Developing a systematic approach to the archaeological study of mountain landscapes: the Raganello Basin experience

Between 2011 and 2014 the authors investigated in detail a selection of protohistoric surface scatters and their surroundings in the Maddalena upland basin (600-1000m a.s.l.). Part of the Raganello River basin in the southern Apennines (northern Calabria region, Italy), this area had previously been archaeologically surveyed by the University of Groningen Institute of Archaeology between 2005 and 2008. The new and interdisciplinary investigations consisted of geophysical surveys and geo-archaeological and pedological studies. We here primarily use the work conducted at site RB73 to illustrate how depositional, post-depositional and current land use processes result in the present expression of a surface scatter or ‘site’ as recorded in the archaeological field survey, demonstrating that long-term slope processes in the flysch geology of typical Apennine upland valleys have a fundamental impact on the preservation and appearance of the archaeological record. We argue that confidence in our theoretical and practical understanding of this record remains unjustified in the absence of carefully designed integrated geo-archaeological and geophysical work.