La produzione d’argento nel distretto minerario di Montieri-Massa Marittima (Colline Metallifere, Toscana meridionale). Alcune considerazioni su dati recenti .

The Colline Metallifere district (near Massa Marittima, southern Tuscany) hosts a number of Cu-Pb-Zn(Ag) vein deposits which fed a long-living mining and metallurgical industry. According to archaeological and historical documents, in the Middle Ages (11th–14th century) metal production in the district was mainly purposed for coinage. In this communication we provide an up-to-date review of the state of the art of our knowledge (what we know and, mainly, what we still do not know) about techniques of metal production (copper, silver and lead) based on detailed archaeometallurgical surveys in the town of Montieri, the nearby Canonica di San Niccolò, the mining site of Cugnano, and on very recent findings at La Vetricella. In addition we provide the first results obtained from analysis (trace elements and lead isotope composition) of a number of silver and copper-silver coins circulating in the Colline Metallifere region. Results permit to draw some preliminary conclusions about the provenance of coinage metals used in this territory in the Middle Ages.