CERAMICHE E CASTELLI TRA LA VALLE DEL LAMONE E DEL SENIO NEL MEDIOEVO

Ceramics and Castles between the Lamone and Senio Valleys in the Middle Ages · A series of archaeological excavation and surveys in the valleys between Montone and Santerno, on the slopes of the Tuscan-Romagna Apennines, has allowed the discovery of numerous ceramic contexts, especially within castles, but also within some settlements rural areas connected to them. These materials date mainly between the 10th and 16th centuries and only a small percentage of them date back to the period between the 6th and 9th centuries. The study of these artefacts allows us to propose a first analysis on the marketing systems and the characterization of these castral communities with regards to the pottery used and access to nearby urban markets. Only in two cases, within the valleys taken into consideration, was evidence of ceramic production identified. The ceramic artefacts therefore come mainly from the nearby cities of Forlì and Faenza and from settlements located beyond the Apennines, from the Marche and Tuscany. The presence in these contexts of several soapstone specimens also shows an extra-regional distribution system. In addition to these data, the analysis of written sources and the study of the economic resources available in the territory allow us to better define the dynamics underlying the growth of these rural areas, which in the 13th century played a leading role in the expansion struggles of the various surrounding municipalities : Bologna, Imola, Florence, Faenza, Forlì, Rimini and Urbino. In this contribution we will try to present for the first time the contexts of two upland castles in the Tuscan and Romagna Apennines : Susinana and Rontana. We will attempt to highlight this evidence as well as propose some distribution patterns, also on the basis of the quantitative data collected over the last few years of research.