Traces of a settlement thousands of years older than the Sassi – and proof that people lived here long before anyone dug a cave into the slope.
What lies there
On the plateau of the Murgia lie the remains of a Neolithic village: an area surrounded by ditches, where huts once stood. Ditched enclosures like this – villaggi trincerati – are found in several places in the region and are among the oldest forms of settlement in southern Italy.
The ditches probably served at once as a boundary, as a defence and as a way of keeping livestock together. Inside stood dwellings made of perishable materials, of which only discolorations in the soil remain.
What you can make out
On the ground the ring ditches are visible as shallow hollows, along with remains of dwellings and burial sites. Without an explanation you see little – with one, a whole settlement becomes legible. If you expect to see walls, you will be disappointed; if you tune your eye to the shape of the ground, you will see the layout.
Context
Most of the finds from this period are in the Museo Ridola in town: tools, pottery, grave goods. If you put the two together, you understand the sequence – first villages on the open plateau, later the caves on the slope above the gorge. The Sassi are not the beginning of settlement here but a later step.
Practical information
The site lies within the park and can be reached on foot from Jazzo Gattini. No shade, no fencing, no signage explaining the context – a guided tour or a museum visit beforehand makes all the difference.
Read on
- Museo Ridola – the finds from this site
- Jazzo Gattini – the nearest starting point
- Parco della Murgia Materana – the park all around
