1,720,976 research outputs found
Waiting for the end of the world? New perspectives on natural disasters in medieval Europe
No full textWaiting for the End of the World? addresses the archaeological, architectural, historical and geological evidence for natural disasters in the Middle Ages between the 11th and 16th centuries. This volume adopts a fresh interdisciplinary approach to explore the many ways in which environmental hazards affected European populations and, in turn, how medieval communities coped and responded to short- and long-term consequences. Three sections, which focus on geotectonic hazards (Part I), severe storms and hydrological hazards (Part II) and biophysical hazards (Part III), draw together 18 papers of the latest research while additional detail is provided in a catalogue of the 20 most significant disasters to have affected Europe during the period. These include earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, storms, floods and outbreaks of infectious diseases. Spanning Europe, from the British Isles to Italy and from the Canary Islands to Cyprus, these contributions will be of interest to earth scientists, geographers, historians, sociologists, anthropologists and climatologists, but are also relevant to students and non-specialist readers interested in medieval archaeology and history, as well as those studying human geography and disaster studies. Despite a different set of beliefs relating to the natural world and protection against environmental hazards, the evidence suggests that medieval communities frequently adopted a surprisingly ‘modern’, well-informed and practically minded outlook
Rituals of resilience. The interpretative archaeology of post-seismic recovery in medieval Europe
No full textThroughout the later Middle Ages (AD 1000–1500), seismic catastrophes in Europe led to considerable losses of life as well as inevitable structural, infrastructural and economic damage. This paper provides an overview of the archaeological evidence for the reactions of medieval people to seismic disasters—tackling, in particular, the role of interpretation, belief and ideology in post-event counter-measures which can be glimpsed through the archaeological record. Three specific aspects are considered in detail: the rescue of earthquake victims in the ‘golden hours’ after a seismic disaster, the interpretation of the seismic event in the adoption of mitigative responses, and the use of symbols in pre- disaster protective technology. Ultimately, the paper reflects on how the archaeologist might analyse archaeological sites affected by natural disasters, emphasising the adop- tion of a more critical, interpretative and contextual approach in order to investigate relevant cognitive elements which contribute to the shaping of so-called local ‘seismic cultures
Le sequenze medievali nei saggi F e G
No full textIl capitolo presenta i risultati degli scavi delle fasi medievali del complesso monumentale di epoca romana di via Neroniana a Montegrotto Terme
Conclusions. Medieval archaeology and natural disasters: what’s next?
No full textReflecting on the contents of this volume, the authors stress the following observations for making medieval archaeology relevant in disaster studies.
• Medieval archaeology should seek to make a more active contribution to contemporary debates around resilience by providing evidence for how people have adapted to environmental risk in the past.
• The application of archaeological theory to environmental hazards is not well developed. The impact of post-processual archaeology, for example, is not yet fully evident, although this volume does include several theoretically informed contributions.
• Any study of resilience of medieval societies should consider an analysis of the vulnerability which caused a natural hazard to become a disaster.
• Regional syntheses are required which summarise case studies of disasters at the landscape scale.
• The adoption of a landscape archaeology approach should contribute towards assessments of the risk posed by natural disasters in the fu tu re. A holistic archaeological assessment of environmental disasters can generate valuable knowledge applicable to disaster risk reduction (DRR) programmes.
Special emphasis must be placed on the dissemination and communication of
results to the wider public.
Catalogue of medieval disasters
No full textCatalogue of major disasters occurred in medieval Europe. It describes twenty natural disasters including, among the others, the volcanic eruptions of AD 536 and 540 363, the 1117 earthquake in northern Italy, the 1222 Cyprus earthquake, the 1248 Mont Granier landslide, the 1348 Carinthia and Friuli earthquake, the 1356 Basel earthquake, the 1382 Straits of Dover earthquake, Excavating the 1522 earthquake and landslide on the island of São Miguel, Azores, The 1531 Lisbon earthquake and tsunami. These entries were written by Paolo Forlin
Indagini archeologiche presso la chiesa di San Pietro Apostolo di Lamon. Risultati preliminari dagli scavi 2012-2016
No full textL'articolo illustra i risultati delle indagini archeologiche condotte presso la chiesa di San Pietro di Lamon nelle campagne degli anni 2012, 2013 e 2016. Le indagini archeologiche qui presentate hanno di fatto chiarito alcuni aspetti circa destinazioni e funzionalità del sito fin dall’epoca antica e permesso di acquisire dati inediti sulla più antica fondazione della chiesa. Allo stesso tempo, però, gli scavi hanno posto nuove domande che solo un’attenta e sistematica prosecuzione degli studi sarà in grado di affrontare in futuro
Comelico Superiore, località Passo Monte Croce Comelico, indagini 2012-2014: note preliminari
No full textIn 2012 and 2013, two archaeological campaigns have been undertaken at the Passo Monte Croce Comelico, an Alpine pass which links the Pusteria Valley to the Padola Valley, and more generally Veneto to Trentino Alto-Adige and Austria. The archaeological investigation was focused on the evaluation of a square earthwork (side of 60 m) with circular projecting towers previously identified in a satellite imagery provided by Google Earth. This plan seems to belong to a typology of Late Roman fortifications that can mainly be found along the northern fron- tiers of the Roman Empire. The archaeological excavations have confirmed the presence of defensive ditches and ramparts, made of earth and wood. According to the radiocarbon dating, the site dates back to a period between the mid-3rd century and the beginning of the 5th century. The hypothesis which assess that this site can be interpreted as a Late Antique castrum seems to be confirmed by this preliminary research, although the excavations investigated around 2% of the overall site surface. In order to extend the research to the surrounding area, a Lidar analysis is currently underway. The first results of this study are adding new data to the comprehension of the archaeological evidence of this landscape, underlining that the Passo Monte Croce Comelico played a fundamental role in the strategic control of this region over the last two millennia
Introducing the RiskRes Project. The Study of Historic Responses to Earthquakes in Preindustrial Europe (AD 1200-1755)
No full textIn this paper we provide an overview of the research project ‘RiskRes – Risk and resilience: exploring historic responses to earthquakes in Europe: 1200-1755’. This project investigates medieval and post-medieval disasters in pre-industrial Europe, focusing in particular on the broader study of responses adopted by historic societies in the aftermath of major seismic catastrophes. The paper is divided into four main parts. The first section presents research on natural disasters developed at the Department of Archaeology of Durham University prior to the RiskRes project. The second part lists the RiskRes main objectives and research questions. The third part details the phases of the project, leading from data collection, to identifying chronological and geographical bias, to the selection of suitable case studies and, finally, to a last phase devoted to comparative analysis. The paper ends with some closing remarks that identify topics that could lead to new research avenues in the future
Recovering a lost seismic disaster. The destruction of El Castillejo and the discovery of the earliest historic earthquake affecting the Granada region (Spain)
Full text linkThis paper discusses recent archaeological fieldwork conducted at El Castillejo, a medieval Islamic settlement in Los Guájares, Granada, southern Spain. Results from combined archaeological excavation and archaeoseismological assessment of standing structures suggest that the site was affected by a destructive earthquake during its occupation. Radiocarbon samples and OSL analysis point to a seismic event in the period CE 1224–1266. The earthquake occurred within an area marked by a ‘seismological gap’ in terms of historic seismicity and the causative fault has been tentatively identified in the Nigüelas-Padul Fault System which lies north of the settlement. This event is not recorded by national or European seismic catalogues and represents the oldest historic earthquake in the Granada area. Our work stresses the significant impact that targeted archaeological investigations can generate in our understanding of the local historic seismicity, thus providing clear implications for seismic disaster prevention and reduction
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