93014 - Landscapes Archaeology (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course introduces the main research topics and the most up-to-date methods to analyze the changes that occur in the relationship between man and the environment over time, such as to generate different landscapes in different eras. The student will be provided with the necessary tools to understand these dynamics, through an integrated use of different sources and tools: from the reading of ancient texts (including technical repertoires such as itineraries and agri-sensory and urbanistic writings) and archaeological sources, to the study of physical geography, also with the help of modern methods of cartographic analysis (GIS) and diagnostics (Remote Sensing). Particular importance will be given to the study of the urban landscape and to the reconstruction of the ancient road system and agrarian farming.

Course contents

The Course and the Field Projects

The course focuses on changes in the ancient landscape through the study of the relationship between people and the environment throughout different periods, giving equal attention to all types of sources without neglecting environmental factors, such as climate change and the constraints imposed by physical geography.

The course will be divided into two separate modules, with an introductory and methodological first module that will focus mainly on the Roman landscape, followed by a second module dedicated to specific topics that characterize the evolution of the medieval landscape. Both modules will have a workshop approach with a particular focus on practical aspects, including the consultation of cartographic tools (IGM and CTR maps) and the analysis of databases (GIS) and specialist software (GNV: National Archaeology Geoportal). Both parts of the course will refer to first-hand data collected in field projects, in particular the archaeological excavations that will be presented in the first lessons of the course and in which students will be able to participate (Butrint, Suasa, Paestum, Cervia, Zagonara).

Among the field projects, the following are particularly noteworthy: surface surveys in the Adriatic area (the Reno valley near Bologna in August-September, the Cesano and Aso valleys in the Marche region in September-October), surveys of fortified hilltop sites in ancient Epirus, corresponding to present-day Albania, and in the Ravenna area (Lower Romagna, Cervese, and Lower Ravenna) in September and October.

In addition to field surveys, there is also the Urban Archaeology project in Ravenna, which includes workshops for the study of core samples, artifacts, and archival documentation.
The initial lessons of the course will be dedicated to the presentation of the projects, to give students time to assess their interests and availability to participate.

Having attended the course and passed the exam or having a relevant thesis will be considered a preferential element for participation in field research (see the links to the project websites below).

 

The Course

The first module will take place during the third teaching period, between January and March, and will begin with a presentation of the course, related projects, and examination methods by the coordinators of both modules. This will be followed by an introduction to the evolution of the discipline and its characteristic methods, aimed at developing maps of archaeological potential that are also useful in a professional context. Compared to the Methodology course, the focus will be on territories and sites with a topographical approach rather than on the analysis of excavation contexts.

To this end, the main categories of sources (repertories and written sources, toponymy, epigraphy, archaeology) will first be analyzed using case studies, focusing on the study of the field (geomorphology) and its representations (topographic maps and thematic cartography, both paper and digital). In addition, modern field survey methodologies will be analyzed, starting with non-invasive methods, both remote (remote sensing, i.e., traditional and multispectral satellite/aerial photography, lidar) and on the ground (geophysics, archaeological survey). Particular emphasis will be given to archeological surveys and comparison with archival data (legacy data) through the analysis of some reference projects for the discipline (South Etruria Survey, Boeotia Project, Biferno Valley Survey, Tuscania Survey, Tiber Valley Project). The main topographic survey techniques necessary to document archaeological remains in the field (GPS, photogrammetry, laser scanner) and incorporate them into digital cartography to obtain an archaeological map (GIS) will then be briefly illustrated.

This goal will be pursued by taking into account regulatory and professional aspects, enhancing the role of the landscape archaeologist who is also attentive to the involvement of citizen communities (public archaeology) and advocates sustainable archaeology that does not oppose change but acts as a protagonist in urban and territorial planning (preventive archaeology).

The conclusion of the first module, in March, will be dedicated to some characteristic themes of the study of the Roman landscape (road network, scattered population, agricultural land ownership, mountain economy). To this end, the impact of the agro-pastoral economy on the territory will be analyzed, especially in mountain areas (Upland Archaeology). In order to better illustrate the evolution of Roman landscapes, a number of case studies related to field projects in the Adriatic-Ionian area will be critically examined, comparing Roman itineraries, written sources, buried landscapes (reconstructed thanks to geophysics and aerial photography), archaeological remains, and environmental changes.

The second module, between April and May, will focus on the main phenomena related to the history and archaeology of rural landscapes in medieval Europe. These include: the spread and evolution of fortifications and castles, the formation and development of villages, new foundations, and various types of minor settlements, the spread of churches and monasteries in the countryside and their impact on the landscape, the transformation of agricultural and uncultivated landscapes, and the social dynamics related to forms of settlement. Particular attention will be paid to the evolution of relations between rural aristocracies and peasant communities during the Middle Ages, the emergence of rural communities, and the interactions between urban and agricultural contexts, from a comparative perspective that compares different areas of Europe.
Some of the topics covered in this second module may also lead to specific methodological insights, knowledge that will complete the picture provided in this area during the first module.

 

The course content is closely related to that covered in the laboratories of topography, which are recommended in order to complement the theoretical training with technical and practical skills. For further information, please refer to the web page dedicated to workshop teaching:

https://corsi.unibo.it/magistrale/archeologia/i-laboratori-didattici


Links to project websites:

https://cumarcheologia.it/
https://site.unibo.it/butrint/en
https://site.unibo.it/fortnetproject/en
http://mapsproject.it/
https://site.unibo.it/arcup/en
https://disci.unibo.it/it/ricerca/missioni-archeologiche/missioni-archeologiche-italia/castelleone-suasa-ancona
https://disci.unibo.it/it/ricerca/missioni-archeologiche/missioni-archeologiche-italia/zagonara-ra
https://disci.unibo.it/it/ricerca/missioni-archeologiche/missioni-archeologiche-italia/cervia-ra


Finally, it should be noted that the course is an active part of the Me.Te project - Memories from the Territory. Stories of Landscapes and Communities in Transformation. The general outline of the project will be presented in class together with the other colleagues involved, and if there are students interested in participating in the fieldwork, possible applications will be considered:

https://site.unibo.it/mete-memorie-territorio/it

Readings/Bibliography

Students attending classes must study their lecture notes with the help of the presentations available on the course website and must also study the following two compulsory texts:

· P. Carafa, Storie dai contesti. Metodologia e procedure della ricerca archeologica, Perugia 2021 (solo cap. 3 Topografia e Archeologia del Paesaggio pp. 173-298);

· R. Rao, I paesaggi dell’Italia medievale, Roma 2015.

Students who will not attend classes must study the following textbooks in addition to the two textbooks already provided, in place of lecture notes:

· G. Bonora, P.L. Dall'Aglio, S. Patitucci, G. Uggeri, La Topografia antica, Bologna 2000 (solo cap. 2 Le fonti per la topografia antica pp. 45-132 e cap. 4 Ambiti peculiari pp. 177-241).

. A. Augenti, Archeologia dell’Italia medievale, Roma-Bari 2016, (solo parte sulle campagne medievali pp. 82-184).

Non-attending students are strongly advised to supplement their study of the recommended textbooks by consulting the presentations available on the course website. Furthermore, it should be noted that these last two textbooks for non-attending students may also be useful for attending students to review or deepen their understanding of the topics covered in the first part of the course.

Foreign students may replace the required texts with the following books only after consulting with the teachers:

B. David, J, Thomas (eds), Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, Routledge 2008 (10 chapters of your choice);
· S. Campana, Mapping the Archaeological Continuum: Filling ‘Empty’ Mediterranean Landscapes, Springer 2018;

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY
(These readings are not mandatory but optional and useful only for further study of certain topics covered in class that may be discussed in class.)

Firts Module

Main Topics

 G. Gisotti, Geologia per archeologi, Roma 2020;

F. Boschi, Archeologia senza scavo. Geofisica e indagini non invasive, Bologna 2020;

S. Campana, Mapping the Archaeological Continuum. Filling ‘Empty’ Mediterranean Landscapes, Springer 2018;

C. Nicosia, Geoarcheologia delle stratificazioni urbanempost-classiche, Roma 2018;

F. Tosco, Il paesaggio come storia, Bologna 2017;

J. Bogdani, Archeologia e tecnologie di rete. Metodi strumenti e risorse digitali, Roma 2019;

F. Cambi, Manuale di archeologia dei paesaggi, Roma 2011;

E. Giorgi (a c.), In profondità senza scavare. Metodologie di indagine non invasiva e diagnostica per l'archeologia, Bologna 2009;

B. David, J, Thomas (eds), Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, Routlege 2008.

Survey Projects

G. Barker, T. Rasmussen, In the Footsteps of the Etruscans: Changing Landscapes around Tuscania from Prehistory to Modernity, Cambridge 2023 (https://sol.unibo.it/SebinaOpac/resource/in-the-footsteps-of-the-etruscans-changing-landscapes-around-tuscania-from-prehistory-to-modernity/UBO09646929 );

P. Attema, J. Bintlff, F. Vermeulen et alii, A guide to good pactice in Mediterranean surface survey projects, in Journal of Greek Archaeology 5 (2022), pp. 1-62 (http://archaeopresspublishing.com/ojs/index.php/JGA/article/view/430/99 );

H. Patterson, R. Witcher, He. Di Giuseppe, Changing landscapes of Rome’s northern hinterland, Oxford 2020 (https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781789696158#:~:text=The%20Changing%20Landscapes%20of%20Rome's%20Northern%20Hinterland%20presents%20a%20new,1000%20BC%20to%20AD%201000 .);

P. Attema, Data integration and comparison in landscape archcaeology: towards analysis beyond sites and valleys, in Boschi, Giorgi, Vermeulen 2020, pp, 11-18 (https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781789696998 );

M. Cavalazzi, «Looking through the keyhole»: problems and research strategies for landscape archaeology in an alluvional plain with a high rate of vertical growth. The case of Bassa Romagna and south-eastern Po Valley, in Groma 2 (2020), pp. 1-24 (https://archaeopresspublishing.com/ojs/index.php/groma/issue/view/vol5-2020 ).

Roman Landscapes

E. Dodd, D. Van Limbergen (eds), Methods in Ancient Wine Archaeology: Scientific Approaches in Roman Contexts, London 2024;

A. Marzano, Plants, Politics and Empire in Ancient Rome, Cambridge 2022;

J. Turchetto, Una, nessuna, centomila…tracce di centuriazione romana nella Venetia centrale, Padova 2022;

W. De Clercq, D. van Limbergen, S. Maréchal (eds), The Resilience of the Roman Empire: Regional case studies on the relationship between population and food resources, Oxford 2020.

E. Todisco, I vici rurali dell’Italia Romana, Bari 2011;

L. Capogrossi Colognesi, Persistenze e innovazione nelle strutture agrarie dell’Italia romana, Napoli 2002;

S. Segenni, L’agricoltura in età romana, Milano 2019;

E. Sereni, Storia del paesaggio agrario italiano, Bari 1974 (cap. II l’Italia antica, cap. III l’alto Medioevo e l’età feudale);

S. Settis (a c.), Misurare la terra: centuriazione e coloni nel mondo romano, Modena 1993;

M. Agnoletti, Storia del bosco. Il paesaggio forestale italiano, Roma 2018;

M. Lentano, Vissero i boschi un dì. La vita culturale degli alberi nella Roma antica, Roma 2024.

A. Cortonesi, Il medioevo degli alberi (secoli XI-XV), Roma 2024.

Second Module

Medieval Landscapes

M. Cavalazzi, Le Forme Del Popolamento Rurale Nelle Pianure Di Area Esarcale Dopo La Fine Dell’età Romana, in Gli Spazi Del Vissuto Nel Medioevo. Scritti per Paola Galetti, a cura di Nicola Mancassola, Sesto Fiorentino (FI) 2023, pp. 159–72.

J. A. Quirós Castillo e C. Tejerizo-García, Filling the Gap: Peasant Studies and the Archaeology of Medieval Peasantry in Light of the Northern Iberian Evidence, Journal of Agrarian Change 21, 2 (2021), pp. 377–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.12393 .

A. Paul, Villages, Communities, Landscapes in the Byzantine and Medieval Salento, in Paesaggi, Comunità, Villaggi Medievali, a cura di Paola Galetti, Spoleto 2012, pp. 547–564.

A. Brugnoli, F. Saggioro, e G. M. Varanini, “Villaggi” e Strutture Dell’insediamento in Territorio Veronese Tra IX e XII Secolo, in Paesaggi, Comunità, Villaggi Medievali, pp. 361–94.

A. Buko, Medieval Rural Settlements in the Central Europe (6th-Mid: 13th c.): Examples from the Polish Lands, in Paesaggi, Comunità, Villaggi Medievali, pp. 41–60.

O. Creighton, Castle Studies and the European Medieval Landscape: Traditions, Trends and Future Research Directions, Landscape History 30, no. 2 (2009), pp. 5–20.

M. Ghisleni, et al. Excavating the Roman Peasant I: Excavations at Pievina (Gr),Papers of the British School at Rome, 79 (2011), pp. 95–145.

P. Guglielmotti, Villenove e Borghi Franchi: Esperienze Di Ricerca e Problemi Di Metodo, Archivio Storico Italiano, 166, no. 1 (2008), pp. 79–96.

A.A. Settia, Una Preda in Fuga": Morfologia Del Villaggio Nelle Fonti Scritte, in Paesaggi, Comunità, Villaggi Medievali, pp. 283-92.

M. Abballe, M. Cavalazzi e C. Fiorotto, Integrated Approaches to Understanding Complex Long-Term Reclamation Processes in the Hinterland of Ravenna (Italy), Journal of Wetland Archaeology 31 (2022).

M.-C. Bal, A. Benatti, G. Bosi, A. Florenzano, S. Garcia-Álvarez, A. M.a Mercuri e J.M. Rubiales, Pedoanthracology Sheds Light the Ancientness of the Pastoral Highlands of Three Mediterranean Mountain: Sierra de Gredos (Spain), Southeast Massif Central (France), and Northern Apennines (Italy)’. CATENA 223 (Aprile 2022). 106941.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2023.106941

S. Burri, Reflections on the Concept of Marginal Landscape through a Study of Late Medieval Incultum in Provence (South-Eastern France), PCA: European Journal of Post-Classical Archaeologies 6 (January 2014), pp. 7–38.

D.R. Curtis, M. Campopiano, Medieval Land Reclamation and the Creation of New Societies: Comparing Holland and the Po Valley, c. 800–c. 1500, Journal of Historical Geography 44 (2014), pp. 93–108.

W. Groenman-van Waateringe, “Wasteland: Buffer in the Medieval Economy.” Actes des Congrès de la Société d’Archéologie Médiévale 5, no. 1 (1996): 113–117.

Paesaggi religiosi –chiese, monasteri rurali e altri insediamenti religiosi

G. Pasquali, Economia e Paesaggio Rurale Di ‘Deserta’ Alle Porte Di Ravenna: L’isola Litoranea Di Palazzolo Dal VI al XIV Secolo, Atti e Memorie Della Regia Deputazione Di Storia Patria per Le Provincie Di Romagna 34 (1983), pp. 131–61.

D. Roubis, et al., Exploiting a Monastic Territory: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach Using GIS and Pollen Analysis to Study the Evolution of the Medieval Landscape of the Jure Vetere Monastery (Calabria-Italy), in Plants and Culture. Seeds of the Cultural Heritage of Europe, pp. 107–120, 2009.

J. Torró Abad, One Aspect of the Christian Settlement of the Kingdom of Valencia: The Drainage and Placing under Cultivation of Coastal Wetlands (c.1270-1320), in Paesaggi, Comunità, Villaggi Medievali, pp. 225–38.

Main Journals

For an update on the main research topics, we recommend consulting the latest issues of the following journals:

Groma (groma.unibo.it)

Atlante Tematico di Topografia Antica (lerma.it/catalogo/collana/41)

Archeologia Aerea (archeologia-aerea.it)

Rivista di Topografia Antica

Agri Centuriati

Teaching methods

The lessons will be seminar-based, using presentations and case studies involving research conducted by the lecturer. Depending on logistical availability and where possible, interested students will be offered the opportunity to participate in field research.
Students will be required to actively participate in lessons.
Depending on the number of students attending, some optional readings will be suggested, taken from the latest issues of the specialized journals listed at the end of the bibliography, which students can summarize and report on critically in class or during the final exam.
A series of additional conferences open to the public will be organized on specific topics by researchers working on related issues.
To refine both theoretical and practical aspects, it is recommended that students attend topography workshops (https://corsi.unibo.it/magistrale/archeologia/i-laboratori-didattici).

Assessment methods

The active participation in lessons, conferences and teaching activities will also be evaluated.

The final vote will be determined by an oral exam.

The questions will cover the following topics:

1. Methods and sources for landscape archaeology (first part of the course on ancient sources, toponymy, cartography, aerial photography, geophysics, survey);


2. Ancient Landscape of Roman and Medieval Italy (Settlement, Farming, Viability);


3. Tools for the topographic documentation (Total Station, Laser Scanner, Photogrammetry, GPS);

The interview will be opened by the candidate with a topic of his or her choice (first question), followed by two requests for further information on the other topics (two questions). If necessary for the assessment, further questions may be asked.

For non-attending students, the interview will focus on the same topics, paying particular attention to the volumes being studied.

The following evaluation parameters will be adopted, for attending students and non-frequenting students.

Attending Students

Excellent evaluation (30 and praise-28): active participation of the student in the lessons; the student will have to demonstrate the possession of high level knowledge, the ability to interpret the landscape problems correctly and showing a certain autonomy of reasoning. The student will demonstrate the ability to move well within the "parure" of sources presented in class. Excellent oral expression skills including in the technical languages presented.

Good grade (27-23): The student has attended the course and will demonstrate possession of knowledge at a good level, but mainly mnemonic; the interpretation of the problems proposed will be correct, but not always precise and autonomous. The language used will be appropriate with some problems in the more technical aspects.

Sufficient rating (22-18): The student has attended the course, demonstrates possession of the basic knowledge of the discipline, but assumed in mnemonic form; the interpretation of the problems is mostly correct, but conducted with inaccuracy and little autonomy. The language used will be fair, but lacking in technical language.

Insufficient evaluation: the lack of acquisition of the basic concepts of the discipline, combined with a poor ability to make use of the sources presented and an adequate language will be evaluated with insufficient score, which provides for the repetition of the exam.

Non-Frequenting Students
Non-frequenting students will be evaluated primarily on the basis of their ability to gain awareness of the issues inherent in Landscape resulting from manual and bibliographic study, combined with adequate language.

Excellent evaluation (30 cum laude -28): the student will demonstrate a solid understanding of the subject matter, the demonstration of a critical sense in evaluating the sources to be drawn upon in reconstructing the ancient landscape. He/she will express him/herself in language appropriate to the subject, even in its technical parts.

Good evaluation (27-23): the student will demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the subject, but will not have fully succeeded in developing a critical sense, with verbal expression and reasoning on the issues proposed not always perfect.

Sufficient rating (22-18): the student will demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the subject matter, but will have failed to develop a critical sense, with verbal expression and reasoning on proposed problems not fully satisfactory.

Insufficient assessment: lack of acquisition of basic concepts of the discipline, coupled with a poor ability to make use of the sources presented and adequate language will be assessed with an insufficient score, which requires retaking the exam.

Teaching tools

The presentations used during the lessons will be available on the web portal of the course.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Enrico Giorgi

See the website of Marco Cavalazzi