Settlement Shifts and the Transformation of Power in Medieval Italy: Preliminary Results from the Excavation of the Castle of San Giuliano

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The State of the Art in Medieval European Archaeology: New Discoveries, Future Directions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Northern Lazio, Italy, was a region of shifting boundaries in the Middle Ages. Across the medieval centuries, it encompassed the southern extent of Lombard territory, a southwestern edge of Byzantine lands, and a northern portion of the Papal States. Given the scant textual documentation of this region, archaeology is key to investigating changes in settlement patterns and economic interactions characterizing this dynamic period. We present data from three seasons of geophysics survey, drone photography, and open-area excavations at the medieval castle complex of San Giuliano. This site was part of a broad restructuring of the settled landscape of medieval Italy, in which people chose or were forced to move onto fortified hilltops. The San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project aims to test three explanatory models for the emergence of these fortified sites: 1) manifestations of state power, 2) privatized feudal enterprises, and 3) communal village-based initiatives. In this paper, we present our project’s preliminary data concerning the spatial layout, political order, and economic organization of the castle, with particular attention to a hall at the heart of the complex. Fine glassware and ceramic servingwares, alongside zooarchaeological analysis of refuse in an associated granary, suggest that this was a feasting hall.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The State of the Art in Medieval European Archaeology: New Discoveries, Future Directions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24310