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The paper discusses the theme of the origins of the settlements in the Lagoon of Venice. Starting from a critical analysis of the archaeology in the lagoon, the paper describes the projects of the Laboratory of Medieval Archaeology of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, highlighting the aims, the methodologies and the limitations of these approaches. In particular, it focuses on the following researches and excavations: San Lorenzo in Ammiana, San Giacomo in Paludo, Sant’Ilario e Benedetto di Mira and Jesolo.Through these researches it was possible to change old interpretations and highlight the nature and the complexity of the Venetian society of the origins, especially the different economic orientations and self-representation models of the its aristocracy., Studi e ricerche

The objective of this study is to deal with the long-term characters and consumption patterns in the Venetian lagoon in the period ranging from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages on the basis of existing archaeological documentation. The most archaeologically visible materials and, namely, pottery, amphorae and glass were materials taken into consideration. As a consequence of this analysis, three principal periods have been identified. A first phase, in Late Antiquity, documents a reasonably widespread circulation of imported Mediterranean ceramics (African and Eastern) and amphorae originating from the same areas. Along with a significant number of imports from distant places, this period also saw imports such as coarse pottery, single-fired glazed pottery and glass from neighbouring areas. This data seems to indicate a certain vitality in the lagoon in this period, which could be related to it being central to the traffic of the new political orders in the North Adriatic. Moreover, the following period, from the 8th to the 10th Century, coincided with a period of the stabilization and of institutional consolidation of a number of lagoon settlements as in Torcello and the same Olivolo/Rialto. It also marked a total decline in imports of both wide and medium range along with a significant reduction in the use of coarse cooking pottery and glass kitchenware. The sole exception is represented by single-fired glazed pottery produced in the North Adriatic which during the 9th and 11th Centuries was widespread in the lagoon. It is probable that this situation is a snapshot of a change that occurred in the behaviour of the lagoon communities and underscores close links to the Po valley and continental worlds rather than a loosening of economic and commercial ties, indirectly confirmed by written sources and by findings of moneys and amphorae. Therefore, it could also have been a symptom of cultural distance with reference models of the Byzantine area. At the same time, it was in this period that the production of glass was consolidated as represented by the Torcello context, if this can be dated from the 9th Century and not from the 7th as originally proposed. A change in this field was only registered after the year 1000 A.D. even if there were only few Mediterranean imports during the 11th Century consisting, currently, in a Constantinople ‘Glazed White Ware’ from the Monastery of Saints Hillary and Benedict in Gambarare (Mira) and a few fragments of Egyptian ‘Fayyumi Ware’ from Jesolo. Despite long commercial relations between Venice and Byzantium, on the one hand, and Islam (in particular Egypt) on the other, no changes in the lagoon elite, especially with reference to ceramics and as seen from the materials, occurred until well into the 12th Century. Rather than marking the existence or consolidation of these ties in this period, Byzantine sgraffito and Islamic fritware imports indicate how the Venetian elite started to slowly adapt to tastes that had long since been prevalent in contemporary Mediterranean societies.&nbsp, Studi e ricerche

The remains of cape Stoba shipwreck lies in the waters of the island of Mljet at the depth between 21 and 28 m. It was investigated for the first time in 1975 (by Maritime Museum in Dubrovnik) and the research was resumed between 2009 and 2013 by the Department for Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute. Research has shown that the cargo is composed of nine types of Middle Byzantine amphorae datable in the 10th-11th century AD, produced in the area of the Marmara, Black sea and Eastern Mediterranean shore. Some of them present graffiti written in Old Bulgarian letters or runes, like those on the amphorae of Serce Limani wreck. The secondary part of the cargo was composed of glass vessels, perhaps originating from the Palestinian area. Since 2012 the research on the site was carried out through a project in cooperation between the Croatian Conservation Institute and the Department of humanistic studies of the Università Ca’ Foscari. Aim of the project is the excavation of the site, a photogrammetrical documentation of the amphora cargo which allows the production of an innovative 3D image of the context and the recovery and study of the items (almost 100 amphorae were recovered up to date). The site is one of the very few wrecks from this period in the Mediterranean. It is important for reconstructing traffic routes in the Adriatic Sea in the 10th and 11th centuries and presents an excellent base for the development of more extensive typologies of Middle Byzantine amphorae., Studi e ricerche

The Cape Stoba shipwreck is located on the seabed off the island of Mljet in Croatia at a depth of 21–28 m. Following initial investigation in 1975, four seasons of excavation have been carried between 2010 and 2014 by the Department for Underwater Archaeology of the Croatian Conservation Institute, joined by the Department of Studi Umanistici of the Universita Ca’ Foscari ` of Venice from 2012. The wreck-site is evidenced by a cargo of nine amphora types dated to the 10th-11th century AD, produced in the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea area, and glassware of Levantine production. The only direct evidence of the ship itself to date, is one iron anchor.

The glass unearthed at Stari Bar, a key site in Montenegro, by a team of archaeologists from Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, will be compared with glass from collections and other excavations along the eastern coast of the Adriatic in order to trace the production and consumption of glass in this area. Thanks to some topics such as availability of raw materials, production techniques and formal results of the products, movements of glass objects in the Adriatic basin between the fourteenth and sixteenth century can be plotted. The increased use of this material that occurs from the beginning of the fifteenth century, in relation to the few and very standardized materials found in previous periods will be discussed. In fact, the market of glass items circulating in the Adriatic is diversified in terms of quality of the productions. Products could be more or less sophisticated, of current use or genuine work of art, widely widespread or specific to a particular area., Eurasiatica