Grotta Romanelli (Southern Italy, Apulia). Legacies and issues in excavating a key site for the Pleistocene of the Mediterranean

Grotta Romanelli, located on the Adriatic coast of southern Apulia (Italy), is considered a key site for the Mediterranean Pleistocene for its archaeological and palaeontological contents. The site, discovered in 1874, was re-evaluated only in 1900, when P. E. Stasi realised that it contained the first evidence of the Palaeolithic in Italy. Starting in 1914, G. A. Blanc led a pioneering excavation campaign, for the first-time using scientific methods applied to systematic palaeontological and stratigraphical studies. Blanc proposed a stratigraphic framework for the cave. Different dating methods (C-14 and U/Th) were used to temporally constrain the deposits. The extensive studies of the cave and its contents were mostly published in journals with limited distribution and access, until the end of the 1970s, when the site became forgotten. In 2015, with the permission of the authorities, a new excavation campaign began, led by a team from Sapienza University of Rome in collaboration with IGAG CNR and other research institutions. The research team had to deal with the consequences of more than 40 years of inactivity in the field and the combined effect of erosion and legal, as well as illegal, excavations. In this paper, we provide a database of all the information published during the first 70 years of excavations and highlight the outstanding problems and contradictions between the chronological and geomorphological evidence, the features of the faunal assemblages and the limestone artefacts

Genetic variability of drought-avoidance root traits in the mini-core germplasm collection of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).

Extensive and deep root systems have been recognized as one of the most important traits for improving chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) productivity under progressively receding soil moisture conditions. However, available information on the range of variation for root traits is still limited. Genetic variability for the root traits was investigated using a cylinder culture system during two consecutive growth seasons in the mini-core germplasm collection of ICRISAT plus several wild relatives of chickpea. The largest genetic variability was observed at 35 days after sowing for root length density (RLD) (heritability, h 2 = 0.51 and 0.54) across seasons, and followed by the ratio of plant dry weight to root length density with h 2 of 0.37 and 0.50 for first and second season, respectively. The root growth of chickpea wild relatives was relatively poor compared to C. arietinum, except in case of C. reticulatum. An outstanding genotype, ICC 8261, which had the largest RLD and one of the deepest root system, was identified in chickpea mini-core germplasm collection. The accession ICC 4958 which was previously characterized as a source for drought avoidance in chickpea was confirmed as one with the most prolific and deep root system, although many superior accessions were also identified. The chickpea landraces collected from the Mediterranean and the west Asian region showed a significantly larger RLD than those from the south Asian region. In addition, the landraces originating from central Asia (former Soviet Union), characterized by arid agro-climatic conditions, also showed relatively larger RLD. As these regions are under-represented in the chickpea collection, they might be interesting areas for further germplasm exploration to identify new landraces with large RLD. The information on the genetic variability of chickpea root traits provides valuable baseline knowledge for further progress on the selection and breeding for drought avoidance root traits in chickpea

Portrayal of a sea in a semiarid environment: Boat engravings in Böyük Daş, Gobustan

Boat engravings represent one of the most recurrent and characteristic themes in Gobustan rock art. From a stylistic point of view informed by preliminary studies, it seems that boat figures have been engraved over a long span of time, suggesting the importance of the aquatic environment of the past. Today Gobustan is a semi-desert region facing the Caspian Sea, which has shaped the area during the millennia. Petroglyphs and transgression and regression movements of the sea have deeply influenced the landscape of Gobustan. Therefore the studied different boat engravings in Böyük Daş, one of the five rock art sites in Gobustan, for a deeper understanding and the kinds of relationship that existed between humans, sea-landscapes and the engraved figures

Morricone del Pesco rockshelter, a new rock art discovery in southern Italy

Fieldwork co-ordinated by the University of Ferrara, has recently recognised a rock surface with paintings and engravings in Molise. The rock art site, a rockshelter, was initially discovered by a local inhabitant, Guido Lastoria, in the nearby village of Civitanova del Sannio in 2011. The shelter opens in a rocky promontory along the northern bench of the Serrata valley and is crossed by the tratturo Lucera- Castel di Sangro, an ancient path that connects the inner part of Abruzzo with the Gargano area, in Puglia. The authors of this paper try to add a little to our knowledge about the rock art in central and southern Italy by introducing this newly discovered site

Grotta Romanelli portable art: GRM1023 optical scan model

On the occasion of the review of the portable art of Grotta Romanelli, a decorated stone with a feline figure, GRM1023, was object of an interdisciplinary study.The object was threedimensionally recorded using both photogrammetry and optical scanning.High detail model of GRM1023 and its engravings was made using the Artec Space Spider structured light optical scanner. The scanner reaches a high level of accuracy (0.05mm) and, at the same time, allows scanning of object up to 40 cm in length, without posing any danger to the integrity of the scanned specimen. GRM1023 was carefully placed cloth with an opaque black colour to avoid colour contrasts during scanning. Three scans were made at separate times rotating the rock fragment, capturing the entire find collecting information about its texture and morphology.The scan session duration was of 10 minutes and data were saved within the software Artec Studio 16 Professional. Through the same software the scans were aligned to create the original morphology of the object in all its parts.After cleaning the ordinary disturbing elements, the mesh was created, to which the texture was subsequently applied. The final models are constituted by 1.600.000 facets and have been exported in the .OBJ file type.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

3D photogrammetric models of painted ochre stones from Fumane Cave

The four folders contain the 3D photogrammetric models of each of the painted red ochre stones VII-X from Fumane Cave, Fumane (VR),Italy.Stones VII and VIII come from Gravettian layers, Stones IX and X from proto-Aurignacian levels.DStretched textures are provided as well to see the enhanced red pigment (photos and models: F. Zangrossi)THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Grotta Romanelli portable art: GRM1023 photogrammetric model

On the occasion of the review of the portable art of Grotta Romanelli, a decorated stone with a feline figure, GRM1023, was object of an interdisciplinary study. The object was threedimensionally recorded using both optical scanning and photogrammetry.For the photogrammetric model, an automated setup to acquire a total of 207 pictures/photos was used. For this shooting, an automatic turntable (Miops Capsule Pan) was programmed to handle both the rotation of the object and the triggering of the camera. During the scanning, the camera was fixed and the subject was manually repositioned after each orbit of the turntable, for a total of 5 different positions. The process was later repeated by placing the camera at a different height.The pictures were obtained by using a Nikon D800, a 36 MP full frame sensor digital camera, with a macro lens (Nikkor AF-S 60mm Micro f/2.8 G) and a circular polarizer filter (Hoya Pro1 Digital Filter). A ring flash (Quantuum Quadralite RX400) was used for lighting, paired with a linear polarizer to make best use of cross polariSation and avoid unwanted glares and/or reflections that could have undermined the quality of the reconstruction.The pictures were then processed by using Agisoft Metashape 1.8.5 that generated the sparse cloud, the final mesh directly from the depth maps, and the texture. The final 3D model has 1,759,728 faces and 879,876 vertices (Lai et al., 2023).THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

3D photogrammetric models of painted ochre stones from Fumane Cave

The four folders contain the 3D photogrammetric models of each of the painted red ochre stones VII-X from Fumane Cave, Fumane (VR),Italy.Stones VII and VIII come from Gravettian layers, Stones IX and X from proto-Aurignacian levels.DStretched textures are provided as well to see the enhanced red pigment (photos and models: F. Zangrossi)THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

3D photogrammetric models of painted ochre stones from Fumane Cave

The four folders contain the 3D photogrammetric models of each of the painted red ochre stones VII-X from Fumane Cave, Fumane (VR),Italy.Stones VII and VIII come from Gravettian layers, Stones IX and X from proto-Aurignacian levels.DStretched textures are provided as well to see the enhanced red pigment (photos and models: F. Zangrossi)THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV