Una cerva nella grotta del Tuono a Marettimo. Recupero, analisi e significato scientifico

The Egadi archipelago includes three islands: Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo. The island of Favignana is the closest to Sicily, about 7 km from the mainland coast and about 13 km from Trapani. Levanzo and Marettimo are roughly 13 and 36 km from Trapani, respectively. During the last glacial, Favignana and Levanzo were reachable by land since they were joined to the mainland as a result of glacial marine regression. On the other hand, Marettimo was never connected to Sicily, even during the last glacial maximum, due to a sea channel about 1.8 km wide and very deep. According to the most recent and reliable reconstructions, the island of Favignana was separated from Sicily around 7.35 thousand years ago (calibrated dating - 7.35 ka cal BP) and Levanzo around 9.2 thousand years ago (calibrated dating - 9.2 ka cal BP). The finding at the Cave of Thunder, on Marettimo Island, of Patella (spp.) and the remains of Cervus elaphus opens an intriguing debate regarding the first human peopling on the island and its navigational activities towards Marettimo from a period between 8.9 and 8.6 ka cal BP. Due to the high scientifi c value of the fi ndings and to valorize the impressive sea cave and the faunal remains discovered, a joint sampling and study intervention was planned involving several specialists.