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From the 1950s and 1960s of the last century, a parish church dating back to the 6th century AD was identified during reclamation works of Valle Pega. The archaeological investigation allowed the recovery of the parish and the attached baptistery, as well as some tombs closely connected to the church. Following the excavation, it was possible to collect some samples of bricks and mortars in order to identify the different compositions of the materials used for the construction of the parish. All the samples were analyzed through optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffractometric analysis and observation through scanning electron microscope. Thanks to the investigations carried out on the samples, it was possible to hypothesize the different construction phases and the different materials used and to identify the firing temperatures at which the bricks were built.

This work is part of a project of the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the enhancement of the widespread archaeological heritage of the Po delta area. Excavation activities, carried out in 2015, allowed the sampling of the stratigraphic elements and artifacts of the archaeological site of the lighthouse tower of Baro Zavelea, municipality of Comacchio (Ferrara, northeast Italy). In this work, the geochemical characterization of sediments and building materials was conducted using granulometric analyses, X-ray fluorescence analysis, and calcimetry on different types of samples, including sands, clays, mortars, and bricks, with the scope to better characterize all of the different types of sediments collected. This multidisciplinary approach allowed the diagnostic and evaluation of the state of conservation of Baro Zavalea. Granulometric analyses highlighted the fact that depositional environments were of very different natures: fluvial environments and paleo–alveo environments. In addition, XRF analysis allowed the discrimination of different clay samples, some from basins poor in carbonates, while, for the construction of the bricks of the second wall structure, clays rich in carbonate were chosen to add lightness to the structure.

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