Some notes on geomorphological and archaeological aspects in the central Po Plain (Northern Italy)

Since long time, there have been several attempts to cross-date geomorphological evidence with archaeological data in the Po Plain. From a methodological standpoint, a definition of the relationship between fluvial forms and archaeological sites cannot be expressed by a simple presence/absence ratio but it is necessary to distinguish between surface and buried sites. The central Po Plain is characterized by a complex distribution of fluvial landforms and deposits. The comparison of geomorphological and archaeological data shows that the sector to north of the R. Po has been very stable during the whole Holocene. Along the main palaeochannels on the Main Level of the Po Plain, fed by ice melting from the Late Pleistocene glaciers, several Bronze Age settlements have been identified.On the contrary, in the sector south of the R. Po, the landscape was subject to significant changes. In the Modena city area, starting from the end of the Roman Age the watercourses passed from a runoff occurring in deep riverbeds to one hanging over, or at least at the same level as, the surrounding plain. The R. Secchia shifted to the east and the R. Panaro to the west downstream of the town. From the Bronze Age to the Late Middle Ages the R. Po flowed in a belt about 20 km wide shifting from south to north.