Nuovi dati sull'abitato di Sorgenti della Nova (Farnese, VT): primi risultati dalle grotte del settore XIII

Sector XIII, located in the western portion of the southern side of the hill, started to be investigated in 2015. It is characterised by a narrow slope surface, quite large, overlooked by at least three caves, still accessible. The caves show a specific type of marks left by protohistoric tools, used to dig out the rock and evidence of medieval refit. The excavation started from the East with the investigation of Cave 51, while the adjoining Cave 52 was open in 2019. This contribution aims to present the results of the 2015-2019 campaigns, mainly focused to Cave 51 and the opposite area, which show peculiarities never attested before at Sorgenti della Nova. The most significant novelty is represented by the absence, in the area in front of the caves, of the usual artificial terracing, replaced instead by a sort of sloping pathway, interpreted as a “road”. Another notable feature is a complex structural system consisting of a basin and a series of channels, possibly functional to the collection and draining of rainwater. This might suggest that the cave was possibly destined to host some sort of productive activities which required the constant presence of water. Despite the succeeding medieval occupation of the site obliterated the protohistoric stratification, some pre-roman remains have been found in secondary deposition. In addition to the usual Late Bronze Age materials, some remains seem to testify an occasional isolated occupation of the site in the Early Iron Age and between the 7th-8th Century BC.