The Harvesting Memories Project: Landscape Archaeology in the Castro/Giardinello Valley and Mt. Barraù (Corleone, Palermo)

Il progetto Harvesting Memories è finalizzato allo studio delle interazioni tra dinamiche umane e fattori ecologici che nella lunga durata hanno contribuito alla formazione dei paesaggi rurali. L’area di studio è localizzata tra Corleone e Campofiorito (Palermo) nei pressi delle contrade Castro e Giardinello e lungo le pendici occidentali di Monte Barrù. Questo distretto dell’Alto Belice Corleonese ha rappresentato un asse di collegamento tra la costa meridionale della Sicilia e quella settentrionale fin all’epoca repubblicana con continuità anche nel Medioevo in cui è citato per la prima volta il toponimo Barraù/Barracù, dal nome arabo ra’s e ǧabal bū ‘r-raḫū, nella Jarida di Monreale del …

Archeologia nel territorio dei Monti Sicani (Harvesting Memories project). L’insediamento di lunga durata di Contrada Castro (Corleone, Palermo). Prima campagna di scavo 2017.

The “Harvesting Memories” project aims to address diachronic change in landscape and settlement patterns during the long-term in the area of Sicani Mountains in Central-West Sicily (Italy). This area is a sort of palimpsest of Mediterranean inland areas characterized by a long-term occupation of low-lying lands suitable for agriculture and hills for pastoral activi-ties. The settlement dynamics of this inner area are well documented in the archaeological sequence of the hilltop site of Contrada Castro. Recent excavation (spring 2017) showed dry-stone structures related to the Islamic and Norman period (9th-12th c. AD), a Byzantine infant burial (7th-8th c. AD) and evidence (layer of morphol…

Phytoextractors of metal(loid)s of the Italian flora: An Outline

Intensive farming, wastewater irrigation, mining, heavy industry, smelting procedures and improper waste disposal are some of the human activities that contribute to heavy metal soil contamination (Sharma et al. 2007; Khan et al. 2008; Yu et al. 2008). As heavy metals cannot be degraded by microorganisms and tend to remain in polluted sites for long periods of time, soil contamination by heavy metals represents a particular environmental concern and a serious threat to human health. Conventional soil remediation techniques, such as soil washing, excavation, in situ vitrification, solidification and stabilization, can be effectively employed in order to achieve remediation of heavy metal con…

Un nuovo insediamento rurale nel territorio dei Monti Sicani tra epoca bizantina e normanna: dati preliminari sul sito di lunga durata di Contrada Castro (Corleone, PA)

Negli ultimi anni (2015-2017) sono state avviate delle ricerche archeologiche sulle dinamiche diacroniche dei paesaggi di una porzione di territorio localizzata a sud del comune di Corleone corrispondente alle contrade Castro e Giardinello delimitate a nord dal massiccio promontorio di Pizzo Castro o Rocche di Mezzogiorno e ad est dalle pendici del Monte Barraù. Il progetto Harvesting Memories ha previsto diverse fasi di studio relative alle traiettorie ecologiche e alle trasformazioni del paesaggio (Università di Palermo) e indagini archeologiche (Soprintendenza BB. CC. AA. di Palermo). In questo contributo si presentano i risultati preliminari di una prima campagna di scavo (marzo-maggio …

A GIS-based approach to define an updated bioclimatic map of Europe for landscape classification and planning

DIVERSITÀ BIOCULTURALE DI ALCUNI PAESAGGI MEDITERRANEI DI MONTAGNA

The work presents a biocultural diversity interpretation of traditional Mediterranean agricultural landscapes. These landscapes are the result of complex interactions between biodiversity (at all levels, including species richness, ecosystem and biotope diversity) and cultural diversity, including material and immaterial aspects (architectural heritage, traditions, customs, local traditional agricultural practices, dialectal culture, etc.). The main theme is the traditional use of water related to traditional hydraulic systems, which in some areas date back to medieval times. Traditional agricultural landscapes grant a variety of ecosystem services and play a key role in biodiversity conser…

Long-term human occupation of a rural landscape in central-western Sicily (Castro/Giardinello valley and mt Barraù): Harvesting memoires project case study

The “Harvesting Memories” project focuses on the study of long-term landscape transformations as a diachronic result of the interaction between socio-economic human patterns and environmental and ecological trends in a rural area of Central-Western Sicily. The aim of this paper is to present the results of the archaeological survey carried out in Castro/Giardinello Valley and the Mt. Barraù area (Corleone, Palermo). The fieldwork confirmed the long occupation of this area characterized by archaeological evidences dating to the Middle Copper Age/Eneolithic, Bronze Age, Classical period, Middle Ages and Late Modern age. The detection of the high intensity of human presence in this area across…

The ‘recent’ forests of Mount Venda (Padua, Italy): when historical cartography and archaeobotany tell quite a different story

Forests, like agricultural systems and housing, are an integral part of the human landscapes. They evolve over time, not only in response to environmental factors (e.g. climate change) but also in response to developments in human society. This work on the analysis of forest dynamics in Euganean hills is the result of research carried out as part of the research programmes THISTLE (MSCA Fellowship, grant agreement: 656397) and MEMOLA (EU FP7 Project , grant agreement: 613265). The work is focused on two mountains in particular: Monte Venda and Monte della Madonna. The archaeobotanical investigations reveal the presence of ancient forests (since the 14th century) in these areas , although th…

Tradizioni etnofarmacobotaniche in alcune comunità rurali dei Monti di Trapani (Sicilia occidentale)

Ethnopharmacobotanical traditions in some rural communities of Trapani Mountains (West-Sicily). – The results refer an ethnopharmacobotanical study carried out in the territories of Valderice, Busto Palizzolo, Custonaci and San Vito Lo Capo, in the Trapani Mountains. There are 155 plants used in etno-medicine. The etnofarmacobotanical use of spontaneous and cultivated taxa represents an ecosystem services provided by biodiversity in the traditional agricultural systems of this area.