The most ancient traces identified at Chiarone date back to the
Villanovan period, to which the remains of a cottage and of other simple annexes can be ascribed. The
impasto pottery that has been recovered, in some cases decorated with engraved geometric patterns or simply painted, can be dated to the second half of the VIII
th century b.C..
After an unclear period, in which the site was abandoned or, in any case, the archaeological sediments were lost, a new, more substantial occupation can be proved starting from the last decades of the VII
th century b.C.. The remains of dwellings and wooden structures, found in great numbers but not always clearly defined, show the progressive growth of the settlement during the VI
th century b.C.. In this period, along with impasto pottery, sometimes decorated with impressed patterns or plastic applications, black
bucchero earthenware, probably of Pisan production, also becomes common. Among the finds belonging to this phase we also have a bronze
fibula decorated with engraved lines and circles.
In the V
th century b.C., at the edge of the older settlement, a new rectangular wooden dwelling with an annex, perhaps open towards the outside, was built; from here comes
cippo a clava.
At this time the tableware in bucchero disappears and is replaced by new ceramic products of a grey or light brown-orange colour. In an area adjoining the house a small female bronze statue was found; it could be referable to a place of domestic worship.
The desertion of the
Archaic and
Classic settlements during the V
th century b.C. was probably due to flooding, like at
Tempagnano and
Fossa Nera; for the same reason we have lost the layers, most of which washed away, belonging to the period when the settlement was inhabited and a muddy river sediment covers the remains of the dwellings.
During the II
nd century b.C., with the Roman colonization, the site was again occupied. Traces of simple wooden structures, arranged around a well, remain from this period; the commitment of the inhabitants towards making life possible again in the plain appears clearly from the presence, on the left bank of the river, of a roadbed of cobblestones that were taken from the river. Among the numerous finds that have been secured
black glazed tableware, mainly of local production, is well attested.
The Roman 'farm', renovated in
Augustean times with the addition of cobblestone walls, was completely dismantled around the middle of the II
nd century a.D., leaving a vast surface, compacted by material from the demolition, for a final settlement attempt that goes on, maybe, until the beginning of the III
rd century a.D..
Characteristic of this period is the
italic "terra sigillata" and, starting from the II
nd century a.D., also the
African "terra sigillata" tableware. In the last period, along with agriculture and sheep breeding, fishing must also have played an important role in the economy of the settlement, as the large number of lead weights for nets suggests.
The definitive desertion of the area is a clear symptom of the economic crisis involving both the town and the rural areas, maybe, again, as a consequence of, or at least made more serious by, the territory's fragile ecological balance: the river, abandoned to itself, gained once again the upper hand on man's work.