The Giumentina valley 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 ten-year programme (2012-2021), 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. In 2013, the campaign had archaeological objectives involving excavation of the first palaeo-soil across a large area and geo-chronological or palaeo-environmental objectives involving the section (down to 16 m in depth). A resistivity survey was undertaken on order to define the calcareous basin of the Giumentina valley and the geometry of the deposits. In 2014, the research continued the work of the previous year. The excavation area of the palaeo-soil (levels ALB and LDP) was extended (51 m2). Samples were taken for Ar/Ar dating in addition to 30 samples for malacological analysis.

In 2015, the levels ALB and LDP were excavated across all the available area. In 2016, the main objective was the excavation of the level below ALB-42 and LDP-41 that is level LABM-40. Evidence for the working of bifacial lithics, not attested by previous excavations, was found in this level; a flint bifacial and several flakes from bifacial working. Various flaked instruments were present among a total of 396 finds. Hand core samples were taken from the upper red soil. The 2017 excavations concentrated on level SLM-37, known from the Rdmilli excavations for its bifacial industry content. The 35 m2 excavated in correspondence with the main section VV1 recovered 253 lithic finds, including one bifacial and some bone fragments.

In 2018, two perpendicular trenches (total of 6 m2) were opened revealing palaeo-soil ABF-33, already known from the excavations in the 1950s. One hundred and forty lithic finds were recovered. The sediment analysis showed that human occupation was present close to a humid zone that was often dry in concordance with a phase of climate change. In fact, the palaeo-soil ABF-33 contained volcanic ash dated with the 39Ar/40Ar method to 511 ka ± 3 ka that is the MIS 13b. Between the level excavated in 2017 (SLM-37) and this level there was a thickness of 1.40 m of light-coloured sand and silt. Thanks to the opening of a trench (c. 25 m2), it was seen that it constituted the fill of a palaeo-riverbed cutting into the lacustrine deposits below. The excavation of level ABF-33 will be completed across the entire area in 2019.