Geomorphological Analysis in an Open-Source GIS for a Context of Peri-Urban Archaeology: The Medieval Settlement of San Lorenzo in Carmignano (Foggia, Italy)

Abstract

The archaeological investigations conducted at the medieval site of San Lorenzo in Carmignano, just outside the city of Foggia, Italy, fall within a broader context of archaeological research on earthworks in the Middle Ages, in the area of the Tavoliere plain. The settlement is attested as a casale since 1092, in 1166 it was classified as a castrum, until the Late Medieval abandonment. Evident traces of ditches and embankments, over an area of over 25 ha, were already visible in the aerial photos, taken during the Second World War by British military aircrafts and analysed by J. Bradford. Since 2005, stratigraphic excavations have been undertaken by the Department of Humanities of the University of Foggia and, more recently, it has been possible to obtain satellite images and high-resolution digital models of the land from satellite data, orienting research on the analysis of micro-relief, aimed at finding the traces relating to the earth fortifications still perceptible on the site. The integration between the data obtained from modern satellite images and those returned by the pioneering archaeological aerial photography of the 40 s of the last century allowed to shed new light on a relevant settlement in the context of the landscape and medieval population of northern Puglia.