Torre dell'Alto (Nardò, Lecce): un primo inquadramento

The Torre dell'Alto archaeological project has undertaken in collaboration with the Museum of Prehistory and Proto- history of Nardò, the exploration of the most monumental to the Bronze Age in the Porto Selvaggion natural park. This is the dry-stone wall of Torre dell'Alto, a fortification dating back to the Bronze Age and measuring approximately 20 x 200 m, making it one of the largest in all of peninsular Italy. The Torre dell'Alto site, object of this research, is located close to a rocky outcrop bordered on three sides by dense vege- tation and to the west by the sixteenth-century tower, built at a height of about 50 m above sea level. guarding the coast. The vast and compact pine forest, which characterizes today's landscape, is the result of an intensive redevelopment inter- vention, which took place during the fifties of the last century. The settlement of Torre dell'Alto was in a relationship of inter- visibility with another settlement which at the moment would appear to be coeval. This is located at Punta dell'Aspide, a lit- tle further to the south. The site has produced material that can be dated to the entire chronological span ranging from the Middle Bronze Age to the Final Bronze Age.