2019 excavations of medieval abbey site at Badia Pozzeveri in Tuscany concluded

A fragment of a small dagger-like sword called a 'baselard' is the most important discovery from this season's excavations of the area around the ancient abbey and church at Badia Pozzeveri in Altopascio, located in the province of Lucca, Tuscany, where Italian and American archaeologists have been excavating since 2011 revealing finds that disclose important information about the history of the medieval Tuscan population.

View of the excavations at the cemetery of the medieval abbey in Badia Pozzeveri 
[Credit: Badia Pozzeveri project]

The summer campaign 2019, directed by Antonio Fornaciari of the Division of Paleopathology of the University of Pisa, thus provided concrete traces of the battle of Altopascio in 1325, when Castruccio Castracani, head of Lucca, defeated the the greatly superior Guelph forces (15,000 infantry and 2,500 cavalry, mostly composed of French, German and Burgundian mercenaries) who had camped in the area.

The excavation is carried out on ministerial concession and organized by the City of Altopascio and the Division of Paleopathology of the University of Pisa directed by Professor Valentina Giuffra.

"The baselard, a characteristic weapon of the fourteenth century, is only one of several interesting discoveries of the bioarchaeological excavation at Badia Pozzeveri, which after nine years of operation continues to reveal important evidence which allow us to reconstruct historical events spanning several centuries and to trace the social and cultural identity of the people who have passed through those areas," comments Antonio Fornaciari.

Fragment of a baselard hilt identified in US 7057, a layer in the south-eastern portion 
of the excavation area [Credit: Badia Pozzeveri project]

According to the researchers, the recently discovered sword fragment could be one of the most tangible traces of the battle which involved the Abbey of Pozzeveri, the ancient monastery built around the year 1000 near the centre of Altopascio and an important stopping place on the Via Francigena.

This monastery, following a period of great prosperity under the Camaldolese monks, was occupied in September 1325 by the Florentine Guelph army led by Raimondo di Cardona: this is where the military operations of the famous battle of Altopascio took place, which saw the triumph of the Luccan Ghibelline troops of Castruccio Castracani.

In the area where the weapon was found, a furnace for casting a bell and a small metallurgical workshop also emerged. Archaeologists also found fragments of imported ceramics from North Africa, evidence of a very lively and continuous commercial activity, which once again found its fulcrum in the ancient Abbey, strategically located along the Via Francigena and near Lake Bientina, a natural link with the Arno River and therefore with Pisa and Florence.

The excavation of the 'millennium cemetery' around the abbey and church began in 2011

[Credit: Badia Pozzeveri project]

This latest discovery is supplemented by the numerous burials excavated over the last nine years at the site of an extensive cemetery which reveals the habits, customs, diseases and social status for almost a millennium.

Over the years, the archaeological site has revealed a very complex history: the traces of an early medieval village are followed in the eleventh century by the remains of a religious complex centred on a rectory that was transformed in the early 1100s into a large Camaldolese abbey. Excavations in the last two campaigns have focused on the oldest levels of the rectory and the abbey and in particular on the burials related to these two important institutions.

Prior to this a considerable part of the 11th century church that predated the monastery, the cloister of the abbey and a large room used as a guesthouse were brought to light. The site continued to be frequented until the modern age, following the abbey's demise, when it had been reduced to a simple parish building and which accompanied over the centuries by considerable cemetery phases until the middle of the 19th century.

"Thanks to the continued use of the cemetery in the area surrounding the church of San Pietro," explains Dr. Fornaciari, "it was possible to acquire a remarkable skeletal assemblage, which seamlessly ranges from the eleventh to the nineteenth century, a case more unique than rare in Europe. The human remains are in fact a real biological archive that can be investigated by applying modern bioarchaeological and biomedical methods."

The Altopascio administration, together with the mayor Sara d'Ambrosio, is determined to make the most of this archaeological area. Earlier this month the new Foresteria della Francigena was inaugurated. It is located in Badia Pozzeveri, near the excavation site, and will serve as a tourist destination aimed at promoting the region's history and culture.

But this is only the start: it is the intention of the administration of the Altopascese to create a museum to house the remains that have emerged during these nine years of excavations at the site and also to restore and reopen the ancient Abbey.

For more information visit the Badia Pozzeveri project website.

Source: Universita di Pisa [trsl. TANN, September 06, 2019]