Direct radiocarbon dating reveals medieval reuse at the prehistoric site of Grotta Romanelli (Castro, Apulia, Italy)

Grotta Romanelli has long been recognised as one of the most important prehistoric sites in the Mediterranean, preserving a rich assemblage of lithic artefacts, faunal remains, and parietal and mobiliary art, mostly dating to the late Middle and Late Pleistocene. In contrast, human remains recovered from the cave have remained poorly understood, particularly because the chronology of the three best-preserved individuals, excavated between 1900 and 1904, has never been directly radiocarbon dated. Based on stratigraphic evidence, P.E. Stasi referred them to prehistoric times, but this attribution has been questioned by several scholars. Here, we present new AMS radiocarbon dates obtained from these individuals, one adult and two infants. Our results demonstrate that the three burials belong to previously unrecognised phases of medieval reuse of the site. The adult individual dates to the fourteenth to early fifteenth century AD (1302– 1369 and 1379–1411 cal AD, 95.4% probability), whereas the two infants date to the fifteenth century AD (1423–1455 and 1435–1489 cal AD, 95.4% probability). This finding highlights the importance of reassessing old archaeological collections using modern analytical approaches. The chronological ranges broadly overlap with periods of recurrent plague outbreaks in southern Italy, but any specific association between the burials and epidemic mortality needs further investigation.