What makes a site unitary? The case study of Como-Spina Verde in the Iron Age

This contribution aims to underline the dynamics that led to the development of the wide settlement of Spina Verde, near present day Como, during the Final Bronze and the Early Iron Age (X-beginning of IV century BC). Settlement traces occupy a vast area (from the southwestern slopes of the Spina Verde height to the plateau of the municipality of San Fermo della Battaglia). In the period of its first maximum expansion, the settled area reached 60 ha, and later expanded to 150 ha: it is commonly defined as a proto-urban centre. The evidence is anyway not continuous, due to the research history and to the impact of modern constructions. Based on archaeological data, how can we judge whether this area is occupied by a single political unit or by multiple realities that are extremely close to each other? Through the study of the structural evidence that characterizes the mentioned landscape (e.g. dwellings, terraces, channels for water management, roads) along with the study of the structures‘ orientation, it can be possible to define some characteristics that are coherent with a unitary site. The interpretation of the different entities as a wide and single site is rooted in a comparative study and a multidisciplinary approach: both archaeological and ethnographic comparisons have been used. This procedure has helped to generate an archaeological map of the settlement of Spina Verde, Como, starting from the systematic review of the excavation reports and bibliographic sources, with the contribution of lidar surveys and geophysical prospections, in OA GIS environment (Qgis). The coherence of data has in this way been critically validated.