Prima di Venafro. Nuovi dati sulla Preistoria recente dal territorio circostante Ficora della Morra (Venafro, IS)
Fulvia Ciliberto & Carlo Ebanista (a cura di), TRA SACRO E PROFANO, PUBBLICO E PRIVATO NELLA CITTÀ DI VENAFRO DALL’ANTICHITÀ AL MEDIOEVO, Atti del Convegno, Venafro, 3 maggio 2019., 2023
The authors discuss the results from the explorations of the prehistoric deposits at Ficora della... more The authors discuss the results from the explorations of the prehistoric deposits at Ficora della Morra (Venafro - Isernia). Based on the archaeological finds the life of the prehistoric site spans from the Early Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Traces of a few structures occur at the site that indicate how, at least in some phases, there was a settlement in the close proximity. Both the occurrence of obsidian artefacts and distinct stylistic features of the pottery speak in favor of the involvement of this site in different exchange networks and cultural interrelations.
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Books by Enrico Lucci
La ricerca esposta in questo lavoro ha avuto al centro questa sfida scientifica e l’ha affrontata attraverso un approccio interdisciplinare e una lettura contestuale, in chiave funzionale e della distribuzione spaziale, dei manufatti e dei resti bioarcheologici provenienti da uno dei contesti dell’età del Bronzo più importanti del Mediterraneo centrale nel quadro del II millennio a.C.: l’insediamento fortificato di Coppa Nevigata.
Papers by Enrico Lucci
south-east Italy between the fourth and second millennia BC, a period that saw
profound transformations in sociocultural spheres in the Central Mediterranean.
It highlights the intertwined cultural and environmental processes that shaped the
inhabited landscape during this period, integrating available environmental and
economic studies to understand the changing human-environment interplay in a
spatial perspective.
The constructed dataset is based on an extensive survey of scholarly literature,
including both excavated sites and those identified through surface collections in
open-air contexts, potentially representing stable or temporary settlements. This
dataset enabled the exploration of the types of ecosystems, ecological niches
and places chosen by these communities to meet their subsistence and
extra-subsistence economic needs.
Utilizing different computational methods and data visualization techniques,
this analysis identified major shifts in settlement strategies from various spatial
perspectives. Furthermore, the study offers new insights into the dynamics of
culturally-driven ecological niches and the construction, transformation and
transmission of their social meaning in the Early Copper Age through to the Late
Bronze Age.
investigating the changing settlement patterns in inland areas of south-eastern Italy and exploring both
short- and long-range social interactions between communities during the Late Prehistory. The focus is the
study of Late prehistoric communities settled in the inland-upland territories of the Alta Murgia system
(Southeastern Italy).
This paper presents the preliminary results of the 2023 systematic filed survey, which have encompassed a
transect located at the southern edge of the Murge upland: the Garagnone Castle valley. Probing trenches
related to rescue excavations were carried out there in the ’90s of the last century by the local Superintendence,
bringing to light traces related to an Early Bronze Age settlement (Palma Campania/Protoapennine
facies). Data resulting from the 2023 surveys have significantly enlarged the knowledge on the patterns of
human occupation in this area during the 2nd millennium BC, revealing the possible existence of more than
one dwelling area belonging to the Early Bronze Age. A shift in the settlement strategy within this environmental
niche between the early and mid-2nd millennium BC has also been detected.
This paper presents an integrated spatial analysis of a long-occupied area of the Coppa Nevigata settlement from the Late Bronze Age. It is a trial, aimed at both building a viable methodology to deal with ‘dynamic’ deposits and verifying the potential of the observed record in terms of activity areas and fossilised patterns of behaviour.
as indicated by different systematic research projects undertaken so far. Starting from a
very low baseline of previous archaeological research, and as part of a comprehensive research
programme focussed on northern Sahara, we launched in 2015 a territorial investigation of
stone monuments of the pre-protohistory and early history of southern Tunisia. To do this,
we selected a sample study area east and south-east of the Chott el Jérid depression (Kebili region)
where to conduct field research. In this paper we present the research strategy adopted,
planned to address some issues such as the poor state of preservation of the monuments or
their uncertain chronology, also known from other parts of the Sahara. Our results, based on
the combination of remote sensing analysis, field survey and selected excavations, highlight
a dense occupation of this area of northern Sahara, where monumental buildings of possible
funerary function tentatively trace back to the late pre-protohistory up to the roman age. The
persistent use of the area across a long-time span corroborates its pivotal location in ancient
trans-Saharan connection routes.
La ricerca esposta in questo lavoro ha avuto al centro questa sfida scientifica e l’ha affrontata attraverso un approccio interdisciplinare e una lettura contestuale, in chiave funzionale e della distribuzione spaziale, dei manufatti e dei resti bioarcheologici provenienti da uno dei contesti dell’età del Bronzo più importanti del Mediterraneo centrale nel quadro del II millennio a.C.: l’insediamento fortificato di Coppa Nevigata.
south-east Italy between the fourth and second millennia BC, a period that saw
profound transformations in sociocultural spheres in the Central Mediterranean.
It highlights the intertwined cultural and environmental processes that shaped the
inhabited landscape during this period, integrating available environmental and
economic studies to understand the changing human-environment interplay in a
spatial perspective.
The constructed dataset is based on an extensive survey of scholarly literature,
including both excavated sites and those identified through surface collections in
open-air contexts, potentially representing stable or temporary settlements. This
dataset enabled the exploration of the types of ecosystems, ecological niches
and places chosen by these communities to meet their subsistence and
extra-subsistence economic needs.
Utilizing different computational methods and data visualization techniques,
this analysis identified major shifts in settlement strategies from various spatial
perspectives. Furthermore, the study offers new insights into the dynamics of
culturally-driven ecological niches and the construction, transformation and
transmission of their social meaning in the Early Copper Age through to the Late
Bronze Age.
investigating the changing settlement patterns in inland areas of south-eastern Italy and exploring both
short- and long-range social interactions between communities during the Late Prehistory. The focus is the
study of Late prehistoric communities settled in the inland-upland territories of the Alta Murgia system
(Southeastern Italy).
This paper presents the preliminary results of the 2023 systematic filed survey, which have encompassed a
transect located at the southern edge of the Murge upland: the Garagnone Castle valley. Probing trenches
related to rescue excavations were carried out there in the ’90s of the last century by the local Superintendence,
bringing to light traces related to an Early Bronze Age settlement (Palma Campania/Protoapennine
facies). Data resulting from the 2023 surveys have significantly enlarged the knowledge on the patterns of
human occupation in this area during the 2nd millennium BC, revealing the possible existence of more than
one dwelling area belonging to the Early Bronze Age. A shift in the settlement strategy within this environmental
niche between the early and mid-2nd millennium BC has also been detected.
This paper presents an integrated spatial analysis of a long-occupied area of the Coppa Nevigata settlement from the Late Bronze Age. It is a trial, aimed at both building a viable methodology to deal with ‘dynamic’ deposits and verifying the potential of the observed record in terms of activity areas and fossilised patterns of behaviour.
as indicated by different systematic research projects undertaken so far. Starting from a
very low baseline of previous archaeological research, and as part of a comprehensive research
programme focussed on northern Sahara, we launched in 2015 a territorial investigation of
stone monuments of the pre-protohistory and early history of southern Tunisia. To do this,
we selected a sample study area east and south-east of the Chott el Jérid depression (Kebili region)
where to conduct field research. In this paper we present the research strategy adopted,
planned to address some issues such as the poor state of preservation of the monuments or
their uncertain chronology, also known from other parts of the Sahara. Our results, based on
the combination of remote sensing analysis, field survey and selected excavations, highlight
a dense occupation of this area of northern Sahara, where monumental buildings of possible
funerary function tentatively trace back to the late pre-protohistory up to the roman age. The
persistent use of the area across a long-time span corroborates its pivotal location in ancient
trans-Saharan connection routes.
Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut Rome (KNIR) and International Association of Classical Archaeology (AIAC)
http://www.fastionline.org/survey/micro_view.php?item_key=sur_cd&sur_cd=AIAC_415
The project ModLand (funded by the Next-Generation-EU) aims at filling this gap, deepening the understanding of human-landscape interaction in Southeast Italy during the 3rd (LCA, Late Copper Age) and 2nd mill. BC (BA, Bronze Age), especially by revealing its diversity over space and time by implementing the MaxEnt modelling technique.
This presentation will outline the project's methodology and first data analysis, with a special focus on two, highly environmentally diversified, sample areas of South-East Italy. The first one encompasses a particular inland/upland territory of the Apennine mountains, which saw the presence of one the largest waterbodies of the Italian peninsula until the mid-19th century AD (the Fucino Lake); while the second focuses on Northern Apulia, which is characterised by a convergence of diverse ecological niches, ranging from the dynamic ecosystems of the coastal and wet areas to the uplands and rough mountain valleys of the Gargano promontory.
as a neutral backdrop. By adding a social dimension to the landscape, this became a meaningful medium, emphasising
the mutual influence between people and surrounding material world. A place can be thought as a “relational concept”
(Thomas, 2001, p.173), a location embedded into human behaviours. Yet distinct groups may conceive the same landscape
in diverse way. Thus exploring such diversification over space and time is crucial to understand regional historical
trajectories.
The emergence of fortified settlements during the 2nd millennium BC became the catalyst behind a significant
transformation of the landscape from an environmental perspective—such communities harder exploited their
surroundings—and social perspective—since they were landmarks into the long-range exchange network. Alongside this
phenomenon, smaller communities, characterised by sparse, short-life hamlets and focusing more on agricultural and
animal breeding economy than on exchange, persisted across diverse ecosystems. Thus, socio-economically differentiated
societies interacted in the same landscape, each constructing its own “lifeworld” (Ingold, 2000, p.14).
Computing has incredibly expanded our capacity to model human behaviours into the landscape, allowing to explore “the
range of possibilities associated with certain processes or actions” (Llobera, 2012, p.505). But how can we comprehend the
coexisting conceptions of surroundings? Focusing on the rich palimpsest of archaeological data for Southeast Italy, this
presentation will explore dimensions of diverse cultural landscapes during the 2nd
understanding of activities organisation of prehistoric societies. Such analyses are becoming common for Late Prehistoric
contexts, bringing new insights into the socio-economic behavioural patterns of these communities. At the same time, the
increasing use of geostatistics allows us to combine different types of data for the construction of interpretive model(s)
and to go beyond cognitive bias, exploring latent spatial-functional connections between remains.
The Bronze Age fortified settlement of Coppa Nevigata (Southern Italy) has been the subject of integrated spatial analysis
(Recchia et al., 2021) which have highlighted both the functional variability of spaces and changes of the settlement fabric
over time related to socio-economic transformations. The most recent explorations at the site have brought to light a
portion of the 12th century BC settlement, characterised by domestic and functional structures. In this presentation we will
discuss the integrated spatial analysis of one of these, which for its structural features (the perimeter is defined by a clay
bench where 11 clay rings are arranged) and patterns of use stands out from the coeval structures both in the settlements
and in other coeval centres (Cazzella and Recchia, 2018).
Archaeological evidence suggests that the structure was devoted to the preparation of meals, possibly with a strong
symbolic meaning (feasting?). Yet, an integrated functional and spatial analysis of artefacts and bioarchaeological remains
will allow to get and in-depth understanding of the activities performed there, its overall function(s) and thus its social
meaning. To achieve this aim, the analysis will combine diverse types of geostatistics using open-source software, which
will enable to fully explore spatial data and contextualise them within the settlement context.
Tra il 2014 e il 2015 dall’attività di sorveglianza archeologica ai lavori di scavo per la realizzazione del metanodotto Busso-Paliano (tratto B), in località Ficora della Morra, sono emerse interessanti evidenze riconducibili alla Preistoria recente.
Being continuously occupied for one millennium (18th - 8th centuries BC), with only occasional episodes of destruction/ sudden
collapses, its archaeological record reflects the repeated use and reorganisation of spaces and structures over the time. Cycles
of use and discarding of pottery at the site produced a massive amount of shards, whose primary deposition has been subject to
alteration by anthropic and natural processes.
Pottery productions are indeed a significant source for the understanding of socio-economic dynamics, besides their potential as
chronological markers. Quantitative analyses have been applied to investigate different dimensions of the pottery assemblages
from Coppa Nevigata, ranging from stylistic variability through time, to synchronic stylistic variability among different areas of the
settlement, to pottery function and archaeometric analyses. However, most of the ceramic record at the site consists of non-diagnostic
fragments. How can we fully exploit their potential as indicators for depositional processes? To what extent are they significant
for the understanding of the patterns of use of settlement areas?
We will present the spatial analysis of a case study area from the site, belonging to the Late Bronze Age (12th century BC). Through
a multi-scalar approach to the quantitative analysis of pottery distribution -including non-diagnostic shards, we seek to recognise
patterns of activities and use of spaces. Statistic-based quantitative analyses are adopted to define potsherd size groups and
identify patterns of pottery disposal, categories of pottery refuse and depositional processes, also considering variables such as
the intended function of pottery and the nature of deposits.
Starting from 2015, the Molise Survey Project has focused on the human exploitation of mountainous inland areas of the central-southern Adriatic Italy over the prehistoric periods. A remarkable number of sites, scattered across the whole researched area, has been recognized that mostly belongs to the 2nd millennium BC. Bronze Age sites are mostly located along ancient communication routes and/or in strategic high-altitude grazing land. They have yielded a huge number of diagnostic pottery sherds linked to production, transformation and consumption of primary goods.
In this presentation we will propose an integrated analysis of the 2nd millennium BC settlement pattern and the historic evidences linked to transhumant pastoralism, with a focus on the relationship between the Bronze Age sites and the communication network represented by the “tratturi”. By means of GIS elaboration we will try to understand patterns of mobility across inland areas during the 2nd millennium BC, challenging the traditional model of mobility based exclusively on the large valleys connecting the coastal area to the inland.
This presentation seeks to give a critical review of the use of intra-site spatial analysis to understand social patterns of behaviour. Cases-study from Italy and the central Mediterranean, either characterized by sudden destructive events or progressive growth of refusal elements, will be specifically discussed. The significance and suitability of both types of contexts as pointers for socially accepted behavioural patterns will be also investigated. Furthermore, a focus will be addressed to the spatial analysis of botanical and faunal refuse, proxy data for a wide range of human activities of production and management of primary and secondary goods.
- sampling strategies and their impact on the amount of information allowing reasonable interpretation of assemblages;
- quantification of surface finds collected in field surveys and the effects of applied methodology on research results;
- applicability of diversity measurements for tracing change in the material record, craft production and consumption patterns;
- determining relative abundance: assessment of innovative and well-established mathematical models.
We encourage contributions that provide (new) quantitative frameworks to investigate the material record, engage with methodological issues in quantifying material assemblages, foster to quantitatively integrate different datasets as well as discuss the problems and the needs for doing so.