Archaeology and archaeobotany of a reclamation land – Vie Vinarola – G.B. Aleotti, Argenta, (Ferrara, Northern Italy). Late XIII – Middle XIV century A.D.

In 1993 during the construction of an underground car park in the historic center of Argenta (Ferrara, italy), a reclaimed area 5 m wide extending from North to South consisting of a canal and, probabily, a ditch, approximately 2,70 m below the road, dating back on an archaeological basis, to the Middle Ages, was discovered by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Emilia Roamgna. The archaeological area studied consisted of peaty soil in which large stakes are fixed in four rows, alternating with fencesformed by posts tied toghether with wicker, interpreted as a reclaimed canal. At that time, a more compacted soil was obtained by using rubbish of all sorts including objects. Pollen analysis and hand-made wooden objects have made it possibile to obtain an outline of the characteristics of the natural landscape of Argenta during the XIII-XIV centuries. It was characterised by a large scale clearance of the vegetation, with trhe forest providing a background to the settlements, consisting of a large cultivation of cereals an Vitis.