The Colline Metallifere in SW Tuscany are characterized by strong anomalies in arsenic concentrations and distribution. The area is sparsely populated and largely wild, though it has been subject to human impact due to mining and metal processing since Etruscan and Roman times. In the Middle Ages it was exploited intensively for silver and copper. Until 1995, pyrite (FeS2) was mined and roasted to produce sulphuric acid and iron. Hypotheses based on geological and mineralogical factors formulated in the last 20 years have failed to explain the peculiar distribution of arsenic in the Colline Metallifere. Here we report preliminary results of widespread sampling and analysis of the fluvial sediments of rivers originating in this mining area. The data was analysed in relation to the archaeological features of the area, since the presence of ancient mining and ore processing sites can shed light on the peculiar distribution of arsenic. Comparison of data from two rivers and their respective contaminated and uncontaminated coastal lagoons also clarified the general mechanisms of arsenic mobility, pinpointing the source of arsenic contamination. The study methods also promise to be useful for discovering unknown archaeological sites.

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A seguito della recente comparsa in Italia di numerosi studi dedicati all’archeologia dell’architettura, si vuole proporre con questo contributo una riflessione sui rapporti tra la stratigrafia verticale e quella orizzontale e, in particolare, sui rapporti tra l’indagine dell’evidenza materiale (strutture verticali) e la sua interpretazione. In questo contesto si presentano alcuni studi coordinati dall’Insegnamento di Archeologia Medievale dell’Università di Siena, riguardanti progetti realizzati intorno alla nascita e allo sviluppo dei castelli, con particolare riferimento alla Toscana centro meridionale.

Abstract:Since the 1980s, in Italy, and Tuscany in particular, considerable experience has been developed in research on the mining landscape in relation to the geography of population, with particular attention to the Medieval period. Numerous research projects carried out in the Colline Metallifere areas of Livourne and Grosseto by the Archaeology Department of the University of Sienna (Prof. Riccardo Francovich) have revealed the huge potential offered by this territory for the study of the population, extraction and production dynamics of the pre-industrial period as well as the necessity for rigorous surveillance of the remains of these activities which have been progressively eroded by recent and massive extraction activities and by the current development of housing and infrastructure. In the Livourne Colline Metallifere area, we have already advanced from the research phase to the creation of a fully operational Archaeo-mining Park which has made it possible to protect an extensive territory containing a wealth of pre-industrial and industrial archaeological evidence, including the mining village of Rocca San Silvestro. In the Grosseto province, the Colline Metallifere grossetane Technological and Archaeological Park was recently created. The aim of this institution is to preserve and enhance historical and archaeological heritage of prime importance which twenty years of research have contributed to uncover across a vast territory. Résumé

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