A geoarchaeological study of the metaponto coastal belt, southern Italy, based on geomorphological mapping and gis-supported classification of landforms

In this work we tried to infer the settlement rules and archaeological site patterns in pilot coastal area with high “archaeological potential” through the analysis of the spatial relationships between landform unit maps deriving from a GIS-supported procedure of landform extraction integrated with geomorphological analyses and archaeological evidence. This approach has been tested in the coastal Ionian sector of the Basilicata region, where a detailed geoarchaeological research has been carried out in the frame of the multidisciplinary MeTIBas project (the Italian acronyms for Innovative Methods and Technologies for the Cultural Heritages in the Basilicata region), funded by the European Community. The study area extends on the southernmost part of the Bradano Foredeep, southern Italy, and roughly coincides with the Greek settlement territory of Metaponto and its Chora (the area of influence of Greek colonists). Archaeological investigations, regarding about 1400 sites, consisted of a re-examination of literature data and new field surveys. The relationships between landscape elements deriving from the procedure here proposed and archaeological sites have been statistically investigated to derive settlement patterns and rules. Results highlight a preferential distribution of the identified categories of archaeological sites on gently-dipping marine terrace surfaces and near their edges, thus implying that settlement dynamics of the Metaponto territory partially driven by the topographic position

SEMI-AUTOMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF LANDFORMS AS A TOOL TO STRESS GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL ISSUES: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE METAPONTO COASTAL BELT, SOUTHERN ITALY

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Lactic Fermentation of Cereal Flour: Feasibility Tests on Rice, Oat and Wheat

Background and objective: Consumers show increasing interests in probiotic foods and lactic acid fermentations. Cereal flour, can be a good fermentable substrate due to its prebiotic nature; from which, synbiotic products can be prepared. The aim of the current study was to investigate if three various cereal flours rice, oat and wheat would be good potentially functional foods.Material and methods: Fermentation tests were carried out on rice, oat and wheat flours, using Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 and 1.5-L fermenter with 1-L working volume. After 24 h, microbial growth, pH value, lactic acid production and starch consumption were assessed.Results and conclusion: In all three flours, pH reduction was seen; particularly in rice flour. The highest Lactobacillus growth and lactic acid production were achieved at the end of rice fermentation. The greatest starch consumption was reported at the end of rice fermentation. In conclusion, lactic fermentation of cereals as potentially functional foods was possible for the three flours. However, the best result belonged to rice flour.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

geomorphological mineralogical and geochemical evidence of pleistocene weathering conditions in the southern italian apennines

Geomorphological, mineralogical, and geochemical evidence of Pleistocene weathering conditions in the southern Italian Apennines Pleistocene weathering, uplift rates, and mass movements have been studied and correlated in a key-area of the Italian southern Apennines. The study area is the Melandro River valley, developed in a tectonically-controlled Quaternary intermontane basin of the axial zone of the chain. The goal of this paper is to assess ages and geomorphic features of two paleo-landslides and to relate them to values of uplift rates and the climate conditions in the axial zone of the chain during the Pleistocene. Uplift rates have been estimated using elevation and age of flat erosional land surfaces. In the southern area of the basin, the landscape features a wide paleo-landslide which can be ascribed to the upper part of the Lower Pleistocene on the basis of relationships with Quaternary deposits and land surfaces. Another paleo-landslide, in the northern sector of the basin, can be referred to the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. The correlation between the ages of the two landslides and the temporal trend of the uplift rates allowed us to hypothesize that mass movements occurred in response to uplift peaks that destabilized slopes. Additionally, deciphering weathering conditions by means of the analysis of mineralogical and geochemical signals from landslide deposits and weathered horizons allowed assessment of changes in paleoclimate scenarios during the Pleistocene. The deep weathering was probably caused by the onset of warm-humid climate conditions, which may have acted as a further factor triggering landslide movements in an area already destabilized by the rapid uplift

Effects of the Glucose Addition during Lactic Fermentation of Rice, Oat and Wheat Flours

 Background and objective: Consumer interests in probiotic foods have increased in recent decades. Food industries respond to these growing interests by developing innovative products and guaranteeing high production efficiency. Cereals, due to their prebiotic nature, are good fermentable substrates; from which, potentially functional foods could be achieved. The aim of this study was to verify effects of D-glucose addition on fermentation of rice, oat and wheat flours.Material and methods: Suspensions of 15% of cereals flours (rice, oat and wheat) in distilled water added with increasing glucose concentrations (2, 5, 7 and 10% w v-1) were fermented by Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 for 24 h. Then, pH, microbial growth and lactic acid production were assessed.Results and conclusion: Rice fermentation was not affected by glucose addition. For oat and wheat, addition of D-glucose increased bacterial concentration, as well as lactic acid production. In particular, the best growth was achieved by the addition of 2 and 5% of glucose. Furthermore, lactic acid concentration increased with increased glucose concentration. In conclusion, D-glucose addition seems to be unnecessary for the improvement of rice fermentation. On the contrary, oat and wheat fermentations need further available carbon sources for a better Lactobacillus growth and a higher lactic acid production.Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Constraints on the dispersal of Mt. Vulture pyroclastic products: implications to mid-Pleistocene climate conditions in the foredeep domain of southern Italy

Mt. Vulture volcano is located on the thrust front of the southern Apennines. Its mid-Pleistocene products are spread southeastward in the adjacent Bradano foredeep basin. The stratigraphic record of the volcano within the Quaternary sedimentary successions helps to better understand the paleo-environmental setting of the foredeep. Volcaniclastic deposits cropping out close to the edifice, tephra levels and associated paleosols recovered from the southernmost sector of the foredeep are of key importance in reconstructing the Pleistocene morpho-climatic conditions in which they formed, using a multiproxy approach. Geomorphological observations and stratigraphic sampling come from the Venosa lacustrine-alluvial basin and from the areas of Irsina and Pomarico villages, where pumice fall levels and related paleosols are present at the top of the lower-middle Pleistocene sedimentary succession. Geochemical and mineralogical analyses of paleosols and pyroclastic rocks have indicated that the Pomarico pumices, reworked and deposited in an alluvial environment, could be likely correlated to the Fara d’Olivo ignimbrites (39Ar/ 40Ar age < 687 ± 8 ka) present in the basal unit of the Mt. Vulture volcanic succession. The presence of a 7Å halloysite phase in the paleosols from two different sites suggests that the Pleistocene weathering likely developed in a dry-humid climate with an alternation of rainy seasons and dry periods.Le volcan du Mont Vulture est situé sur la portion frontale des Apennins du sud de l’Italie. Ses produits datant de la période du Pléistocène moyen se sont répandus en direction du Sud-Est, jusqu’à l’intérieur du bassin adjacent de l’avant-fosse du Bradano. Leur position au sein des séries sédimentaires du Quaternaire fournit une clé de lecture pour comprendre l’évolution de l’avant-fosse. Les éléments géomorphologiques et stratigraphiques ont révélé que le bassin fluvio-lacustre de Venosa, situé à proximité de l’édifice volcanique, est le résultat du remplissage d’une paléovallée incisée dans des séquences Pléistocènes de l’avant-fosse. L’étude des niveaux de téphra associés aux paléosols du secteur plus au sud de l’avant-fosse (Irsina et Pomarico), revêt une importance capitale en vue d’une reconstruction du scénario morphoclimatique. Sur d’autres sites, les niveaux de ponces déposés durant les éruptions ainsi que les paléosols qui y sont associés, sont présents au sommet de la série sédimentaire du Pléistocène inférieur-moyen. Les analyses géochimiques et minéralogiques des paléosols et des roches pyroclastiques montrent que les ponces de Pomarico se sont accumulées dans un environnement alluvionnaire et pourraient être corrélées aux ignimbrites de Fara d’Olivo (âge < 687 ± 8 ka) présentes dans l’unité basale de la séquence volcanique du Mont Vulture. La présence d’halloysite‑7Å dans les paléosols qui ont été échantillonnés sur deux sites différents, nous suggère que les conditions d’altération au cours du Pléistocène moyen ont probablement eu lieu dans le cadre d’un climat humide, caractérisé par une alternance de saisons pluvieuses et durant lesquelles a eu lieu un processus de lixiviation, suivies par des périodes de sécheresse marquées par de très faibles précipitations

Geoarchaeology and geomorphology of the Metaponto area, Ionian coastal belt, Italy

A 1:28,000-scale geoarchaeological map has been prepared for a large sector of the Ionian coastal belt of the Basilicata region, southern Italy, in order to investigate the relationships between the spatial distribution of archaeological sites of Greek settlement of Metapontum and the main landforms of this sector of the Bradano Foredeep. Archaeological investigation consists of an examination and a re-organisation of published data and new field surveys, which has allowed us to infer the relationships between landform elements and spatial distribution of about 1400 archaeological remnants of the Greek colony of Metapontum. Our results highlight a non-random distribution of the archaeological evidence and the strong influence of geomorphological features and processes on the settlement pattern