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Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Quaternary International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint

Anthropogenic deposits from the Bronze Age site of Fondo Paviani (Verona, Italy):
Pedochemical and micropedological characteristics
C. Nicosia a, *, C. Balista b, M. Cupitò c, A. Ertani d, G. Leonardi c, S. Nardi d, M. Vidale d
a
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra “A. Desio”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Mangiagalli 34, 20122 Milano, Italy
b
Geoarcheologi Associati sas, Galleria Venezia 20, 35010 Vigodarzere (PD), Italy
c
Dipartimento di Archeologia, Università di Padova, Piazza Capitaniato 7, 35139 Padova, Italy
d
Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Agrarie, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, Legnaro (PD), Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Fondo Paviani is a Bronze Age archaeological site located in the Valli Grandi Veronesi area in the lower
Available online 20 October 2010 Venetian plain (northeastern Italy). The inhabited area is surrounded by a moat and a quadrangular
rampart, a structural characteristic specific to the so-called terramare, villages that were common in the
alluvial plains both north and south of the Po River during the middle and recent Bronze Age. Dark-coloured
anthropogenic deposits occurring inside the site of Fondo Paviani were exposed during archaeological
excavations and along stratigraphic cross-sections. Here, the micropedological and pedochemical char-
acters of the deposits have been used as a key to decipher the formation processes and post-depositional
modifications involved in order to reconstruct the human activities and environmental conditions recor-
ded in the stratigraphy. This reconstruction has been formulated by integrating the abovementioned
analytical techniques with geomorphological, pedological and archaeological data.
This study focuses on three main lines of research. First, it investigates the cultural and natural mech-
anisms responsible for the vertical accretion of anthropogenic deposits and for their dark colour. Secondly,
it reveals the conversion of a part of the intra-site space to a cultivated area through the establishment of
a ridge-and-furrow system in the final Bronze Age, the period in which population density of the site was
decreasing. The phenomenon of the conversion of originally inhabited areas to cultivated space in terra-
mare during phases of population change appears to be recurring and requires further investigation. Finally,
this study records the occurrence of progressively wetter environmental conditions during and after the
abandonment of the site in the final Bronze Age. This is marked by the overflow of muds from the un-
managed moat and by the successive deposition of wide alluvial covers related to the reactivation of spring-
fed rivers in the Valli Grandi Veronesi area in response to a shift towards wetter climatic conditions.
Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction significance of the terramare. In particular, they aimed at dis-

During the middle and recent Bronze Age (ca. 1600e1150 cal yr
BC), the central Po plain was characterized by the widespread
diffusion of sites known as terramare, settlements surrounded by
a moat and by an earthen rampart (Cremaschi et al., 2006; Pearce,
1998). These sites have been identified both south of the river
Po, in the EmiliaeRomagna region (Cremaschi, 1997; Cremaschi
et al., 2006) as well as north of it, in the lower Venetian plain
(Balista et al., 1998). In EmiliaeRomagna, the dark-coloured and
organic-rich sediments that make up the thick deposits found at
these archaeological sites have been the object of varied interest
since the 19th century. The earliest Italian palaeo-ethnologists were
interested in identifying the formation processes and cultural
* Corresponding author. Fax: þ39 (0)2 50315494.
E-mail address: cristiano.nicosia@unimi.it (C. Nicosia).
tinguishing between two different structural models for these sites,
as pile-dwellings inside a flooded basin, or rather as sites where
pile-dwellings, and subsequently huts, were built on dry soil
(Bernabò Brea and Cremaschi, 1997). At the same time, the dark-
coloured archaeological deposits of many Emilia terramare were
intensively quarried beginning in the late 18th century to be used as
soil fertilizer on fields, particularly those devoted to the production
of fodder for bovines (Conversi and Mutti, 2009; Bernabò Brea and
Mutti, 1994). Such deposits were erroneously thought to improve
the chemical fertility of the local soils due to their high content of
organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus deriving from human
activities. Recent studies have revealed that the positive effects of
this practice were limited to the improvement of the physical
fertility, thank to the mixing of fragmented ceramic artifacts, bone
and stone fragments present in the terramare deposits with the
heavy floodplain soils (Saltini, 1994).

1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2010.10.006
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C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292 281

Fig. 1. Geomorphological setting and main units (modified from Balista et al., 2006). (1) Intervention area detailed in Fig. 2, (2) Valli Grandi Veronesi basin, (3) Adige river belt (late
Holocene), (4) Tartaro river belt (mid-late Holocene), (5) Menago palaeo-river valley (Late-Pleistocene/Holocene), (6) Ancient Adige alluvial fan (late-Pleistocene).

The present study is focused on the dark anthropogenic deposits
of the Bronze Age terramara of Fondo Paviani, a site located north
of the Po River in the Valli Grandi Veronesi area. The site offers good
conservation of the stratigraphic record due to its particularly
favourable preservation conditions, as it is was sealed by alluvium
shortly after it was abandoned and was unaffected by quarrying for
fertilizer, a practice unknown in the lower Venetian plain. In the
present study, soil analytical techniques have been integrated with
archaeological stratigraphy in order to decipher the formation
processes of the dark anthropogenic deposits occurring at Fondo
Paviani and their natural and cultural significance.
Fondo Paviani was settled at the transition between the middle
Bronze Age and the late Bronze Age (mid-14th century BC). Near
the end of the late Bronze Age, from around the end of the 13th
century BC and the beginning of the 12th century BC, the site
reached its maximum size of ca. 20 ha and was surrounded by
a moat and fortified by a quadrangular earthen rampart. In this
period it assumed a dominant role as a link between the Po plain
and continental Europe, peninsular Italy, the Aegean and the
eastern Mediterranean. Its importance in this period is demon-
strated by artifacts recovered during various survey and excavation
campaigns (Salzani, 1976; Balista and De Guio, 1997; Leonardi and
Cupitò, 2008) which include Baltic amber ornaments, glass-
making byproducts, bronze objects comparable to Danubian-Car-
pathian metallurgical production centers, Apenninic ceramic, and
especially painted fine pottery of Mycenaean type imported from
Greece and southern Italy (Jones et al., 2002) as well as produced
locally. The general collapse of the terramare civilization occurred at
the end of the late Bronze Age (slightly before the middle of the
12th century BC e see Cremaschi et al., 2006), leading to a dramatic
depopulation of the entire terramare area. Fondo Paviani does not
appear to have been affected by this collapse; on the contrary it
continued to be inhabited and maintained a leading role in the new
system of trade and population of the Po plain in the final Bronze
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282 C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292

Fig. 2. Detail of the central part of the Valli Grandi Veronesi area, with indicated the position of Fondo Paviani (arrow). Symbol legend: (a) Terrains higher than 14m a.s.l., at the
margins of the lowermost central part of the Valli Grandi Veronesi basin. (b) Po and Adige river courses of historical era. (c) Palaeo-river valleys incised in the late-Pleistocene
ancient Adige alluvial fan. (d) Ancient Bronze Age pile-dwelling sites. (e) Middle Bronze Age sites on reclaimed terrains. (f) Recent Bronze Age sites with moat and rampart. (g) Sites
still inhabited in the final Bronze Age. (h) Sites re-occupied during the early Iron Age.

Age (second half of the 12th- first half of the 10th century BC e see
Balista and De Guio, 1997; Leonardi and Cupitò, 2008).
2. Geomorphological setting
The Valli Grandi Veronesi area (Fig. 1) corresponds to a wide
subsiding alluvial basin between the major rivers Adige and Po in
the southern sector of the Venetian plain in northeastern Italy (see
Mozzi, 2005). The area is located at the margins of the so-called
ancient Adige alluvial fan (“Conoide Antico dell’Adige”), a late-
Pleistocene fluvioglacial fan deriving from the outwash of the
Garda glacier (Sorbini et al., 1984). The Adige river appears to have
downcut its course since the early Holocene, leaving a series of
relict terraced strips on the surface of the ancient Adige fan. Since
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C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292 283

Fig. 3. Top left: 1955 aerial b/w photograph showing the site of Fondo Paviani. Note the traces of the circular moat and rampart system. Top right: detail of the area studied between
2007 and 2009. Lower right: schematic plan view of the excavated sector, with location of Profiles 1 and 2.

then these exposed surfaces have been subject to weathering and

Cambisols and Luvisols - the latter being often rubified - have
formed (ARPAV, 2005; Costantini, 1992).
A series of small, incised valleys, formed during the late-glacial,
have been re-occupied by spring-fed rivers that originate at the
passage between the high and medium portions of the plain (Tar-
taro, Tregnone, Menago - Sorbini et al., 1984). The site of Fondo

Fig. 4. Profile 1, with indication of main litho-stratigraphic units (left) and pedogenic
horizons (right). (a) Present-day plough horizon. (b) Silty clays. (c) Clays. (d) Organic
clays. (e) Bronze Age anthropogenic deposits. (f) Olive-brown concretions. (g) Peat. (h)
Thin sections. (Drawing: M. Dal Corso). Fig. 5. Profile 1, with indication of the pedogenic horizons.
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284 C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292
Fig. 6. Profile 2 with main litho-stratigraphic units (left) and pedogenic horizons (right). Note the undulating upper boundary of Horizon 4Aant1, marked by a lining of fragments of
pottery, burned sediments and construction materials, interpreted as the result of agricultural practices. For symbols see caption in Fig. 4. (Drawing: M. Dal Corso).
Paviani is located within one of these valleys, now relict, the
Menago palaeo-river valley (Fig. 2). The Holocene infilling of these
valleys consists of alluvial and peat deposits, controlled by climatic
fluctuations since the Late-Atlantic/Sub-Boreal periods; the activity
of spring-fed streams inside the valleys led to the formation of
sandy alluvial ridges within palustrine successions (Balista and De
Guio, 1997).
During the different phases of the local Bronze Age (2nd-1st
millennium BC), changes occurred in the settlement pattern in the
palaeo-river valleys and in the lower plain (see sites in Fig. 2). In the
early Bronze Age (2200e1600 cal yr BC), settlements (e.g. such as
Canàr and Morandine, all in the Menago palaeo-river valley) are pile-
dwellings located at the margins of peat bogs and marshes (see
Balista, 1998; Balista et al., 2006). At the end of the early Bronze Age
and at the beginning of the middle Bronze Age, sites are built on
reclaimed terrains at the margins of palustrine areas and at the foot
of the sandy alluvial ridges (Balista and Leonardi, 2003). With the
onset of the middle Bronze Age and in the late Bronze Age villages
were positioned above the alluvial ridges. The relict river channels
above the ridges were often re-activated artificially by connecting
them to active spring-fed streams, in order to feed the moats that
surround these settlements. These traits characterize the terramare
of the Valli Grandi Veronesi area (Balista and De Guio, 1997; Balista
et al., 2006).
3. Observations
Two stratigraphic profiles are considered representative of the
sequence of the area of study at Fondo Paviani (Fig. 3). Profile 1
(Figs. 3, 4 and 5), oriented EeW, is a representative portion of a ca.
80 m-long section originally surveyed in 1989 (Balista, 1992), and
re-exposed in 2007. This long section intercepted the rampart and
the internal stratification of the site adjacent to it.
Profile 2 (Figs. 3, 6 and 7), oriented NeS was exposed during the
excavation campaigns conducted by University of Padova in 2008
and 2009 (Leonardi and Cupitò, 2008). A series of coring was also
performed along an N/NWeS/SW axis until the natural substratum
Fig. 7. Profile 2, with indication of the pedogenic horizons. The dotted line indicates the undulating upper boundary of Horizon 4Aant1, deriving from cultivation practices (ridge-
and-furrow). The scale bar on the left is 80 cm long.
was reached. These were carried out in order to measure the
thickness of the anthropogenic deposits and to validate the conti-
nuity and variability of the stratigraphy so to ascertain the repre-
sentative potential of the identified sequence.
Six main litho-stratigraphic units have been identified and
numbered accordingly: within each unit different pedogenic horizon
have been recognized (see Table 1 for profile description).
Profile 1 (Figs. 4 and 5) reached the natural sedimentary infilling
of the Menago palaeo-river valley which predates the human occu-
pation of the area. At the base of the sequence are peat deposits (Unit
6), the top of which has been radiocarbon dated to 4065  65 BP
(OxA-5022, Whitehouse, 1997). These peats are covered by alluvial
deposits (Unit 5) which have as a terminus post quem 3600  50 BP
(BM-2654) on the basis of stratigraphic correlations with the nearby
archaeological site of Canár (Balista, 1998 e Fig. 2). These alluvial
deposits culminate with a clay-textured horizon (5Bw), which is the
substratum on which the archaeological deposits rest. This horizon is
characterized by common olive brown (2.5 Y 4/4 moist) fine
concretions occurring in a reduced (2.5 Y 4/2, dark grayish-brown,
moist) matrix.
Unit 4 corresponds to the anthropogenic layers. These have been
labeled adapting the soil horizon description and nomenclature
system (Soil Survey Staff, 2003) to the peculiar archaeological context
in which they occur, by adding the suffix “ant” to underline their
anthropogenic origin (Holliday, 2004). The body of each anthropo-
genic horizon has been labeled as a “C” horizon, whereas the exposed
activity or dwelling surface at its top has been designed as an “A”
horizon. These laterally discontinuous dwelling surfaces have been
identified during open area excavation, thanks in large part to the
presence of archaeological stratigraphic markers of surface exposure,
such as hearths or other structures built directly on the ground, or
where scatters of flat-lying potsherds were exposed. The anthropo-
genic unit is generally tabular and 50e70 cm thick, and occurs all over
the internal perimeter of the site. It is thicker where it fills depres-
sions and archaeological negative features. Its different horizons are
very dark gray at the top and grade to gray towards the bottom (10 YR
3/1 to 10 YR 5/1 moist) and are very rich in coarse anthropogenic
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C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292 285

Table 1
Field description of the studied pedo-stratigraphic sequence.

Horizon Field Description

Ap 10 YR 4/2 (dark greyish brown, moist); clay; strong coarse granular structure; non effervescent to HCl 1N;
abrupt smooth lower boundary.
2Cg1 10 YR 6/3 (pale brown, moist); few fine Fe nodules; few fine Fe concentrations around pores; few fine carbonate nodules; silty-clay;
moderate fine subangular blocky structure; strongly effervescent to HCl 1N; clear smooth lower boundary.
2Cgk 10 YR 6/3 (pale brown, moist); common fine Fe nodules; few fine Fe concentrations around pores; common medium and coarse
carbonate nodules; clay; moderate fine subangular blocky structure; strongly effervescent to HCl 1N; gradual smooth lower boundary.
2Cg2 10 YR 7/3 (very pale brown, moist), common fine Fe concentrations along pores; few fine carbonate nodules; clay; moderate fine
angular blocky structure; slightly to strongly effervescent to 1N HCl; abrupt wavy lower boundary.
3Cg 10 YR 3/1 (very dark gray, moist); few very fine Fe nodules; few very fine Fe coatings along pores; clay with few very fine charcoal
fragments; very slightly effervescent to HCl 1N; clear wavy lower boundary.
4Aant1 10 YR 3/1 (very dark gray, moist); few very fine Fe nodules; clay loam with frequent 2e5 mm artefacts (charcoal, pottery, burned
sediments); strongly separated very coarse granular structure; very slightly effervescent to HCl 1N; clear smooth lower boundary.
4Cant1 10 YR 4/1 (dark gray, moist); few Fe concentrations around pores; few very fine Fe-depleted areas (10 YR 5/2 greyish brown, moist) in
the matrix; clay loam with frequent artefacts of all size classes (charcoal, pottery, burned sediments, bones, shells); weak coarse
subangular blocky structure; slightly effervescent to HCl 1N; clear smooth lower boundary.
4Aant2 10 YR 5/1 (gray, moist); frequent very fine and fine Fe concentrations along pores; silty-clay with few artefacts (charcoal, pottery,
burned sediments, bones, shells) of all size classes; moderate coarse and very coarse subangular blocky structure; slightly effervescent to
HCl 1N; gradual lower boundary.
4Cant2 10 YR 5/1e6/1 (gray e light gray, moist); few fine Fe concentrations along pores; silty-clay loam with few artefacts (charcoal, pottery,
shells) of all size classes; weak coarse subangular blocky structure; very slightly effervescent to HCL 1N; clear smooth lower boundary.
5Bw 2.5Y 4/2 (dark greyish brown, moist); common fine Fe mottles (2.5Y 4/4 olive brown), few very fine Fe nodules; clay; weakly separated coarse
subangular blocky structure; non effervescent to HCl 1N; clear smooth lower boundary.
5C 10 YR 5/1 (gray, moist); frequent fine Fe concentrations along pores (2.5Y 5/6 light olive brown); few fine carbonate nodules; clay (top)
grading to silty sand towards the bottom; massive; slightly to strongly effervescent to HCl 1N; abrupt smooth lower boundary.
6H 10 YR 2/1 (black, moist); mucky peat (top) grading to woody peat towards the bottom; lower boundary not reached.

components (bone, pottery, charcoal, stones, metals etc.). Unit 4 is
overlain by a thin clay layer (Unit 3), similar in colour to Unit 4 but
devoid of macroscopic archaeological materials. Unit 3 was observed
ubiquitously in the excavation area and in the corings.
The abovementioned sequence is covered by ca. 50 cm of pale
brown alluvium (Unit 2), mostly clay-textured but grading laterally
to silts and sandy silts. This alluvial episode took place after the
early Iron Age local archaeological phase (post-9th century BC) on
the basis of stratigraphic correlations with the site of Perteghelle,
located 4 km NeW of Fondo Paviani, also in the Menago palaeo-
river valley (Balista et al., 2006 e see Fig. 2). Roman age material,
constituting a terminus ante quem for its deposition, often occurs at
the upper interface of Unit 2, or is reworked in the present day Ap
horizon (Unit 1). The latter, rather thick (50 cm) due to its heavy
texture that requires deep ploughing, closes the sequence.
Profile 2 (Figs. 6 and 7), less deep than profile 1, shows that the
upper boundary of Unit 3, corresponding to horizon 4Aant1, is wavy
and marked by an undulated lining of small (1e2.5 cm) pottery and
burned soil fragments. Upon removal of Units 2 and 3 during open
area excavations it was observed that the resulting microrelief was
undulating. Specifically, a set of “ridges” of variable width between
20 and 60 cm (elongated EeW) was exposed, separated by shallow
(5e20 cm) depressions of comparable width. Other archaeological
indicators in horizon 4Aant1, such as the abovementioned occur-
rence of small pottery fragments and burned soil aggregates (all very
worn with rounded edges), the recovery of a bronze sickle fragment
and the lack of any identifiable structure led to the interpretation
that this area was subject to agricultural practices before being
abandoned and buried by alluvium.
4. Materials and methods
The detailed account of the methods and laboratory procedures
employed in soil physico-chemical analyses in the present study can
be found in Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali (2000). Soil
texture was determined by hydrometry after destruction of organic
matter with H2O2. The hydrometer is an instrument used to measure
the density of the suspension composed by water, soil and dispersing
agent. It is used to perform densiometric readings of the three
granulometric classes (sand, silt and clay), using the relative sedi-
mentation velocity of different particles size according to Stokes’ law.
pH was determined in water with a soil to water ratio of 1:2.5. Active
carbonate content was determined by treating the soil sample with
an excess of 0.1 M ammonium oxalate solution. The amount of

Table 2
Profile 1, results of soil physico-chemical analyses, part 1.

Unit Horizon Clay Silt Sand Texture pH H2O EC OC OM N g/kg C/N P

% % % (USDA) dS/m % % mg/kg
1 Ap 58 20 22 C 7.2 1.83 3.75 6.45 2.90 12.9 nd
2 2Cg1 48 16 36 C 7.5 1.76 1.30 2.24 1.27 10.2 nd
2Cgk 68 18 14 C 7.7 1.69 1.10 1.89 1.02 10.8 nd
2Cg2 60 10 30 C 7.6 1.57 1.40 2.41 1.63 8.6 nd
3 3Cg 50 14 36 C 7.6 1.86 1.70 2.67 1.35 12.6 4.9
4 4Aant1 36 12 52 SCL 7.6 2.47 1.59 2.74 1.21 13.1 14.2
4Cant1 40 16 44 CL 7.8 1.54 1.73 2.97 0.97 17.8 12.5
4Aant2 50 18 32 C 7.8 1.74 1.53 2.63 0.92 16.6 5.6
4Cant2 38 18 44 CL 7.8 1.61 1.30 2.24 1.20 10.8 6.8
5 5Bw 58 14 28 C 7.8 1.16 1.08 1.87 0.79 13.7 5.6
5C 28 32 40 CL 7.8 1.2 1.20 2.06 0.89 13.5 nd
6 6H nd nd nd ND 7.1 3.6 3.46 5.95 1.36 25.5 nd
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286 C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292

Table 3 Table 4
Profile 1, results of soil physico-chemical analyses, part 2. Profile 1. Apparent molecular weight, humic Carbon (HC) and humic Carbon/organic
Carbon ratio (HC/OC) for anthropogenic horizons and horizon 5Bw.
Unit Horizon Act. Ca Mg Na K Mg/K C E C
Carbonate mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg mg/kg cmol(þ)/kg Apparent molecular weight
g/kg Horizon % F 1 %F2 %F3 HC HC/OC
1 Ap 17.4 6770 658 53 638 1.03 37 (>100.000 Da) (10.000e100.000 Da) (< 10.000 Da) %
2 2Cg1 17.3 5920 650 65 363 1.79 32 4Aant1 2.8 74.2 23.0 0.07 0.05
2Cgk 17.3 5483 780 80 575 1.36 39 4Cant1 0.3 96.9 2.9 0.17 0.10
2Cg2 17.8 6258 813 90 605 1.34 35 4Aant2 1.4 71.4 27.2 0.47 0.31
3 3Cg 18.1 6533 905 103 698 1.30 24 4Cant2 3.9 77.5 18.6 0.58 0.45
4 4Aant1 17.8 6433 925 135 673 1.38 20 5Bw 10.5 63.3 26.2 0.67 0.62
4Cant1 17.7 6123 768 70 668 1.15 22
4Aant2 18.9 5335 773 83 725 1.07 24
4Cant2 18.6 6303 798 90 715 1.12 19
a 70  1.6 cm Pharmacia column (Pharmacia, Uppsala, Sweden).
5 5Bw 19.4 5995 805 68 723 1.11 25
5C 19.4 2950 463 75 650 0.71 24 The gel packing solution and the eluant were 20 mM Na2B4O7. The
6 6H 19.8 6165 738 65 658 1.12 nd apparent molecular weight of the fractions was defined as follows:
F1>100.000 Da; F2 10.000e100.000 Da; F3< 10.000. The column
calibration was based on previously assessed standard proteins (Kit
ammonium that reacted was determined by titration with potassium MS-II, Serva, Heidelberg, Germany) (Dell’Agnola and Ferrari, 1971).
permanganate solution by the Drouineau method (Druineau, 1942). The decomposition of organic material in soils takes place in
The active carbonate indicates the fraction of soil calcium carbonate different phases characterized by a decrease of the C/N ratio. This is
that is characterized by high reactivity due to high degree of high at the beginning to promote the biodegradation of organic
weathering. matter and lignin, and approaches the value of 10 at the end of the
Organic C was determined by the Walkley and Black method. The humification process. In contrast, the quantity of humic carbon
soil organic matter value was obtained by multiplying the organic increases during the same process. For monitoring the degradation
carbon percentage by 1.72. Total N was determined by the Kjeldhal of a relatively recalcitrant soil organic matter fraction, the
method. The method used for CEC determination involved the biochemistry of the “lignin” fraction may therefore be an important
extraction of soil with a solution of BaCl2 buffered at pH 8.2 with tool, since it is influenced by climate, vegetation and land use (see
chloride acid. The obtained extract was used for ICP-OES (Spectrum Sanger et al., 1997). The quality of the humic substances is defined
CirosCCD, Kleve, Germany) analysis. by the molecular-weight distribution of their components. Gener-
Assimilable, or “plant-available” phosphorus was determined by ally, in natural soils, the distributions of different molecular weight
the Olsen method (Olsen and Dean, 1965), the extraction being per- fractions during the humification process follow a common trend:
formed with sodium bicarbonate buffered at pH 8.5 and the subse- an increase of F1 (up to 70%), a strong reduction (5e10%) of F2 and
quent determination by spectrophotometry. Electrical conductivity a decrease (20%) of the low molecular weight fraction. A different
was measured on the saturation extract with a soil to water ratio of distribution of the molecular size of the humic substances, in
1:5. particular a high content of F2 is linked to a difficult evolution of
The molecular-weight distribution of humic substances was humic matter caused by environmental constraints.
determined by gel filtration and chromatography (see Nardi et al., Five 60  90 mm (samples A, B, C, D, E; Profile 1) and four
2007; Carletti et al., 2008). Molecular-weight distribution of 140  80 mm (samples F, G, H, I; Profile 2) soil thin sections were
humic extract was obtained by size exclusion chromatography. The manufactured from undisturbed blocks according to standard
analyses were carried out on a Sephadex G-100 gel packed in methods (Murphy, 1986). The thin sections were studied under

Table 5
Summary of main micromorphological characteristics for thin sections A, B, C, D, E (Profile 1) and G, H, I, L (Profile 2).

Thin Section Unit Horizon MSa Groundmassb Bio-geo-genic

componentsc

a b c d
A 2 2Cg2 v us/ps fm
B 3 3Cg sb ss dsp
C 4 4Aant1 sb ss dsp * ***
4Cant1 sb ss/ps dsp **
D 4Aant2 c/v ss dsp *
4Cant2 c/v ss dsp *
E 5 5Bw c us/ps fm

H 3 3Cg sb ss dsp
G 4 4Aant1 sb ss/ps dsp * **
4Cant1 sb ss dsp *

I 3 3Cg sb ss/ps dsp

L 4 4Aant1 sb ss dsp * *
4Cant1 sb ss dsp *

Abundance of fabric units expressed according to Stoops (2003): * ¼ very rare (<5%); ** rare (5e15%); *** common (15e30%); **** frequent (30e50%).
a
MS (microstructure): v ¼ vughy; sb ¼ subangular blocky; c ¼ channel.
b
Groundmass: a (b-fabric), us ¼ unistrial; ps ¼ porostriated; ss ¼ stipple-speckled. b (c/f related distribution), fm ¼ fine monic; dsp ¼ double-spaced porphyric.
c
Bio- geo-genic components: c ¼ Bt horizon reworked fragments; d ¼ calcite biospheroids.
d
Anthropogenic components: e ¼ coarse (>500 mm) charcoal; f ¼ burned sediments; g ¼ earth-based construction material; h ¼ pottery; i ¼ bone.
e
Crypto-crystalline impregnative pedofeatures: j ¼ Fe (hydr)oxide hypocoatings; k ¼ Fe (hydr)oxide nodules; l ¼ Fe (hydr)oxide quasi-coatings; m ¼ vivianite crystal
intergrowths; n ¼ fibrous Fe (hydr)oxide coatings/infillings.
f
Textural pedofeatures: o ¼ dusty clay micropans; p ¼ dusty clay coatings/infillings; q ¼ dusty clay intercalations.
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C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292
a petrographic microscope in plain polarized light (PPL), cross-
polarized light (XPL) and oblique incident light (OIL, fiber optic
external illuminator) with magnifications ranging from 20x to 400x.
The terminology of Stoops (2003) has been employed for thin section
description (see Table 5).
5. Results
5.1. Physico-chemical analyses
The results of physico-chemical analyses are presented in Tables
1, 2 and 3. The anthropogenic deposits (Unit 4) appear to be sand-
wiched between fine-textured alluvial deposits above (Units 2
and 3) and below (Unit 5). All of the anthropogenic horizons are
rather rich in clay but, due to the mixing and reworking of materials
with different size classes brought about by human activities (e.g.
digging, cultivation, dumping, use of earth-based construction
materials etc.), they exhibit a tendency towards loamy textures (see
Moinerau,1970). Moreover, the degree of sorting of these sediments,
as observed in thin section, is very low. The pH is between 7.5 and 7.8
throughout the whole sequence, repetition must be eliminated, due
to the high content of active carbonate (Table 2), with the exception
of the basal peats and the present day Ap horizon. In the latter,
agricultural works caused the mixing in of Late Antique organic
clays, commonly referred to as “Argille delle Valli”, widespread in
the study area (Balista, 1998). The organic C content of the anthro-
pogenic horizons ranges between 1.3% and 1.7%, and is thus slightly
higher than most of the horizons formed in the alluvial deposits
overlying and underlying them. The value of CEC along the profile
correlates well with the content of organic matter and clay in the
different horizons (Table 4).
Humic carbon is very low in horizons 4Aant1 and 4Cant1, while
horizons 4Aant2 and 4Cant2 ad 5Bw are particularly rich in it. Such
data are corroborated also by the humic carbon/organic carbon
(HC/OC) ratio, which represents the amount of organic matter
transformed in humus (see Table 3). Comparison between the
apparent molecular weight of the humic fraction of anthropogenic
horizons and that of the underlying natural substratum (horizon
5Bw) confirms that the rate of organic matter turnover in the former
is slower and that it decreases significantly moving upward in the
stratigraphic sequence. The humic fraction in horizon 5Bw (see Table
3) is characterized by a 10.5% fraction with high molecular weight
(>100.000 Da), by a 63% fraction with intermediate molecular weight
(between 100.000 Da and 10.000 Da) and by 26% with low molecular
weight (<10.000 Da). The anthropogenic horizons show instead
a fraction with high molecular weight ranging between 0.3% and 3.9%
and the dominance of average-sized polymers, together with
Anthropogenic componentsd Pedofeatures
Crypto-crystalline impregnativee
e f g h i j
***
* * ****
** * * * ** * *
** ** * * * *
*** * ** * **
*** * * * *
***
* ***
** * * * * * ***
** ** ** * *
* *
** ** * * **
*** ** * * * *
287
generally higher C/N ratios. Humic fractions with intermediate
molecular weight, dominant in the anthropogenic Unit 3 at Fondo
Paviani, are typical of anthropic environments where the evolution of
organic matter is impeded (Nardi et al., 2007; Carletti et al., 2008).
5.2. Soil micromorphology
The discussion of soil micromorphology will proceed from
bottom to top of the examined portion of the stratigraphic sequence.
The description of the micromorphological characteristics of the
different horizon is presented in Table 5.
Horizon 5Bw (profile 1, thin section E) shows a moderate porosity
made up by channels and vesicles and is characterized by a channel
microstructure. The texture is composed almost exclusively of clay,
with extremely rare (<2%) quartz silts and mica flakes. Anthropo-
genic components and charcoal are absent. The shrinkeswell char-
acter of the clays and the repeated wettingedrying cycles are visible
in the strongly developed cross-striated and porostriated b-fabric.
Crypto-crystalline impregnative pedofeatures, such as the common
thin (20e50 mm thick) Fe/Mn (hydr)oxide hypocoatings and orthic
nodules, and the rare Fe (hydr)oxide quasi-coatings around larger
pores point to redoximorphic conditions. In thin section the olive-
yellow concretions observed on the field correspond to common
blue pleochroic oxivivianite crystal intergrowths, with crystals radial
around a central point (400e1600 mm), surrounded by a band
appearing dark yellow in PPL and isotropic in XPL, possibly corre-
sponding to Ca-Fe-phosphates (Fig. 8a).
Horizon 5Bw was already formed as such when the site was
occupied, as reworked fragments of it e bearing the olive-yellow
concretions e have been found in the filling of pits pertaining to the
earliest phases of dwelling at the site. Given that vivianite occurs
naturally in wetland soils (Stoops, 1983; Van Breemen and
Buurman, 2002), in the mid-14th century BC when the area was
occupied by humans, the lowering of the groundwater table and
the consequent exposure and oxidation of the sediments had
already taken place.
Horizons 4Cant2 and 4Aant2 (profile 1, thin section D) have
a well-developed channel/vughy microstructure. In addition to the
frequent channels, strong bioturbation is indicated by the presence
of chambers and of passage features (e.g. crescent infillings). The
microfabric is characterized by the juxtaposition of irregularly
shaped clay-loamy domains with silty-clay and clay “patches” in
which very common anthropogenic components are dispersed
(Fig. 8b and c). The degree of sorting of the sediments is very poor.
Very fine (<20 mm) charred vegetal fragments and charcoal particles
in the groundmass occupy the 25e30% of the field of view at 200x
magnification (Fig. 8d). Coarser fragments of wood charcoal, charred
Texturalf
k l m n o p q
** **
**** **
* * *
** *
* * *
*** * ***
**** **
* *
** * **
* ***
* ** * *
** *
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288 C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292
tissue fragments and grains, reaching up to several millimeters
range between 10% and 15%. Often times, Crescent infillings are
significantly rich in charcoal particles, suggesting that bioturbation
promotes their fragmentation and dispersal in the groundmass.
Other anthropogenic coarse components are derived from the
use and destruction of fireplaces (burned soil aggregates), from
earth-based construction materials (clay floor and daub fragments),
and from the incision of the underlying horizons when pits, ditches
and post-holes were built (reworked fragments of Unit 5 material). It
therefore appears that a huge quantity of soil material was used in
a variety of anthropic activities and structures within the site.
Textural pedofeatures such as dusty clay micropans (Fig. 8e) roughly
parallel and distributed at different depths in horizon 4Cant2,
together with dusty clay infillings. These suggest surface distur-
bance and slaking probably due to trampling have been observed
(Courty et al., 1989) on the exposed dwelling surface of horizon
4Aant2 above, where fireplaces and potsherd scatters were found
during excavation.
Horizon 4Aant1 was interpreted as having resulted from agri-
cultural practices on the basis of macroscopic and archaeological
indicators (see x 3). Thin sections C (Profile 1) and F, G, H, I (Profile 2)
intercept the top of this horizon, characterized by a wavy boundary
marked by finely fragmented artifacts (see Figs. 6 and 7). Under the
microscope this horizon has a weakly to moderately separated
subangular blocky microstructure, with frequent interconnected
vughs and channels as intrapedal pores. The texture is silty-clay
loam with abundant anthropogenic components, namely charcoal,
fragmented pottery, burned soil and earth-based construction
material fragments. Rare reworked Bt horizon fragments derived
from the Alfisols occurring on the late-Pleistocene surface of the
ancient Adige alluvial fan (in which the Menago palaeo-valley is
incised e see ARPAV, 2005; Costantini, 1992) are frequent and
indicate the import of soil material from those areas (Fig. 8f). Calcite
earthworm granules, known to concentrate at or near the soil
surface (Canti, 2003) are frequent in this horizon. Thin section
counting revealed that these biogenic inclusions are widespread all
along the examined archaeological sequence, consistent with the
model suggesting the superimposition over time of a series of
surface horizons/dwelling surfaces. Moreover, the increase in the
quantity of calcite biospheroids culminates with a peak in horizon
4Aant1, which could indicate a moment of stability of the site’s
surface before the deposition of Units 3 and 2.
Textural pedofeatures correspond to dark brown (PPL) dusty
clay coatings, both nonlaminated as well as compound layered ones
(Fig. 9a), with broad extinction lines, containing numerous black
microparticles up to 10 mm and mica flakes, occurring dominantly
in intrapedal vughs but also in channels. Thin (40e80 mm) dusty
clay intercalations, also containing abundant black microparticles,
are rather frequent in this horizon (Fig. 9c). The abovementioned
textural pedofeatures concentrate below the base of the furrows
and can be linked to the soil loosening and disruption brought
about by the inferred agricultural practices and from the physical
action of cultivation implements on the soil (see Courty et al., 1989;
Macphail et al., 1990; Lewis, 1999).
Unit 3 (thin sections B, Profile 1; H and I, Profile 2) buries the
ridge-and-furrow microrelief exposed in the excavation area and
shows a marked lateral continuity; it occurs also in most corings, as
well as in a profile studied micromorphologically in the central-
southern part of the site (Nicosia, 2005). In thin sections Unit 3
shows a well-separated subangular blocky microstructure with
intrapedal porosity made up predominantly of vughs and second-
arily of channels. The texture is silty-clay and the upper boundary
to the alluvial Unit 2 is irregular with frequent convolutions and
juxtaposed textural domains. The only anthropogenic components
are charcoal and charred vegetal fragments (10e100 mm) dispersed
in the groundmass and extremely rare fine (100e250 mm) burned
soil and bone fragments.
The sequence is sealed by alluvial Unit 2 (thin sections A, Profile
1; I, Profile 2) which is characterized by a vughy porosity and a clay
texture with no archaeological components. Indicators pointing to
strong redoximorphic conditions appear in horizon 4Aant2 and
increase upward the sequence in alluvial Units 3 and 2. These
indicators are predominantly fibrous Fe (hydr)oxide coatings and
infillings, frequent Fe (hydr)oxide quasi-coatings and an increasing
quantity of preserved vegetal tissue and wood fragments.
6. Discussion
The analyses allowed for the reconstruction of the local envi-
ronmental conditions when the studied portion of the site was
occupied by humans at the transition between the middle and the
late Bronze Age. The area appears to have been “dry soil” when
human settlement took place, on the basis that (a) oxidation of
vivianite had already taken place in horizon 5Bw once human’s dug
pits and negative structures through it; (b) the traces of hydro-
morphism in the earliest anthropogenic horizons (4Cant2 and
4Aant2) are scarce with respect to the alluvial units, and (c) there
are no macroscopic or microscopic sedimentary structures pointing
to deposition or reworking in water for this phase.
The build-up of the anthropogenic deposit is strictly linked to the
mode of human occupation of the intra-site space as revealed by
open-area excavation. The observed pattern consists of a succession
of ground-leveling events, during which structures were destroyed
and/or buried, followed by new occupation phases. During these
phases, new structures were built (e.g. fireplaces, pits); their func-
tioning was accompanied by dumping and reworking of archaeo-
logical materials and by trampling.
Thin section analysis addressed the specific research question of
the origin of the sediments and the mechanisms of accretion of the
intra-site anthropogenic deposits. It must be stated that no macro-
scopic or microscopic evidence of alluvial sedimentation has been
observed in the whole area of the Valli Grandi Veronesi for the period
of time during which Fondo Paviani was active (Balista et al., 2006).
Laterally limited, thin clay sheets - probably produced by the occa-
sional overflow of the small internal drainage ditches of the site (e.g.
during storms or exceptionally rainy periods) - were observed during
excavation. A part of the soil material derived from the digging of
negative features in the site’s natural substratum (reworked frag-
ments of Unit 5 material) and from the soils occurring on the terraces
surrounding the Menago valley (reworked Bt horizon fragments
deriving from the Alfisols of the ancient Adige alluvial fan). However,
thin section analysis shows that a large portion of the soil material
reworked in the anthropogenic deposits, often fine-grained, was
originally employed for construction purposes (e.g. flooring, mud
plastering, hearth preparations). All of the inclusions of earth-based
construction material, except when particularly firm due to the effect
of prolonged burning, appear in thin section to be subject to physical
break-up, loss of cohesion and reworking inside the deposit. These
processes are accelerated by trampling on moist soil (e.g. during the
rainy season), by bioturbation, by the shrinking and swelling of clays
upon repeated wetting/drying cycles, and by the physical impact of
implements during digging, ground-leveling or cultivation practices.
The end result is the release and incorporation of sediments in the
deposit, and thus its vertical accretion.
Micromorphological analyses available for construction mate-
rials recovered in the Emilia terramare (e.g. Poviglio Santa Rosa -
Cremaschi et al., 2004; Monte Castellaccio - Cremaschi and
Ottomano, 1996; Montale - Cardarelli et al., 1997) consistently
show that large quantities of capri-ovide dung were mixed with clay
to produce flooring materials, whereas the hearth platforms were
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C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292 289

Fig. 8. (a) Profile 1, Horizon 5Bw, Thin section E: crystal intergrowth of vivianite. Such neoformations are very often surrounded by a 50e150 mm-thick band with fan-like
arrangement, dark yellow in PPL and isotropic in XPL, possibly corresponding to Ca-Fe-phosphates. PPL, 100x, frame length 1 mm. (b) Profile 1, Horizon 4Cant2, Thin section D:
juxtaposed fabrics, deriving from the incorporation of yellowish brown (PPL) clays from the underlying substratum (Unit 5) in the silty-clay anthropogenic deposits. PPL, 100x, frame
length 1 mm. (c) Profile 1, Horizon 4Aant2, Thin section D: Juxtaposed fabrics under crossed polars. Note the juxtaposition of darker-coloured fabric, richer in coarse mineral
components, to the left with lighter-coloured one, with more markedly striated b-fabric, on the right. XPL, 100x, frame length 1 mm. (d) Profile 1, Horizon 4Aant2, Thin section D:
field of view at 200x. Note the abundance of comminuted charred vegetal fragments, charcoal, plant tissue fragments and organic punctuations dispersed in the groundmass. PPL,
200x, frame length 0.4 mm. (e) Profile 1, Horizon 4Cant2, thin section D: parallel-oriented dusty clay micropans, possibly deriving from surface disturbance due to trampling. PPL,
20x, frame height 4.5 mm. (f) Profile 1, Horizon 4Cant1, thin section C: reworked Bt horizon fragment, deriving from the Luvisols formed on the surface of the ancient Adige alluvial
fan in which the Menago palaeo-valley is incised. PPL, 40x, frame length 2.2 mm. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web
version of this article).

prepared with clay, vegetal matter and scarce amounts of capri-
ovide dung. At Fondo Paviani no trace of such practices have yet been
observed in any of the (reworked) construction material fragments
observed in thin section. Rather, clays are in fact mostly devoid of
added materials and only very rarely show traces of addition of
vegetal matter (e.g. straw in daub fragments), but never of capri-
ovide dung.
The abundance of very finely comminuted charcoal, charred
vegetal fragments, very dark brown plant tissues and of black
organic punctuations dispersed in the groundmass is another
common trait of the anthropogenic deposits of Fondo Paviani. These
components are considered to contribute to these deposits’ dark
colour. The presence of abundant finely comminuted and dispersed
charcoal and charred vegetal fragments in the soil is a recurring trait
in most deposits resulting from intense human occupation, as for
example in urban Dark Earths (Macphail, 1983, 1994). Different
mechanisms can be envisaged for the fragmentation and dispersion
of such particles in the deposit. At Fondo Paviani bioturbation is
surely one of such mechanism, since very abundant dark micro-
particles often occur inside passage features, especially in crescent
infillings. In her analysis of thin sections, Cammas (2004) reports
that in urban Dark Earth burned and decomposed fine vegetal
matter is integrated in the groundmass by biological activity. Courty
and Fedoroff (1982) report that in dumped material charcoal tends
to be fragmented into small (10e30 mm) particles that are subse-
quently dispersed around coarse grains in loosely packed materials
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290 C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292

Fig. 9. Top left: detailed location of thin sections G and H with respect to furrow in profile 2. (a) Profile 2, Horizon 4Cant1, Thin section G (base of furrow): compound layered dusty
clay and silty-clay coating, from mechanical translocation of fines at the base of the furrow. PPL, 40x, frame length 2.2 mm. (b) Profile 2, Horizon 4Aant1, Thin section H (wavy
horizon with comminuted pottery, burned sediments and fragments of earth-based construction materials): carnivore/omnivore phosphatic excrement fragment, possibly related
to manuring practices involving addition of domestic refuse. PPL, 100x, frame length 1 mm. (c) Thin section H, horizon 4Cant1, Thin section H (base of furrow): dusty clay
intercalation, possibly related to agricultural implement impact on the soil. PPL, 40x, frame length 2.2 mm.

or between grains in densely packed ones, or again as part of dusty
clay coatings. Recent experimental studies showed that in alkaline
soil conditions charcoalified plant material derived from heating
above 310  C have a strong tendency towards fragmentation
(Braadbaart et al., 2009). Charcoal and charred vegetal fragments
can be comminuted at their origin, depending on the activity that
produced them (e.g. in middens or hearth ash deposits; Goldberg
and Macphail, 2006), or can even be airborne (e.g. soot; Courty
et al., 1989).
The latest traces of human activities left in the studied part of
Fondo Paviani date to the final Bronze Age (these horizons contain
ceramic evidence dated to the second half of the 11th century BC)
and correspond to the establishment of a ridge-and-furrow system.
The identification of this field system is supported by a combination
of macroscopic, microscopic and soil chemical indicators (as advo-
cated by Macphail et al., 1990), in a well-preserved and sealed
stratigraphic context (see Carter and Davidson, 1998).
The overall degree of expression of micromorphological features
pointing to ancient agricultural practices, especially textural pedo-
features, is low. This is mainly due to the anthropogenic deposits’
inherent resistance to slaking due to their clay texture and high
organic status, and also due to textural pedofeature obliteration by
bioturbation and by shrinkeswell processes. The abundance in
horizon 4Aant1 of small and worn fragments of pottery and of
burned sediments (see Fig. 9), of rare carnivore/omnivore excre-
ments (Fig. 9b), occasional phytoliths and Fe (hydr)oxide-
substituted organic matter correlate with the increase in P content
in horizons 4Cant1 and 4Aant1 (Table 2). These features might
indicate that manuring with domestic residues was performed (as
also suggested by the higher amounts of basic cations adsorbed to
the exchange complex in these horizons with respect to the
underlying ones e Table 3). Interestingly, soil loosening and break-
up traces, interpreted as the result of agricultural practices, have
been observed in thin section in the latest anthropogenic deposits in
the nearby site of Fabbrica dei Soci (Nicosia, 2006 e Fig. 2), which are
ascribed to an incipient phase of the early Bronze Age (Balista and De
Guio, 1997). Also in the Emilia region, in the terramara of Gaggio di
Castelfranco Emilia (Modena) the abandonment phase of the village
is marked by the agricultural exploitation of part of the intra-site
space, between the end of the middle Bronze Age and the beginning
of the late Bronze Age (Balista et al., 2008). The overall picture
emerging is one of agricultural exploitation of the intra-site
anthropogenic deposits during the final phases of dwelling in the
terramare. During the progressive deterioration of the human-made
drainage system in the countryside surrounding the terramare of the
Valli Grandi Veronesi area in the final Bronze Age (see Balista et al.,
2006 for Fondo Paviani and Balista, 1990-1991 for Fabbrica dei Soci),
the intra-site space was probably desirable for cultivation since it
offered drier soil conditions due to its higher topographic position
and for the protection from flooding offered by the (increasingly
deteriorating at that stage) rampartemoat system.
At Fondo Paviani the post-abandonment scenario is character-
ized by a transition towards wetter environmental conditions inside
and around the site, as indicated by geomorphological, pedological
and archaeological markers. The latest anthropogenic deposits are
covered by Unit 3, corresponding most likely to muds deriving from
the clogging and overflowing of the moat once the moat/rampart
system and the local human-made drainage network ceased to be
controlled. Mud deposits discharged from the moat have been
recorded in the terramara of Gaggio di Castelfranco Emilia (Modena)
during periods of abandonment of the site (Balista et al., 2008).
Pedofeatures suggesting strong redoximorphic conditions and
preserved vegetal and wood fragments characterize this part of the
sequence and the alluvial Unit 2 above it. The deposition of this
extensive alluvial cover is linked to the reactivation of spring-fed
streams in the local palaeo-river valleys between the after the 9th
century BC (Balista et al., 2006), leading to the “capture” of a river
channel inside the ditch surrounding the site. Crevasse splays and
overflow deposits passed over the rampart and covered the interior
part of the site. This reactivation phase of spring-fed river courses in
the Valli Grandi Veronesi area, determined most likely by climatic
conditions (see below), is accompanied by a phase of widespread
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C. Nicosia et al. / Quaternary International 243 (2011) 280e292
soil erosion (Nicosia, 2006). The latter caused the truncation and
redeposition of the soils originally present above the valley margins,
subjected to clearance and exploitation during the re-occupation of
some sites in the early Iron Age (e.g. Perteghelle, Terranegra, Lovara -
see Balista et al., 2006; Belluzzo and Tirabassi, 1996; Fig. 2). The
occurrence of alluvial sedimentation and soil erosion in the area of
the Valli Grandi Veronesi overlaps chronologically with a climatic
event of continental significance characterized by cooler and more
humid conditions envisaged between ca. 850 and 760 cal yr BC by
Van Geel et al. (1996) (see also Holzauser et al., 2005; Magny et al.,
2009; Ivy-Ochs et al., 2009). Following these alluvial episodes, for
ca. 2000 years the Valli Grandi Veronesi became a submerged
marsh, with the exception of the interval between 6th and 5th
century BC (Balista and De Guio, 1997) and the Roman period, with
land reclamations beginning in the 2nde1st century BC (Calzolari,
1991). These prolonged waterlogging conditions might justify the
incomplete degree of humification of organic matter in the
anthropogenic deposits, as indicated by the chemical characters of
humic substances and observed in thin section.
7. Conclusions
The integration of the different techniques, data types and scales
of investigation employed in this study allows more thorough
quantification and interpretation of the dark-coloured anthropo-
genic deposits exposed inside the terramara of Fondo Paviani. The
micropedological and pedochemical characters of these deposits
have been used to address and decipher their formation processes.
These appear to be the outcome of an interplay between human
activities and the environmental conditions that characterized the
Valli Grandi Veronesi not only during the middle, late and final
Bronze Age, but also before and after, up to the land reclamations of
the 19th century AD.
The present contribution clarified the nature of some of the
depositional and post-depositional processes responsible for the
vertical accretion of the deposits in areas subject to intense human
occupation at Fondo Paviani. The results suggest that accretion
stems in part from overflow deposits from the internal drainage
system of the site, but more significantly from the weathering and
reworking of earth-based construction materials, the reworking of
the immediate natural substrata and the deliberate or accidental
import of soil from the surrounding area.
The integration of different indicators, archaeological, micro-
morphological, and soil chemical data was crucial in order to identify
with certainty the presence of a ridge-and-furrow field system in the
intra-site space during the last phases of occupation. The correlation
with evidence from the nearby terramara of Fabbrica dei Soci suggests
that an interesting change in the land management pattern accom-
panied the economic and social changes that took place at the end of
the late and especially in the final Bronze Age in the Valli Grandi
Veronesi area. This phenomenon requires further investigation.
Progressively wetter conditions are recorded in the deposits
that accumulated after the abandonment of the studied portion of
the site. They culminate in the 8the7th century BC with the reac-
tivation of the spring-fed streams that drained the valleys incised in
the ancient Adige alluvial fan, in response to a cool-humid climatic
event of continental significance. The result was the deposition of
widespread alluvial blankets in the Valli Grandi Veronesi area and
the heavy erosion of the early Iron Age cultivated topsoils.
Acknowledgments
Marta Dal Corso (University of Padova) for survey and drawings.
Damiano Lotto (University of Padova) for topographic survey data
and aerial photographs. Dr. Federica Sulas (University of
291
Cambridge) for the help with thin section manufacture. Prof. Mauro
Cremaschi (University of Milano) for the critical review of the
Introduction. Emily Modrall (University of Pennsylvania) for review
of the English of the manuscript.
The excavations at Fondo Paviani are funded by: Regione Ven-
eto; Municipality of Legnago; Consorzio di Bonifica Valli Grandi e
Medio Veronese; Fondazione Cariverona; Associazione Culturale
“L’Astragalo”; Rotary Club Legnago; Inner Wheel Club Legnago;
Banca Veneta 1896; University of Padova.
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