Percorso Archeologico Subacqueo del Gran Carro

Gran Carro is a submerged settlement on the eastern shore of Lake Bolsena. Archaeological research has documented wooden house posts, pottery and other remains, revealing a settlement that began in the Middle Bronze Age and had a major phase in the early Iron Age.

Why it matters

Waterlogged conditions preserve materials that are rarely found at dry archaeological sites. The Soprintendenza's 2024 report places the settlement's beginnings around the fifteenth century BC and identifies its main phase in the late tenth and early ninth centuries BC. Together with finds from the later Villanovan period, the site traces a long history of settlement and exchange around the lake.

What to notice

Hundreds of wooden piles outline structures in the lakebed. Recent surveys identified more than fifty additional posts beyond the five hundred already known. Finds include biconical vessels, grinding stones, amber and imported ceramics. The Aiola, an elliptical mound of volcanic stones over submerged thermal springs, has been interpreted in recent research as a possible ritual area. Excavations have also recovered a woven basket containing a substance tentatively identified as dairy material and small clay figures, including a human figure and a horse.

Context and history

The site was first identified in 1959, when engineer Alessandro Fioravanti noticed a sherd from a boat. Subsequent investigations have refined the picture of its construction: rather than houses standing on raised platforms, posts appear to have been set directly into foundation trenches. The Soprintendenza's underwater archaeology service continues to study and conserve the remains, including material recovered during recent campaigns.