Ambiguous evidence: earthquakes and ancient building techniques in an alpine example (4th-7th centuries)

Building techniques from the Roman Age using earth, stone and wood are frequently found in North Italy in
town centres and in high-class residential buildings, as in smaller centres or n~ravl illages. In Italy, a study of
building techniques has begun only very recently and little is known about the response of these techniques to
seismic events. This paper deals with a fortified alpine settlement, located in a highly seismic area, whose
buildings were constructed with the Roman techniques and may in two subsequent stages have been destroyed
by earthquakes. The archaeological evidence is, however, ambiguous: we have no knowledge of the state of
repair of the buildings at the time of collapse, and the stratigraphy has been upset by subsequent reworking for
the purpose of recovering the building materials.