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The first human settlements in Val Gardena date back to the prehistory. Some findings like arrowheads, needles and other tools, which were found at the foot of the Sella Group, are proof of an early settlement of this area around 6000 BC. It is probable that the objects belong to wandering hunters, who stayed in the valley in the summer months in search of food. Other important findings come from the Col de Flam above Ortisei: the iron axes, fibulae of bronze, jewellery, Gallic swords and various tools are dated back to 400 BC.
The first sedentary people in Val Gardena are the Rhaetics. In 15 BC the Roman general Drusus conquers the alpine areas and pushes the Rhaetic people back into the valleys which are difficult to access. The origin of this people is still not certain: maybe they were small groups of Ligurians, Illyrian Veneti, Etruscans, Gauls and Nordic people who were named so by the Romans.
