Archaeobotany and the Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale (Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy): Experiences of Public Education

Abstract

The Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale is an open-air museum dedicated to the enhancement of the Bronze Age terramare culture of Northern Italy. Investigation of its rich archaeological record, particularly from the archaeobotanical point of view (seeds/fruits, pieces of wood and charcoal, pollen and charcoal particles), has made it possible to reconstruct the landscape’s evolution and human-plantanimal relationships. This paper aims to present a comprehensive and exhaustive overview of the relationship between archaeology and archaeobotany in order to improve the content and exposition of the Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale, thanks to the fruitful cooperation between the Laboratory of Palynology and Archaeobotany of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and Civic Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Modena. IANSA 2017 ● VIII/2 ● 175–186 Giovanna Bosi, Giovanna Barbieri, Assunta Florenzano, Elisa Fraulini, Maria Chiara Montecchi, Alessia Pelillo, Elena Righi, Rossella Rinaldi, Cristiana Zanasi: Archaeobotany and the Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale (Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy): Experiences of Public Education 176 development and the economic improvement of the territory. Consequently, for an efficient archaeological or historical site recovery it is essential to plan a well-defined project that shall take into account its own specific features. First of all, in a revaluation project, symbolic or cultural characteristics of the site should be assessed. Archaeological or scientific features have also to be considered, according to their important contribution in terms of knowledge and awareness. Finally, careful consideration should be given to the teaching possibilities, as these represent the strongest link between the archaeological remains and the visitors (Panosa 2012). AOAMs play a unique role in this field. Developed first in Germany and Scandinavia, while yet being relatively recent in Italy, they offer an exciting interface between scientific research and education, bridging the gap between academia and the public. By reconstructing the environments and activities of the past in a striking and evocative way, they manage to convey to a wider audience the results of excavation and research. For many of the AOAMs, a key factor has doubtless been their relationship with experimental archaeology, this developing scientific discipline having found fertile ground for testing its procedure and methods according to scientific analysis in this kind of museum, increasing the relationship between research and divulgation (Zanasi 2014a; Zanasi 2015). In addition, there is a growing demand by the public and by schools for a form of archaeology-tourism that is increasingly taking the form of edutainment. Here the learning-by-doing philosophy evinces the visitors’ emotional involvement: they are transported backwards in time, where they are immersed in the atmosphere of bygone ages. Not infrequently, this process is facilitated by the presence of qualified staff dressed in period costume and skilled in historical re-enactment (Zanasi 2014a; Zanasi 2015). Through a hands-on experiential approach, archaeological parks are one of the best tools for humanities and science education in the cultural and environmental heritage field. According to Dyer (2007), “There are curricula across all sectors which now contain more elements of cultural heritage, ecology and sustainability – particularly in science, geography, citizenship and religious education – but somehow the holistic energy that turns facts into feelings, professional development into corporate responsibility and understanding into personal action is not there in sufficient strength. (...) Bringing concrete understanding to abstract scientific concepts through memorable experiences in an inspiring environment is a very powerful educative tool which too few programmes achieve”. 2. The Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale The Archaeological Park and Open-Air Museum of the Terramara of Montale, located 11 km from the city centre of Modena (Figure 1a), was set up in 2004 by the Civic Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Modena. The Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale is dedicated to the enhancement of the terramare communities and their characteristic villages in the Po plain area (2nd millennium BC, Northern Italy) that represent one of the most important and meaningful cultural entities of European prehistory (Bernabò Brea et al. 1997). The realization of the Park was the achievement of a long period of scientific research, which had already begun earlier and is still ongoing. At the base of the enduring success of the Park there is this peculiar, constant and osmotic relationship Figure 1. a) Location of the Terramara Park of Montale. b) Plan of the site and the openair museum of the Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale. IANSA 2017 ● VIII/2 ● 175–186 Giovanna Bosi, Giovanna Barbieri, Assunta Florenzano, Elisa Fraulini, Maria Chiara Montecchi, Alessia Pelillo, Elena Righi, Rossella Rinaldi, Cristiana Zanasi: Archaeobotany and the Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale (Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy): Experiences of Public Education 177 between research and divulgation, through which the visitors get involved and become aware about scientific issues that are otherwise only for specialists. The scientific basis for the Park’s realization was supplied by 19th century archaeological excavation at Montale and, above all, by the data obtained from the excavations carried out between 1996 and 2001 that led to the discovery of the stratigraphic sequence and structural aspects. The ancient dwellings, which are only partly preserved, occupy the Park’s southern sector where the excavation area has been protected with a structure that is today a museum space with plaster casts of the terramara stratigraphy and layers. Next to the archaeological area, in the Park’s northern sector, the open-air museum has been set-up. Here a full-scale sector of the terramara village has been reconstructed based on the supply of data from the excavations (Cardarelli et al. 2015a) (Figure 1b). The rich archaeological record has provided much information about the daily life of people living in the site area (Cardarelli 2009). By the beginning of the 20th century, natural sciences were becoming increasingly important in the comprehension of archaeological sites (Wilkinson, Stevens 2008). In fact, for several sites the study of botanical remains was crucial to obtaining information about human life in the past (Day 2013), as was the case of the Montale terramara (Accorsi et al. 2009; Mercuri et al. 2006a; 2006b; 2012). The amount and quality of archaeobotanical analyses carried out in this site allowed useful information to be obtained for the achievement of different proposals for the activities involving kids and adults. These activities are intended to explain and help understand the human-plantanimal relationships in the terramare communities (Bosi et al. 2013a; Bosi et al. 2013b) . This is real added value, especially considering that there are no written records from protohistory: information is available only through the different types of materials recovered from archaeological excavations and their analysis. A fruitful cooperation between the Laboratory of Palynology and Archaeobotany of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and Civic Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Modena has commenced since the planning phase of the Park, and still continues. Hopefully, this successful cooperation can serve as an example for other national and international archaeological open-air museums and parks. 3. A visit to the Park The Terramara Archaeological Park of Montale offers to visitors the opportunity to experience the reconstruction of a section of the terramara, the Bronze Age villages surrounded by trenches and embankments that largely occupied the central Po Valley between the 17th and mid-12th centuries BC. Built entirely of wood, clay and plant fibres, these ancient settlements left such faint traces that only the trained eye of an archaeologist could detect and interpret them. The reconstruction in Montale is based on a solid scientific premise: the existence at the same site of a partially conserved terramara, where excavations conducted by the Archaeological Museum of Modena have uncovered the remains of the village’s fortification and dwellings, as well as plentiful artefacts. The open-air museum’s reconstructions now sit alongside the site of the original settlement, offering to the visitors a unique experience in which some level of comprehension of the excavation is facilitated by the evidence of the reconstructions. Some educational programmes are especially conceived for school groups, where the evocative side of the reconstruction is combined with the scientific aspects of the archaeological excavations. In fact, the visit retraces the steps of the archaeologists’ work: young students are engaged in tracing back the history of the ancient settlement starting from the archaeological records, thus becoming aware of the methods implied in the archaeological fieldwork, from excavation to analysis and interpretation. The visit starts in the area originally occupied by the Bronze Age settlement (Pulini, Zanasi 2009) (Figure 1b): 1. The excavation area is contained within a covered shelter. The vertical section of the dig is displayed on the back wall, where layers corresponding to the various phases of village life between 1600 and 1250 B.C. are highlighted. The traces of two large dwellings, dating back to the most ancient phases of the settlement, can be observed on the surface. Explanatory panels illustrate the excavation and the types of materials recovered and provide information about the environment and the productive activities of the terramare. After the presentation of the excavation’s site, schoolchildren are engaged in an