To establish when humans appeared on Earth, the knowledge of a precise time scale became essential. The study of fossil remains is certainly one of the most used methods to date eras quite accurately, and geologists and paleoanthropologists are constantly working to define the chronological framework of our planet with greater precision.
In the Benevento area, near Pietraroja, there is a true fossil deposit, a sort of “geological clock.” It seems that due to the orographic uplifts caused by the detachment of the European continent from the African one that occurred 180 million years ago, the village found itself at more than 800 meters in height. This is evidenced by the many fossils of fish and algae scattered here and there over an area of 40 hectares; the area of these findings is barren and the surface of the laminated rock harshly reflects the sun; the shapes of the small fossils blend into the rays of light, and care must be taken not to step on the imprint of any fish or shell. We are between the mountains of Titerno and Mutri, at 818 meters above sea level, and not far away, at Bocca della Selva, there is a famous ski resort.
In this area, research and studies began in 1746, and with Scipione Breislak the first findings of petrified eggs and fossilized algae in the rock were made. Then in 1977, the shapes of some teleosts – fish with a bony skeletal structure – dating back 150 million years, to the Jurassic period, were brought to light. After these last important findings, it was decided to protect the fossils with small “futuristic” plexiglass domes and a geopaleontological park, perhaps unique in Europe, the Pietraroja park, was established.
