Nuovi dati dall'insediamento pre-protostorico di Fermo-Girfalco: indagini stratigrafiche e materiali

This paper presents the analysis and interpretation of a stratigraphic sequence unearthed along the eastern slope of the Girfalco, a ca. 3-hectare hilltop that forms part of an elongated elevation on which the historic center of Fermo (southern Marche, central Italy) stands today. The stratigraphic excavation, carried out in 2022 by the University of Naples Federico II in collaboration with the SABAP for the provinces of Ascoli Piceno, Fermo and Macerata, investigated a small surviving portion of archaeological deposits exposed behind the Cathedral of S. Maria Assunta, in a steeply sloping area. Immediately beneath a recent colluvial deposit, the excavation brought to light layers associated with several prehistoric and protohistoric phases. A comprehensive study of the archaeological artefacts – comprehending pottery, lithic and metal objects – has made it possible to assign some of the uppermost layers to Middle Bronze Age – phase 3 and others to the Recent Bronze Age. Certain stratigraphic units, due to their characteristics, can be interpreted as sloperegularization and terracing works. Particularly significant is the ceramic repertoire, with vessel forms, handles and decorative motifs characteristic of the Apennine facies, including incision, excision and impressed decoration. In some cases, the use of white paste as inlay within excised motifs is documented. The assemblages find close parallels primarily within the Marche region, even if types well attested in other geographic areas are also present. These layers yielded lithic artefacts in flint and – to a lesser extent – obsidian, consisting primarily of expedient flakes, with a smaller number of blades and bladelets. The deeper stratigraphic units can be attributed partly to the Copper Age and partly to the Neolithic. Although limited in number, the Copper Age finds are significant, including a fragment of a copper awl, comparable to artefacts from both settlement and funerary contexts of the Middle Eneolithic. The Neolithic levels yielded mainly coarse ware pottery, a few fragments of fine ware, and an obsidian bladelet. These features, together with a set of radiometric dates, have allowed the earliest levels of the sequence to be assigned to the Early Neolithic. Ultimately, the stratigraphic excavation along the eastern slope of the Girfalco not only confirmed the existence of a stable Bronze Age settlement – previously hypothesized on the basis of a few finds recovered in secondary deposition – but also revealed previously unknown phases of occupation. The prominent position of the Girfalco, overlooking a wide stretch of the surrounding territory and located only a few kilometers from the coast, between two river valleys, must indeed have represented a strong attractor for human communities since at least the later Prehistory.