Studi e ricerche

I materiali lapidei in epoca altomedievale: approvvigionamento, circolazione e riuso

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Abstract
The article examines two categories of stone artefacts found on the Italian peninsula between the late eighth and tenth centuries: well-heads and sarcophagi. While well heads are found mainly in Venice and the surrounding area, sarcophagi are distributed, with a few limited exceptions, from northern Marche to Istria and Dalmatia. The paper reconsiders the critical debate on the function, distribution and chronology of both categories of artefacts. The phenomenon is also addressed from the perspective of reuse, since in most (if not all) cases these are reworked ancient spolia. Finally, it is emphasised that, given their concentration in Venice and the lagoon, it is most likely the Venetians who transported most of these ancient artefacts, even from distant locations, and that important workshops for their reworking must also be identified in the lagoon.


open access | peer reviewed

Submitted: June 9, 2025 | Accepted: Oct. 22, 2025 | Published March 5, 2026 | Language: it

Keywords Circulation and reuse of stone • Well-heads • Early medieval Upper Adriatic • Procurement • Sarcophagi

Copyright © 2026 Sauro Gelichi, Yuri A. Marano, Martina Secci. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/979-12-5742-002-4/014


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