Underwater archaeological excavation of the Neolithic village – Lake Bracciano

Underwater archaeological excavation of the Neolithic village of “La Marmotta” Lake Bracciano (RM)

The underwater archaeological excavations carried out over the years on the bed of Lake Bracciano at “La Marmotta”, near Anguillara Sabazia (Rome), have progressively added new pieces of evidence for reconstructing the way of life of a Neolithic village established on the shores of Lake Bracciano in such a remote period. Radiocarbon (C14) dates, approximately between 5750 and 5260 BC, identify the village of “La Marmotta” as the oldest known Neolithic lakeshore settlement in Western Europe. Indeed, some villages discovered around lakes in Germany, France and Switzerland date to ten centuries later.

Client: Ministry of Cultural Heritage – Superintendency of the National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography “Luigi Pigorini” – Rome 1996/2006