Archeologia di montagna nelle Dolomiti bellunesi: il progetto UPLanD

The research at the Busa delle Vette Grandi of Feltre (BL) is part of a recent strand of landscape archaeology aimed at investigating the human occupation of high-altitude mountain contexts. The initial focus of the project, which started in 2014, was on dry-stone walls composing adjacent enclosures, used for gathering goat and sheep. These enclosures were built in different periods of the Middle Ages (11th and 15th century AD), as suggested by radiocarbon dating and pottery typology. Stratigraphic investigations continued in 2016, when three 1 m2 test-pits were opened outside the enclosures. One of these test-pits provided evidence of an interesting archaeological record: limestone and sandstone slabs incorporated within an organic sediment, containing numerous potsherds, bone and antler objects, metal artefacts, as well as charred wood and seeds. The context was radiocarbon dated to the 5th century AD. The research project continued in 2017, with a 30-square-meter archaeological excavation, the study of material culture, the analysis of palaeobotanical and faunal remains, and extensive geophysical surveys.