The presence of archaeological remains in the area of ​​Palù di Livenza was already reported in the first half of the nineteenth century, but the archaeological importance of the site was confirmed only in the 60s of last century, when it was dug a drainage canal in the center northern part of the basin which brought to light the remains of a pile dwelling village.

The abundant fragments of pottery and flint tools recovered in the channel’s soil were studied and published in 1973 by Canzio Taffarelli and Carlo Peretto, University of Ferrara, providing a first study of materials and introducing for the first time the location in the list of Italian prehistoric sites. The archaeological investigations were conducted from 1981 primarily for the purpose of protection, first by the Archaeological Superintendence of Padua and later of the Superintendent for the Environmental, Architectural, Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Heritage of Friuli Venezia Giulia. Since 2002, the initiatives of scientific research and protection activities are organized by the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

The research was initially undertaken in the form of core samples in order to define the depth and thickness of the archaeological stratigraphy and collect data of geological interest, given the difficulty of practicing the stratigraphic excavations in the basin.
30 years ago, the central part of the basin was in fact almost impassable on foot due to the high level of the water. Two checks conducted in 1981 and 1983, despite the lack of adequate facilities and drainage containment walls, allowed to shed light on the prehistoric deposit made ​​of vertical poles thickened in lacustrine silt, despite the logistical difficulties encountered by the fast ascent of water and the collapse of the walls of the trenches. During the 80s of last century, new coring campaigns increased the geological information on the history of the basin.
Underwater explorations carried out in 1983 in the Molinetto/Livenzetta led to identify prehistoric wooden structures at several points and allowed the discovery of flint tools from Palaeolithic Age.

In 1987 diving activities were conducted with the support of the Technical Service for Underwater Archaeology (STAS) of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage, who confirmed the wide distribution in the submerged part of the basin of prehistoric remains and wooden structures.

Between 1989 and 1994 , surveys were concentrated in the area of ​​the drainage channel at the center of the basin where were found numerous poles and wooden beams of the Neolithic lake village.

The research carried out in the channel were made to highlight, detect and sample the prehistoric wooden structures.
The last campaign was conducted in 1994 using traditional techniques of archaeological excavation in the presence of a current water level of 20-50 cm, and it was still possible to highlight and document accurately a complex tangle of wooden elements, sampled for dendrochronological analysis and determination of tree species.

New underwater exploration, carried out in 1999 under the project DAFNE, allowed to check the state of preservation of archaeological deposits in several places subject to erosion and to realize the stratigraphy of a submerged section.
Recent underwater surveys by the group Reitia (Documentation for Archaeology in Conegliano – TV) were made in the Santissima in order to verify the state of preservation of submerged wooden structures already identified in the past and documenting new ones.

The techniques of stratigraphic excavation reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the formation of an archaeological deposit. The data collected provide, however, a relative dating which indicates only the order (before or after) in which the events occurred in the past.

One of the aims of archaeological research is indeed to put in a certain chronological sequence the remains that emerge from the ground.
The problem of dating is therefore crucial: without a reliable history, the past seems like a whole mess in which it is impossible to place events and cultures and the archaeologist tries to interpret and explain, sometimes with great difficulty.

The discovery 60 years ago of the possibility of dating organic materials containing carbon-14, provided a contribution to the resolution of the chronological problems. This is a rare radioactive isotope of carbon (C14 ), which is one of the most common elements in the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide and is a key component of all living beings, plants and animals. The C14 is in fact taken from plants through the process of photosynthesis and passed to animals and humans through the food chain.

The amount of C14 in an organism is constant but when this dies, it is no longer increased, starting instead to slowly decrease as a result of radioactive decay with a fixed rhythm known: the amount is reduced by half after 5730 years.

In this way, it is possible to determine the age of a fragment of charcoal or bone, measuring the amount of residual C14 still present in the sample in relation to the time in which the organism was still alive.

The dating C14 are characterized by various inaccuracies. The dates also require calibration since the concentration of C14 in the atmosphere did not remain constant over time, but changed due to the variations of the geomagnetic field. The system that revealed such inaccuracies and that, at the same time has also provided the way to correct or calibrate the dates, is called dendrochronology.
The verification was possible thanks to the C14 dating of the rings of trees of which we know the exact age. In this way, thanks to the calibration, it was possible to obtain an accurate history of the samples analyzed and dates with limited errors. The good preservation of the wooden remains in the dwelling villages provides an extraordinary case to define the absolute chronology of prehistoric settlements thanks to this possibility to have both C14 and dendrochronological dating.

The C14 datings made ​​in Palù are obtained from samples taken at 10 different locations affected by the archaeological investigations, but not all of the absolute dates obtained are accepted because of the large error detected. The dating of prehistoric pile dwelling village vary over a period of time that goes from the Middle Neolithic to the Eneolithic.
The oldest dates is that of an anchoring system made of oak planks found during surveys in 1989 and 1992, and dated to the middle of the fifth millennium BC (4750-4402 BC). A pavement structure brought to light during 1994 is attributable to the last centuries of the fifth millennium BC (4221-3959 BC). A third building consisting of a series of support poles found in the center of the excavations of 1994 is dated to the first half of the fourth millennium BC (3775-3537 BC).

Dendrochronology is the most reliable method for dating prehistoric settlements in the wet area, because it is based on the measurement of the growth rings of trees.

Given the high level of conservation of timber in these sites, it is possible to determine the exact year of felling of a tree used for the construction of a hut or a fence, if the last growth ring under the bark it’s still preserved.
In temperate climates, the trees grow, forming concentric growth rings that are clearly distinguishable in the section of the trunk, each of which corresponds to a one-year life of the tree. The dating method is based on the principle that every year the trees add an extra ring which captures changes in climate and humidity.
Trees of the same species and the same age grown in areas with similar climatic conditions show in fact similar successions of the rings. The sequence of the rings is like a bar code that records the sequence of years favorable or unfavorable to the growth of the trees. The comparison of the sample analyzed with the chronological curve, drawn from the overlapping curves of thousands of trees studied, is used to determine its exact chronology.

In the Alpine region, the chronological curve is that of the oak tree that allows you to back up to 8480 BC. The oak is in fact one of the most common trees in the European territories and a tree that retains visible growth rings. Dendrochronology has allowed to date until today more than 50,000 wooden elements of the European prehistoric pile dwellings, representing an irreplaceable method for precise dating of villages, the different stages of development of villages and settlements in the history of the wetland.

Dendrochronological investigations were carried out at Palù di Livenza on 80 samples of wood ,taken from the 1992-1994 surveys, among which there were oak, hazel, maple and beech, but it was possible to obtain useful chronological elements only of the oak. Unfortunately, the data did not allow us to build a general chronology of the site, but have led to the creation of several local curves that indicate the existence of different moments of felling of trees for the construction of the facilities of the town and therefore the presence of more phases of construction in the Neolithic village.

Particularly interesting is the relative proximity of Palù to the swamp of Ljubljana in Slovenia, an area known for its many dwelling villages dating from between 4000 and 3000 BC, some of which offer a good range of dendrochronological dating. Some data obtained in the Palù and those developed for sites to Hočevarica and Spodnje Mostišce, attributable to the fourth millennium BC, ​​were compared.
The study revealed the partial contemporaneity of Hočevarica dating with the curve obtained in the Palu from the series of oak poles found in the center of the excavations made in 1994.

The manufacture of vessels is a practice used by prehistoric farmers, but we must not forget that the ceramic was just one of the many materials used to make containers in the past.

However, the variety of the forms of the vessels and the long duration of this material make the ceramic very suitable for purposes of classification and comparisons in the study of prehistoric societies.

The pottery fragments collected in Palù di Livenza are very numerous. It is a coarse pottery, with shapes fairly simple (jars, dishes, plates, bowls and containers with “square mouth”) and rich in minerals. The most common decorations, found usually on the lips or on the neck of vases, are printed by hand or with tools. The engraved decorations are rare, while we have examples of plastic decorations such as bosses, cords with loops and digital impressions.

Overall, the ceramic is simple, not very elaborate in the forms and decoration. We note, however, elements derived from different cultural traditions. Comparisons of the ceramic materials refer to the culture of Square Mouth Vases in its most recent elements and to the culture of Lagozza. One other component, which refers to the Copper Age, refers instead to the stilts of the swamp of Ljubljana in Slovenia.

Among the objects of pottery we have some “pintaderas” having one or more surfaces decorated with geometric motifs in relief. The term, taken from the Portuguese, suggests that these were molds used for the application of paint on the body or the decoration of fabrics.
These objects are common in the Neolithic cultures of the Balkans and Central Europe, while in northern Italy they appear as part of the second phase of the culture of Square Mouth Vases. Few, but still attested, are whorls made of pottery, objects used as weights during the spinning of the wool.

Another very important part of the material culture of a Neolithic village are chipped and smoothed stone tools.
The nodule of flint, after proper preparation, was used to get splinters or knives, transformed by tweaking the edges in instruments identified with names suggested by their hypothesized function ( chisels, scraperss, knives, arrowheads, etc. ). The rock used for chipped stone tools was the flint that is well suited to this type of work. These artifacts are very numerous.

The flint used in Palù came largely from the Venetian region and, in particular, from the area of Monti Lessini near Verona, but it was also used local flint collected in the alluvial deposits of the surrounding plains.

As in the case of ceramics, the types of flint tools provides information on cultural traditions of Palu di Livenza: a most significant component is relevant to the culture of Square Mouth Vases, while the other, less consistent, but recognizable, refers to the culture of Lagozza. Other sporadic objects are related to other cultural traditions of the late Neolithic, Eneolithic and Bronze Age.

One of the objects that best characterize the Neolithic is the ax made of polished stone. Axes required a different preparation than the chipped stone tools, as well as more hard and compact raw materials.
The few polished stone objects collected in Palù are obtained from green stones, that are the raw material most widely worked during the Neolithic period to achieve the cutting tools (axes, hatchets and chisels), and whose only sources of supply are located in northern Italy, in central Liguria and in various areas of Piemonte. The stone ax blades were inserted in wooden handles of which a fragment of beech wood is preserved at Palù di Livenza.

The exceptional environmental conditions of the deposits and the high level of conservation of the wooden remains allowed us to find some tools and wood containers that are usually rare to find in other Neolithic sites in Italian wetland. The richest collections of objects of this type were found, in fact , in some villages of the Bronze Age of Trentino and Lombardia.

The woodwork of Palù attest, however, several aspects of everyday life: the use of boats, processing and preservation of food or liquids in containers, farm work, carpentry, etc.
For the construction of these objects Neolithic men had a choice of tree species available, on the basis of quality and technological characteristics of the wood: such as hardness, elasticity, impact resistance, ease of processing. Also, depending on the final shape of the object, they were using different parts of the tree: a bifurcation branch, a large strain or a branch slightly curved.

Il legno del corniolo/sanguinella è duro e robusto ed è spesso impiegato per fabbricare attrezzi agricoli, manici e cunei; nel nostro caso è stato scelto per uno strumento agricolo, un uncino o zappa.
The wood of the dogwood / crabgrass is tough and rugged and is often used to manufacture agricultural tools, handles and wedges; in our case it was chosen for an agricultural tool, a hook or hoe.
The deciduous oaks probably represented the most common species: this type of wood can be used for any type of processing, both for carpentry or for making artifacts of smaller dimensions. It’s a wood quite heavy and this sometimes can be a limit to its use.
The oak is very common among the building material of the huts of the village, but is not very used for tools and containers; we know in fact only one fragment of paddles made of oak. The ash wood is strong and flexible, providing an excellent material for objects subjected to high stress, as the other fragment of paddles, found in 1983. The spindle-tree is a species that fits very well, even in recent times, to the manufacture of cast or sharp artifacts. The maple wood is easily processable and has a remarkable aesthetic effect, it was in fact used for the manufacture of containers as small bowls.
The beech is one of the most durable, heavy and sturdy woods, but it’s easy to work and can be well finished, so it is an excellent material for the manufacture of handles of Neolithic stone or metal axes, as confirmed by several recent discoveries made in the villages of the Bronze Age.