“Fondi di capanna” (hut basements) and the residential use of sunken structures.

Abstract

The paper deals with sunken dwellings, known with the old term “fondi di capanna” dating to the mid of XIX cent. The up-to dated documentation of subterranean structures, the evalutation of several features and the proposal of several analytical approaches, propose not to exclude the interpretation of residential function, as suggested recently by many scholars. Instead, according the analysis of several parameters, it is necessary to detail in a better way this hypothesis. The conclusive interpretation presumes that the settlement pattern is so articolated and diversified, depending from environmental conditions, function and durability. We propose to enrich the documentation and the comparison in order to support the reasoning process in the archaeological research, without preconceived ideas.