La grotta del Cavallo, sulle tracce dell'Homo di Neandertal

Dario Melissano 28 October 2022

The Cavallo cave is located in the Uluzzo Bay in Porto Selvaggio. Currently the cave is located 15 meters above sea level, but in other historical periods the sea level has risen and fallen several times, determining different landscapes and environments, with relative fauna and flora linked to colder or warmer periods.

During the cold periods, an immense plain opened up in front of the cave, stretching for kilometres and allowing the grazing of large herbivores (especially of the Bovidae and Equidae species) that were hunted by Neanderthal man, while in the warmer periods, and therefore with the melting of the ice, the sea level began to rise again, and often flooded the cave itself.

Much of the prehistoric history of Salento has sedimented in the 7.5 meters of deposit of the cave, from the Paleolithic (at least 120,000 years ago) to the Neolithic.

grotta c

The cave deposit can be divided into the following main macro-phases

Spiaggia fossile, strato O (150.000 – 120.000 anni fa)
Musteriano, strati da N ad F (Paleolitico Medio, con i reperti dell’Uomo di Neanderthal, da 100.000 a 40.000 anni fa)
Strati da E a C considerata una cultura di transizione tra Neanderthal e primi Sapiens (40.000 – 30.000 anni fa)
Romanelliano strato B (facies dell’epigravettiano finale, Paleolitico Superiore Finale) con raffinate produzioni artistiche (da 12.000 a 10.000 anni fa)
Neolitico (da 10.000 anni fa, strato a) strato molto sottile e molto disturbato

The Grotta del Cavallo in Nardò never ceases to amaze. After the historic discoveries of the past, a real treasure was discovered in 2022. 600 jewels made with shells in an atelier that belonged to the first Homo Sapiens.