From the lakeside encampment of Stone Age scavengers three-quarters of a million years ago to the problems facing modern-day farmers, A Mediterranean Valley documents the long-term settlement history of the Biferno Valley in central-southern Italy, analysing the symbiotic relationship of its landscape and its inhabitants.

Integrating the techniques of archaeology, history and geography, this volume traces the history of human settlement in the Valley and shows how it is inextricably linked to the parallel story of landscape development. Unique in its geographical and historical time-scale, the Biferno Valley project is widely cited within the archaeological community and is considered the best example to date of the importance of human settlement in shaping the Mediterranean landscape.