Papers by Alessandro Carabia
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2025
The castle of Monteverdi is a medieval settlement in central Italy, located on a hill that once c... more The castle of Monteverdi is a medieval settlement in central Italy, located on a hill that once controlled the communication routes between the Tyrrhenian coast and Mount Amiata. The remains of the castle's walls cover the flat summit of a large ovoid ridge, enclosing a series of structures. The excavation focused on one of these areas, which was characterized by the presence of a small oven, revealing numerous charred carpological and xylological remains dating from the mid to late 12th century. These were subject of a multidisciplinary study, which included morphological, morphometric and genetic investigations, with the aim of obtaining information about human-environment interactions, particularly in relation to the exploited cereal grains. Traditional archaeobotanical analyses allowed us to identify a range of plants available at the site, such as cereals (mostly barley and naked wheats), pulses and weeds (represented by Lolium temulentum). Woody taxa correspond to the typical vegetation of Maremma (Tuscany, Grosseto, Italy). Subsequently, through geometric morphometry, the profiles of a selection of ancient and modern cereal of Triticum caryopses were extracted, and their average shapes were analyzed by comparing Euclidean and genetic distances. This allowed for the assessment of homologies and differences with some current cultivars of the same species. Finally, molecular analyses successfully applied to charred material made it possible to identify grains of Triticum aestivum/durum with genetic characteristics comparable to some accessions still cultivated in Italy today.
Scientific Reports, 2025
This study investigates human diet and mobility to understand the socioeconomic organisation of a... more This study investigates human diet and mobility to understand the socioeconomic organisation of a Late Roman community in Liguria, a transitional region between Italy and Gaul, during the 3rd-5th century CE. By combining archaeological, historical, osteological, and isotopic data with novel Bayesian modelling of multi-isotope data (collagen δ 13 C, δ 15 N, bioapatite 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) from human and animal skeletal remains, as well as modern plant samples, we provide new insights into this hitherto under-researched region. Our findings suggest the community followed a C 3-based diet, heavily reliant on plant resources and carbohydrates, supplemented by animal protein, likely from omnivorous pigs. This characteristically Roman diet contrasts with ancient written sources that claimed Ligurians had a "barbarian" diet and lifestyle. We also identified significant sex-based dietary differences, with men consuming more animal-derived protein than women, reflecting traditional Graeco-Roman societal ideals. Although the overall dietary pattern aligns with Roman norms, there is no isotopic evidence of long-distance migration or consumption of significant amounts of imported food. This indicates that the community may have been more localist, prioritising locally available resources over long-distance imports, which is unexpected given the prevalent idea of a large-scale interconnected food network within the Roman Empire.
Journal of Fasti ONLINE, 2024
Negli ultimi tre anni gli scavi archeologici presso il Castellaraccio di Monteverdi hanno restitu... more Negli ultimi tre anni gli scavi archeologici presso il Castellaraccio di Monteverdi hanno restituito nuovi dati sulla cronologia del sito, permettendo di formulare una periodizzazione preliminare delle sue fasi di uso. Questo articolo riassume i risultati della ricerca e li contestualizza nel più ampio territorio dell’Ardenghesca, ovvero il feudo medievale corrispondente al moderno comune di Civitella Paganico (Grosseto).
Imago temporis: medium Aevum , 2024
The year 533 marked the beginning of a series of military expeditions undertaken by Constantinopl... more The year 533 marked the beginning of a series of military expeditions undertaken by Constantinople aimed at reconquering the “lost west”. After North Africa, Italy, with its powerful symbolism, became the main target of Justinian’s generals. According to Procopius’s history, the wars started as a series of almost unplanned events, while modern scholars tend to emphasize its military nature. This paper analyses the complexity of the reasons which led to the war and how they were used to support it from different ideological and practical points. We will see how these points reflected a crucial aspect of Justinian policy and how this was portrayed
by the propaganda and perceived by contemporaries. In the end, the paper will discuss if we can consider Justinian’s operations in the West as a restauratio of the Empire or a war of expansion that created new provinces without changing the eastern-focused trends of Constantinopolitan policies.
Wiki-beta: il modus vivendi di un sistema per documentare la ricerca
Nobody can deny the impact the web has on every possible domain and archaeology is not an excepti... more Nobody can deny the impact the web has on every possible domain and archaeology is not an exception. The Web 2.0 has put all users on the same level. Wikipedia and its software Mediawiki are an outstanding example of this process. The MediaWiki software was successfully applied to the archaeological record and its success is also due to the fact that it is always in beta format. This last feature is the characteristic that allowed the software to evolve, to respond to the necessity of the users. Chronic problems of Wiki systems, such as research and the reliability of on-line publications, and much more, could soon be solved by new software and network. In this article I will describe some of the most interesting novelties in this domain.
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 526, 2022
This paper illustrates the results of the second archaeological season that took place at the med... more This paper illustrates the results of the second archaeological season that took place at the medieval site of Castellaraccio di Monteverdi, in the territory of Civitella Paganico (Grosseto, Italy). The excavation revealed the phases of abandonment in one of the rooms of the main keep of the settlement, completing and confirming the results of the 2018 trench. A second new area was opened on the North side of the fortification to define the role and the function of other sections of the castle. The material recovered confirms that the site was abandoned during the second half of the known 13th century, as stated in the written sources. At this stage one other earlier phase of occupation predates the visible standing structure. Further, new details were added to the general plan based on emerging remains.
GQBWiki is a wiki website for the archaeological research project on the Byzantine city of Gortyn... more GQBWiki is a wiki website for the archaeological research project on the Byzantine city of Gortyn, based on open source software and publicly accessible under the CC-BY-SA license. It has been used since 2005 to record excavation data together with other content ranging from bibliography to reflexive documentation. While the MediaWiki software lacks native capabilities for structured querying, the Semantic MediaWiki extension has been used to provide all the infrastructure necessary for linked open data. GQBWiki is the ongoing result of collaborative work and strives to give attribution to all contributors in a transparent way, with all the challenges that a non-traditional publication workflow brings.
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 459, 2020
This report summarizes the first archaeological campaign (May – June 2018) at the medieval settle... more This report summarizes the first archaeological campaign (May – June 2018) at the medieval settlement of Castellaraccio of Monteverdi. The scope is to first identify the life span and activities of the castle and to understand the relationship of the hilltop with its immediate surroundings. The research will further determine the socio-economic role that the castle played in this strategic area, positioned over farming land, a bridge and a major road that led inland from the coast to Siena. The presence and collaboration of a nearby ongoing excavation of earlier Etruscan and Roman settlements are the ideal conditions to address how the activities changed and transformed through time, adding another perspective to the current debates. This first season aimed to clear the castle from the collapse to expose its plan and date the life span of its occupation. Further clearing was also extended to the exterior of the castle to document the different wall techniques of the fortification. Only one area was opened over the most monumental part of the castle. The lack of medieval glazed pottery, except for a few fragments of undatable kitchenware, could indicate a pre-majolica settlement. While it is still premature to assess any date of occupation of the hilltop, it seems safe to establish that Castellaraccio belongs to the first incastellamento generation. The use of non-invasive techniques in the next campaign will help read the territory around the castle, along the Ombrone river and possibly to the nearby Cannicci valley.
1 2 La conoscenza non risiede in un libro, in una banca dati, in un software; essi sono solo dei ... more 1 2 La conoscenza non risiede in un libro, in una banca dati, in un software; essi sono solo dei contenitori di informazione. La conoscenza è sempre impersonificata da un essere umano; veicolata solo da un essere umano; insegnata e tramandata grazie ad un essere umano; usata ed abusata per opera di un essere umano.
Projects–Crossroads of Empires by Alessandro Carabia
by Francesca Dell'Acqua, Associate Prof., History of Medieval and Byzantine Art, Flavia Vanni, John Mitchell, Alessandro Carabia, Lucrezia Campagna, Rosa De Venezia, Tommaso Carrafiello, Benjamin Sharkey, Kylie D'Ario, and Ivan Foletti World Archaeology, 2019
Our project on UK’s biggest selling Archaeology magazine.
Knowledge of Sant’Ambrogio has now gon... more Our project on UK’s biggest selling Archaeology magazine.
Knowledge of Sant’Ambrogio has now gone out to 17,000 subscribers and several thousand more buyers! Thanks to Dan Reynolds, Chiara Lambert, and all the team from UniSa and UoB
Books by Alessandro Carabia
In association with /İşbirlikleri.
This project is funded by Spaces of Culture. Bu proje, kültür ... more In association with /İşbirlikleri.
This project is funded by Spaces of Culture. Bu proje, kültür için alan tarafından fonlanmaktadır.
TALE OF A RIVER CITY - READING URBAN HISTORIES THROUGH ASI RIVER, 2022
The book TALE OF A RIVER CITY is as a collective work that aims to narrate the complex history be... more The book TALE OF A RIVER CITY is as a collective work that aims to narrate the complex history between Antakya’s inhabitants and the Asi River running through the city that has shaped Antakya’s urban life and its reception for millennia. The book outlines the collaborative, interdisciplinary work of five researchers coming from different academic backgrounds ranging from anthropology, archaeology, art history, architecture, and city planning, and articulates stories merging into the flow of the Asi River from Antakya's foundation until today. The book adopts a historical narrative method, which will be expanded upon five chronologically ordered chapters employing a kaleidoscope of perspectives from diverse sources, including books, articles, travelers’ notes, myths, drawings, maps, photographs to mediate understanding the changing urban-water relations in the historical context.
NEHİRLİ KENTİN ÖYKÜSÜ kitabı, Antakya şehrinin içinden geçen ve kentin yaşamını şekillendiren Asi Nehri ile Antakya sakinleri arasında süregelen binlerce yıllık karmaşık ilişkinin tarihini anlatmayı amaçlayan kolektif bir çalışmadır. Kitap, antropoloji, arkeoloji, sanat tarihi, mimarlık ve şehir planlama gibi çok farklı akademik geçmişlerden gelen beş araştırmacının işbirlikçi ve disiplinler arası çalışmalarını bir araya getirmekte ve Antakya’nın kuruluşundan günümüze kadar Asi Nehri’nin suyuna karışan hikayelerini özetlemektedir. Kitaplar, makaleler, gezgin notları, mitler, çizimler, haritalar, fotoğraflardan oluşan çeşitli kaynakların farklı perspektiflerini bir araya getiren kronolojik olarak sıralı beş bölümden oluşan bu kitap, tarihsel anlatı yöntemini benimsemekte, zaman içerisinde değişen şehir-su ilişkilerini tarihsel bir bağlamdan anlamaya aracı olmaktadır.
.
Uploads
Papers by Alessandro Carabia
by the propaganda and perceived by contemporaries. In the end, the paper will discuss if we can consider Justinian’s operations in the West as a restauratio of the Empire or a war of expansion that created new provinces without changing the eastern-focused trends of Constantinopolitan policies.
Projects–Crossroads of Empires by Alessandro Carabia
Knowledge of Sant’Ambrogio has now gone out to 17,000 subscribers and several thousand more buyers! Thanks to Dan Reynolds, Chiara Lambert, and all the team from UniSa and UoB
Books by Alessandro Carabia
This project is funded by Spaces of Culture. Bu proje, kültür için alan tarafından fonlanmaktadır.
NEHİRLİ KENTİN ÖYKÜSÜ kitabı, Antakya şehrinin içinden geçen ve kentin yaşamını şekillendiren Asi Nehri ile Antakya sakinleri arasında süregelen binlerce yıllık karmaşık ilişkinin tarihini anlatmayı amaçlayan kolektif bir çalışmadır. Kitap, antropoloji, arkeoloji, sanat tarihi, mimarlık ve şehir planlama gibi çok farklı akademik geçmişlerden gelen beş araştırmacının işbirlikçi ve disiplinler arası çalışmalarını bir araya getirmekte ve Antakya’nın kuruluşundan günümüze kadar Asi Nehri’nin suyuna karışan hikayelerini özetlemektedir. Kitaplar, makaleler, gezgin notları, mitler, çizimler, haritalar, fotoğraflardan oluşan çeşitli kaynakların farklı perspektiflerini bir araya getiren kronolojik olarak sıralı beş bölümden oluşan bu kitap, tarihsel anlatı yöntemini benimsemekte, zaman içerisinde değişen şehir-su ilişkilerini tarihsel bir bağlamdan anlamaya aracı olmaktadır.
.