The Aithale Project: Men, Earth and Sea in the Tuscan Archipelago (Italy) in Antiquity. Perspectives, aims and first results

Two are the main goals of the “Aithale project”, a cooperative research project involving (among others) the Universities of Firenze and Siena, the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Toscana, the Scuola Normale di Pisa, and CNR-IGG from Pisa. The first aim is the reappraisal of the technological features and chronological evolution of ore (mainly iron) exploitation and processing at Elba island and other islands of the Tuscan Archipelago (Italy). A second target of the research is an evaluation of the economic and historical impact of such an activity towards trade and cultural exchanges in the western Mediterranean region in antiquity up to the Middle Ages. Perspectives and open questions to be tackled by the Aithale project are presented here, together with the preliminary results of archaeometallurgical surveys in two selected ironworking sites of Roman age on Elba island.