Archaeology of the Landscape of Metalworking Sites in Italian Alpine Areas (Orobic Alps) between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era

Abstract

The article introduces features of iron-working in the north-western Italian Alpine region (specifically, the Valtellina side of the Bergamesque or Orobic Alps) during the Middle Ages by comparing historical data and archaeological sources. This will help shed light on the organisation of the production process, starting from iron ore mining, proceeding to examine the transformation phases and culminating in the conversion of the ore into ingots or bars to produce tools for agricultural or wood-cutting activities. The article follows two distinct paths, initially presenting the main stages of iron-working in Valtellina until the second half of the eighteenth century, followed by an analysis of the mining complex of Val Venina where an extremely important metal-working site is situated. Two separate mining zones were identified, the first deep underground and the second an opencast working site. Furthermore, a series of rooms made of dry-stone walling that provided accommodation for the miners have been brought to light, as well as mineral deposits and stables for the animals required to carry out the activities described by Melchiorre Gioia in his volume “Statistica del Dipartimento dell’Adda” and indicated in the land registers of the Lombardy-Veneto regions carried out in 1815 and 1863.