L’industria litica scheggiata dell’abitato campaniforme di Brescia-San Polo

The prehistoric site of S. Polo (Brescia) was excavated from 1995 to 2000 by the Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici della Lombardia. The archaeological investigation had unearthed “negative evidence”, including some postholes filled with stones, which likely refer to a dwelling site consisting in three distinct structures (A, B and C) related to a Bell-Beaker Culture frequentation. The techno-typological study of chipped stone assemblage from Copper Age levels, has highlighted stylistic features that fit within the framework of Bell-Beaker lithotechnique of central-northern Italy. This is evident on both the technological (prevalent use of local raw materials, expedient and intensive cores reduction by hard direct percussion aimed to obtain small flakes) and typological point of view (prevalence of basic tools, presence of small tanged arrowheads with wide point, hollow-base arrowheads, crescents, short end-scrapers). According to its techno-typological characteristics, San Polo stone tools assemblage can be well compared with the lithic industries from the Bell Beaker sequence of Monte Covolo (Villanuova sul Clisi, Brescia) - excavations 1998-2000, and in particular with those of phases 2 and 3, which refer respectively to an advanced and a final stage of the local Bell-Beaker sequence.