Central Tyrrhenian Italy Research Articles

The Avellino Event. Cultural and Demographic Effects of the Great Bronze Age Eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Overview of main project results, publications and valorisation activities

Between 2015 and 2019, a team of archaeologists, palaeobotanists and geologists from the Universities of Groningen, Amsterdam and Leiden looked into the distal effects of a powerful eruption of the Somma–Vesuvius volcano in Campania on the former wetlands of the Agro Pontino and Fondi coastal plains in Central Tyrrhenian Italy. These wetlands are located c. 60 km south of Rome and between 90 and 140 km north-west of Mount Vesuvius. The ‘Avellino’ eruption took place during an advanced stage of the Early Bronze Age and was radiocarbon dated around 1900 BCE. This article reports on the results of the research programme “The Avellino Event: Cultural and Demographic Effects of the Great Bronze Age Eruption of Mount Vesuvius”, funded by the Dutch Research Council. The team’s main hypothesis, that people living in the surroundings of Mount Vesuvius in the Early Bronze Age who had time to escape the proximal effects of the eruption – pyroclastic flows and heavy ash falls – fled to the relative safety of nearby coastal areas to build a temporary or permanent new existence, was disproved by field evidence early on. No major environmental and archaeological impacts were evident in the archaeological and environmental record of the study area around the date of the eruption. Nonetheless, the research resulted in a significant increase in geological and palaeobotanical data, which has proved extremely useful for the reconstruction of the longue durée of human–landscape interactions. The Avellino tephra was a most reliable chronological horizon in this reconstruction contributing to the overall objectives of the long-running Pontine Region Project of the University of Groningen. This contribution contains an overview of the main results of the Avellino Event Project, including an overview of scientific publications, valorisation output, and a brief discussion of some remarkable spin-off projects.

A deep variational convolutional Autoencoder for unsupervised features extraction of ceramic profiles. A case study from central Italy

The need for a quantitative approach to the morphologic study of ceramics is becoming increasingly evident. Ceramics are the most common material in many archaeological sites and a huge amount of data has accumulated over time. This data can be handled by Machine Learning algorithms which are rapidly gaining popularity in archaeology. Although most approaches can be referred to classification tasks, in this contribution a particular type of Neural Network is proposed for feature extraction from archaeological ceramics. Through this proposed method it is possible to gain a numerical weighted representation of the pottery profile that can be used for multivariate analyses. The case study will focus on regionalisation processes in pottery production between the end of the 2nd millennium BC and the first half of the 1st millennium BC in central Tyrrhenian Italy, a period that saw major transformations in the cultural and socio-political structure of Ancient Italy. The results seem to confirm the regionalisation hypothesis and offer interesting insights into the quantitative study of archaeological ceramics.

First Perceptions of Hydroperiod Mapping and Assessment of Shallow Waters in Coastal Landscapes by Drone-Based Monitoring Activities: A Remote-Sensing and GIS Approach

Beyond the importance of ponds for aquatic and terrestrial life, pond networks seem to be crucial to providing a vital spatial resource in response to global climate change for all migrating and spreading taxa. Additionally, ponds offer sustainable solutions to issues of concern in water management, such as nutrient retention, rainfall interception, or carbon sequestration. Although the ecological role of shallow waters seems clear, significant work must be performed to set future guidelines and actions towards their conservation. The main aims of the present study are to (i) georeference all small temporary wetlands within the Tyrrhenian central Italy coastal area, (ii) evaluate their hydroperiod, and (iii) calculate their surface size variability. We found 137 wetlands, 53 of which were temporary and contained listed habitats. Each wetland’s status was assessed in relation to land use and proximity to stressors (e.g., urban centres, railways, roads) while observing the relationship between pond occurrence, lithology, and permeability. Amongst the detected wetlands, we selected and monitored 21 temporary ponds (homogeneously distributed within the study area) for 12 months using images collected by the non-professional drone Parrot Bebop 2. All images were then acquired in ArcGIS to georeference all temporary ponds. The analysis confirmed that the majority of the surveyed ponds are in close proximity to roads and tracks, which might have significant impacts on the preservation of such fragile habitats. Moreover, despite the wide variability of hydroperiod duration, the greater part of the pools fill with water in autumn and dry in summer, in alignment with the Mediterranean climate. This preliminary study allowed for the creation of the first temporary ponds’ database, which is useful for monitoring their status in central Italy and planning further studies to assess eventual detrimental effects caused by human-mediated activities.

The protohistoric briquetage at Puntone (Tuscany, Italy): A multidisciplinary attempt to unravel its age and role in the salt supply of Early States in Tyrrhenian Central Italy

While processes involved in the protohistoric briquetage at Puntone (Tuscany, Italy) have been reconstructed in detail, the age of this industry remained uncertain since materials suited for traditional dating (14C dating on charcoal and typological dating of ceramics) were very scarce. We attempted to assess its age by radiocarbon dating organic matter and carbonates in strata that were directly linked to the industry. Microbial DNA and C isotope analyses showed that the organic matter is dominantly composed of labile organic matter, of which the age is coeval with the briquetage industry. Carbonates had a complex origin and were overall unsuited for radiocarbon dating: Shells in process residues exhibited a large, uncertain ‘marine reservoir effect’, hampering their use for dating the industry; the secondary carbonates in these residues had a quite varied composition, including much more recent carbonate that precipitated from infiltrated lateral run-off, as could be concluded from C and Sr isotope analyses. Dates found that were deemed reliable (c. 1000–100 cal BCE) show that this ancient industry, which started in the Late Bronze Age - Early Iron Age (1107–841 cal BCE), extended into the Roman Republican period and was contemporary with the saltern-based larger scale salt industry in Central Lazio.

Vertebrates in the “Palude di Torre Flavia” Special Protection Area (Lazio, central Italy): an updated checklist

Here we present the checklist of the vertebrates of the “Palude di Torre Flavia”, a protected area in Tyrrhenian central Italy (Special Protection Area according to the Directive 2009/147/EC). To draw up the checklist, we collated all the records found in the literature, in private collections, and in the Ornitho.it website database, as well as sporadic historical observations. We obtained evidence documented between 1981 and 2020 for 291 taxa of which 259 native, 26 allochthonous and 6 domesticated species in 5 classes: 5 actinopterygians (4 native species and 1 allochtonous), 2 amphibians, 20 reptiles (11 native species and 9 allochthonous; the last being all freshwater terrapins), 244 birds (including 14 non-native taxa and 6 domestic forms) and 20 mammals (including 2 allochthonous). Forty-three species are listed as of conservation concern on a national scale. The area has shown to be an important biodiversity hotspot, and a major stopover site for migrating birds. Further research should be focused on some still poorly investigated taxonomic groups, in particular: Actinopterygii, Amphibia Salamandridae, Carnivora Mustelidae, and Chiroptera.

Ship Losses and the Growth of Roman Harbour Infrastructure

This study analyses regional trajectories in Mediterranean coastal developments between ca. 200 bc and ad 200, the time of a peak in maritime activities as recorded archaeologically through shipwreck evidence. The aim is to test the proposition that the development of harbour infrastructure should be followed by a decline in shipwrecks around coastal areas. The inference is that, economically speaking, investing in harbours would result in faster and safer transshipment areas and enable regions to cope better with intensifying trade, while the high costs of harbour infrastructure would be offset by a reduction in the loss of ships, and hence loss of capital. In reality, however, the relationship between shipwreck data and local harbour infrastructure in the ancient Mediterranean is far more complex. Here we discuss two coastal regions: central Tyrrhenian Italy and southern France. We suggest the realization of a need for the substantial development of infrastructure in order to cope with intensifying trade is a phenomenon that predates the Roman Imperial period.

Shaping Mediterranean landscapes: The cultural impact of anthropogenic fires in Tyrrhenian southern Tuscany during the Iron and Middle Ages (800–450 BC / AD 650–1300)

Charcoal analysis, applied in sediment facies analysis of the Pecora river palaeochannel (Tyrrhenian southern Tuscany, Italy), detected the occurrence of past fire events in two different fluvial landforms at 800–450 BC and again at AD 650–1300. Taking place in a central Mediterranean district adequately studied through palaeoenvironmental and archaeological research, the investigation determined land changes, time phases and socio-economic driving forces involved in dynamic processes of fire. The fire sequences had purely anthropogenic origins and were linked to forest opening and reduction by local communities. Introduced by the Etruscans, fires dated to 800–450 BC involved mainly the forest cover on the hilly slopes, ensuring agricultural exploitation. From AD 650, fires contributed to Medieval upstream reclamation and vegetation clearing of flat swamplands. From AD 850 to 1050, the use of fire spread over a wider area in the river valley, increasing arable lands. Between AD 1150 and 1300, fires belonged to a regional forest clearance phase. Medieval fire episodes had a paramount importance in shaping and determining the character of the Tuscan Mediterranean landscape. From AD 850, Medieval fire clearing influenced regional vegetation history contributing to the decline of the dominant deciduous Quercus woodland. Open habitats became the new form of a clearly detectable agricultural landscape from AD 950. The use of fire clearing and the resulting landscape changes in the Pecora river valley depended on the political strategies adopted by Medieval authorities and marked, in fact, the progression of a cultural landscape still characterizing central Tyrrhenian Italy.

Response of specialized birds to reed-bed aging in a Mediterranean wetland: Significant changes in bird biomass after two decades

Abstract Traditional fish farming carried out in wetland is declining in many countries of Mediterranean Europe. This decline can lead to a lack of management of the reeds that tend to age progressively. In this work we compared, through a wide temporal range (2001-2019), the densities of four habitat-specialized birds (warblers), strictly linked to Phragmites australis reed-beds in a coastal wetland on the Tyrrhenian central Italy. In this wetland, following the abandonment of fish farming, the average density of reeds significantly decreased, and both the average reed diameter and habitat heterogeneity showed a significant increase. Comparing 2001 to 2019, we observed an increase in the total density of breeding warblers. The two species of Acrocephalus (scirpaceus and arundinaceus), and Cettia cetti showed a marked increase in density, while Cisticola juncidis showed a clear decrease. More particularly, a significant increase in Cettia cetti (p < 0.001) and a decrease in Cisticola juncidis (p < 0.05) emerged when comparing bird biomasses. Species diversity and evenness were more high in 2019 than in 2001. Our data suggest that: (i) these species could be considered indicators of long-term reed-bed changes and (ii) their biomass may be used as a more effective metric when compared to abundance.

A hotspot of xenodiversity: First evidence of an assemblage of non‐native freshwater turtles in a suburban wetland in Central Italy

AbstractThe present study reports on a case of high richness in an assemblage of non‐native freshwater turtles in a suburban wetland of Tyrrhenian Central Italy (Torre Flavia Nature Reserve), providing evidence for first observations of species at regional, national and continental levels. Following a standardized sampling procedure, 54 specimens belonging to seven taxa (ten taxa, including subspecies) were sampled. These includedTrachemys scripta(overwintering in the nest of a juvenile, corroborating its reproduction in the wild),Graptemys pseudogeographica, Pelomedusa olivacea(first observation recorded for Europe), Pseudemys concinna, Pseudemys nelsoni,Mauremys sinensisand an unclassified Kinosternidae (Kinosternon subrubrum subrubrumvelSternotherus odoratus; first observation recorded for Europe at the family level).Due to the high frequency of the most common species (Trachemys scripta: >80% in frequency), this non‐native assemblage was characterized by high Simpson dominance, low Simpson diversity and low evenness values. This appears to be the first evidence of a local hotspot of these non‐native reptiles in Europe. These relevant data and their ecological implications (e.g., alien food webs) are discussed, as well as their conservation concerns and wetland management perspectives.

Aegean Enigma: The Rise and Fall of Vineyards during Antiquity

This paper argues that the rise and fall of north and central Aegean wine exportations was caused by economic factors, such as changes in wine supply. It demonstrates that these wines disappeared from southern Gaul and central Tyrrhenian Italy when these areas started to locally produce their own wine. At the same time, north and central Aegean wines were also ousted from the Black Sea region by both local products and cheaper imports from the southern Aegean. This shows that supply and demand governed commercial activities during the Classical and Hellenistic periods, which provides new evidence regarding the nature of the ancient Greek economy.

Polystyrene seedling trays used as substrate by native plants.

Among polymers, expanded polystyrene (EPS) is increasingly abundant as a form of anthropogenic litter in natural environments, particularly along waterways. Nevertheless, there is still no research focusing on the interaction between this type of litter and biodiversity components. In this note, we reported the first evidence of an interaction between EPS and living native plants along an artificial drainage channel in a land reclaimed area of Tyrrhenian central Italy. We sampled a number of EPS seedling trays, deriving from agricultural activities, obtaining evidence for an interaction between this polymer and plants: on a total of 231 available seedling holes, 16.88% have been occupied from six species (Lycopus europaeus, Poa cfr. trivialis, Stachys palustris, Silene sp., Phragmites australis, Parietariajudaica). The set of species occurring on floating polystyrene trays appears comparable to that occurring on the sides of the land reclaimed channels (locally, L. europaeus and S. palustris are among the most common species of the riverine vegetation). Therefore, it is very probable that floating trays are a random sample of the seed rain of the vegetation of the sides of the channels. However, more research is needed to assess if the plant assemblage growing on EPS is random process or if peculiar substrate exerts some sort of selection on the plant community.

Reviewing an eco-biogeographic question at regional scale: the unexpected absence of a ubiquitous mammal species (Microtus savii, Rodentia) in coastal Southern Tuscany (central Italy)

We reviewed the historical and recent data about the unexpected absence of a generalist ubiquitous mammal (Savi’s pine vole Microtus savii, Rodentia) from a large sub-regional coastal land reclaimed area of Tyrrhenian central Italy, trying to search for causes explaining it. We assessed the possible role of different factors for different sub-areas as, in primis, biogeographic isolation (Monte Argentario) and granulometric/geochemical soil characteristics (Maremma plain) linked to land reclaimed history. However, bioclimatic regime, and competition with other species in area of recent colonization, examined in relation to some specialized species traits could be added to explain the unexpected absence of this ubiquitous rodent. Comparing our data with other geographical areas with similar characteristics, we hypothesize that none of these factors can be considered individually determinant, but that the cause of this absence could be determined by their interaction among different causal factors. This note would stimulate future field sampling design aimed to test the different hypotheses here inductively proposed.

Tyrrhenian central Italy: Holocene population and landscape ecology

This paper compares changes in vegetation structure and composition (using synthetic fossil pollen data) with proxy data for population levels (including settlements and radiocarbon dates) over the course of the last 10 millennia in Tyrrhenian central Italy. These data show generalised patterns of clearance of woodland in response both to early agriculturalists and urbanism, as well as the specific adoption of tree crops and variations in stock grazing. The results provide a comprehensive understanding of the development of the anthropogenised landscape of one of the most important early centres of European civilisation, showing regional trends as well as local variations.

The early and Middle Bronze Age (1/2) in South and central Tyrrhenian Italy and their connections with the Avellino eruption: An overview

Caves are one of the most conservative environments on Earth, where archaeological, anthropological, climatic and tectonic data can be well-preserved. Here, we present the results of a multidisciplinary method that allowed us to recognize, for the first time in this area, the interaction between Late Pleistocene to Anthropocene neotectonic and archaeological evolutionary stages of a cave of the Apennines (La Sassa cave), that encompass also its surroundings (Volsci Range and Pontina Plain). Both structural and 3D survey highlighted a step-wise shape of the cave due to normal fault steps that allowed the localized formation of concretions also enveloping archaeological layers. Sixteen 14C ages on fauna and human bones and thousands of archaeological finds provided chronological constraints of faulting in the Late Pleistocene and possibly also after the Middle Bronze Age. In the frame of a region that was not previously recognized as tectonically active, the structural evidence is relevant for understanding the speleogenesis of the cave from the Late Pleistocene and its human occupation. Burial and ritual activities in the cave from the Copper Age to the Middle Bronze Age have been recognized with implications on possible settlement pattern schemes with the La Sassa cave as a “persistent place” in the prehistoric human landscape. The analyses of the ceramic style in a regional framework also suggests the presence of a cultural boundary near La Sassa, which becomes highly osmotic just after the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age. The La Sassa findings provide as well implications for the seismic hazard assessment in a region inhabited by about 0.4 million people.

Rapporti commerciali fra la Tunisia e l'Italia centro-tirrenica fra IV e III sec. a.C.: gli apporti della cultura materiale ceramica

This contribution analyses the development of commercial interactions between central-Tyrrhenian Italy and Carthage during the 4th-3rd centuries BC. The research starts from bibliographical scrutiny of already-edited ceramics of presumably central-Italian origin and is completed by the provenance study of transport amphorae and black glaze wares from recent excavations. For the identification of these new materials which are in part still unpublished, I refer to the fabrics of Campanian and Lucanian productions published in the FACEM database. The evidence of material culture of Tunisia presently available allows for a distinction between two different phases of central-Tyrrhenian trade during the 4th-3rd-centuries BC. Only the more recent one, which starts around 300 BC could be considered the expression of veritable commercial interaction between the Roman-Campanian area and Carthage and its Punic-Sicilian eparchia. Published online 01/02/2018

Plastisphere in action: evidence for an interaction between expanded polystyrene and dunal plants.

Among the many threats that can be recorded on sandy beaches, plastic litter represents a serious problem for these complex and endangered ecosystems. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is increasingly abundant as a form of plastic litter in natural environments, particularly along shores and waterways. Nevertheless, despite the great number of scientific articles concerning the impact of litter on animal species, there are still no research focusing on the interaction between this type of beach litter and other biodiversity components. In this work, we reported the first evidence of interactions between EPS and living plants along a sandy beach of Tyrrhenian central Italy. We sampled 540 EPS items, mainly deriving from fishery activities (>75%). We obtained evidence for an interaction between EPS and plants: about 5% of items resulted perforated or have roots of three species (Phragmites australis, Spartina versicolor, Anthemis maritima). Apparently, we did not observed a relationship between plants and EPS items size. More research is needed to assess if the plant assemblage growing on EPS is random or if peculiar substrate exerts some sort of selection on the plant community.

APPROACHING ROAD-CUTTINGS AS INSTRUMENTS OF EARLY URBANIZATION IN CENTRAL TYRRHENIAN ITALY

The landscape of central Tyrrhenian Italy became increasingly engraved with roads cut deep in the ground in the course of the seventh and sixth centuries bc. This development was mainly for pragmatic reasons, such as the need for better infrastructure and transport facilities resulting from increased vehicular traffic between and within regions. In addition to providing logistic benefits, road-cuttings also contributed to developing the socio-political aspects of the proto-urban centres of central Italy through their monumentality, which arguably was utilized in politicizing territorial landscapes as well as in enhancing funerary rituals. In this paper I shall examine road-cuttings as instruments of urbanization in iron age and Archaic central Italy by attempting to present a point of view in which the road-cuttings in central Italy are seen not only as pragmatic facilities, but also as building blocks of landscapes of power and identity. This goal is approached by using the methods of landscape archaeology and phenomenology in a study of 110 road-cuttings from central Italy and assessing their relations to their physical surroundings.

The Consumption of Aegean wines in Roman Tyrrhenian Italy: between literary and archaeological evidence

The purpose of this paper is to present both literary and archaeological evidence that concerns the consumption of Aegean wines in central Tyrrhenian Italy (Latium and Campania in particular) in the Roman age. An attempt has been made to outline the time frame in which the drinking of Greek beverages was practised by the Romans. Moreover, the qualities of these wines are described and the scale of the consumption of different varieties is estimated. It has been noticed that the literary evidence suggests that wines from Chios, Lesbos, and Thasos were very famous in Rome; however, amphoras from these islands are rarely attested in Roman Latium and Campania. Some explanations for this are proposed.

The syntaxonomic position of Santolina etrusca - multivariate analysis

The results of multivariate analysis of the syntaxonomic role of <em>Santolina etrusca</em> (<em>Lacaita</em>) Marchi et D'Amato, a species endemic to Tyrrhenian central Italy, are reported. Classification was performed by polythetic divisive analysis using two-way indicator species (TWINSPAN). Ordination analysis was performed by correspondence analysis (CA). Classification and ordination showed that although <em>Santolina etrusca</em> grows prevalently in communities of <em>Rosmarinetalia</em> Br.-Bl. ex Molinier 1934, it is ecologically correlated and associated with entities of unstable nitrophilous communities subject to frequent disturbance belonging to an order, <em>Helichryso-Santolinetalia</em> Peinado and Martinez-Parras 1984, with western eumediterranean distribution. However it does not have a well defined sociological role, as it is constant in all community groups.

Late Quaternary catchment evolution and erosion rates in the Tyrrhenian side of central Italy

This work assessed the geomorphological evolution and erosion rates in a small clayey catchment of Tyrrhenian central Italy, providing chronological constraints for the fluvial deposits of the area for the first time. The study area is the catchment of the Formone stream, a left tributary of the Orcia River (Tuscany, Italy). A 5km-long section of the valley, up to its confluence with the Orcia, was studied. It has an area of ca. 12km2 and elevations between ca. 300 and 600ma.s.l. Two soil samples have been radiocarbon dated. One was located at the top of a fluvial terrace (~20m above the present thalweg), and the other was located near the water divide of a small tributary catchment: they yielded ages of 2780±40 and 14,050±70yrsB.P., respectively.These chronological constraints allowed us to reconstruct the geomorphological evolution of the area through topographic and GIS analyses, and to estimate late Quaternary erosion rates. The ages provided a chronological reference for the terraced fluvial deposits of the Formone and the upper Orcia catchments. The resultant erosion rates are consistent with those in the literature both for the Tyrrhenian side of central Italy and for Mediterranean Europe. Moreover, the results confirmed that very intense erosion processes occurred as a consequence of the Pleistocene–Holocene climatic change, as observed in the peri-Adriatic belt of central Italy.