Abitato dell'età del Bronzo a Cella Dati (Cremona)

Bronze Age Settlement at Cella Dati (Cremona) - A prehistoric settlement was discovered in 1907 by Giacomo Locatelli at Cella Dati. One year later Locatelli opened several trenches at the site; however, he did not investigate the archaeological layer in its entirety. The area was elliptical (c. 82 m x 72 m), and the archaeological layer was up to 20 cm thick, covering directly the sterile soil. The only structural features identified were hearths, described as groups of fire-damaged stones and burnt soil. According to Giovanni Patroni, the context was an ‘open site’, and not a terramara with stilted houses and surrounded by an enbankment. Most of the finds were housed in Milan, but some of them were housed in Brescia and in Rome. This dispersal hampered a comprehensive study of the finds for a long time, which was eventually promoted by the chair of Prehistory and Protohistory of the University of Milan under the direction of R.C. de Marinis. A typological study of the pottery suggests a dating to the late phase of the Early Bronze Age. This assignement fit well with the dating of a ‘hourglass-headed’ bronze pin (Type Cella Dati, according to Carancini’s classification). The bronze pins of Cella Dati type can be attributed to the Early Bronze Age II thanks to the discovery of such a pin at Lavagnone (Brescia) in a secure archaeological context, belonging to Phase Lavagnone 4. The thickness of the archaeological layer at Cella Dati points to a short duration of the settlement. An earlier Early Bronze Age phase was not recognized, but it is possible that the site was occasionally settled during the Middle Bronze Age I and II A.