Articles by Teresa Tescione

This paper presents preliminary results of the In.Res.Agri (PRIN 2022) case study on the ancient topography of Atella (Campania, Italy). We integrated legacy archival datasets – standardised to ICCD/ICA models – within a QGIS environment and guided systematic surface survey (c. 130 ha) using mobile mapping (QField). Preventive archaeology trenches and sondages were digitised as MOSI records alongside newly documented features, enabling multi-scale analyses of settlement and infrastructure. The database now comprises 285 MOSI (≈548% increase over the pre-existing picture), with c. 69% of entries derived from archival review. Fieldwork refined the mapping of extra-urban axes, including the paved road at Sant’Arpino and a compacted path (UO 206) plausibly aligned with the ‘Acerrae-Atella I’ system. Re-oriented excavation drawings from the Frattaminore ‘Novio Atellano’ site reveal orthogonal roadways whose E-W axis accords with the ager Campanus, suggesting long-term cadastral persistence despite mantling by AD 79 and later tephras. The integrated workflow tests earlier hypotheses on centuriation, clarifies urban-rural relations, and delivers reproducible, georeferenced expectations for targeted verification. At project close, all geodata will be published via Digital Groma and the National Geoportal for Archaeology.

This paper examines the resilience of ancient landscapes by analyzing ceramic assemblages from the Atellan hinterland in the central Campanian Plain. Using a multidisciplinary approach based on historical ecology and resilience theory, the study examines how pottery reflects adaptive responses to environmental, climatic, and socioeconomic changes over a long period of time, from the Samnite age to the contemporary era. The ceramic record, collected during recent non-invasive surveys (2024-2025), includes over 1100 artifacts cataloged using the Digital Groma standards. The results suggest a substantial increase in rural settlement and agricultural activity between the fourth and third centuries BC, accompanied by evident integration into regional trade networks. Late Roman assemblages demonstrate continued vitality, challenging earlier hypothesis of urban decline. The presence of North African and eastern Mediterranean imports alongside local imitations highlights sustained economic activity and adaptability. Changes in cooking ware types, notably the increase in casseroles, may indicate dietary shifts related to climatic deterioration. The apparent absence of medieval phases, followed by the reappearance of modern ceramics, suggests discontinuities in settlement. Ultimately, ceramic evidence provides a valuable perspective for understanding long-term human-environment interactions, resilience strategies, and cultural transformations within the Atellan landscape in the longue durée.

This paper aims to present analytical approaches and digital methods for the analysis of ceramic assemblages resulting from catastrophic alluvial flood flows. The study has been developed based on the principles of ‘alluvial archaeology’, a recently-developed field of archaeology. In this research program, ceramic records have been treated on a par with clasts in the geomorphological analyses of alluvial sediments. To test the different analytical procedures the ‘Ancient Shipyard’ of Pisa-San Rossore has been selected as a case study. This archaeological site represents a river channel, affected by several alluvial flood events. The analysis achieved several objectives, including the definition of the formation processes of the deposition (in synergy with the results of geomorphological data), the chronological framework of alluvial floods, the dynamics of flows, and locating the original deposition of the ceramic assemblage. In this regard, the combination of different approaches has proven particularly useful, ranging from computational analyses for chrono-typological determination of ceramic assemblages to intra-site spatial analyses, which have been useful in defining alluvial flood flows and the subsequent movement of ceramic assemblages.