Summary (English)
In 1998 the Archaeology department of Rovereto Museum carried out excavations on the island of S. Andrea on Lake Lioppi. Three areas were investigated. In area A, situated along the NE edge of the island, a large, masonry built structure with a buttressed front came to light. Finds indicate an occupation date of the 6th century A.D. The construction of this building was preceded by a settlement of wooden huts dating to the end of the 5th century-begining of the 6th century A.D. The evidence for this consisted of a series of thin layers of lime mortar and ashes associated with circular post-holes and brick-built hearths.
Outside the building, in a corner formed by the NE perimeter wall and one of its buttresses, the enchytrismos burial of a baby within a Gaza amphora was found. The extension of the excavation towards the NW in 2004 brought to light a second building, abutting the first and only partially preserved. In the southern most part of the island (area B), the badly disturbed remains of another masonry built construction, probably contemporary with the others, were uncovered. What remains is part of an occupation level with two large semicircular hearths(?) built from lumps of conglomerate rock and clay. This may have been used for some sort of productive process.
In area C, on the island’s summit, the excavationof the remains of a Romanesque church revealed a series of alterations through time (not always easy to interpret) which perhaps began with a previous structure. In 2004, below the cobblestone and basalt pavement of the medieval building, an “a cappuccina” tomb was uncovered, containing a body but no grave goods. This may belong to a late antique necropolis which would be contemporary with the settlement in areas A and B. The cemetery would have established the sacred nature of the area which was then taken up and perpetuated by the construction of the Romanesque church. (Barbara Maurina)
Director
Team
- Carlo Andrea Postinger
- Maurizio Battisti
- Paolo Poda
- Stefano Marconi
- Maria Ivana Pezzo
- Barbara Maurina
Research Body
Funding Body
- Museo Civico di Rovereto
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