Frattesina and the later Bronze Age – Early Iron Age metals trade: the absolute chronology of smelting sites in the Trentino – Alto Adige/Südtirol

We present 15 new 14C dates for copper smelting sites in the Trentino, together with 31 published dates for smelting sites in the region. Smelting may have already begun in the sixteenth century cal BC and continued until the ninth century cal BC. This suggests a new historical model, in which the twelfth-ninth centuries BC site of Frattesina, an important trans-shipment node between continental Europe and the Mediterranean and manufacturing site, is at the centre of the metals trade of the final Bronze Age and early Iron Age, rather than subsidiary to Etruria mineraria. Frattesina uses copper from the southern Alps, which is traded to peninsular Italy but also to Greece (probably as finished artefacts), while the metal production of Etruria mineraria is seen to be rather less important

Late-Holocene climatic variability south of the Alps as recorded by lake-level fluctuations at Lake Ledro, Trentino, Italy

International audienceA lake-level record for the late Holocene at Lake Ledro (Trentino, northeastern Italy) is presented. It is based on the sediment and pollen analysis of a 1.75 m high stratigraphic section observed on the southern shore (site Ledro I) and a 3.2 m long sediment core taken from a littoral mire on the southeastern shore (site Ledro II). The chronology is derived from 15 radiocarbon dates and pollen stratigraphy. The late-Holocene composite record established from these two sediment sequences gives evidence of centennial-scale fluctuations with highstands at c. 3400, 2600, 1700, 1200 and 400 cal. BP, in agreement with various palaeohydro-logical records established in central and northern Italy, as well as north of the Alps. In addition, high lake-level conditions at c. 2000 cal. BP may be the equivalent of stronger river discharge observed at the same time in Central Italy's rivers. In agreement with the lake-level record of Accesa (Tuscany), the Ledro record also suggests a relatively complex palaeohydrological pattern for the period around 4000 cal. BP. On a millennial scale, sediment hiatuses observed in the lower part of the Ledro I sediment sequence indicate that, except for a high-stand occurring just after 7500 cal. BP, lower lake levels generally prevailed rather before c. 4000 cal. BP than afterwards. Finally, the lake-level data obtained at Lake Ledro indicate that the relative continuity of settlements in humid areas of northern Italy during the Bronze Age (in contrast to their general abandonment north of the Alps between c. 3450 and 3150 cal. BP), does not reflect different regional patterns of climatic and palaeohy-drological conditions. In contrast, the rise in lake level dated to c. 3400 cal. BP at Ledro appears to coincide with a worldwide climate reversal, observed in both the hemispheres, while palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data collected at Lake Ledro may suggest, as a working hypothesis, a relative emancipation of proto-historic societies from climatic conditions

Archeometria delle ambre protostoriche: dati acquisiti e problemi aperti

Infrared spectroscopy is a technique that has been successfully used for almost 40 years in the archaeometric study of amber. Only a handful of protohistoric Italian amber objects have been analysed till the beginning of the present investigation, and on the basis of the existing data it is common knowledge that amber was imported from the Baltic area. Infrared spectroscopic investigation on 57 samples from 16 different Italian sites, all but three dated to the Bronze Age, were carried out. The analyses were performed with the DRIFT technique, which shows important advantages with respect to the more diffused FTIR technique, especially because of the low amount of sample needed. In the last 5 years we have developed two spectroscopic databases of geological ambers of well-known origin, one with FTIR spectra that is important for comparison with the literature data, and one with DRIFT spectra, in order to have a good reference for the provenance study. Samples from several different European deposits have been characterized, some of which for the first time, such as those from North and Central Italy. The obtained archaeometric data show that during the Bronze Age a small amount of non Baltic amber, probably extracted from unidentified local deposits, was used, together with a large quantity of Baltic amber imported from Northern Europe. In the site of Poggiomarino (Naples), Baltic and non Baltic ambers were used in comparable amounts, showing that even during Iron Age local amber deposits were exploited

I vetri di Frattesina. Caratterizzazione crono-tipologica, archeometria e confronti nell\u2019ambito della tarda et\ue0 del Bronzo dell\u2019Europa centro-orientale e del Mediterraneo.

This work concerns the typological and archaeometric topics of the mixed alkali (LMHK Low Magnaiium High Potassium) glass finished products from the protohistoric settlement of Frattesina di Fratta Polesine (Veneto region - north eastern Italy) and its necropolises (Narde I and II and Fondo Zanotto). For what concerns the typological analysis, a previous preliminary work (BELLINTANI, STEFAN 2009) is here updated with data from the excavations carried out in the settlement (1974-1989) by Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri, from the II nucleus of the Narde necropolis and from new surface research (years 2014-2016). These data were also discussed in the light of the most recent studies on glassy materials from the Late Bronze Age Europe and Eastern Mediterranean. Currently the number of glass products, mostly coming from the settlement area, amounts to 3,039 artifacts, of which 3,035 ornamental elements (3,033 beads, 2 anthropomorphic pendants) a small container (alabaston) and some vascular fragments in ceramic decorated with glass on the surface. The most represented category, i.e. beads, is made up, mostly, by the group of monochrome beads and specifically of the \u2018annular bead\u2019 type (2,837; i.e. 95.58% of all the beads found). Typologically more diagnostic, but definitely lower in number (199; 4.52%) are the larger beads, of which 137 are decorated with glass of a that of the body. As regards the chronology of this artisan activity in rattesina, the initial moment remains not well defined, perhaps datable to a more or less advanced moment of the initial final Bronze Age (FBA1) or of the transition to the central one (FBA2). The moment of maximum development corresponds to FBA2, a period in which all the main types of beads are present. With the start of the FBA3, processing seems to undergo a drastic decline. On the other hand, no artifacts refer to the Early Iron Age (EIA1), the last moment in the life of the protohistoric community. An overview of the main elements of comparison among the 137 beads decorated with glass of a different colour from that of the body, referable to the two large groups of beads with wire decoration (spiral or wavy) or with drops (\u2018eye\u2019 decoration), is here presented. In particular, we focus on the origin of the types, almost always derived from the eastern Mediterranean and with precedents in the group of the \u2018brown glasses\u2019 (HMBG: High Magnesium Brown Glass), probably of North Italian production. The distribution of beads, which by type and composition recall those produced in Frattesina, extends over a very vast area, from the Mediterranean Levant and the Aegean to the North Sea, and concentrates in the regions immediately south and north of the Alpine Arc, along strategic communication routes such as the Adige and Rhein Valleys, probably related to the movement of other commodities and prestige goods (Baltic amber, copper from the Alps, perhaps tin). Based on all the available literature archaeometric data, the main chemical and mineralogical characteristics of the glass from Frattesina and its necropolis, Fondo Zanotto and Narde, are reviewed. A short description of the glass compositions, together with the type of raw materials and coloring techniques used are presented. In specific the Frattesina glass are made with sand and a fluxing agent that is of two different types: 1) potash plant ash; and 2) mixed alkali flux, possibly derived from mixed alkali plant ash or a mix of K-rich and Na-rich plant ashes. Blue is the more diffuse color, the wide range of shades are related to the type and quantity of chromophores present in the glass (Cu, Co and Fe). Moreover, whitish-pale green, red, white and green glasses are present. All these different colors are obtained with the use of one or even two (for red and white glasses) specific coloring techniques. In addition, we present a new report of beads, mainly annular, in mixed alkali glass from funerary contexts of the Belozerka culture, widespread in the region north of the Black Sea (Ukraine, Moldova) and dating back to the passage from the Bronze to the Iron Age. The presence in Belozerka grave goods of glass beads of a composition similar to that of LMHK glasses from Western Europe, along with raised violin bow fibulae of Italian and/or Aegean type, suggests a possible transmission of artifacts, fashions and technologies along paths that were to connect northern Italy and the central-eastern Alps to Eastern Europe, through the Danubian-Carpathian region. Such an hypothesis could also be supported by the exceptional context of Hordeevka, also in Ukraine, where numerous amber beads of the Tiryns and Allumiere types of probable Italian production are attested. The composition of the glasses from the Belozerka culture has been compared with the chemistry (and mineralogy) of the glass from Frattesina. Interestingly, the \u2018recipes\u2019 for the glass productions seem to be very similar: sand and K-rich ashes or mixed alkali flux are use also for the Belozerka glass. On the other side, variations in both major and minor elements contents suggest the use of different raw materials. In addition, the coloring techniques used in the two areas show peculiar aspects. All these observations suggest that the glass from Frattesina and from the Belozerka culture are originated from different production centers

The use of different amber sources in Italy during the Bronze Age: new archaeometric data

The production of amber ornaments occurred in Italy during the Eneolithic (E)\u2013Early Bronze Age (EBA), although very few beads from the Italian peninsula have been found and analysed. The number of data available for provenience study of Bronze Age ambers is larger, but still a precise picture of when and to what extent the local sources of amber were exploited is lacking. In the present work, 22 amber finds from six Sicilian sites have been studied and analysed by infrared spectroscopy, in particular with DRIFT (diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transformed) analyses. The amber samples are dated between the Eneolithic and the Final Bronze Age\u2013Early Iron Age and are from the collections of the P. Orsi Museum, in Syracuse (Sicily). The data show that only simetite was used in South Italy in the Late Eneolithic (LE)\u2013 EBA. In the Bronze Age, the exploitation of simetite shows different intensity in different chronological phases. The results are discussed in comparison with the information available for coeval European ambers

I ripostigli da ‘fonditore’ e il ‘tesoretto’ di Frattesina: aggiornamenti e considerazioni

Il contributo prende in considerazione i cinque ripostigli dell’insediamento protostorico di Frattesina di Fratta Polesine, datato tra Bronzo Recente 2 e Primo Ferro – fase 1A (XII – X/IX sec. a.C.). I ripostigli, databili alla fase centrale del Bronzo Finale (BF 2 – XI sec. a.C. ca.), sono stati studiati (e presentati in lavori a stampa) dal punto di vista tipologico, cronologico e funzionale. In questo lavoro i complessi sono analizzati con approcci diversi, a partire dalla nuova analisi crono-tipologica del cosiddetto ‘tesoretto’, il ripostiglio composto da oggetti, prevalentemente ornamenti, in bronzo, ambra, vetro, avorio, uova di struzzo e pietra, pubblicato nel 1971. Per quanto riguarda i cosiddetti ‘ripostigli da fonditore’ (nn. 1-4), formati da lingotti e diversi tipi di oggetti frammentati (attrezzi, armi, ornamenti), vengono qui esaminati gli aspetti metrologici e il sistema ponderale. A seguito della pesatura di ogni elemento (compresi i frammenti minimi ad oggi inediti), i depositi sono confrontati con altri complessi italiani ed europei. Infine, sono proposte alcune considerazioni sulla funzione e sul significato dei ripostigli sulla base della revisione dei materiali, delle rare e limitate notizie relative alla scoperta (sfortunatamente avvenuta al di fuori dai contesti stratigrafici pertinenti) e alla luce delle nuove ricerche avviate nel sito dal 2014, mirate alla comprensione delle caratteristiche strutturali e infrastrutturali dell’insediamento. Con queste premesse, e sulla base del confronto con altri ripostigli provenienti da contesti tanto interni quanto esterni agli insediamenti, il contributo affronta il problema dell’attribuzione dei materiali al pertinente ambito funzionale, profano o rituale, ed evidenzia come i confini tra i due ambiti siano spesso sfumati, come dimostrato dalle analogie tra i ripostigli 1-4 di Frattesina e quelli provenienti da alcune vette appenniniche, probabilmente di natura votiva. Nel complesso, e confermato, riguardo ai ripostigli 1-4, quanto suggerito da Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri e Luciano Salzani, ossia il fatto che essi debbano essere stati connessi con officine metallurgiche; per il ‘tesoretto’ viene proposto un possibile ruolo simbolico e/o sacrale

Frattesina and Adria: report of scientifc analyses of early glass from the Veneto

Il contributo costituisce un dei report di un progetto sulla produzione di paste vitree in epoca preromana condotto in collaborazione con l'Università di Nottingham. Questa tranche di lavoro prende in esame sistematicamente i materiali preromani in pasta vitrea da Fratta Polesine e da Adria al fine di selezionare campioni significativi per l'analisi delle componenti del vetro. I risultati delle analisi mettono a fuoco aspetti delle caratteristiche produttive in riferimento alle singole tipologie

l progetto di ricerca sperimentale “Karnyx di Sanzeno”

Dal 2008 l’Ufficio beni archeologici è impegnato nella conduzione e promozione del progetto di ricerca multidisciplinare “Karnyx di Sanzeno”. Si tratta di un progetto di ricostruzione sperimentale e di valorizzazione di una tromba da guerra celtica rinvenuta, in stato frammentario, nell’abitato retico di Sanzeno (Val di Non). Al progetto partecipano numerosi soggetti: oltre all’Ufficio Beni archeologici (Paolo Bellintani, Rosa Roncador, Elena Silvestri), l’Università degli Studi di Genova (Paolo Piccardo), il Conservatorio “F.A. Bonporti” di Trento (Ivano Ascari) e il Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France - C2RMF (Benoit Mille), Fucina Ervas (Alessandro Ervas) e Decimarosa Video (Elena Alessia Negriolli). Tutti gli specialisti collaborano alla realizzazione di una replica il più possibile vicina all’originale, con particolare attenzione alla ricostruzione delle modalità progettuali e di realizzazione (“catena operativa”). Un aspetto relativamente nuovo è quello dell’esplorazione dell’orizzonte sonoro di questo singolare strumentoSince 2008 the Archaeological Heritage Office has been involved in carrying out and promoting the “Sanzeno Carnyx”. multidisciplinary research project. This is a project for the experimental reconstruction and enhancement of a Celtic war trumpet found in fragments in the Rhaetian settlement of Sanzeno (Val di Non). Numerous parties are participating in the project: in addition to the Archaeological Heritage Office (Paolo Bellintani, Rosa Roncador, Elena Silvestri), these are the University of Genova (Paolo Piccardo), the Conservatorio “F.A. Bonporti” in Trento (Ivano Ascari) and the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France - C2RMF (Benoit Mille), Fucina Ervas (Alessandro Ervas) and Decimarosa Video (Elena Alessia Negriolli). All the specialists are working together to create a replica which is as close as possible to the original, paying particular attention to the reconstruction of planning and construction methods (“operational chain”). One relatively new aspect is exploration of the sound made by this singular instrumentSince 2008 the Archaeological Heritage Office has been involved in carrying out and promoting the “Sanzeno Carnyx”. multidisciplinary research project. This is a project for the experimental reconstruction and enhancement of a Celtic war trumpet found in fragments in the Rhaetian settlement of Sanzeno (Val di Non). Numerous parties are participating in the project: in addition to the Archaeological Heritage Office (Paolo Bellintani, Rosa Roncador, Elena Silvestri), these are the University of Genova (Paolo Piccardo), the Conservatorio “F.A. Bonporti” in Trento (Ivano Ascari) and the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France - C2RMF (Benoit Mille), Fucina Ervas (Alessandro Ervas) and Decimarosa Video (Elena Alessia Negriolli). All the specialists are working together to create a replica which is as close as possible to the original, paying particular attention to the reconstruction of planning and construction methods (“operational chain”). One relatively new aspect is exploration of the sound made by this singular instrumen

Le ambre di Campestrin e l'origine della decorazione tipo Tirinto

Questo lavoro è, al contempo, sintesi e ampliamento di due relazioni presentate al convegno “Frattesina cinquant’anni dopo. Il Delta del Po tra Europa e Mediterraneo nei secoli attorno al 1000 a.C.”, tenutosi a Rovigo nel 2018, dedicate rispettivamente: alle ambre del sito di lavorazione di Campestrin di Grignano Polesine (Rovigo - Italia) e all’evoluzione crono-tipologica delle perle d’ambra tradizionalmente indicate come ‘tipo Tirinto’. L’abitato di Campestrin venne scoperto nel 2007 ed è stato oggetto di quattro campagne di scavo tra il 2008 e il 2011. L’abitato si trova nella bassa pianura tra i tratti terminali dei fiumi Adige e Po, a ridosso della sponda destra di un antico paleoalveo padano noto come ‘Po di Adria’ e in prossimità del suo Delta. Sembra aver avuto una vita relativamente breve, ossia è attribuibile alle fasi BR2 e BF1 (XII sec. a.C. ca), quindi sostanzialmente coevo alla prima fase Frattesina di Fratta Polesine, il ben noto centro di produzione e scambio, situato ca 8 km più ad ovest lungo la stessa asta fluviale. La notizia del più antico sito di accertata lavorazione dell’ambra a sud della regione baltica è stata accolta da molti studiosi come la prova del ruolo attivo della regione nord-adriatica nella produzione e circolazione di manufatti realizzati con ambra di provenienza nord-europea (o ‘baltica’), ipotesi già prospettata da alcuni studiosi dopo scoperta, nel 1967, di Frattesina, dove tuttavia mancavano indicatori specifici di lavorazione dell’ambra. Questi ultimi sono invece ampiamente documentati a Campestrin, che tra i suoi prodotti annovera anche perle ‘tipo Tirinto’. Come noto, il ‘tipo Tirinto’ è datato prevalentemente tra XIII/XII e XI sec. a.C. (ma in Italia anche fino al IX sec. a.C.) e attestato su di un areale amplissimo: dal Mediterraneo centrale all’Egeo, con estremi che vanno dalla Sardegna al Levante mediterraneo e all’Ucraina. Si tratta in sostanza di uno dei componenti della cosiddetta koiné della tarda età del Bronzo europea e mediterranea (armi ed elementi ornamentali) che convive e oltrepassa la crisi del XII sec. a.C. Scopo del contributo è quello di presentare i manufatti finiti attualmente individuati a Campestrin, nonché i reperti in fase di lavorazione riconosciuti come pertinenti alla catena operativa degli oggetti caratterizzati dalla presenza della costolatura centrale (‘tipo Tirinto’), mentre ancora in corso di studio sono le altre possibili catene operative. Per quanto riguarda gli esemplari del cosiddetto ‘tipo Tirinto’ (finiti e non) si propone inoltre una nuova classificazione tipologica, basata su diversi parametri formali che hanno permesso di distinguere più tipi. In questa nuova proposta la presenza della costolatura centrale è vista come una modalità decorativa definita ‘decorazione tipo Tirinto’. A ciò si aggiungono l’analisi delle tracce di lavorazione, in particolare dei tipi con decorazione tipo Tirinto, e le indagini sulla provenienza della materia prima, caratterizzata come succinite, la cosiddetta ‘ambra baltica’. Ampio spazio viene dato ai manufatti con decorazione tipo Tirinto: studi pregressi, distribuzione, cronologia e nuove ipotesi su origine e possibili centri di lavorazione, basate su un modello creato con la Network Analysis. Per quanto sia ancora presto per proporre una precisa ricostruzione dello sviluppo della decorazione tipo Tirinto (la cronologia di molti esemplari è imprecisa), le fasi provvisoriamente proposte in questo lavoro (fase 1 = BR1(?)/2-BF1 e fase 2 ≥ BF2), permettono alcune osservazioni più puntuali rispetto a quanto fino ad oggi discusso.This work is a synthesis (and expansion) of two papers presented at the “Frattesina fifty years later. The Po Delta between Europe and the Mediterranean in the centuries around 1000 BC” conference, held in Rovigo in 2018. The original presentations dealt with the ambers of the processing site of Campestrin di Grignano Polesine (Rovigo - Italy) and the chrono-typological evolution of the amber beads traditionally referred to as of “Tiryns type”. The settlement of Campestrin was discovered in 2007 and four excavation seasons were conducted there between 2008 and 2011. The site is located in the low plain between the terminal sections of the Adige and Po rivers, close to the right bank of an ancient branch of the Po river known as “Po di Adria” and near its Delta. It seems to have had a relatively short life (Recent Bronze Age 2 and Final Bronze Age 1 - 12th century BC), therefore, to have been coeval to the first phase Frattesina di Fratta Polesine, the well-known production and trading center located about 8 km further on west along the same river course. The news of the oldest known amber processing site south of the Baltic region has been welcomed by many scholars as proof of the active role of the North Adriatic region in the production and circulation of artifacts made with amber of North European (or “Baltic”) origin. This hypothesis had already been proposed by some scholars after the discovery, in 1967, of Frattesina, where specific evidence for amber processing was lacking. Processing is well documented in Campestrin, which also has “Tiryns-type” beads among its products. As is well known, the “Tiryns type” is mainly dated be¬tween the 13th / 12th and 11th centuries BC (but in Italy also up to the 9th century BC) and attested over a very wide range: from the central Mediterranean to the Aegean, with extremes in Sardinia, the Eastern Mediterranean and Ukraine. It is essentially one of the components of the so-called koiné of the late European and Mediterranean Bronze Age which coexists as a complex of weapons and ornamental elements and goes beyond the crisis of the 12th century BC. The purpose of this paper is to present the currently identified finished artifacts found at Campestrin, as well as those unfinished finds which can be identified as belonging to the chaîne opèratoire of objects characterized by the presence of a central rib (“Tiryns type”); the artefacts that relate to other chaînes opèratoires are still under study. We also propose a new typological classification for the (finished and unfinished) specimens of the so-called “Tiryns type”, based on various formal parameters that have made it possible to distinguish several types. In this new proposal the presence of the central rib is seen as a decorative feature defined as “Tiryns-type decoration”. We also discuss the analysis of traces of processing, in particular of the types with Tiryns-type decoration, and the investigation of the provenance of the raw ma¬terial, characterized as succinite, the so-called “Baltic amber”. Ample space is given to artefacts with Tiryns-type decoration: previous studies, distribution, chronology and new hypotheses on the origins and possible processing centers, based on a model created with the Network Analysis. Although it is still too early to propose a precise reconstruction of the development of the Tiryns-type decoration (the chronology of many specimens is impre¬cise), the phases provisionally proposed in this work (phase 1 = RBA1 (?)/2-FBA1 and phase 2 ≥ FBA2), allow some more precise observations than has been made to date