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CHAPTER 11
Contribution of Archaeology to Medieval and
Modern Sardinia
Marco Milanese1 Urban Archaeology and the History of the City
Urban archaeology, especially in the European context, is the archaeology of
living contemporary cities. The fundamental character of urban archaeology
is diachronic, based on the observation of the city’s rise and transformations
over a long period, and strictly stratigraphic. Similarly, urban archaeology is
a manner of constructing the history of a city without privileging one period
over another. Furthermore, urban archaeology must develop a rapport with
urban planning, work strategically within the complex process of urban trans-
formation, and consider its legacy. In Sardinia, urban archaeology is limited to
the resolution of specific problems, precise investigations or the “archeological
reclamation” of certain urban areas subject to public works. Based on these
premises, one may better understand the reasons behind the still limited im-
pact of archaeological discoveries on the historiography of medieval Sardinian
cities and the problematic relationship between archaeology and the island’s
cities. In Sardinia, only rarely does urban archaeology have a research agenda
that can shed light on the salient moments of a city’s history. Only by chance
is it capable of identifying the traces and remains of foundations, the erection
and transformation of defensive walls, commerce, economy, daily life, cem-
eteries, and the character of the population, which could contribute to the his-
tory of a city. This chapter will briefly describe the last 30 years of excavations
in Sardinia and discuss some of the major topics wherein archaeology can play
a crucial role.
Between 1993 and 1999, Letizia Pani Ermini1 and Donatella Salvi2 conducted
archaeological investigations in the area of the early medieval basilica of San
1 Letizia Pani Ermini, “Ricerche nel Complesso di S. Saturno a Cagliari,” Rendiconti. Pontificia
Accademia Romana di Archeologia 55/56 (1984), pp. 111–126.
2 Donatella Salvi, “Cagliari: San Saturnino, le fasi altomedievali,” in Ai confini dell’Impero.
Storia, arte e archeologia della Sardegna bizantina, eds Paola Corrias and Salvatore Cosentino
(Cagliari, 2002), pp. 225–229.