Archaeological excavations at the Biblioteca Magliabechiana, which is part of
the Uffizi gallery complex in Florence (Tuscany, central Italy), exposed Dark
Earth deposits between alluvial sediments of the nearby Arno River. The term
Dark Earth refers to thick, dark colored, and seemingly homogeneous deposits
occurring in urban settings throughout Europe, broadly dated to the post-
Roman period. The stratigraphic sequence of the Biblioteca Magliabechiana
was investigated by integrating geomorphological, chronological, and archaeological
information with micromorphological and soil analytical data. This
combination of approaches resulted in the identification of an early phase of
Dark Earth formation (7th century A.D.) during which the area was characterized
by the accumulation of manure or night soil in wet peri-fluvial conditions.
After a phase of abandonment, Dark Earth accretion resumed (10th to early
11th century A.D.), at this stage due primarily to the dumping of domestic
waste. Subsequent progressive abandonment of the area was followed by the
deposition of alluvium, probably during the major flood of November 4, 1177.
The present study demonstrates that Dark Earth is the outcome of strong bioturbation
and human reworking acting on anthropogenic deposits and possibly
on alluvial sediments
This paper shows the results of a multidisciplinary\ud
study carried out on the mortars from the Late Roman Villa\ud
dell’Oratorio (fourth-sixth AD), an aristocratic mansion built\ud
in the lower Valdarno (Florence, Italy). Thirty-one bedding\ud
mortar and plaster samples were analysed through optical microscopy,\ud
thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray powder diffraction\ud
and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive\ud
X-ray spectroscopy for determining the chemical, mineralogical\ud
and petrographic characteristics, while their main physical\ud
properties were measured by geotechnical procedures. The\ud
collected data indicates that the analysed mortars are made\ud
up of very fine to coarse river sand aggregate mixed with\ud
white to yellowish-white natural hydraulic lime binder mainly\ud
consisting of mixtures of prevailing calcite and hydraulic\ud
compounds. With regard to the origin of the raw materials,\ud
the aggregates were recognized to be selected Arno river\ud
sands, and the binders are the burning product of a local marly\ud
limestone (ex Alberese). Therefore, the mortars of the Late\ud
Roman Villa dell’Oratorio are one of the first uses of natural\ud
hydraulic lime in the lower Valdarno
Glazed ceramics have not typically been sampled for organic residue analysis because the glaze is not porous; therefore, it is commonly believed that these ceramics cannot absorb substances. Although this is partially true, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the glaze may exhibit imperfections due to the production process or the use of ceramics and that these imperfections allow the ceramic matrix to trap residues of the food contained in the vessels. The absorption of organic residues in glazed ceramics is demonstrated by analyses of modern vessels experimentally enriched with wine and vegetable oils (olive and lentisk oils) and archaeological vessels obtained from post-medieval Florence (Italy) and medieval Pla d’Almatà (Balaguer, Lleida, Spain). The analyses were conducted using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry following different extraction protocols aimed at identifying lipids and wine residues preserved in the ceramic vessels. Images of the glazed ceramic coating were recorded using an optical microscope and a scanning electron microscope to verify the presence of imperfections. In addition to providing information about the use of the studied vessels, the obtained results demonstrate how glazed ceramics can be studied to recover information regarding ceramic use and dietary practices in medieval and post-medieval periods when glazed wares were very common
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