Area archeologica di Isernia La Pineta

At Isernia's eastern edge, excavation terraces preserve a prehistoric landscape where early humans processed animal remains and made stone tools. The deposits at La Pineta are among Europe's important Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites.

Why it matters

The site preserves concentrations of stone tools alongside animal bones, offering evidence of repeated human activity in the area. It became a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage inclusion in 2006. The remains are protected within an excavation pavilion.

What to notice

The excavated surfaces preserve several occupation horizons. Bison bones show deliberate fracturing to extract marrow, while flint flakes and cores document toolmaking. The flint came from jasper sources in the hills between Pesche and Carpinone. The stone-tool industry includes no handaxes.

Context and history

The site was discovered during road works in 1978. Excavations were coordinated by Carlo Peretto of the University of Ferrara with Italian and international specialists. Deposits indicate a landscape of a small lake fed by the Carpino River and springs, surrounded by grassland and inhabited by large mammals including bison, elephants, rhinoceroses, bears, giant deer, hippopotamuses and wild boar.

Argon-argon measurements published in 2015 date the archaeological horizon containing the human tooth to approximately 583,000–561,000 years ago. The tooth is among the oldest human fossils known from Italy.