Photo Grotta Guattari, courtesy of prof. Mario Rolfo.
Photo Guattari Cave, courtesy of prof. Mario Rolfo.
The "sea-level markers" of Grotta Guattari: the shells that encrust the vault of the cave.
The "sea-level markers" of Grotta Guattari: the shells that encrust the vault of the cave.
Digital Terrain Model (DEM) of the Lazio coastal strip, elaborated by Cristiano Tolomei (INGV), in which the surfaces included between certain altitudes are highlighted with different colors, corresponding to the marine terraces reconstructed independently through the geomorphological study.
Digital terrain model (DEM) of the Lazio coastal strip, developed by Cristiano Tolomei (INGV), in which the surfaces between certain heights are highlighted with different colors, corresponding to the marine terraces reconstructed independently through the geomorphological study.
Grotta Guattari, part of the itinerary set up in view of the museum display of the cave.
Grotta Guattari, part of the route set up in view of the cave museum.
Grotta Guattari, stalagmite "Veils" formed by calcium carbonate incrustations
Grotta Guattari, "Veils" stalagmite formed by calcium carbonate encrustations
The team of paleoclimate researchers has been investigating the coasts of Lazio for years
The dating of sea level oscillations on the Tyrrhenian coasts has been the object of research by the team of researchers of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) for some years. Their studies and the geochronological techniques developed for some time with the Wisconsin University laboratory have been providing important information to groups of scientists who, each for their own sector, are investigating human attendance and the reconstruction of the palaeoecological picture of peninsular Italy in the Pleistocene.
As part of these studies, INGV contributed to the study of Grotta Guattari with geological investigations aimed at providing the elements for dating the attendance of the cave and at reconstructing the climatic variations that characterized the environmental context of the presence of Neanderthals.
"The coast of the Circeo" says Fabrizio Marra, INGV researcher, "unlike that near Rome, it is characterized by limestone cliffs and caves that overlook 5 - 7 meters above the current sea level. The caves that characterize it, such as Grotta Guattari, are famous for having offered shelter to the Neanderthal man. The studies we are carrying out together with all the research institutions involved have concentrated precisely on this site, where a perfectly preserved Neanderthal skull was found at the end of the XNUMXs".
The new excavations conducted on behalf of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Frosinone and Latina by Professor Mario Rolfo of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, with whom there has been close collaboration for years on issues concerning human attendance in the Pleistocene of Lazio, led to the discovery of nine new human remains, including three fragments of skulls.
“Among the elements of great palaeoclimatic interest that emerged during the studies are a series of sea level indicators preserved inside the cave in the form of 'fossil' beaches and backshore deposits, which allow us to reconstruct the oscillations of the sea level during the penultimate interglacial period, between 125.000 and 80.000 years ago”, continues Fabrizio Marra, who continues “To provide precise dating of climatic events and human finds, an innovative method was used based on the dating of single crystals of volcanic origin contained within the sediments that make up the filling of the cave”.
“Substantially, therefore, the idea we had was to analyze the composition of the deposits transported by the Tiber in the delta, at the mouth and in the sea as 'contaminated' by volcanic products which allowed us to date their sedimentation, and to try to understand how this stratification of materials was affected by the variation of sea level during the penultimate interglacial period", concludes the researcher.
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INGV research on the Lazio coast for the recent discovery of Neanderthal finds from Circeo
The team of researchers, who are experts in paleoclimate, has been investigating the Lazio coast for years
The dating of sea level fluctuations on the Tyrrhenian coasts has been the subject of research for some years by the research team of the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV). Their studies and geochronology techniques developed with the Wisconsin University laboratory have long been providing important information to groups of scientists who, each for their own sector, investigate human attendance and the reconstruction of the paleoecological situation of peninsular Italy in the Pleistocene.
As part of these studies, the INGV contributed to the study of Grotta Guattari with geological investigations aimed at providing the elements for dating the cave's frequentation and reconstructing the climatic variations that characterized the environmental context of the presence of Neanderthals.
"The Circeo coast, unlike the one near Rome”, says Fabrizio Marra, researcher at INGV, “iIt's characterized by limestone cliffs and caves that overlook 5-7 meters above the current sea level. The caves that characterize it, such as Grotta Guattari, are famous for offering shelter to Neanderthals. The studies we are carrying out together with all the research bodies involved have concentrated on this site, where a perfectly preserved Neanderthal skull was found at the end of the 1930s”.
The new excavations, conducted on behalf of the Superintendence Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Frosinone and Latina by Professor Mario Rolfo of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, with whom there has been a close collaboration for years on issues concerning human attendance in the Pleistocene of Lazio, have resulted in the discovery of nine new human finds, including three skull fragments.
"Among the elements of great paleoclimatic interest that emerged during the studies there are a series of sea level indicators preserved inside the cave in the form of 'fossil' beaches and backshore deposits, which allow us to reconstruct the oscillations in sea level during the penultimate interglacial period, between 125,000 and 80,000 years ago", continues Fabrizio Marra, who adds “To provide precise dating of climatic events and human finds, an innovative method was used based on the dating of single crystals of volcanic origin contained within the sediments that make up the cave filling".
"Basically, the idea we had was to analyze the composition of the deposits transported by the Tiber in the delta, at the mouth and in the sea as they are 'contaminated' by volcanic products that have allowed us to date their sedimentation, and to try to understand how this stratification of materials was affected by the variation in sea level during the penultimate interglacial period”, concludes the researcher.