Neolithic Discoveries at Rocca di Manerba Reveal Ancient Human Settlement

It could be one of the oldest Neolithic sites in Europe that was discovered recently by Professor Lawrence Barfield’s team on Rocca di Manerba. In fact, research and studies have been ongoing for several years, mainly in the lower part of the summit of the Rocca di Manerba, the area, to clarify, where there used to be a parking lot until a few years ago. Each year, the English scholar and professor spends three weeks with his students and collaborators studying and discovering, making the Rocca di Manerba a point of study and a meeting place for many past civilizations.

With each excavation, a new discovery emerges, such as the recent find of a partially worked deer horn, which raised questions and prompted further research: was it an object resulting from trade exchanges, or does it indicate the presence of deer on and around the Rocca? Recently, flint stones have also been found, whose presence suggests active commercial exchanges with Sardinia, as this material originates exclusively from that island.

Evidence of Ancient Human Presence

Certainly, the recent findings and artifacts collected confirm the presence of human life and villages on the Rocca dating back to the Neolithic, representing an settlement from prehistoric times. Evidence of human presence in those periods includes the terraces that scholars confidently date to that era. Of course, the museum of Valtenesi, located beneath the piazza of Montinelle, is now full of artifacts retrieved from beneath the Rocca.

Until now, there was uncertainty whether this material should be considered evidence of migration-related movements or of a stable presence of local tribes. With these latest discoveries, scholars openly confirm—and with great satisfaction—that the Rocca di Manerba was inhabited by stable populations from ancient times. The findings suggest that these populations were not inactive but likely skilled artisans and traders.

In short, it was a center where life was also driven by productive activities and commercial exchanges. The abundant presence of flint and objects made from it confirms this. Conversely, the summit of the Rocca, whose foundational walls have been uncovered and consolidated in recent years thanks to financial support from the Comune di Manerba and regional contributions.

This restoration allows visitors—tourists, locals, or scholars—to imagine how the castle or fortification of Manerba was in the past, destroyed about 500 years ago, in 1573, by the then Venetian Provveditore Mario Soanzo, to rid the area of bandits and brigands who terrorized the whole zone and took refuge in that invincible and inaccessible fortress.

Next Monday, September 24th, after a meeting with the mayors of Valtenesi, Prefect Annamaria Cancellieri will visit the Rocca and its artifacts. The reason for this visit is the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that formalizes the collaboration between law enforcement agencies and the Prefecture itself, through the project “Valtenesi Sicura”.

The project also includes another initiative related to the “security service in the Valtenesi territory”, organized by the seven municipalities of the area—states Isidoro Bertini, Mayor of Manerba and main promoter of this initiative—featuring a state-of-the-art alarm and SMS technology system connected to a control center located on-site, which will be officially inaugurated next Monday during the meeting with the Prefect of Brescia.