LATE ANTIQUE AND EARLY MEDIEVAL STONE ARTIFACTS. SPOLIA, REUSE, CONSTRUCTION SITE DYNAMICS During the excavations conducted at Comacchio from 2006 to 2009 in the area adjacent to the cathedral of St Cassiano, researchers found and identified a large quantity of stone artifacts which were subsequently analyzed. The artifacts were all subjected to examination in relation to the area and layers from which they came, without making any distinction favoring one particular typology or function and, on the contrary, included all the chips which could be identified as having a particular function and all the stone fragments which had not been identified with certainty but, in any case, could be interpreted as being part of architectural elements (graph. 1). This method made it possible to evaluate different aspects that were part of the archeological interpretation which was meant to be all-inclusive, from the manufacturing cycles to the dynamics of use, plundering and recycling, displacement, secondary reuse, and others, all of which were passages that were part of the normal activity of the construction sites. The contexts. Discovery, reuse, provenance Most of the stone artifacts were found in USM 1438, the eastern perimeter wall of a building which was interpreted as being the Bishop’s Palace and to which a chronology of the 11th12th century was assigned. (Period 4, Phase 3). The number of artifacts (132) in this case corresponds to 87,41% of the total of all the stone objects found. The artifacts represented a heterogeneous group of materials, mostly fragmentary but in some cases large objects which had been in the foundations in association with bricks which had also been recycled and showing an abundant use of construction mortar. The dimensions of the stone flakes and the elements used in the foundations were of dimensions (cm 80/95) such as to determine an irregular width in some cases double that of the wall. A small quantity of stone artifacts also of a different typology, were found in other contexts (tab. 1). In area 1000, which corresponds to the facade of the cathedral of St Cassiano they found stone artifacts in US 1027 (Period 2, Phase 2, Activity 1); US 1059 (Period 5, Phase 1); US 1074 (Period 3, Phase 1); US 1097 and US 1098 (Period 5, Phase 2). The context of discovery and reuse for most of the artifacts was the same (figs. 2-3-4), however the area in which also the remaining artifacts have been or could have been transferred several times is unique and, on the contrary the context of provenance is diversified and multiple. The artifacts. Functional identity and production aspects Late Antique furnishings and architectural elements. This material comes from buildings or phases dated to Late Antiquity. In particular, the breakdown is valid for the fragments (cat. n. 39, n. 40) decorated using a drill, with visible traces pertaining to one or more capitals of a particular typology with acanthus leaves moving in the wind of the “butterfly” type on the rim and an egg-and-dart motif on the abacus (tav. 1), from the period of Theodoric, with an eastern provenance and used in buildings in Ravenna. There are also other fragments from architectural elements (tab. 2) of the same period which can be identified as being part of composite or impost capitals where traces of production that are still visible suggest their identification (cat. n. 38, nn. 42-44). These materials were probably part of a group of fragments from cornices and lintels as well as a number of fragmentary elements for which the demolition activity and recycling have made it impossible to identify with certainty their original function (cat. nn. 104-108). The numerous fragments of columns (tab. 3) coming from large sized shafts some of which are made of polychrome marbles and, in some cases, were imported, had originally been used in Late Antiquity (cat. nn. 54-77; cat. n. 83-99). Early Medieval liturgical furnishings and architectural elements These are mostly materials pertaining to elements from liturgical furnishings (cat. nn. 1-35), from the Early Middle Ages and correspond to 23,17% of the artifacts discovered. Despite the fragmentary state of the artifacts which were small and in some cases, very small sized, in most cases we were able to determine or hypothesize the original function: small pillars with or without grooves meant to hold slabs, pluteus-slabs, with tenon; simple slabs; cornices; trabeations; capitals of different sizes (graph. 2). With these artifacts it was possible to make comparisons with analogous materials which had been published or, in any case, were known, which were useful for the definition of the functions and typological characteristics, technical and production solutions and decorative motifs. Technological aspects (instruments, techniques and assembly) The analytical review of the visible traces left from the manufacture on the surface of the artifacts (tabs. 8-9-10) allowed us to determine the use of pointed instruments of different sizes with indirect percussion, used for the preliminary execution of the individual components which in this way were rough-hewed (cat. n. 16; cat. n. 26), as was done for the production of the accommodation slits for slabs in pillars (cat. n. 1; cat. n. 3), trabeation grooves (cat. n. 26), as well as for the preliminary positioning of a lintel fragment (cat. n. 22). Visible traces of a direct percussion tool with a flat cutting edge would seem to suggest a stone-cutter’s axe, while a chisel with a smooth cutting edge was probably used to make the traces which were found also on the artifacts from Comacchio. A tool with a small-sized flat cutting edge was used to make the double-grooved bands, with the triangular section groove made by slanting the instrument with respect to the working surface, as is evident in some of the elements. In a few cases we were able to identify a small cutting tool with a serrated blade which had been used to rectify the surface of some of the slabs (cat. n. 10, blade cm 2-2,5 with at least 4-5 teeth; cat. n. 13). Appropriation of materials and organization of the construction site None of the artifacts were found in primary deposits as this rarely occurs for this type of material. On the other hand, in terms of relative chronology, the context offers only the terminus ante quem of the construction of the wall from which most of the artifacts come and the presence of a few artifacts in the leveling layers which pertain to the 10th century. The presence of fragments to which a particular function cannot be assigned, as well as stone flakes and materials which show no traces of being worked and are reduced to the state of being simple stones, testifies and confirms an activity of demolition and reuse. It is significant that we found all massed together heterogeneous elements from various eras coming from different phases of the same building or from different chronological phases of different buildings. These artifacts were reduced to small fragments by destructive activity as well as by their reuse as construction materials. By making the necessary disaggregations and new aggregations in proceeding with the analysis, this case once again offers the possibility of documenting a common practice which tells us much about the organization of the construction site and the extent of its activity: the materials recovered are rubble. The remnants of materials used for the production of mortars associated with plaster (fig. 7), stone flakes and other materials like bricks which were also produced by anthropic activity and reused on construction sites (fig. 8), also contribute to the definition of the organization of the site. The reuse of Early Medieval decorative elements together with structural and architectural components from an earlier era has been noted in other cases. We can also cite examples in which a selection has been made of the materials, choosing some of them to be displayed in a recognizable way as a “memory” of a preceding era, while others which were part of the same structure or furnishings, were set aside for use in the construction site, as residue from the production of mortar or components of walls. At Comacchio these materials became rubble because they were probably the remains from baking, presumably in a lime kiln, considering the evident exposure to a source of heat (fig. 9), or else they had been deliberately crushed and broken. These materials in some case continued to circulate and be recycled in the various constructions which took place in the area from the Medieval phase to the Modern Era (fig. 10).
Reperti lapidei tardoantichi e altomedievali. Spolia, reimpiego, dinamiche di cantiere
Riccardo Belcari
2021-01-01
Abstract
LATE ANTIQUE AND EARLY MEDIEVAL STONE ARTIFACTS. SPOLIA, REUSE, CONSTRUCTION SITE DYNAMICS During the excavations conducted at Comacchio from 2006 to 2009 in the area adjacent to the cathedral of St Cassiano, researchers found and identified a large quantity of stone artifacts which were subsequently analyzed. The artifacts were all subjected to examination in relation to the area and layers from which they came, without making any distinction favoring one particular typology or function and, on the contrary, included all the chips which could be identified as having a particular function and all the stone fragments which had not been identified with certainty but, in any case, could be interpreted as being part of architectural elements (graph. 1). This method made it possible to evaluate different aspects that were part of the archeological interpretation which was meant to be all-inclusive, from the manufacturing cycles to the dynamics of use, plundering and recycling, displacement, secondary reuse, and others, all of which were passages that were part of the normal activity of the construction sites. The contexts. Discovery, reuse, provenance Most of the stone artifacts were found in USM 1438, the eastern perimeter wall of a building which was interpreted as being the Bishop’s Palace and to which a chronology of the 11th12th century was assigned. (Period 4, Phase 3). The number of artifacts (132) in this case corresponds to 87,41% of the total of all the stone objects found. The artifacts represented a heterogeneous group of materials, mostly fragmentary but in some cases large objects which had been in the foundations in association with bricks which had also been recycled and showing an abundant use of construction mortar. The dimensions of the stone flakes and the elements used in the foundations were of dimensions (cm 80/95) such as to determine an irregular width in some cases double that of the wall. A small quantity of stone artifacts also of a different typology, were found in other contexts (tab. 1). In area 1000, which corresponds to the facade of the cathedral of St Cassiano they found stone artifacts in US 1027 (Period 2, Phase 2, Activity 1); US 1059 (Period 5, Phase 1); US 1074 (Period 3, Phase 1); US 1097 and US 1098 (Period 5, Phase 2). The context of discovery and reuse for most of the artifacts was the same (figs. 2-3-4), however the area in which also the remaining artifacts have been or could have been transferred several times is unique and, on the contrary the context of provenance is diversified and multiple. The artifacts. Functional identity and production aspects Late Antique furnishings and architectural elements. This material comes from buildings or phases dated to Late Antiquity. In particular, the breakdown is valid for the fragments (cat. n. 39, n. 40) decorated using a drill, with visible traces pertaining to one or more capitals of a particular typology with acanthus leaves moving in the wind of the “butterfly” type on the rim and an egg-and-dart motif on the abacus (tav. 1), from the period of Theodoric, with an eastern provenance and used in buildings in Ravenna. There are also other fragments from architectural elements (tab. 2) of the same period which can be identified as being part of composite or impost capitals where traces of production that are still visible suggest their identification (cat. n. 38, nn. 42-44). These materials were probably part of a group of fragments from cornices and lintels as well as a number of fragmentary elements for which the demolition activity and recycling have made it impossible to identify with certainty their original function (cat. nn. 104-108). The numerous fragments of columns (tab. 3) coming from large sized shafts some of which are made of polychrome marbles and, in some cases, were imported, had originally been used in Late Antiquity (cat. nn. 54-77; cat. n. 83-99). Early Medieval liturgical furnishings and architectural elements These are mostly materials pertaining to elements from liturgical furnishings (cat. nn. 1-35), from the Early Middle Ages and correspond to 23,17% of the artifacts discovered. Despite the fragmentary state of the artifacts which were small and in some cases, very small sized, in most cases we were able to determine or hypothesize the original function: small pillars with or without grooves meant to hold slabs, pluteus-slabs, with tenon; simple slabs; cornices; trabeations; capitals of different sizes (graph. 2). With these artifacts it was possible to make comparisons with analogous materials which had been published or, in any case, were known, which were useful for the definition of the functions and typological characteristics, technical and production solutions and decorative motifs. Technological aspects (instruments, techniques and assembly) The analytical review of the visible traces left from the manufacture on the surface of the artifacts (tabs. 8-9-10) allowed us to determine the use of pointed instruments of different sizes with indirect percussion, used for the preliminary execution of the individual components which in this way were rough-hewed (cat. n. 16; cat. n. 26), as was done for the production of the accommodation slits for slabs in pillars (cat. n. 1; cat. n. 3), trabeation grooves (cat. n. 26), as well as for the preliminary positioning of a lintel fragment (cat. n. 22). Visible traces of a direct percussion tool with a flat cutting edge would seem to suggest a stone-cutter’s axe, while a chisel with a smooth cutting edge was probably used to make the traces which were found also on the artifacts from Comacchio. A tool with a small-sized flat cutting edge was used to make the double-grooved bands, with the triangular section groove made by slanting the instrument with respect to the working surface, as is evident in some of the elements. In a few cases we were able to identify a small cutting tool with a serrated blade which had been used to rectify the surface of some of the slabs (cat. n. 10, blade cm 2-2,5 with at least 4-5 teeth; cat. n. 13). Appropriation of materials and organization of the construction site None of the artifacts were found in primary deposits as this rarely occurs for this type of material. On the other hand, in terms of relative chronology, the context offers only the terminus ante quem of the construction of the wall from which most of the artifacts come and the presence of a few artifacts in the leveling layers which pertain to the 10th century. The presence of fragments to which a particular function cannot be assigned, as well as stone flakes and materials which show no traces of being worked and are reduced to the state of being simple stones, testifies and confirms an activity of demolition and reuse. It is significant that we found all massed together heterogeneous elements from various eras coming from different phases of the same building or from different chronological phases of different buildings. These artifacts were reduced to small fragments by destructive activity as well as by their reuse as construction materials. By making the necessary disaggregations and new aggregations in proceeding with the analysis, this case once again offers the possibility of documenting a common practice which tells us much about the organization of the construction site and the extent of its activity: the materials recovered are rubble. The remnants of materials used for the production of mortars associated with plaster (fig. 7), stone flakes and other materials like bricks which were also produced by anthropic activity and reused on construction sites (fig. 8), also contribute to the definition of the organization of the site. The reuse of Early Medieval decorative elements together with structural and architectural components from an earlier era has been noted in other cases. We can also cite examples in which a selection has been made of the materials, choosing some of them to be displayed in a recognizable way as a “memory” of a preceding era, while others which were part of the same structure or furnishings, were set aside for use in the construction site, as residue from the production of mortar or components of walls. At Comacchio these materials became rubble because they were probably the remains from baking, presumably in a lime kiln, considering the evident exposure to a source of heat (fig. 9), or else they had been deliberately crushed and broken. These materials in some case continued to circulate and be recycled in the various constructions which took place in the area from the Medieval phase to the Modern Era (fig. 10).I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
