My researches focus on the archaeometric investigation of ancient pottery. I am research fellow at University of Modena and Reggio where I obtained the PhD in Archaeological Science (2010). I am in charge of the database of prehistoric pottery, also organizing and supervising the student’s work. I teach Applied Geoarchaeology (Modena University) and Pottery technology (Ferrara University) to the Graduate students. Since 2009 I am the director of the field laboratory of the archaeological excavation at San Vincenzo Stromboli (Aeolian Islands). I have extensive experience of fieldworks in numerous Italian Bronze Age sites. I am involved in the archaeometric characterization of the clay cores of the Riace Bronzes. The results of the investigation are published in several scientific Journals. Address: Modena, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Decorated Italo-Mycenaean (IM) pottery, a high-status class found and made over three centuries f... more Decorated Italo-Mycenaean (IM) pottery, a high-status class found and made over three centuries from the Italian Late Middle Bronze Age onwards, was the subject of a large archaeological and archaeometric enquiry published by the present authors in 2014. The present paper focuses on identifying IM’s centres of production. The results of chemical analysis of IM using mainly ICP-ES make a strong case for regional production, irrespective of findspots in several parts of Italy. This accords well with the relative stylistic individuality of IM observed among the finds of IM across many parts of Italy, suggesting that IM is a powerful archaeological indicator of the way local communities were constructing and negotiating their identities at this crucial time of social and economic change at the end of the Bronze Age. A picture of more dispersed intra-regional production emerges from the combined chemical and petrographic analysis of two other pottery classes displaying Aegean influence: ...
New Appenninico Potsherds from Fondo Paviani (Verona) \u2013 Padova University Excavations 2007-2... more New Appenninico Potsherds from Fondo Paviani (Verona) \u2013 Padova University Excavations 2007-2012. Chrono-typological and Archaeometrical Overview. The aim of the paper is a chrono-tpological and archaeometrical analysis of three new Appenninico potsherds coming from the embanked site of Fondo Paviani, already known in literature for the presence of some Appenninico potsherds. Two of the new ones come from the survey, while a third one was found in an archaeological layer that can be dated to RBA2. The petrographic analysis demonstrated a local production, as it is for the other Appenninico potsherds from Valli Grandi Veronesi contexts. The material filling the carved decoration motifs was examined with SEM and XRD. The analysis showed that it is a white pigment made of grounded bones, applied on pots after firing. Since the MBA3 phase is substantially missing in the Fondo Paviani settlement, the three potsherds support the hypothesis of the continuation of techniques and decorative patterns also in RBA
Risultati del progetto di analisi archeometriche della ceramica proveniente dalla necropoli dell&... more Risultati del progetto di analisi archeometriche della ceramica proveniente dalla necropoli dell'et\ue0 dl bronzo di Casinalbo (Modena). Comparazione con ceramica proveniente da abitati contemporanei della stessa area. Definizione delle Fabrics composizionali, identificazione di zona e tecnologia di produzione
We present the preliminary results of the ongoing investigation of the obsidian from the Bronze A... more We present the preliminary results of the ongoing investigation of the obsidian from the Bronze Age village of San Vincenzo, Stromboli, Aeolian Islands, for the purpose of providing technological and typological characterization, and also provenance of the raw material, the latter with non-destructive p-XRF. Regarding provenance, the source of the raw material is likely to be neighbouring Lipari. It was transported to Stromboli and used mostly in a highly opportunistic manner and for the production of blade(let), non-bladelike tools (mainly scrapers) and micro bladelets. The obsidian distribution around the site shows concentration in both domestic and production areas.
Large-scale landslides at volcanic islands are one of the most dangerous geological phenomena, ab... more Large-scale landslides at volcanic islands are one of the most dangerous geological phenomena, able to generate tsunamis whose effects can propagate far from the source. However, related deposits are scarcely preserved on-land in the geologic records, and are often difficult to be interpreted. Here we show the discovery of three unprecedented well-preserved tsunami deposits related to repeated flank collapses of the volcanic island of Stromboli (Southern Italy) occurred during the Late Middle Ages. Based on carbon datings, on stratigraphic, volcanological and archaeological evidence, we link the oldest, highest-magnitude investigated tsunami to the following rapid abandonment of the island which was inhabited at that time, contrary than previously thought. The destructive power of this event is also possibly related to a huge marine storm that devastated the ports of Naples in 1343 (200 km north of Stromboli) described by the famous writer Petrarch. The portrayed devastation can be ...
The present work studies proto-historic pottery from Terramare Bronze Age settlements in the Po P... more The present work studies proto-historic pottery from Terramare Bronze Age settlements in the Po Plain, northern Italy. Ceramics from six Middle and Recent Bronze Age (XVII-XI cent. B.C.) sites in Modena Province (Montale, Gorzano, Castiglione di Marano, Ca\u300 de\u2019 Monesi, Pontenuovo, Montebarello) were analysed to determine area of production, provenance of raw materials and specialization degree of manufacturing process. The physical-chemical characterization of the ceramics (177) and outcrop clays (38) was achieved by petrographic, mineralogical (XRD) and chemical analyses (XRF). The archaeometric investigation revealed a low carbonate matrix as a common feature of the whole pottery data-set, which can hence be assumed as the main marker to identify the possible raw materials. The standardization of the production process and the results of experimental reproductions suggest the existence of two different levels of complexity in pottery production (household and workshop), probably resulting from different systems of organization
Cooking devices such as hearths and slabs are relatively common in archaeological records, mainly... more Cooking devices such as hearths and slabs are relatively common in archaeological records, mainly in settlements, as they are related to daily domestic activities. Conversely, it is often hard to identify the presence of cooking structures when they are fragmented and in a secondary context. Recent research at the Bronze Age pile dwelling settlement of Grotta di Pertosa (Salerno, Southern Italy) returned 138 ceramic flat pieces of unknown function which were found in a circumscribed zone of the entrance chamber. We successfully tested an integrated approach combining morphology, macroscopic observation and analytical investigation (minero-petrographic). We present both the technological and functional evidence that allowed us to identify those ceramic flat pieces as cooking slabs.
New samples of clay cores from the two Riace bronze statues have been analysed chemically, petrog... more New samples of clay cores from the two Riace bronze statues have been analysed chemically, petrographically and by SEM to shed light on their origins. Sources in or around Corinth and Athens are excluded; the Argolid in the Peloponnese remains a possibility, and the Megarid should be considered further on geological grounds.
Decorated Italo-Mycenaean (IM) pottery, a high-status class found and made over three centuries f... more Decorated Italo-Mycenaean (IM) pottery, a high-status class found and made over three centuries from the Italian Late Middle Bronze Age onwards, was the subject of a large archaeological and archaeometric enquiry published by the present authors in 2014. The present paper focuses on identifying IM’s centres of production. The results of chemical analysis of IM using mainly ICP-ES make a strong case for regional production, irrespective of findspots in several parts of Italy. This accords well with the relative stylistic individuality of IM observed among the finds of IM across many parts of Italy, suggesting that IM is a powerful archaeological indicator of the way local communities were constructing and negotiating their identities at this crucial time of social and economic change at the end of the Bronze Age. A picture of more dispersed intra-regional production emerges from the combined chemical and petrographic analysis of two other pottery classes displaying Aegean influence: ...
New Appenninico Potsherds from Fondo Paviani (Verona) \u2013 Padova University Excavations 2007-2... more New Appenninico Potsherds from Fondo Paviani (Verona) \u2013 Padova University Excavations 2007-2012. Chrono-typological and Archaeometrical Overview. The aim of the paper is a chrono-tpological and archaeometrical analysis of three new Appenninico potsherds coming from the embanked site of Fondo Paviani, already known in literature for the presence of some Appenninico potsherds. Two of the new ones come from the survey, while a third one was found in an archaeological layer that can be dated to RBA2. The petrographic analysis demonstrated a local production, as it is for the other Appenninico potsherds from Valli Grandi Veronesi contexts. The material filling the carved decoration motifs was examined with SEM and XRD. The analysis showed that it is a white pigment made of grounded bones, applied on pots after firing. Since the MBA3 phase is substantially missing in the Fondo Paviani settlement, the three potsherds support the hypothesis of the continuation of techniques and decorative patterns also in RBA
Risultati del progetto di analisi archeometriche della ceramica proveniente dalla necropoli dell&... more Risultati del progetto di analisi archeometriche della ceramica proveniente dalla necropoli dell'et\ue0 dl bronzo di Casinalbo (Modena). Comparazione con ceramica proveniente da abitati contemporanei della stessa area. Definizione delle Fabrics composizionali, identificazione di zona e tecnologia di produzione
We present the preliminary results of the ongoing investigation of the obsidian from the Bronze A... more We present the preliminary results of the ongoing investigation of the obsidian from the Bronze Age village of San Vincenzo, Stromboli, Aeolian Islands, for the purpose of providing technological and typological characterization, and also provenance of the raw material, the latter with non-destructive p-XRF. Regarding provenance, the source of the raw material is likely to be neighbouring Lipari. It was transported to Stromboli and used mostly in a highly opportunistic manner and for the production of blade(let), non-bladelike tools (mainly scrapers) and micro bladelets. The obsidian distribution around the site shows concentration in both domestic and production areas.
Large-scale landslides at volcanic islands are one of the most dangerous geological phenomena, ab... more Large-scale landslides at volcanic islands are one of the most dangerous geological phenomena, able to generate tsunamis whose effects can propagate far from the source. However, related deposits are scarcely preserved on-land in the geologic records, and are often difficult to be interpreted. Here we show the discovery of three unprecedented well-preserved tsunami deposits related to repeated flank collapses of the volcanic island of Stromboli (Southern Italy) occurred during the Late Middle Ages. Based on carbon datings, on stratigraphic, volcanological and archaeological evidence, we link the oldest, highest-magnitude investigated tsunami to the following rapid abandonment of the island which was inhabited at that time, contrary than previously thought. The destructive power of this event is also possibly related to a huge marine storm that devastated the ports of Naples in 1343 (200 km north of Stromboli) described by the famous writer Petrarch. The portrayed devastation can be ...
The present work studies proto-historic pottery from Terramare Bronze Age settlements in the Po P... more The present work studies proto-historic pottery from Terramare Bronze Age settlements in the Po Plain, northern Italy. Ceramics from six Middle and Recent Bronze Age (XVII-XI cent. B.C.) sites in Modena Province (Montale, Gorzano, Castiglione di Marano, Ca\u300 de\u2019 Monesi, Pontenuovo, Montebarello) were analysed to determine area of production, provenance of raw materials and specialization degree of manufacturing process. The physical-chemical characterization of the ceramics (177) and outcrop clays (38) was achieved by petrographic, mineralogical (XRD) and chemical analyses (XRF). The archaeometric investigation revealed a low carbonate matrix as a common feature of the whole pottery data-set, which can hence be assumed as the main marker to identify the possible raw materials. The standardization of the production process and the results of experimental reproductions suggest the existence of two different levels of complexity in pottery production (household and workshop), probably resulting from different systems of organization
Cooking devices such as hearths and slabs are relatively common in archaeological records, mainly... more Cooking devices such as hearths and slabs are relatively common in archaeological records, mainly in settlements, as they are related to daily domestic activities. Conversely, it is often hard to identify the presence of cooking structures when they are fragmented and in a secondary context. Recent research at the Bronze Age pile dwelling settlement of Grotta di Pertosa (Salerno, Southern Italy) returned 138 ceramic flat pieces of unknown function which were found in a circumscribed zone of the entrance chamber. We successfully tested an integrated approach combining morphology, macroscopic observation and analytical investigation (minero-petrographic). We present both the technological and functional evidence that allowed us to identify those ceramic flat pieces as cooking slabs.
New samples of clay cores from the two Riace bronze statues have been analysed chemically, petrog... more New samples of clay cores from the two Riace bronze statues have been analysed chemically, petrographically and by SEM to shed light on their origins. Sources in or around Corinth and Athens are excluded; the Argolid in the Peloponnese remains a possibility, and the Megarid should be considered further on geological grounds.
Cooking devices such as hearths and slabs are relatively common in archaeological records, mainly... more Cooking devices such as hearths and slabs are relatively common in archaeological records, mainly in settlements, as they are related to daily domestic activities. Conversely, it is often hard to identify the presence ofcooking structures when they are fragmented and in a secondary context. Recent research at the Bronze Age pile dwelling settlement of Grotta di Pertosa (Salerno, Southern Italy) returned 138 ceramic flat pieces of unknown function which were found in a circumscribed zone of the entrance chamber. We successfully tested an integrated approach combining morphology, macroscopic observation and analytical investigation (minero- petrographic). We present both the technological and functional evidence that allowed us to identify those ceramic flat pieces as cooking slabs.
The end of prehistory in the Maltese archipelago is characterized by the production of a problema... more The end of prehistory in the Maltese archipelago is characterized by the production of a problematic class of pottery, until now attested just at the site of Baħrija, on the western coast of Malta. Such a production represents a break with the tradition in terms of repertoire of shapes, style and technology and it has been interpreted as the result of contact between locals and foreign immigrants. The recent overall reappraisal of the unpublished ceramic assemblage collected during the excavations carried out at Baħrija, represents a unique opportunity to focus on the technological aspects of the production, trying to shed light on the issue of the break with the tradition and the impact of external influxes. Petrographic analysis on thin sections and chemical analyses via Xray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (LA-ICPMS) have been carried out to characterize the Baħrija pottery production in order to interpret from a different angle the issue of the possible arrival of newcomers and establishment of a foreign enclave in Malta, which until now has been hypothesized only on the basis of the sudden emergence of the Baħrija pottery.
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Papers by Valentina Cannavò
pottery, until now attested just at the site of Baħrija, on the western coast of Malta. Such a production represents
a break with the tradition in terms of repertoire of shapes, style and technology and it has been interpreted as the
result of contact between locals and foreign immigrants. The recent overall reappraisal of the unpublished
ceramic assemblage collected during the excavations carried out at Baħrija, represents a unique opportunity to
focus on the technological aspects of the production, trying to shed light on the issue of the break with the
tradition and the impact of external influxes. Petrographic analysis on thin sections and chemical analyses via Xray
fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (LA-ICPMS) have been carried out to characterize the Baħrija pottery production in order to interpret from a different
angle the issue of the possible arrival of newcomers and establishment of a foreign enclave in Malta, which until
now has been hypothesized only on the basis of the sudden emergence of the Baħrija pottery.