The Valle Giumentina is an early and middle Palaeolithic site, briefly excavated in the 1950s by Prof. Radmilli of the University of Pisa, in collaboration with the geologist J. Demangeot. Seven archaeological levels were exposed within a lacustrine context on the side of a cut 25 m deep that had eroded the Pleistocene deposits.

As part of the École Française de Rome’s five-year programme (2012-2016), new multidisciplinary research began on the site with the aim of precisely dating the stratigraphy, determining the technical nature of the lithic industry present and the type of occupation on the site.

During the first season, 2012, a core sample was taken from the Quaternary deposits at a depth of 45 m, and the first blackish palaeo-soil, situated at a depth of 3.5 m, was excavated over an area of 1 m2. This was the first lithic industry of the new excavations found in context. The section was cleaned to a depth of 7 m. In 2013, the campaign had three objectives: excavation of the first palaeo-soil across a large area (platform of over 40 m2), acquisition of chronological and palaeo-environmental data from the section (down to 16 m in depth), and a resistivity survey to define the calcareous basin of Valle Giumentina and the geometry of the deposits. In 2014, the archaeological and geo-chronological research continued the work of the previous year. The excavation area of the palaeo-soil (levels ALB and LDP), situated between 3.80 and 4.30 m in depth, was extended. Samples were taken for Ar/Ar dating in addition to 30 samples for malacological analysis.

In 2015, the archaeological levels in the latest palaeo-soils, ALB and LDP, were excavated over an area of 51 m2. One hundred and eighty-seven finds, including lithics and bone, were uncovered. The total number of finds in ALB was 171 (403 including minute flakes) and in were 95 in LDP (166 including minute flakes). The level containing the bifacial lithics (SLM-37) was excavated over a surface of 0.5 m2, exploiting a slippage that had occurred south of the cut, close to the area of Radmilli’s excavations. A flake was found in level SLM-37 during the excavation of section VV1, promising new discoveries in this level during the next campaign. During the cleaning of section VV1, a new archaeological level within a fine palaeo-soil was identified. In addition, three flakes were found at 4.72 below the benchmark (that is 7.34 m below the reference point on the ground surface). This palaeo-soil should correspond to the black level n. 34 in Radmilli’s excavations, but in which no lithics were found at the time. With the flake fragment found at 14 m down in level LBR, the total of archaeological horizons identified during the old and present excavations at Valle Giumentina reaches 11. Three Ar/Ar datings on volcanic deposits and two IRSL dating are available, all concordant with each other. Although the chronological data has yet to be processed and compared, the results indicate a date corresponding with the middle Pleistocene period for the Valle Giumentina sequence. The stratigraphic evidence and samples taken this year have improved understanding of the way in which the upper reddish layers were deposited, of the basin’s geometry, of the mineralogical composition of the sediments (600 samples for fluorescent X analysis) and of the malacological assemblage.