Phosphorus, stable isotopes and fatty acids of soils as tools for recognizing a Bronze Age droveway in the Valli Grandi Veronesi (North Italy)

Archaeological surveys and aerial-photo interpretation organised by the University of Padua in the surroundings of the terramara of Castello del Tartaro identified, outside the village closed by channels and enbankments, the traces of a Big Road This has been interpreted as a drove-way, possibly used for the passage of cattle. The drove-way is in the Costantini estate, Comune of Cerea (VR), in the lowland of Valli Grandi Veronesi. The road was sampled along a section, at 4 different levels of depth, and the content in Inorganic, Organic and Total Phosphorous was assessed by the Soil Chemistry Laboratory of DAFNAE Department, at the University of Padua. In the sampled section the content of P and the relationships among the different P forms show the presence of discontinuities and strong P accumulation in the layers under the arable land. The results corroborate the hypothesis of a drove-way. This hypothesis agrees with both paleobotanical and zooarcheological data from the territory around the embanked settlements (terramare), and underlines the importance of cattle husbandry within the complex relationships of the Bronze age world.