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This article presents the first results of the planned archaeological excavations led by Prof. Marie Besse, head of the Laboratory of prehistoric archaeology and anthropology of the Department F.-A. Forel for environmental and aquatic sciences of the University of Geneva, at the Eremita Cave site between 2012 and 2015. The Eremita Cave is located in the North Italian region of Piedmont, in the heart the calcareous massif of Monte Fenera, near Borgosesia (Vercelli). The Monte Fenera is already well known for its numerous caves, many of which contain archaeological remains chronologically spanning from the Palaeolithic to the Middle Ages. This particular situation can be explained by two elements: the uniqueness of the massif from a geological perspective when compared to the rest of the area, and its strategic localisation on the southern alpine foothills, that made it a possible stopover for the people transitioning the Alps. The interest of the researchers of the Laboratory of prehistoric archaeology and anthropology was sparked by the mention of the discovery of a bone button attributed to the “età del Rame” (Copper Age) in the Eremita Cave in the late 1980s by the Gruppo Archeologico e Speleologico di Borgosesia (GASB). The first test trenches confirmed the importance of this archaeological site with the uncovering of a pin and spiralled pearls in bronze in the middle of the cave. Further excavations began in 2013. They allowed the team to point out to two important levels. The first one being US 10, a thin silty level that contains numerous lumps of coal. The second is US 19, a level identified around 40 cm below US 10. It delivered a great amount of animal remains, mostly burned, in association with potsherds and stone blocks, and most importantly bronze finery. Four charcoal samples were sent for radiocarbon dating to Zurich (ETH), one belonging to US 10, one to US 19 in the back of the cave, and two to US 19 around the place of discovery of the pin and pearls. The results showed that US 10 is dated to the Late Bronze Age (ETH-64659, 1013-850 cal BC), and US 19 to the earliest stages of Middle Bronze Age (ETH-64657, 1767-1627 cal BC). They also confirmed that the stratigraphy of the cave was undisturbed. Culturally speaking, the shape of the pin shows affinities with the North of the Alps, while the pottery shapes display similarities with the common cultural ground of the alpine region, mostly Valais and Piedmont. Excavations are being carried on by the University of Geneva. The researchers are aiming at determining the function of the cave, mainly by studying the location of the archaeological structures and remains but also by linking the spatial distribution of potsherds to the reassembled pottery. The typological and technological analysis of the pottery assemblage should allow us to establish the cultural affiliations of the site.

Il Traforo stradale del Monte Bianco collega Entrèves, frazione di Courmayeur alla testata della Valle d’Aosta, con Chamonix e la Val de l’Arve, nel Dipartimento francese dell’Alta Savoia. Il tunnel è lungo 16,6 km e fu realizzato tra gli inizi del 1959 e il 14 agosto 1962, quando con l’ultima volata di mine fu abbattuto il diaframma che separava il tratto scavato dagli italiani, arrivati per primi alla mezzeria, da quello francese, lunghi entrambi 5.800 m s.l.m [...].

La ricorrenza identica di due etnonimi relativi alle Alpi occidentali (Nantuani e Naburni, non altrimenti attestati in questa forma) nella Tabula Peutingeriana e nel De fluminibus di Boccaccio getta nuova luce sulla storia della tradizione della Peutingeriana nel tardo medioevo. The Tabula Peutingeriana and Boccaccio’s De Fluminibus are the only sources attesting in the same form two ethnonyms relating to Western Alps (Nantuani and Naburni): this gives new information on Peutingeriana tradition in the late Middle Ages.

The European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), usually breeding in lower, warm latitudes up to July isotherm of 21°C (Cramp, 1985), has recently begun his expansion in northern Italy. Gregarious throughout the year, the European Bee-eater is a summer visitor in Europe. In 2017 a new breeding colony of four-five breeding pairs, has been found out in mountain habitat facing the plain at 1,250 meters a.s.l. in Italian western Alps, showing his expansion not only in northern latitudes but even in altitudinal environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the interaction between pastoral groups and mountain environments is a growing and significant archaeological research. The investigation of ancient pastoral contexts though, is biased by two main factors: the poor visibility of pastoral sites, related to the mobility of pastoral groups, and the problematic discrimination of pastoral sites and non-pastoral sites. Ethnoarchaeology enables archaeologists to overcome these limitations, by analysing modern and contemporary pastoral sites and landscapes using an archaeological approach. The purpose is to create analogical models for interpreting ancient pastoral contexts. The first ethnoarchaeological projects that focused on pastoralism were carried out in Africa and the Near East, while Mediterranean transhumance (in Greece, in the Balkans, in Italy and in Spain) was investigated in a second phase. The abundance of historical sources in the latter areas enabled ethnoarchaeologists to develop a diachronic perspective on traditional pastoralism. In recent decades, ethnoarchaeology has also evolved as an independent discipline, beyond archaeological analogy and toward an anthropological interpretation of human interaction with material culture (not only objects but also structures and landscapes). Ethnoarchaeological projects focused on pastoral activities are rare in the Alps, and traditional pastoralism is disappearing. In the meantime, archaeological activities in the alpine uplands have dramatically increased in recent decades. The success of this research encouraged us to establish an ethnoarchaeological research aimed at understanding how pastoral groups shape upland landscapes. The EthWAL project (Ethnoarchaeology of Western Alpine upland Landscapes) started in 2013, coordinated by Francesco Carrer and Kevin Walsh, with the collaboration of Florence Mocci. It seeks to provide significant analogical models for alpine archaeology, as well as to be a point of reference for the study of modern and contemporary human activities in the alpine uplands. This project has two important characteristics: it is multi-disciplinary, namely it associates archaeological methods (such as survey and excavation) to ethnography, historiography, spatial analysis and soil analysis; it is multi-scalar, being focused on the spatial patterns of pastoral features in the landscape, as well as on the intra-site organization of pastoral sites. The two study areas selected for this ethnoarchaeological research are in the western Alps: Val Maudagna (Cuneo province, Italy) and Vallée de Freissinières (Dept. des Hautes-Alpes, France). Here pastoral features have been positioned using handheld GPS and their main characteristics have been described: shape, size, preservation, etc. Local herders and farmers have been interviewed and historical documents and maps have been acquired to study the evolution of the mountain landscapes. Specific attention has been given to traditional dry-stone huts. In the Val Maudagna, some of these huts are still used by local herders as summer refuges and dairies; in the Vallée de Freissinières, instead, they are completely abandoned. One structure per study area has been selected for archaeological excavation. The analysis of the data collected in the field is still ongoing, but nonetheless the first results enable some preliminary inferences. Firstly, the current pastoral landscapes in the two study areas seem to be the product of complex historical processes, affecting pastoral strategies and consequently the interaction between pastoral groups and mountain environment. The awareness of the historical complexity of pastoral landscapes provides theoretical and methodological means for their management. Pastoral landscapes can be promoted as touristic attractions. Also, current environmental policies could benefit from the historical reconstruction of the interaction between pastoral groups and mountain environments. This project will also have an impact on theory and methods of ethnoarchaeology and landscape archaeology. On the one level, it shows the importance of integrating different disciplines and approaches that have the potential to disentangle complex landscape formation processes. On the other level, it suggests that good analogical models for archaeology have to be based on historical reconstructions. Furthermore, it demonstrates the potential of spatial analysis in ethnoar chaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]