GLASS FROM LOPPIO (TRENTO, NORTHERN ITALY): AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ARCHAEOMETRIC STUDY

Since 1998, the Archaeological Department of the Museo Civico di Rovereto has been carrying out summer excavations on the island of St. Andrea within the biotope "Lake Loppio" in the region of Trentino in Northern Italy (Fig. 1). The research, which is still in progress,1 led to the discovery of the remains of some buildings belonging to a Late Antique/Early Medieval fortified settlement (castrum) along the northeast border (Sector A) and near the southern edge of the isle (Sector B). The structures show a sequence of chronological phases that date back to at least the period between the first half of the 6th century AD to the end of the 7th century AD; a Carolingian presence, maybe occasional, is also documented, but no structures belonging to this phase have been recognized so far. The ruins of a building originating from a later date have been unearthed on top of the site (Sector C) i. e. a Romanic church featuring different building phases, which dates back to a period betweenthe 12th and the 16th century (Fig. 2). Many small finds related to weaponry and soldiers' equipment (e.g. spurs, arrowheads, belt fittings, a fragmentary scramasax and sheath elements) that clearly reveal the military function of the settlement, come from the Late Antique/Early Medieval buildings, and particularly from Sector A. The site was actually strategically located along the ancient road that connected the Adige Valley to the northern side of Lake Garda. Domestic and female ornamental objects and an enchytrismos infant burial2 show that soldiers lived there with their families, as Procopius explained with regard to the fortifications of the Cottian Alps and their Gothic garrisons.3 Within the settlement, evidence of local craft activities has been found, particularly related to the bone industry, metalworking and probably also glass production. The latter seems to be supported by the presence of drips and coarse chunks of glass (Fig. 3), which can be interpreted as processing residues or waste materials.Additionally, two ellipsoidal glass "cakes" with a concave-convex profile, also found in superficial layers, have been interpreted as half-glass ingots - that is semi-finished products intended for remelting - and have been related to a possible local workshop that produced finished objects on a small scale.4 In order to understand the nature and function of these glass artifacts, archaeometric studies have been carried out at the laboratories of the Museo civico di Rovereto at the Institute for Geosciences and Earth Resources of CNR and at the Department of Geosciences of University of Padova.