New Evidence of Ancestral Landscape in Trentino in the Copper and Bronze Ages: the Ritual Sites of Cles-Campi Neri and La Vela di Trento

Recent investigations (1999-2007) carried out at the site of Cles-Campi Neri in the Valle di Non have brought to light a circular stone structure which can be attributed to a period between the Late Copper Age and the initial phase of the Early Bronze Age. Two structural phases have been identified. The earlier one saw the presence of a large enclosure made up of large blocks enclosing a smaller structure. The items found at the upper levels are made up of flint tools altered by heat. There are also small agglomerations of calcined human bones. In the subsequent phase the area inside the large enclosure was filled in with a platform made up of stones and pebbles, covered and surrounded by organic soil, in which hundreds of flint tools and flakes have been found, along with rarer fragments of pottery. The agglomerations of calcined human bones continue in this phase. Other circular stone structures are positioned along the external perimeter of the platform. Initial analysis of the structural context and the overall material culture, the presence of probable food offerings, suggested by palaeobotanical analysis, and of cremated human remains, make it possible to surmise that the site may have been linked to ritual practices or complex funeral rites. ; There are considerable similarities between the site of Cles-Campi Neri and the funeral and cult complex dating back to the Copper Age discovered in 2006 at La Vela di Trento (sector Vela IX) in the Adige valley. ; The cult area developed diachronically according to the principle of horizontal stratigraphy, illustrating the progressive extension of the structure from the centre towards the outside. It was made up of a series of stone rings delimiting the structured platforms. The placing of the remains of human skeletons and animal remains, mostly calcined, on these has been documented, along with archaeological material including flint tools, parts of copper and stone ornaments and occasional pottery sherds. It has also been ascertained that fires were lit. A baby was found buried in a jar (pithos burial) in the southern part of the area investigated. This can be attributed to the Early Bronze Age. ; The structure brought to light at La Vela very probably represents evidence of more extensive rites and funeral practices linked to the cult of ancestors, according to a practice also documented in other alpine areas.