Abstract
This paper presents a dataset collected and constructed as part of a PhD research project in Environmental Sciences. Applying a multidisciplinary approach that combines archaeological and geomorphological data, this project aimed to reconstruct the Late Holocene landscape evolution in the Central Po Plain (Italy). The dataset was collected digitising the information retrieved from various sources such as scientific literature, regional databases and terrain surveys. In particular, the geoarchaeological data consist of a record of 761 archaeological sites and a soil map reporting the different sediment types of the area. Natural and anthropogenic landscape features developed by human-environmental interplay are organised in paleochannels, watercourses and channelisation. This dataset represents one of the first open-access data collection available in Italy and can be reused by any researchers working in fluvial landscape studies.
Highlights
The Po Plain (Figure 1) operates as a key area for the interpretation of environmental and cultural influences between the Mediterranean regions and continental Europe [2]
The natural factors that influenced the environmental development of the Central Po Plain fluvial landscape are mostly due to alluvial geomorphological dynamics
In the distal parts of Holocene alluvial fans are characterised by a telescopic shape, a result of subsequent aggradation —entrenchment phases due to the alternation of glacial-interglacial periods; each aggradational cycle [3] causes an incision on the top of the previous fan, while a new fan prograded in a more distal position [4]
Summary
The Po Plain (Figure 1) operates as a key area for the interpretation of environmental and cultural influences between the Mediterranean regions and continental Europe [2]. Its complex settlement and land-management history make it an ideal study-area to investigate the adaptive dynamics of human communities in alluvial areas. The natural factors that influenced the environmental development of the Central Po Plain fluvial landscape are mostly due to alluvial geomorphological dynamics. The landscape evolution of this portion of the Central Po Plain (Figure 1) has a long-standing connection with human activities as well. Since the Bronze Age, [6] human communities settled in the Po Valley for its suitability to agriculture, altering the natural fluvial landscape and handling the flood hazard [6]. The transition from Roman into Early Medieval Period (6th – 10th centuries CE) represented a crucial moment for the reorganisation of human settlement strategies in Po Valley.
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