In the Monti Lucretili area (70 km from Rome), the Medieval Castle of Montefalco stands atop limestone mountains, overlooking abandoned agricultural terraces. Over the past few years, this area has been explored by landscape archaeologists from Roma Tre University, working under the Monti Lucretili Landscape Project (MoLuLaP) led by Prof. Emeri Farinetti. In July 2024, AMGC archaeologists joined forces with the MoLuLaP team to visit the sites, exchange ideas, and strengthen their network.
The AMGC team conducted a multidisciplinary fieldwork campaign over one week, comprising specialists in phytolith analysis (Mónica Alonso), OSL dating (Soetkin Vervust), ancient water management (Ella Egber), soil micromorphology (Yannick Devos and Axel Cerón), and landscape archaeology (Ralf Vandam). Soils and sediment sequences from the terraces and irrigation channels were described and collected for further laboratory analysis, micromorphological descriptions, and dating.
In the field, AMGC and Italian archaeologists unearthed various pottery pieces, discovered sedimentary layers of potential volcanic ash, and identified that the majority of the terraces were constructed by taking advantage of the soils developed in karstic pockets. Nevertheless, we still know so little about the terraces: When were the terraces constructed? Are they chronologically related to the Castle of Montefalco? What types of plants were cultivated and animals husbanded? Were the societies in the Monti Lucretili resilient to volcanic events?
This research is part of the FWO Project (FWOAL1082) titled “Terraces as a Land Management Strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean: A Long-Term Perspective,” coordinated by AMGC-VUB and KU Leuven. Take a look at our FWO Instagram takeover during the fieldwork week!
