Dark Earth: charcterization of post-classic urban stratifications in Northern Italy

This thesis project is focused on the study of the Dark Earths (DE) that are urban stratifications dating back to the post-classic period. They have a dark color, according to the name, with a solid and homogeneous aspect. The DE is anthropic soils largely linked with human activities, for this reason, building fragments and remains often can be found. The aim of the present project is to reconstruct, through quantitative investigation, plant species and human activities around the urban site and identify the origin of the dark color. Therefore, DE samples from two archaeological sites located in Verona and Mel (BL) were analyzed through chromatographic techniques coupled with mass spectrometry. Several chemical markers such as n-alkanes and miliacin (vegetation input), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and anhydrous monosaccharides (fire events) and fecal sterol (human presence and activity) were determined. In addition, optical microscope investigation and Raman spectroscopy were performed to characterize the charcoal fragments, largely found in the samples. The samples were also analyzed through bulk analysis to quantify total and organic carbon.