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A new pollen record from Valle di Castiglione near Rome (core VdC09) has been studied with the aim of providing a detailed reconstruction of the vegetation history of the Roman landscape between 13,800 and 7700 cal BP, in response to the Lateglacial and early Holocene climate events. An open landscape dominated by steppe vegetation characterized the Lateglacial, so that only a modest increase of trees took place during the Allerod interstadial. The Intra Allerod Cold Period induced instability in the development of the woody communities. The Holocene forest recovery started around 11,600 cal BP, but definite forest development occurred only around 11,100 cal BP, at the end of the Preboreal Oscillation, which produced an important re-expansion of herbs. The evergreen Mediterranean vegetation was constantly present in the landscape, even during the Lateglacial cold fluctuations. A clear early Holocene increase in evergreen trees corresponds to the attainment of high and stable values in the GISP2 δ 18 O curve, around 10,200 cal BP.

The site of La Polledrara di Cecanibbio (Latium, Italy) is related to deposits of the PG6 Sequence (Middle Pleistocene, Aurelia Formation, MIS 10 and 9). The sediments are mainly volcaniclastic in composition, and constitute the filling of incised valleys, mainly characterized by fluvial deposits at the base, passing upward to fluvio-lacustrine and palustrine deposits containing abundant fossil mammal remains and artifacts. The arrangement of the specimens and taphonomic observations suggest that most of the transport of the bones occurred during flooding events, followed by progressive swampy phases, resulting in the formation of areas with stagnant and muddy waters where some elephants became trapped, as indicated by remains in partial anatomical articulation. Recent excavations carried out at the site permit a better definition of the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, already partially outlined in previous publications. In particular, an area showing a close correlation between the skeleton of an elephant and human activity, allows documentation and better understanding of some aspects of human–elephant interaction, probably mainly represented by scavenging activity.