Ricerc@Sapienza

The ‘Molise Survey Project’ aims, through systematic survey, to document evidence for the prehistoric occupation and exploitation of the Apennine Mountains. Here, we present some of the first results of the archaeological surveys, with a focus on the evidence from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age.

During the first half of the 12th century BC in continental Italy important changes were taking place in the geo-political order. The present contribution examines demographic and socio-political dimension in the area between the Po and Tiber rivers in the Late Bronze Age and initilal phases of Iron Age, until the formation of proto-urban centres.

At the onset of the 2nd millennium bc, a wool economy emerged across continental Europe. Archaeological, iconographical, and written sources from the Near East and the Aegean show that a Bronze Age wool economy involved considerable specialised labour and large scale animal husbandry.

A systematic study of the wheeled- made fine clay pottery from Coppa Nevigata has been recently carried out. This has significantly increased the quantity of Aegean-type pottery from the site that amounts to nearly two hundred pieces. The vast majority of these sherds, which are mostly local imitations of Mycenaean pottery, come from the Late Subapennine levels. Therefore, we have now good evidence that a specialised pottery production flourished at Coppa Nevigata in the Late Bronze Age, as it is already known at several south-eastern Italian settlements.

THE SOCIO-POLITICAL ROLE OF THE BRONZE AGE FORTIFIED SETTLEMENT OF COPPA NEVIGATA (NORTHERN APU-LIA) - What set Coppa Nevigata apart from the neighbouring sites is its long lasting occupation (from the 18th to the 8th centuries BC) on one hand, and the extremely complex fortification lines, which were rebuilt and modified several times over the Bronze Age. The extensive systematic excavations at the site together with the results of a wide range of multi- disciplinary analyses provide us with an enlightening insight into the pattern of activities that were carried out in the set- tlement.

A tradition of pottery production is well-attested in northern and central Italy during the Middle and Recent
Bronze Ages (17–12th century BCE). In order to characterise that pottery production, this paper presents a synthesis
of available archaeometrical data. Petrographic, mineralogical (X-ray powder diffraction; XRPD) and
chemical analyses (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy; XRF) were compiled from Emilia, Romagna, southern Veneto
and northern Tuscany. Four hundred vessels from 21 sites were analysed, of which 147 are presented here for

The morphology of the Agro Pontino (Latina, Italy) has been greatly modified by the fascist reclamation (Bonifica), in particular by the subsequent soil subsidence due to the drainage of its peaty lowlands and by massive dredging and land raising.
Obviously, this constitutes a strong bias for reconstructing the ancient landscapes. However, pre-reclamation maps can be used to address the problem. In particular, the 1930s maps made by the Italian Military Geographical Institute are of exceptional importance for both the reconstruction of prehistoric and historic

The survey of ancient cave can generally be performed by traditional topographic methods that allow also its georeferencing in a global
reference frame; some difficulties may arise when there are narrow tunnels that do not consent the use of a total station or a terrestrial
laser scanner. In such cases a visual-based approach can be used to produce, both the followed path and the 3D model of the hypogeal
environment. A prompt photogrammetric survey has been used to reconstruct the morphology of the La Sassa Cave, situated in the