La tavola dei d’Angiò. Analisi archeologica di una spazzatura reale. Castello di Lagopesole (1266-1315)

Technical Information

Between 1266 and 1315 Carlo I, Roberto d'Artois and Carlo Martello stayed at the castle of Lagopesole, in the province of Potenza, accompanied by a retinue of at least two hundred people; the daily presence of such a multitude made organization necessary. complex of services and infrastructures, so that it was immediate to transform the old quarry for the extraction of stones, prepared by the Swabian yard for the construction of the donjon, never completed, into a waste trough; this quarry, about ten meters deep compared to today's walking surface, was over the years filled with the food waste that the court produced. The archaeological investigations in the minor courtyard, which began in 1996 and ended in 1999, led to the identification of the landfill which returned large quantities of the remains of meals, together with coins and numerous everyday objects, including tableware, from kitchen and pantry. It is through the study of these materials that the author proposes a quantitative and qualitative analysis, a procedure that is typical of the archaeologist; both in fact help to identify and embody those social and economic aspects that appear more and more realistic in the search for a history of nutrition made through the finds: it is one thing to imagine that you eat well in a real canteen, another thing is `establish what, how and how much