La Grotta di Polla (Salerno): dinamiche di sfruttamento antropico delle grotte preistoriche nel Vallo di Diano

We present the preliminary results of archaeological excavations recently carried out at Grotta di Polla, in the province of Salerno (Italy), in the Vallo di Diano area. Speleoarchaeological research in recent years has revealed the considerable difficulty of operating in underground environments, due to factors such as the absence of natural light and the closed nature of the space. In the case of Grotta di Polla, the presence of a considerable amount of mud in the cave made research even more complex. In this article, we describe the methods adopted for the preservation and the conservation of the archaeological materials, as well as the results obtained from the recent excavations. The cave appears to have been used as a burial area from the Eneolithic and also from the final Neolithic, with important reflections on a cultural level.