Building Forcello. Etruscan wattle and daub technique in the Po Plain (Bagnolo San VitoMantua, northern Italy)

The study analyses through an interdisciplinary approach the wattle-and-daub building technique used on the Po Plain of northern Italy, focusing on the archaeological evidence from the Etruscan site of Forcello, near Bagnolo San Vito (Mantua) (540–375 BCE). Wattle and daub is widespread across different times and periods, and is particularly common in regions such as the Po Plain, where stone sources for construction are not immediately available. Thanks to a combined archaeometric, geological and anthracological study, the paper provides new insights on a fifth-century BCE building structure from Forcello. The findings reveal information on the life history of this feature, including its construction, maintenance and final destruction. The research also sheds a new light on the wattle-and-daub technique and on the interaction between people and the Po Plain Etruscan palaeoenvironment.