Archaeological investigations at San Nicolao di Pietra Colice (Castiglione Chiavarese-Ge): the prehistoric site
Indagini archeologiche a San Nicolao di Pietra Colice (Castiglione Chiavarese-GE): l’insediamento preistorico
Résumé
The archaeological site of San Nicolao di Pietra Colice is located within the municipal boundaries of Castiglione Chiavarese (GE), in the inland of Deiva Marina, on a flat slope sheltered by the imposing crest of the Pietra di Vasca Mt. The archaeological potential of the site was already established thanks to the researches conducted since 1950 on the ruins of the Church of San Nicolao and on the nearby structures pertaining to a medieval hospital.
In 2006, evidence of prehistoric settlements was casually found under the walls of the easternmost room of the hospital. These areas were investigated in the following two years through short excavation campaigns and the results advised to continue the research in the external area of the medieval complex. Here archaeological deposits were discovered and then further investigated with two excavation campaigns conducted between 2014 and 2015.
The studies undertaken on the stratigraphic context and the materials allow us to focus on some of the events that have affected the site. They appear particularly significant for the contribution they can provide to the reconstruction of the prehistoric peopling of Eastern Liguria.
The oldest known presence in the site dates back to the Mesolithic when in this area there was perhaps a bivouac along a mountain pass. Considering the general scarcity of stratified contexts referable to this period, the site of S. Nicolao represents one of the most promising archaeological contexts of this area for future researches.
Some layers referable to different moments of the Neolithic have also been found. The site has returned one of the oldest radiometric dates known for the Neolithic in the Eastern Liguria, roughly corresponding to the so-called "Pianaccia di Suvero" cultural aspect. A later moment, referable to the Squared Mouthed Pottery Culture, is characterized by artefacts that highlight the presence of a wider network of contacts, as highlighted for example by the presence of blades made with Lipari obsidian, as well as for the phase referable to the Chassean cultural tradition, where Cretaceous flints from south-eastern France are documented.
During the Copper Age, the site seems to be part of a wider settlement system characterized by the presence of mining and quarrying sites, burial caves and by the wider phenomenon of Lunigiana megalithism.
The prehistoric site of San Nicolao di Pietra Colice, despite the limited investigated area, is a key-site for the definition of the prehistory in Eastern Liguria, thanks to the different cultural phases here documented. It seems likely that these different settlement phases are somehow linked to the geographical position of the site, lying on the crossroad of different routes which connect the coast with the Po Plain, through the Apennine chain.