ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESTORATION Roberta Conversi Archaeologist, Superintendence for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for Parma and Piacenza Territories Cristina Mezzadri Archaeologist, private company Malena s.n.c. Piacenza
Piana di San Martino: Restoration, 3D scan and backfilling of the Church and Tower of S. Martino In 1990, remains of a multi-layered site were found on Mount San Martino, located in a side valley south of the Po river; the site seems to have been inhabited since proto-historical times up until the modern era. The best evidences come from a late antique settlement, which was founded in a strategic position on a syncline in the Emilan Apennines and remained inhabited throughout the Middle Ages; the site is actually protected as a Geo-site and archaeological heritage site as well. Archaeological excavations carried out between 2000 and 2017, evidenced structures, stratifications and finds that make possible a reconstruction of the settlement’s evolution.
roberta.conversi@beniculturali.it www.malenasnc.com
The fortified site was founded as a castrum in the Late Antiquity and was inhabited by Goths, Byzantines and Lombards until the late Middle Ages, when it became a place of Christian worship. The castrum was part of a defensive network operating between the Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Remarkable are two vaulted underground cisterns, with floor and wall coverings made from cocciopesto. Considering its importance, the site was included in an international study project, and since 2018, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage has been funding the conservation, restoration, 3D scanning and backfilling of the foundation walls under the castrum’s tower and the Church of San Martino, which was actually built on the tower by carving the rocky ridge. The aim of this research project was to acquire decisive data about the construction of a rectangular building, probably a large hall with a tower which was later converted into a Christian place of worship during the Middle Ages. This church, dedicated to the Saints George and Martin, had only one hall and an apse on the eastern side, which was partially
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