Reperti lapidei / Stone finds

The catalogue of stone material found at the site of the San Quirico monastery also includes the sporadic elements found previously. The study of the finds addressed the question of attributing the functional units, and also, in parallel, the problem of placing them in their context within the complex under study, as well as proposing a suggested chronology for them. In addition to structural and sculptural elements and decorative features, the cataloguing also includes reused material (spolia) and elements of different type (slabs), as well as elements datable to later phases. In an attempt to avoid the problem of erroneous attribution of the functional unit, which one may sometimes make, and in a desire to make best use of the potential of this kind of source in contributing to the interpretation of the site, the analysis was thus extended to each stone artefact, including those not belonging to the architectural decoraton of the buildiing. the analysis thus involved, on the one hand, identification of the individual elements and placing them in their context, and, on the other hand, technical aspects of how they were made, and singns of how they were reworked and adapted. This division also included finds interpreted as structural and architectural elements of the church, or relating to parts of the monastery. Similar elements are still found in situ. In some cases, the material was reused in the final phases of use, in in-fill, or in the creation of accessory parts of the building. Other elements, from layers of building collapse, whilst not being included in the inventory, were nevertheless analysed, to log processing marks.