The nEU-Med Project: Vetricella, an Early Medieval Royal Property on Tuscany's Mediterranean

Description

With contributions by Alexander Agostini, Veronica Aniceti, Giovanna Bianchi, Arianna Briano, Mauro Paolo Buonincontri, Isabella Carli, Letizia Castelli, Cristina Cicali, Luisa Dallai, Gaetano Di Pasquale, Alessio Fiore, Bernard Gratuze, Richard Hodges, Lorenzo Marasco, Pierluigi Pieruccini, Marta Rossi, Alessia Rovelli, Luisa Russo, Davide Susini, Serena Viva and Vanessa Volpi. The nEU-Med project is part of the Horizon 2020 programme, in the ERC Advanced project category. It began in October 2015 and the University of Siena is the host institution of the project. The project is focussed upon two Tuscan riverine corridors leading from the Gulf of Follonica in the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Colline Metallifere. It aims to document and analyze the form and timeframe of economic growth in this part of the Mediterranean, which took place between the 7th and the 12thc. Central to this is an understanding of the processes of change in human settlements, in the natural and farming landscapes in relation to the exploitation of resources, and in the implementation of differing political strategies. This volume presents the multi-disciplinary research focussed upon the key site of the project, Vetricella, and its territory. Vetricella is thought to be the site of Valli, a royal property in the Tuscan march. It is the only Early Medieval property to be extensively studied in Italy. Located on Italy’s Tyrrhenian coast, the archaeology and history of this site provide new insights on estate management, metal production and wider Mediterranean relations in the later first millennium. Apart from reports on the archaeology, the finds from excavations and environmental studies, three essays consider the wider European historical and archaeological context of Vetricella. Future monographs will feature studies by members of the project team on aspects of Vetricella, its finds and territory. Giovanna Bianchi, Richard Hodges / Introduction 7 Lorenzo Marasco, Arianna Briano / The stratigraphic sequence at the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto): a revised interpretation (8th-13th centuries) 9 Davide Susini, Pierluigi Pieruccini / Preliminary Geoarchaeological results from the Intermediate ring-shaped ditch at the archaeological site of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto) 23 Alexander Agostini / The metal finds from the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto): preliminary results from the study of an Early Medieval assemblage 33 Arianna Briano / Single fired glazed ceramics and colature rosse from the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto): typological study and first thermoluminescence analysis (TL) 51 Luisa Russo / The coarse, fine and 'selezionata' wares from the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto): a comparative analysis of two contexts 61 Letizia Castelli / Glass artefacts from the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto) 69 Bernard Gratuze / The blue and bluish green glass sherds, decorated with opaque white glass strands, discovered at Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto): analytical study 79 Alessia Rovelli / The coins from the excavations of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto). Notes on the Pavese issues of Berengar I 89 Lorenzo Marasco, Cristina Cicali / The Medieval coins from Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto): the stratigraphic context 99 Serena Viva / Burials from the cemetery at Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto): anthropological, paleodemographic and paleopathological analyses 105 Veronica Aniceti / The zooarchaeological analyses from Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto): an overview of animal exploitation at the site 121 Mauro Paolo Buonincontri, Marta Rossi, Gaetano Di Pasquale / Medieval forest use and management in Southern Tyrrhenian Tuscany: archaeo-anthracological research at the site of Vetricella (Scarlino, Grosseto) (AD 750-1250) 131 Luisa Dallai, Isabella Carli, Vanessa Volpi / Archaeological and geochemical surveys in the Pecora Valley: the first results 143 Pierluigi Pieruccini, Davide Susini / The Holocene sedimentary record and the landscape evolution along the coastal plains of the Pecora and Cornia rivers (Southern Tuscany, Italy): preliminary results and future perspectives 161 Richard Hodges / Defining the archaeology of Bloch’s first Feudal Age. Implications of Vetricella Phases I and II for the making of Medieval Italy (8th-9th centuries) 169 Giovanna Bianchi / Rural public properties for an economic history of the Kingdom of Italy (10th and 11th centuries): an archaeological survey 185 Alessio Fiore / The Knots and the Nets: Fisc, Rural Estates and Cities in the Written Sources (Northern Italy, c. 800-1000) 197