Grotta Antica

Speleologists descended the shaft of the artificial entrance (photo from giorgiopintus.blogspot.com)

Grotta Antica is a karst cave developed within Mesozoic limestone features richly concreted chambers and deep vertical shafts. The cave has rock art that remained hidden for millennia in the underground darkness of Mt. Soratte near Rome before the speleologist Paolo Forconi of the Speleo Club Roma widened a tiny vertical passage on the forested slopes of this mountain relief in 2004. Here, a local farmer had previously observed airflow from a crack opening in the ground, indicating a possible cave continuation. After descending a couple of vertical pits, Mr. Forconi discovered previously unexplored wide chambers with archaeological remains, including ceramics, lithic artifacts, bone tools, and clumps of red colouring substance possibly ochre.

Carinated jug with incised-line decoration, characteristic of the Neolithic incised ware tradition (from Petitti et al. 2010, fig. 2)

Archaeological investigations—though limited to surface observations—have documented a significant prehistoric occupation. Human skeletal remains, including disturbed burials, suggest ritual and funerary use. Associated finds include decorated Neolithic ceramics, such as incised-line bowls, carinated jugs, and a biconical cup with knobbed rim. Traces of red ochre pigment, charcoal clusters, and bone fragments dispersed across chamber floors and rock niches further support ceremonial activity. The material culture is consistent with a late Neolithic attribution, particularly the Fiorano facies, with parallels to assemblages from Monte Venere and Sasso. The evidence points to a site of symbolic significance, potentially reused over time, embedded in a broader ritual landscape of central Italy's Tiber valley.