUCCESS “The earliest migration of Homo sapiens in Southern Europe: understanding the biocultural processes that define our uniqueness”. This five-year project is led by Bologna University, and in addition to Siena University involves the universities of Genoa, Ferrara and Rome “La Sapienza”. It aims to reconstruct population dynamics in the Italian peninsula during the so-called transition phase between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic and foresees multidisciplinary research on a vast scale at various prehistoric sites.

The 2018 excavations concentrated on quadrants C 30, 31 and 32, D-E 30, 31, 32 and 33, F30, 31, 32 e 33. During the opening of a _sondages_ in the interior chamber of the cave traces of a ritual occupation dating to the Final Bronze Age came to light. In addition to the presence of cremations, numerous glass paste and amber beads, fragments of calcinated bones and human remains, mainly teeth from individuals of various ages (infants to adults) were recovered. A first spit constituted by loose brown sediment with a sandy matrix was removed in all quadrants. An area rich in gravel with a sandy grey matrix (spit 2 grey) emerged below spit 1 in quadrants E30, E31 II – III, F31 III, F30, D30 I-II, D31 II. Over the rest of the surfaces the soil was loose and brown (spit 2 brown). Larger stones were present at the edges of the grey areas. Spit 2 brown (below 2 grey) contained the anthropic material described above and impasto pottery. Spit 2 brown overlay a level of gravel in a grey brown matrix (spit 3), apparently sterile, which seemed to rest directly on a stalagmitic crust (alfa?). In quadrant E30, sector I, a small pit emerged containing charcoal sediment rich in fragments of apparently calcinated/burnt bone sealed by pottery fragments from a single vase. The typological characteristics of some of the beads (Frattesina type), date the entire complex to the Final Bronze Age. Since 2017, the Grotta della Cala, like the Grotta di Castelcivita (another Palaeolithic site investigated by the Siena University’s Prehistory and Anthropology Research Unit) figures as one of the key sites in the European project ERC Consolidator SUCCESS “The earliest migration of Homo sapiens in Southern Europe: understanding the biocultural processes that define our uniqueness”. This fifteen-year project is headed by Bologna University and involves the universities of Siena, Genoa, Ferrara and Rome “La Sapienza”. It aims to reconstruct the settlement dynamics of the Italian peninsula during the so-called transition phase between the middle and upper Palaeolithic and foresees multidisciplinary investigations on a vast scale at various prehistoric sites in Italy.

The 2019 excavations at the Grotta della Cala centred on quadrants G, D, and E9, C and D29, and E30. There were two fronts: 1) the investigation of the early Gravettian levels in the cave’s atrium; 2) the investigation of the Bronze Age burial/ritual area discovered at the rear of the second chamber in 2018. As regards the Upper Palaeolithic, the excavation of layer GB3 (Gravettian base 3) continued in quadrants G, D, and E9, starting at the top of GB3d (Gravettian base 3 hard), which came to light below so-called “Buca Q”. This layer presented concretions and numerous deep pits caused by dripping water that cut the top of the underlying Proto-Aurignacian layer. There was abundant material in all three quadrants mainly constituted by the remains of malcofauna, which in some cases formed actual heaps. Ornamental objects were also recovered – all pierced seashells. The top of the Proto-Aurignacian layer was only reached in D9, where layer GB3m (Gravettian base 3 soft) was cut. At the same time, the investigation of the area to the rear of the second chamber (Bronze Age) continued, where the layer 1/2 (grey) in quadrant E30 sectors III-IV was removed, revealing the top of 1/2 (brown). Two new quadrants, C and D29, were opened with the aim of identifying the margins of the complex Bronze Age structure. Layer 1/2 (grey) appeared, like last year, as clast sustained and with an abundant limestone skeleton of sharp (sub-rounded corners originating from the crumbling of the vault), with a greyish matrix (ash?) and scarce anthropic material. The contact with the underlying layer 1/2 (brown) was clean and in places marked by the appearance of larger stones within 1/2 (brown). There was a charcoally area with patches of ash on top of the latter. In C-D29 the abandonment layer (sterile) 1/1, which covered 1/2 (grey), was removed. This year, coeval materials (glass paste beads, human teeth and bones) were discovered in a third lateral chamber in the grotto. Samples for U/Th dating of the speleothems were taken from all of the exposed sections and inserted into dosimeters in order to measure the radioactivity of the soil. Samples were also taken for chemical analyses.

La campagna di scavo 2020 alla Grotta della Cala (Camerota – SA) si è svolta dal 5 al 24 ottobre ed è stata dedicata principalmente al proseguimento delle indagini del contesto rituale di età protostorica scoperto nella nicchia di fondo grotta nel corso della campagna 2018. All’indagine principale si è affiancato un breve intervento nei livelli paleolitici dell’atrio teso soprattutto al ripristino di quelle zone in cui erano presenti terreno franato dalle sezioni o materiali affioranti in superficie che rischiavano col tempo di essere rimossi dal loro contesto originario. Nell’area rituale è stata messa in luce la seguente sequenza: alla base una crosta stalagmitica (st1) compatta ma poco indurita, che interessa un sedimento di colore bruno giallastro a matrice limoso-sabbiosa (ancora non scavato). Tale crosta è coperta da un livello di consistenza sciolta, ricchissimo in clasti calcarei (con scarsa matrice limoso-sabbiosa), denominato strato 1, la cui origine sembra in larga parte legata ad episodi di crollo di materiale dalla volta della grotta. Lo strato 1 è articolato in una serie di sottolivelli, tutti sterili tranne l’1/2bruno, ossia quello che ha restituito le testimonianze archeologiche. Il top della sequenza interna allo strato 1 è formato da un sottile livello sciolto (1/1), spesso qualche cm, caratterizzato da sedimento a matrice limoso-sabbiosa bruno grigiastro. La presenza, tra i materiali, di numerosi resti umani (principalmente denti ma anche parti dello scheletro post-craniale) denota la natura di tipo funerario dei rituali espletati. Benché pratiche di rituali funerari secondari siano ipotizzabili per spiegare la formazione di questo orizzonte culturale, ulteriori studi di laboratorio sono necessari per giungere a dati interpretativi più completi. Sulla base dei materiali rinvenuti, questo contesto potrebbe essere attribuito, seppure ancora con qualche riserva, ad una fase del Bronzo Medio.

This season’s excavations focused on the area of the niche to the rear of the cave where, during the previous campaigns, a middle Bronze Age funerary complex was identified. Two main layers were identified in this sector (2018-2010 campaigns): a hardened layer formed by a yellowish-brown sediment with a sandy-silt matrix, denominated layer 2, and above it a loose layer containing numerous limestone clasts, denominated layer 1. This layer comprised a series of sub-layers (1/1, 1/2g, 1/2b, 1/3a, 1/3b), all sterile with the exception of 1/2b and the base of 1/3b. Layer 1/2b was characterized by the presence of cultural elements (pottery, amber and glass-paste beads), bones and teeth (the majority human). Once the sequence within layer 1 was removed, the top of layer 2 appeared across the entire excavation area, and was clearly different from the overlying layer. Layer 2 was excavated in D30/I, D30/IV and D31 was seen to comprise two sub-layers, at the top 2/1, below it 2/1b. There was little occupation evidence, mainly consisting of bone and charcoal fragments (presumably attributable to the Mesolithic period). A yellowish layer with a relatively fine matrix denominated 3/1 emerged below layer 2, but remains to be excavated.