Dating the funerary use of caves in Liguria (northwestern Italy) from the Neolithic to historic times: Results from a large-scale AMS campaign on human skeletal series.

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> This paper will go into further detail on pressures and policies faced by the archaeological site of San Clemente’s caretakers, that affect the sites preservation. Including the protection of the riverbed along the fragile coast line represented by the masonry portion of the thermal bath’s foundation which is directly in contact with the water. Being the destiny of the site to be gradually eroded by flooding, digital documentation can play a significant role in documenting the sites changes over time allowing for easy analysis of newly revealed elements. As in the case of the documentation of the viewable openings through the thermal masonry-pipeline during the last surveying campaign this paper will discuss the experimentation of data management through Virtual Hub. Through which past sequences of data can be made accessible to anyone who must operate on the site, and to document the state of affairs of the archaeological complex over the last few years.</p>

No abstract

The Nirano Salse, known since the Roman Times, are one of the most beautiful and scenic mud volcanoes areas of Italy with thousands of visitors every year. In this work, we apply hydrogeological techniques to characterize mud levels in the Salse by means of GPS-RTK positioning and continuous level logging within mud conduits. Our results suggest that different mud levels in mud volcanoes clusters are due to the different gas-liquid ratio in the conduits and not necessarily exclude interconnection at depth, a hypothesis, on the other hand, that seems strengthened by mud level time series correlations. The presence of shallow aquifers at a depth of 5 to 30 m is also supported by our field data. These shallow aquifers may provide a temporary storage for the ascending gas and when fluid pressure in these aquifers exceeds the tensional strength of the sedimentary rock, leakage of fluids to the surface would occur.

This field trip guide organized in the framework of the Goldschmidt Conference 2013, held in Florence from\ud August 25 to 30, 2013, is here presented.\ud The two-days field trip, shows some of the many geological, naturalistic and cultural features in the Fiorano\ud area (Modena), in which history, geology and passion for Ferrari come together in a perfect marriage.\ud The first excursion day is dedicated to visit the Natural Reserve of Salse di Nirano, where the mud volcanoes,\ud produced by the cold mud, salt water and hydrocarbons - mainly methane- can be observed.\ud The second day is devoted to visit the Ferrari Museum and goes on at the Spezzano Castle, hosting the Ceramics\ud Museum. Clays are, in fact, abundant in the hilly margin, where they form badlands, characteristic narrow crests\ud washed out by running waters. In the Castle there is also a Balsamic Vinegar producing Consortium, it’s a peculiar\ud and typical product of Modena province. The itinerary ends with the tour to Enzo Ferrari’s Birthplace at Modena