Category: Fieldwork

Preliminary results of the fourth archaeological excavation campaign at Vetricella

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The first weeks of September marked the end of the archaeological excavation campaign at the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, GR) 2019, which saw the involvement of the ERC nEU-Med project Team along with trainee archaeology students. The excavation operations focused on the opening of two evaluation trences  in the South-East portion of the site (sectors III-IV) (Fig.1), in order to try to define in more detail the dynamics that affected the construction and the subsequent abandonment/filling of the inner defensive… Continue reading

The ongoing investigation in the new archaeological excavation campaign at Vetricella

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During the first weeks of activity on field at the site of Vetricella (Scarlino,GR), two new exploratory trenches were opened to investigate the deposits related to the phases of construction, life and decommissioning of the inner defensive ditch (Fig.1).   This background was considered as extremely interesting since, the previous excavations, for understanding the dynamics of life that had to take place both in the inner area, nearby the tower, and in the section directly outside the ditch itself. To… Continue reading

anthropological investigations at the site of Vetricella

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During the third excavation campaign at Vetricella, between September and October 2018, a targeted anthropological investigation was carried out under the supervision of anthropologists in order to understand the real extension of the cemetery area and expand the currently analysed anthropological sample (Fig.1). Twenty-one burials were found, eight of which refer to adult individuals and thirteen to sub-adults. As already observed in the study of burials found in previous campaigns, the number of sub-adults is significantly higher than that of… Continue reading

A new archaeological campaign at Vetricella

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A new archaeological campaign is scheduled to begin also this year at the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, GR), funded by the European ERC nEU-Med project and sponsored by the Municipality of Scarlino (Fig1). The excavation activities will be conducted by the nEU-Med Team in collaboration with some students of the Department of History and Cultural Heritage (University of Siena) and will focus on in-depth interventions of two distinct portions of sector 3. The aim of the investigation is to gather… Continue reading

Results of the third excavation campaign at Vetricella

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The third archaeological excavation campaign on Vetricella site focused on the researches of a better understanding of the main historical dynamics of the site. In particular, with respect to an in-depth analysis of specific stratigraphic contexts, it dealt with the reconstruction of a stratigraphic sequence anchored, as much as possible, to accurate references of absolute chronology. The research strategies pursued the chronological and functional definition of the first frequentation of the site, investigating on the II-III sectors in the areas… Continue reading

The second archaeological and geochemical survey campaign in Val di Cornia and Val di Pecora

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In the months of September and October 2018, the second multidisciplinary survey campaign (archaeological, geological, geochemical) was carried out in Val di Pecora and Val di Cornia. The research, in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology Chemistry and Pharmacy, involved archaeologists coming from universities all over Italy. The territory covered by these new investigations included the coastal area of ​​the lower Val di Cornia next to Parco della Sterpaia and the important archaeological sites of Vignale and Carlappiano. The main… Continue reading

Exploratory analysis on the ditches from the site of Vetricella

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During the 2018 excavation campaign at Vetricella, seven exploratory trenches were opened to investigate the nature of the ditches surrounding the site. Thanks to the preliminary results obtained from the trenches excavated during the 2016, we tried to deepen the role of the intermediate ditch (the most deepest and largest), with the opening of four trenches (Fig.1) excavated at the cardinal points (North, South, East, West).   To increase the knowledge of the backfill of the ditch and to make… Continue reading

Vetricella from above: documentation with the drone

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In the last weeks of the third archaeological campaign at Vetricella, an UAV aircraft was introduced to support the documentation of the site. The aim of the flights was to acquire several sets of images for the processing of three-dimensional models with 3D photogrammetry and to shoot videos which will be used for the dissemination of the  ERC nEU-Med project. The drone used in this video is “DJI Spark”, a 300gr aircraft which mounts an integrated camera of 12 Mpx… Continue reading

Recreate the environments of the past: geognostic surveys in val di pecora and val di cornia

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In July and October 2018, two coring sampling campaigns were conducted in the flood plains of Val di Cornia and Val di Pecora in South Tuscany, with the aim to recreate the natural history of these territories. Through a wide range of procedures we will obtain crucial data about climate, vegetation, hydrogeological changes and anthropic use of the soil, useful to explain and interpret the complex relationship between man and environment in the last 3000 years (Fig.1-2).   Sediment cores… Continue reading

Geomorphological and archaeobotanical survey at Castiglion Bernardi and along the Corniaccia torrent

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Wednesday October 4th members of the nEU-Med Team went on a geomorphological and archaeobotanic survey on the agricultural terracing of Castiglion Bernardi (Monterotondo Marittimo,GR) (Fig.1). With the aim to individuate the typologies of the different soils and the stratification of the terracing. Core samples will be taken to better understand if the formation of the terraces is natural or if these have been created ex-novo (Fig.2).               Friday October 13th the levels behind the… Continue reading