CARSO TRIESTINO: I RAPPORTI FRA SPELEOLOGIA E ARCHEOLOGIA DALL’800 AL PRESENTE

In the hinterland of Trieste the largely prevalent limestone formations are rich in karst phenomena, such as caves, rock shelters, Karrenfeld, pits: the Classical Karst. Two of these phenomena, caves and rock shelters, have long attracted two main categories of researchers: speleologists and archaeologists, in particular prehistorians, who work in basically separate scientific environments. Nevertheless, the analysis of the relationships between these communities, both born and developed since the second half of the 19th century, has revealed that the “barriers” between these two worlds have been more permeable than previously thought, largely thanks to the action of charismatic, open-minded figures present in both fields. We could mention many of these key persons, but they are known essentially within their own discipline, while two are certainly famous also outside: Carlo Marchesetti, archeologist, and Eugenio Boegan, speleologist. The connections between archaeology and speleology have changed through time, due not only to the theoretical, methodological and technical developments in both disciplines, but also to the historical, social and economic transformations of the territory. The combination of all these elements allow to detect the main turning points in the history of the speleo-archaeological research in Karst caves, according to the authors of this reconstruction

Whetstones from Bronze Age hill forts of North Eastern Italy

A group of Bronze Age whetstones from Protohistoric hill forts, locally called Castellieri, of eastern Friuli Venezia Giulia (north eastern Italy) has been studied using different techniques, including non destructive methods such as X-ray computed micro-tomography and portable X-ray fluorescence, in order to characterize the raw material and define its origin. The obtained results suggest that small pebbles of reddish subarkose and quartz arenites collected from the gravel deposits of river Isonzo, perhaps deriving from Val Gardena Formation outcrops, were exploited for the production of the studied artefacts during the Bronze Age. These data complement our knowledge about the lithic raw materials exploitation strategies during the ancient phase of Castellieri culture, almost exclusively based on local rock type

CAN WE MOVE BEYOND THE PRESENT PERCEPTION OF THE NEOLITHIC VLA\u160KA GROUP OF THE TRIESTE KARST (NORTHEASTERN ITALY) WITHOUT NEW FIELD EXCAVATIONS?

The (early) middle Neolithic of the Trieste Karst, known as Vla\u161ka Group or Neolitico dei vasi a coppa, has been analysed, mainly since the 1960s onwards, by different scholars who have given often divergent interpretations. The systematic revisions of the materials from many cave deposits that had remained largely unpublished till the early 1990s have increased the data set, allowing to better define the main components of this facies. Geo-sedimentological and archaeometrical analyses carried out in the same years have contributed to connect the material culture to the presence of shepherds who visited the Karst coming from both close and more or less distant areas

Note su Ludwig Karl Moser, Carlo Marchesetti e le indagini di fine \u2018800 - inizi \u2018900 nelle grotte del Carso triestino

Nel 2008 fu organizzata a Trieste una Giornata Internazionale di Studi dedicata a L. K. Moser, studioso di fine \u2018800-inizi \u2018900 che, con C. Marchesetti, contribu\uec significativamente alla nascita della ricerca paletnologica nelle regioni del Litorale austriaco. Gli interventi raccolti nel volume degli Atti (2012) ne ricostruiscono per la prima volta in modo oggettivo vita e attivit\ue0, portando dati importanti, usati in questo contributo per focalizzare l\u2019attenzione sulle indagini in grotta e sul confronto fra Moser e Marchesetti

THE KARST NEOLITHIC OF CAPUT ADRIAE: AN \u201cINCOMPLETE NEOLITHIC PACKAGE\u201d OR A SMART ADAPTIVE SOLUTION?

One of the main routes of the spread of farming into Europe follows the eastern Adriatic coast as far north as the Caput Adriae, where the Karst is located: specific physiographic conditions, history of field research and of studies make the Neolithisation of this area similar but different from that of the surrounding ones. In the Karst, since the first discovery of the Mesolithic in the Azzurra cave in the early 1960s, its presence has been detected in 18 cavities and 1 probable open-air site. The following Neolithic \u2013 named Vla\u161ka Group, Danilo-Vla\u161ka, Gruppo dei vasi a coppa \u2013 is recorded in 14 of these caves, but almost everywhere (with one possible significant exception at Edera cave) after a sedimentological/chronological gap. 14C dates are few but would indicate that the Neolithic started at around 5600-5500 BC and lasted for at least 1 millennium. Danilo-Vla\u161ka materials \u2013 pottery, flaked blades and polished stone axes, faunal remains of domesticated animals (mostly ovicaprines) \u2013 are present in more than 40 caves in total, but in highly variable numbers, from one to many hundreds, presumably due to the nature of modern discovery (occasional findings vs. systematic excavations) on the one hand, and of ancient use on the other. Geoarchaeological studies have in fact demonstrated that many caves were used by shepherds with their flocks of sheep and goats for millennia, with variable intensity and continuity. Archaeometric analyses of polished stone artefacts have contributed to identifying the extent of their movements and to hypothesizing the exchange mechanisms involved, in which the availability of sea salt along the coast could have played an important role. Under current paradigms, these data would suggest an \u201cincomplete Neolithic package\u201d, but an alternative interpretation would value the smart site-specific adaptation of human groups to Karst areas

"Pietra verde, Neolitico e post Neolitico, Carso… lo stato della questione" 15 anni dopo

A distanza di quindici anni dalla prima raccolta sistematica di dati sui reperti preistorici/protostorici in “pietra verde” – lame d’ascia, asce forate e altri manufatti in pietra levigata – provenienti da siti del Carso triestino è stata fatta una nuova revisione, presentata analiticamente in questa sede. Il riesame è stato considerato utile anche perché un progetto interdisciplinare avviato a seguito dei primi studi sulla “pietra verde” ha portato a risultati di grande interesse soprattutto su caratterizzazione e provenienza dei vari tipi di roccia usati, e conseguentemente sui contatti culturali che i diversi luoghi di origine possono suggerire

ON THE TRAIL OF SHEPHERDS AND SALT FROM THE COAST TO THE MOUNTAINS AND VICE VERSA IN NE ITALY

Archaeology of pastoralism and archaeology of salt share research methods based on direct and indirect indicators: geomorphological and environmental characters, sedimentology and soil micromorphology, archaeozoology, ethnography, ethnohistory and material culture. The possibility of investigating only one or more of these elements is conditioned mainly by the results of past field explorations/studies and by the present-day research team (interdisciplinary or not) and available facilities. On these premises we have compared the multidimensional character of pastoralism in Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia (NE Italy). Sedimentology and soil micromorphology have been fundamental to identifying some Karst caves as stables. The revisions of associated artefacts in the sites supported the hypotheses on the (dis)continuity of use, while faunal remains were less indicative. The presence of a relatively high number of exotic materials - whose non-local origin, first proposed on traditional, typological-comparative studies has been confirmed by recent archaeometric analyses - may be related to transhumant pastoralism, but marine salt might have been the main attractiveness. From prehistory to Roman times, and in a different context, a similar integration of methodologies resulted successful once again. Moreover, soil chemistry is giving good results also off-site, as demonstrated by the recent study of the Bronze Age embankment road devoted to the passage of herd localized in the Po lowland. This case study shows that ancient paths and roads and pastoral movements can be overlapping: in the reconstruction of both, physiographic features - particularly in mountain regions - play an undeniable role together with historical and ethnographic data. Our studies used regional ethno-historical data, combined with field ethnographic and ethno-archaeological research: though what is \u2018traditional\u2019 is not inevitably \u2018ancient\u2019, our experiences indicate that data derived from the studied area - rather than from contemporary primitive societies - are useful to identify general trends and recognize sites and structures

ASCE FORATE IN PIETRA LEVIGATA E ALTRI INDICATORI DI SCAMBI E CONTATTI NEL CAPUT ADRIAE TRA IV E III MILLENNIO A.C

A long-term project has allowed the provenance identification of the main groups of Neolithic and Copper Age stone axes from Caput Adriae. Stone artefacts can indeed be scientifically analysed to detect the geological origin of the raw materials and thus try to recognize ancient exchange networks. This contribution summarizes the lithology, typology, distribution and origin of the main groups of Copper Age shaft-hole axes, using their geological signature, together with other available archaeological indicators of medium- and long-distance connections, to reconstruct the main cultural developments that occurred in the investigated area. The main groups of Copper Age shaft-hole axes - Ljubljana type, serpentinite and metadolerite artefacts - were produced from raw materials outcropping in the Eisenkappler Diabaszug complex (Austria), the Hohe Tauern (Austria) and probably the Banija Ophiolite Complex (Croatia) respectively, all areas rich in copper ore deposits. These data demonstrate that since the 4th millennium BC, the exchange network responsible for the distribution of stone axes in the Caput Adriae changed from long-distance Neolithic connection systems based mainly on Italian jades and eclogites to a more complex one, characterized by a new interest for the eastern Alpine and northern Balkan world. The association of lithic raw materials used for axe production and copper minerals shows that the changes in raw material exploitation strategies between the Neolithic and Copper Age are probably related to the development of the first metallurgy. Archaeological evidence, including the distribution of Ljubljana type stone axes, S. Antonino/Kozarac copper axes, and Vu\u10dedol and Ljubljana style pottery, shows that the coastal belt of Caput Adriae, from the Friuli plain to the Istrian peninsula and beyond, was strongly connected with nowadays central Slovenia at least since the last centuries of the 4th millennium BC to the mid 3rd millennium BC