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La ricerca di dottorato affronta lo studio della cultura materiale dell’abitato dell’età del Bronzo di Mursia (isola di Pantelleria) attraverso l’analisi della produzione ceramica. In particolare, sono analizzati gli aspetti che permettono di ampliare l’inquadramento culturale del sito, sia nella sua articolazione interna che nei rapporti con le coeve comunità del Mediterraneo centrale nella prima metà del II millennio a.C. La ricerca inizia con l’illustrazione delle recenti prospettive di studio della Preistoria del Mediterraneo, un tema al centro di un intenso dibattito incentrato sul riconoscimento delle identità culturali e sul ruolo delle reciproche interazioni, con particolare attenzione all’età del Bronzo. Al complesso archeologico di Mursia viene riconosciuto un carattere di eccezionalità per la spettacolare conservazione dei resti archeologici dell’abitato e della necropoli monumentale, oggetto di indagine negli ultimi decenni da parte dell’Università di Bologna e dell’Università Suor Orsola Benincasa di Napoli. Le ricerche hanno consentito di mettere in luce ampie porzioni dell’abitato e di poter esaminare con elevato dettaglio la cultura materiale in rapporto alle modalità insediative diversificate nello spazio e nel tempo. L’approfondimento della ricerca del dottorato verte sullo studio dei manufatti ceramici come strumento privilegiato per definire l’identità culturale della comunità di Mursia, attraverso gli aspetti della produzione artigianale, le abitudini di preparazione e consumo dei cibi e il significato funzionale o simbolico/estetico di alcune categorie vascolari. Rispetto a precedenti presentazioni del contesto di Mursia, la ricerca di dottorato ha enfatizzato, all’interno dell’abbondante produzione ceramica, la presenza di alcune classi con decorazioni incise e impresse che per quantità e caratteri di originalità divengono un elemento aggiuntivo nella definizione della facies di Mursia. Le stesse ceramiche incise e impresse presentano elementi di affinità con una serie di produzioni vascolari coeve nell’area del Mediterraneo centrale, consentendo di affrontare il tema delle interazioni tra diversi contesti insulari, The research deals with the study of the material culture of the Bronze Age settlement of Mursia (island of Pantelleria) through the analysis of pottery production. In particular, the research allows to define the cultural framework of the site, both in its internal structure and in its relations with the contemporary communities of the central Mediterranean in the first half of the second millennium BC. The research starts resuming the recent perspectives of the studies on the prehistory of Mediterranean, a theme at the center of an intense debate focused on the recognition of cultural identities and the role of mutual interactions, with attention to the Bronze Age. The archaeological complex of Mursia is recognized as exceptional, due to the preservation of the archaeological remains of the settlement and the monumental necropolis, which have been investigated in recent decades by the University of Bologna and the Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples. Large portions of the settlement have been excavated allowing to examine material culture in relation to the chronological sequence and the features of the settlement. The research focuses in detail on the study of ceramics as a privileged tool to define the cultural identity of the community of Mursia, through the aspects of craft production, food preparation, consumption habits and the functional or symbolic meaning of some ceramic categories. Compared to previous studies, the research has emphasized, within the huge ceramic production, the presence of some classes with engraved and impressed decorations that, for quantity and originality characters, become an additional element in the definition of the facies of Mursia. The same incised and imprinted ceramics present elements of affinity with a series of contemporary ceramic productions in the area of central Mediterranean, allowing to address the issue of interactions between different communities.

THE HEARTHS, OVENS, KILNS AND FIRING PITS AT LUGO DI GREZZANA (VERONA) - Traces of fire are very frequent into archaeological deposits and recorded in very ancient periods of human prehistory. They can be referred to various activities, both domestic and crafting: lightning, heating, cooking of the food,transformation of raw materials like bone, wood,horn, stone or pigments and many other materials often difficult to detect. Fire pits are the remains of new complex productive activities linked to sedentary lifestyles. "Fire places are part of archaeological surface delimited and distinguishable for a heat alteration of the substrate. It may show fragments of charcoal and ash, specific arrangements and/or special preparations. It is the area where the fire is lit, which provides heat and light, and enabled food to be cooked" (Cavulli 2008: 320). Among the fire features is the "fire pit: an excavated pit used for cooking food, ceramics or other materials. Archaeologically, the pit carries trace of intense firing, prolonged and, probably, repeated as shown by rubefaction of the walls. The fire alteration of the bottom surface is little or rarely recorded "(Cavulli 2008:445). In Lugo di Grezzana (VR), an ancient Neolithic settlement located in Valpantena and dated between 5300 and 4900 cal. B.C.in the Lessini Mountains, five fire pits of different shapes and sizes were excavated between 2003 and 2005. They are all characterized by deep rubefaction of the walls, a slightly-fired bottom (or not fired at all) and large carbonized beams just few centimeters above the bottom. There are also all those identifying elements of activities related to the use of fire: ash, charcoal, fired clay, ecofacts and artifacts with traces of fire alteration. The filling over the carbonized beams consists of mixed sediment and chaotic lying artifacts (Costa et al 2015; Cavulli et alii 2015; Pedrotti et alii 2015; Costa 2018). The largest concentration is coming from area XVI (EESS 635/03, 554/03, 541/03, 543/03), located in the northern part of the settlement. The features EESS 635/03 and 554/03, have subquadrangular openings, subvertical walls and flat bottom. The first has the main axis 1.70m large and short axis 1.50m and the second is larger with the maximum diameter of 2.10 m and the small one of 1.55 m. Other pits (EESS 541/03, 543/03; Fig. 3) have subcircular mouth and diameters of 1.28x1.15m the first and 0.85m the second (Table 1; Fig. 2). Besides the morphological and dimensional data, they seem to have different characteristics of the fillings: the findings in the larger pits are few and little varied, while the smallest ones are rich in lithic, ceramic and bone materials. Other specificities are evident. In ES 541/03 the abundance of burnt bones is possibly related to a later use or infilling of the pit, while flint, bone fragments and sherds are in the ES 543/03, as well as widely scattered on the external surface (US 544/03; Fig. 3). In some cases (EESS 543/03, 554/03) some "post holes" have been detected near the pits but their relation with it is still unclear; although the hypothesis of the presence of roofed structures or vents is interesting. In the upper fillings of the pit ES 635/03 two large daub/burnt clay “bricks” (50 cm large) in side positions, at a distance of about 25-30 cm, were intentionally placed and from these two elongated depressions branch off, filled with sediment rich in burnt clay small fragments (US 588), which may represent the firing pits vents. The ES 473/03=920 excavated in area X (Table1; Fig. 2) is similar to the largest pits. The circular opening has long axis of 1.45 m, small axis of 1.27 m and a depth of 0.53 m. Traces of heat alteration are well evident on the walls and less on the bottom. It is flared on the upper part due to the erosion and collapse of the upper portion of the wall. Two interesting (post?) holes are near the pit, interpreted as possible vents (Cavulli 2008: 233-234, 322; Costa et alii, 2015; Costa 2018). The two holes have ellipsoidal mouths, are very deep and narrow, the filling was easy to identify because of the presence of burnt clay and charcoal fragments, but the excavation has been limited to the depth of the operator's arm due to the physical and visual impossibility to dig deeper. A trench opening a cross section between the pit and the holes, unfortunately, has not verified their function as vents. The combustion pits of Lugo di Grezzana can be compared with two structures with burnt walls at S. Giustina di Baldaria (Salzani 1986, 1990; Pangrazzi 2001-02). The distribution of pyrotechnic features is significant. The simple fire places are mostly located south of the foundation trench of the wooden palisade or linked to covered structural complexes (see area XIII, the ES 906 hut, or area XII), while the fire pits or articulated fire arrangements are located in the northern area outside what appears to be the most strictly residential area. In area X, during the excavation 1999, the presence of a large heap (US 506) has been interpreted as the remains of a vault roofed oven because functionally related to the hearth ES 508,made up by an irregularly shaped lens, and related to ES 281, scattered burnt clay fragment resulting from the cleaning of the surface. These structural complexes have been interpreted as traces of domed ovens/kilns (Cavulli 2008: 216, 321, 234, 417, Fronza 2003-2004, Costa 2018). In Northern Italy similar ovens have been found in the hut of Lugo di Romagna (Degasperi et alii, 1993) and in the "oblong furnaces" of Rivaltella in the early phase of VBQ culture (Tirabassi 1987). Recently similar typologies seem to have been identified in the ancient Neolithic of Foggia, in sites like Masseria Pedone and Serra di Cristo (Tunzi 2015; Tunzi et alii 2017) A complex placed on the second “comb house”,area XIII, which is clearly to refer to the domestic sphere, provides an exception to this dichotomy between simple fireplaces and articulated combustion arrangements. The hearth ES 139/03 (1.68x1 m, with a thickness of 7 cm in the most cohesive part) differs from other fireplaces due to the superimposition of a flat-convex accumulation of burnt clay, 17 cm thick (US 138/03), which could represent the remains of a covering (vault of an oven?). Part of the complex is a channel, ES 151/03, with a 'S' shape, 4 m long and 4 cm deep outside the hearth and shallow where passing through the hearth. Since the sides of the small channel are fired, the depression appears to be contemporary and functionally connected to the fireplace. In the northernmost area of the deposit (area XIV), a large circular concentration of burnt clay, 3 m large in diameter, has been dug. Under it, the trench of a semi-circular wall opens, with deep postholes joined by a channel, ES 352/03. The complex has a horseshoe shape and has two overlapping fireplaces in central position with irregular plan, EESS 391/03, 392/03(Fig. 3). Another fireplace, ES 390/03, is about 2 m from these and four quadrangular pits and some postholes are surrounding the hearths. These evidences have been interpreted as a covered kiln in a production area (Cavulli et alii 2015: Fig. 4; Costa 2018). The presence in the fills of the fire pits of burnt materials cannot be reliably related to the primary use of the pit, as already highlighted by Barfield and Bagolini (1976). Many open questions remain without a clear answer. The bottom of the pit shows a less marked and homogeneous heat alteration than that found on the walls; the carbonized beams in place did not complete the combustion process becoming ashes; there are no traces of a covering of the firing pits, although it is documented both at the archaeological and ethnographic level (Costa 2018). The morphological peculiarities, the characterization of the fills and the dimensional differences between the combustion structures suggest different functions. Only the largest and deepest pits can be interpreted as kilns for pottery firing, but neither other functions are not excluded neither they may be multi-functional pits. Note: ES: structural element (EESS, plural); US:stratigraphic unit (UUSS, plural)

Rinvenuto nell’ambito del “Joint Hadd Project” nel 1986, il complesso archeologico di HD-1 a Ras al-Hadd si segnala per la presenza di un gran quantità di ceramica della Civiltà dell’Indo (seconda metà del terzo millennio a.C.) e costituisce un eccezionale contesto per comprendere le interazioni tra la Penisola Araba e la Valle dell’Indo nel più ampio quadro degli scambi tra la Mesopotamia e il Subcontinente Indo-Pakistano. HD-1 represents an exceptional context for understanding the interactions occurred between the Arabian Peninsula and in Indus Valley in the larger picture of the exchanges between Mesopotamia and the Indo-Pakistani Subcontinent. Twenty years after the first explorations conducted by the British Museum, the current research started in 2016 aims at implementing an updated palaeobiological sampling and a detail analytical study of the production activities.

L’abitato di HD-6 (Ras al-Hadd) rappresenta una delle più importanti scoperte per comprendere l’evoluzione del popolamento nel Sultanato d’Oman e approfondire uno dei momenti più significativi nel percorso della formazione della civiltà araba. Gli scavi intrapresi dal 1995 hanno messo in luce un ampio e complesso abitato, databile tra la fine del quarto e i primi secoli del terzo millennio a.C., caratterizzato da edifici costruiti con mattoni in argilla, un muro perimetrale con fondazioni in pietra e un’intensa attività produttiva di manufatti in metallo, conchiglia e pietra. The hamlet of Ras al-Hadd HD-6 represents one of the most important discoveries to understand the evolution of the population in the Sultanate of Oman and deepen one of the most significant moments in the formation of Arab civilization. The excavations undertaken since 1995 have revealed a large and complex settlement, dating from the late fourth and early centuries of the third millennium BC, characterized by buildings built with clay bricks, a perimeter wall with stone foundations and an intense activity production of metal, shell and stone artifacts.

Dog domestication is still largely unresolved due to time-gaps in the sampling of regions. Ancient Italian canids are particularly understudied, currently represented by only a few specimens. In the present study, we sampled 27 canid remains from Northern Italy dated between the Late Pleistocene and Bronze Age to assess their genetic variability, and thus add context to dog domestication dynamics. They were targeted at four DNA fragments of the hypervariable region 1 of mitochondrial DNA. A total of 11 samples had good DNA preservation and were used for phylogenetic analyses. The dog samples were assigned to dog haplogroups A, C and D, and a Late Pleistocene wolf was set into wolf haplogroup 2. We present our data in the landscape of ancient and modern dog genetic variability, with a particular focus on the ancient Italian samples published thus far. Our results suggest there is high genetic variability within ancient Italian canids, where close relationships were evident between both a similar to 24,700 years old Italian canid, and Iberian and Bulgarian ancient dogs. These findings emphasize that disentangling dog domestication dynamics benefits from the analysis of specimens from Southern European regions.

Small, irregular isolated bones identified as remains of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) were recovered from Mid to Late Holocene sites at Ra’s al-Hamra and Ra’s al-Hadd, coastal Oman. These provide the third instance of this animal being documented from any prehistoric site anywhere, and the records provide one of the oldest, if not the oldest, dates for this distinctive chelonian—even though they do not refer to fossils. Decades of research in this region has yielded vast amounts of archeological information, including abundant evidence of intense exploitation and utilization of marine turtles from about 6,500 to 4,000 BP. During part of this period, turtle remains in human burials have been extraordinary; the turtle involved, Chelonia mydas, has been abundant in the region during modern times. Yet despite intense and varied forms of prehistoric marine resource exploitation, and major, long-term archeological work, no other turtle species has been previously authenticated from these, or other coastal sites. The documentation of remains of the largest and most distinctive of living marine turtles, D. coriacea, at Ra’s al-Hamra and Ra’s al-Hadd, presented herein, provide detailed information that serves as the basis for future interpretations and discussions regarding incomplete, disarticulated remains from the Mid to Late Holocene, particularly in reference to taphonomic questions and diverse environmental conditions.