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For five weeks during September and October 1999 I participated in the excavation of the palaeolithic site of Riparo Tagliente, at Stallavena, Veneto, Italy. The excavation was held by the University of Ferrara, Italy.
 Excavating at Riparo Tagliente |
Riparo Tagliente is a valley-bottom rock-shelter located in the pre-Alps just north of Verona. The shelter was occupied in various cycles dating from 60,000 to 12,000 years ago by Homo neanderthalis and Homo sapiens. In previous excavations a human burial was found as well as art in the form of stones with images of animals engraved on them.
The site has a considerable quantity of flint tools of various kinds as well as a vast amount of flakes from the napping process. This has led to the belief that a part of the shelter was used for the production of tools over a long period of time.
Also present were a significant amount of bones, from smaller animals like rodents and fish up to larger animals such as cattle and deer, as well as a number of snail-like shells with holes in them, presumed to have been used for necklaces or other types of "jewelry". In addition the site yielded deer antlers (curiously all of them burned), pieces of ochre, and pieces of the collapsed ceiling stained with ochre, indicating that at least part of the shelter was decorated.
Some of the more exciting finds during the excavation were a fine bone point tool, and a small stone with a hole bored in it, probably for use as bead for jewellery.
As well as activities directly related to excavation I also did a lot of "site" jobs like building walls, fences & guard rails, re-doing the electrical installation, etc
 Bone Point Tool |  Teeth |
 Bead |
 Burnt point of an Antler |
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