MEDIEVAL TOPOGRAPHY

The course is part of the characterizing disciplines of curriculum of Archaeology, Master's Degree Program in Ancient Civilization, Literature, History and Archaeology. This course is integrated with other courses of the area of medieval archaeology in the curriculum of study, such as Medieval Archaeology, Late Ancient and Early Medieval Archaeology, Post-Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Numismatics. Obviously, the course is also in connection with other courses on medieval subjects, such as Medieval History.
Aim of the course is to offer a base of knowledge about Medieval Topography as Late Ancient and Medieval Landscape Archaeology. In addition, a specific topic will be dealt with: maritime communities in the Middle Ages.

At the end of the course, thanks to the individual commitment in the topics of the lessons, the student of the course of Medieval Topography will acquire a number of general skills (knowledge of the milestones in the history of the studies on ancient and medieval landscapes, theoretical and methodological fields), but also on a specific topic. These skills are part of a wider education in the archaeological activity, as stated in the description of the Master's Degree. More in detail, the teaching offers greater critical competence. This competence concerns not only the acquisition of basics, but also the the acquisition of some organizing signalized topics in the activities during the lesson. The knowledge in the discipline shall be integrated with the courses of Sp. Medieval Archaeology, Post-Medieval Archaeology, Medieval Numismatics and Late Antique and Early Middle Ages Archaeology.

Attendance to the course Medieval Archaeology I or basic knowledge of Archaeology (Methodology) and Medieval History.

Theory and history of studies; archaeological and cartographic sources; notes on the fundamental stages of the evolution of the settlement and the landscape in the Middle Ages (cities and countryside); methods and techniques of field research.The specific topic will be dedicated to the study and character of maritime communities in the Middle Ages. This research has developed, in recent years, especially in northern Europe. As far as the Middle Ages are concerned, they have focused in particular on communities in lagoons, river estuaries and along the coast. The theme of maritime communities was then intertwined with the debate on northern European emporia. During the course, an attempt will be made to discuss these theoretical and methodological models applied to some communities that arose in the northern Adriatic arc in the early Middle Ages: namely the lagoon communities of Venice, Grado and Comacchio.

Main books:
F. Cambi (a cura di), Manuale di archeologia dei paesaggi. Metodologie, fonti, contesti, Carocci Editore, Roma 2011 (1^ ristampa, 2015).
Main books and papers for the monographic course:
S. Gelichi, R. Hodges (eds), From One Sea to Another. Trading Places in the European and Mediterranean Early Middle Ages / Da un mare all'altro. Luoghi di scambio nell'Alto Medioevo europeo e mediterraneo (Proceedings of the International Conference, Comacchio, 27th-29th March 2009 / Atti del Seminario Internazionale Comacchio, 27-29 marzo 2009), Turnhout 2012.
P. Deckers, D. Tys, Early medieval communities around the North Sea: a 'maritime culture'?, in Annaert R., De Groote K., Hollevoey Y., Theuws F., Tys D., Verslype L. (eds.), The very beginning of Europe? Cultural and Social Dimensions of Early-Medieval Migration and Colonisation (5th-8th century) – (Archaeology in Contemporary Europe Conference Brussels - May 17-19 2011), Brussels 2012, pp. 81-88
T. Falk, Polluted Places: Harbours and Hybridity in Archaeology, “Norwegian Archaeological Review”, 36 (2003), pp. 105-118.
C. Loveluck,D. Tys, Coastal societies, exchange and identity along the Channel and southern North Sea shores of Europe, AD 600–1000, "Journal of Maritime Archaeology", 1 (2006), pp. 140-169.
Parts of the volumes:
P. Horden, N. Purcell, The Corrupting Sea. A study of Mediterranean History, Oxford, 2000.
S. Gelichi, C. Negrelli, E. Grandi (a cura di), Un emporio e la sua Cattedrale. Gli Scavi di piazza XX Settembre e Villaggio San Francesco a Comacchio, Firenze 2021.

Bibliographical references will be provided during the lectures. Students who can’t attend are invited to contact the teacher to agree additional readings and the topic of the short dissertation

Short dissertation (to be delivered at least 15 days before the examination) agreed with the teacher on a topic covered in class (optional). The examination will be both on the topics covered in class and on the written dissertation.

Traditional frontal lessons with projections of Powerpoint presentations.

Italian

Attendance is strongly recommended. More information will be provided during the lectures.
Ca' Foscari applies the Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) for support services available to students with disabilities or with specific learning disorders. If you have a motor, visual, hearing or other disability (Law 17/1999) or a specific learning disorder (Law 170/2010) and require support (classroom assistance, technological aids for carrying out exams or individualized exams, material in accessible format, note recovery, specialist tutoring to support the study, interpreters or other) contact the Disability Office and DSA disabilita@unive.it.

oral