Strontium isotopes as indicators of Longobards mobility: preliminary investigation at Povegliano Veronese

The study of migrations provides crucial information for the archaeological research. In fact, there is a strong relation between the chemical composition of an individuals tissues and his/her mobility strategies: these can reflect the way individuals choose to reside and/or move during their life. The strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr) of skeletal remains is nowadays considered a reliable method to assess residential mobility and origin of past populations. Between 1984-1985 and 1992-1993 the skeletons of adults and subadults were excavated at the Longobard cemetery of Povegliano Veronese (Verona, Italy). Within a wider project on the cultural and biological dynamics of the Longobards in Italy, this work present a contribution to the study of migration of these populations in Italy, through the application of strontium isotope analysis (87Sr/86Sr). Sr ratio was measured in tooth enamel taken from 25 individuals from Povegliano Veronese, dating to the late 6 th–early 8th century AD. In order to interpret strontium isotope ratios analysed in the human skeletons, we begun to map the biologically-available strontium isotope signatures of Veneto region (northern Italy) by analysing soil distributed around this area. The mapping shows a marked difference in biologically-available 87Sr/86Sr values of soils. In Povegliano Veronese strontium isotope signature ranges between 0.7082 and 0.7089 with values that are unique to the area and compared to other parts of Veneto. The ratios obtained seem to plot in three different groups of which one shows values that are consistent with the geological background of the area of the necropolis wheares others are to be considered ‘non locals’ and might match other possible regions of provenience of the individuals. By integrating the strontium signatures with archaeological and anthropological data we speculate on the possible origin of the individuals buried at the site and suggest mobility patterns at Povegliano Veronese.