Index for 2021

• 17 - Anita Casarotto – Jesús García Sánchez – Tesse D. Stek – Jeremia Pelgrom. 2021. Surface visibility and the validity of settlement patterns in legacy survey datasets. Abstract: The ground visibility of the terrain that is surveyed has a clear impact on detecting archaeological finds. Because the resulting distortions may influence the quality of the interpretation of single settlements and settlement patterns, various checks of the terrain and the collected data are needed. Therefore, in current survey projects different types of tests and data filtering are increasingly implemented both in the field and in the laboratory as a part of their methodology. However, some of the most important archaeological landscape projects were initiated long before an agreement on a standard methodology for field survey was reached. As a result, legacy datasets have been deemed to be of little value to present-day scholarship due to the current research standards. In this paper, we examine if legacy data can be useful to contemporary research by performing a study comparing legacy data collected by the Forma Italiae survey project to contemporary data collected by the LERC project. The Forma Italiae survey project was carried out in the late 20th century and produced a large dataset of archaeological sites in the area around the ancient town of Venusia (located in Southern Italy). We first analyzed the relationship between surface visibility and the density of identified Hellenistic-period sites by means of a statistical analysis, and then tested the reliability of the legacy site patterns by comparing them with new data recovered from the field in a recent re-survey of this region by our team as a part of the LERC project. We thus assessed the compatibility of the clustered pattern of sites detected by the Forma Italiae and the new LERC field surveys. At odds with more pessimistic estimations, we conclude that on the regional level and coarse scale of analysis the legacy survey data is representative and offers significant evidence to current scholarship for the study of ancient settlement patterns. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
• 16 - Alessia Morigi – Francesco Garbasi – Filippo Fontana – Mariarosa Lommi. 2021. Inter Amnes. Archeologia di superficie nel comprensorio delle valli di Enza, Parma e Baganza (PR). Dati preliminari dal settore parmense della Val d’Enza. Abstract: The core objective of ‘Inter Amnes. Archaeology between Enza, Parma and Baganza project’ (SFERA Spaces and Shapes of Ancient Emilia Romagna) is the analysis of the population in the Apennine area, between Val d'Enza and Val Baganza close to the modern city of Parma (Emilia-Romagna, IT) through 5 extensive surveys (2016-2020) with a view to an upcoming complete survey on the whole territory. The project covers the period from Prehistory to the Middle Ages by integrating the different datasets in a GIS platform that allows easy access, comparison and post-processing needs. A specific focus is on the Roman settlement and its relationship with the ancient route system that we can deduce from classical sources. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
• 15 - Linda R. Gosner – Jessica Nowlin – Alexander J. Smith. 2021. Ground-truthing the Site-based Survey at S’Urachi and Su Padrigheddu (West-Central Sardinia): Results of the 2016 and 2017 Seasons. Abstract: The nuraghe S’Urachi and adjoining site of Su Padrigheddu are a monumental stone tower complex and settlement located in west-central Sardinia. The site has been subject to periodic excavations beginning in the 1940s and has been excavated since 2013 by the Progetto S’Urachi. These latest excavations have revealed new evidence for habitation at the site from the Bronze Age through the late Roman period, confirming that S’Urachi was an important regional center in antiquity. In conjunction with this work, a multi-phase site survey was carried out to explore wider settlement patterns and land use away from the immediate vicinity of the nuraghe. This included geophysical and microtopographical surveys (2014), an intensive survey using point-sampling (2015), and targeted excavation (2016-2017). This article details the final phase of the site-based survey: the excavation of a series of five trenches, the locations of which were selected on the basis of our survey results. We present the excavation results and their implications for understanding long-term settlement patterns and formation processes at S’Urachi and Su Padrigheddu. We also discuss the relationship between surface and subsurface finds and the methodological implications of these results for survey archaeology at the site and regional scales. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet
• 14 - Mara Migliavacca – Silvia Bandera – Jessica Bezzi – Anita Casarotto – Luca Pisoni. 2021. Archeologia delle alte quote sulla montagna veneta: la campagna di ricognizione di superficie 2019 a Recoaro Terme (Vicenza). Abstract: In this paper we present the preliminary results of the 2019 field survey conducted in the framework of the project “Beyond the border. Study and enhancement of the highlands between Veneto and Trentino”. The aim of this overarching project, which applies a multidisciplinary approach, is threefold: to detect in this mountain landscape the main activity areas and reconstruct possible connections between them; to analyse the long-term relationships between Trentino and Prealpine Veneto from prehistory to the present day; and to study the evolving function of this frontier area during periods of conflict/interaction. Several methods were employed to shed light on the above-mentioned research aims: field-walking survey, analysis of aerial photos, ethnographic and archival research, GIS-based landscape analysis and predictive modelling, and LiDAR data for feature detection in wooded areas. The combined use of all these approaches allowed us to identify long-term exploitation activities, which are documented also by both the ethnographic and archaeological data. The major periods of conflict in these areas are also highlighted in the archaeological record. The 2019-survey campaign opens up new research directions such as the future excavation of Bronze Age occupation zones; network and connectivity analysis between Prealpine Veneto and Trentino; hillforts and their interaction with the highlands. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet