Analisi preliminare delle malte di alcuni siti archeologici di Corfinio (AQ)

A series of samples of mortar from the archaeological site of Corfinio (province of L’Aquila, Italy) have been analyzed to characterize potential different origins of the material used in different historical periods. This work shows the first results of this characterization that has already allowed to identify four major groups of mortars with mineralogical affinities. The archaeological area of Corfinio is among the most important in this region. Probably, it was populated since the Paleolithic age, but its maximum splendor was reached during the Social War (91-88 BC) when it was chosen as the capital of the Italic League, the alliance between the Italic populations (Peligni, Marsi, Vestini, Marrucini, Piceni, Frentani, Samnites, Apuli, Lucani) who claimed the recognition of citizenship rights from Rome. The medieval village was born on the ruins of the ancient city with the name of Pentima and the name of Corfinio was returned to the town only in 1929. The archaeological area of Fonte Sant’Ippolito is located in the southern outskirts of the city of Corfinio, along an ancient path that connected the acropolis of the Roman city and the foothills of the Morrone mountain connecting the municipalities of the Peligna valley (Somma et al., 2015). This site was used in the V-IV century BC for funeral purposes while from the III century BC a sanctuary was built as two separate rectangular and parallel terraces: the upper one is limited by a square-shaped building wall which is flanked by two small quadrangular sacred buildings, while in the lower one there is a pool that collects the water of the source. Among the recognised groups, the calcareous composition is the most abundant. Calcareous rocks are indeed widespread in the Corfinio’s area. One sample is enriched with gypsum and we cannot exclude at this stage, the interaction with sulfur water of Sant’Ippolito springs. A few samples contain typical volcanic minerals of likely different origins. Layers of volcanic tephra are indeed outcropping in the lacustrine deposits of the Sulmona valley stratigraphic sequence. Further studies are needed to better relate the chemical composition to the identified groups to eventually recognise some sub-groups.