ABSTRACT. The Avellino Pumices eruption was one of the most catastrophic volcanic events of Somma-Vesuvius, which hit prehistoric communities during the Early Bronze Age. In the last 30 yr, several authors reported assessments about its chronology, including radiocarbon datings, but with poor internal agreement and frequently with large experimental errors. A new and more accurate 14 C dating of this eruption (1935-1880 BC, 1 σ) was obtained at the CIRCE laboratory in Caserta (Italy) by 3 AMS measurements on a bone sample of a goat buried by the eruption, collected in an Early Bronze Age village at Croce del Papa (Nola, Naples). These results were verified by other measurements on several samples chronologically related to the eruption. Our data show that human resettlement after the eruption occurred rather quickly but lasted only for a short time in areas affected by the volcanic products, like Masseria Rossa and San Paolo Belsito (Nola, Naples), according to 14 C dating of archaeological samples collected below and above the eruption deposits. The state-of-the-art chronology of this eruption, emerging from the results obtained in this work as well as from data in the literature, is discussed.

Archaeological excavations over the last 40 years in Campania (southern Italy) confirm intense human occupation since the early Bronze Age (EBA). A pedological analysis of a ∼9 m deep pedostratigraphic sequence at Palma Campania (Naples) provides insights into fertility, rates of soil formation, and environmental conditions over the past 10 kyr. Fourteen volcanic soils formed in parent materials from Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei volcanic eruptions were analyzed. Results show that soils differ markedly in terms of thickness, andic properties, chemical fertility, and degree of development. Chemical properties, along with specific soil micromorphological features (such as silt coatings, laminar structure, iron segregations), are interpreted in terms of pedogenetic processes and used to reconstruct past environmental conditions. The degree of soil development, evaluated on the basis of organic matter content and some andic properties, proved more indicative of climate and geomorphological stability than duration of pedogenesis. Since the excavation also revealed an extensive EBA paleosurface and soil, targeted analyses were carried out to gain a better understanding of the impact of human activities and domestic animals on soil properties.

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We present a synthesis of the results of an interdisciplinary research on the Old Bronze Age sites (Palma Campania facies) affected by the « Avellino Pumices» eruption of Somma- Vesuvius, providing a more precise chronology of the event and demonstrating its adverse impact on the human settlements of the region. The date of the eruption is placed in the interval 1880-1680 BC. The time for resettlement is estimated to range from no more than 230 years for the sites distal from the volcano, the cover a wider time interval depending from the type of pyroclastic deposit in the proximal ones.