giovedì 10 gennaio 2019

JazzyFunk & Friends | SPILLO (CLAMP ITALIA) | #005

Peter John Hudson, l’archeologo che aveva Verona nel cuore

Peter John Hudson, l’archeologo che aveva Verona nel cuore: Verona perde un testimone importante dell’evoluzione della città dalla sua fondazione, un innovatore della tecnica di scavo stratigrafico.

Peter John Hudson

Tireless dedication to archaeological excavation and a profound study of the history of Verona: these are the distinguishing features of the life and work of the archaeologist Peter John Hudson, who left us suddenly on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.

The British archaeologist, born in Manchester on September 26, 1954, arrived in Verona in 1981 and devoted himself to the “Scavi Scaligeri,” the excavation of the former court of Verona, which, unfortunately, is at present closed to the public. This was the first extensive urban excavation in an Italian city to use the stratigraphic method. The excavations covered an area of approximately 1500 square meters, at a depth of 3.5 meters, an area which had seen the evolution of Verona’s history from its beginning around 48 BCE as a Roman settlement in the bend of the Adige River, through the Scaliger period in the 13th and 14th centuries. Dr. Hudson was impressed by this new method’s ability to synthesize and interpret archaeological data. Using the stratigraphic method, he was able to place and date the findings with a much greater degree of accuracy.

In 1990, Dr. Hudson became both a founding member and the technical director of the Veronese cooperative Multiart (http://www.multiart.vr.it/attivita.php).  Here, he shepherded through the important compromise for the construction of the underpass at Porta Palio, a project that was also supported by several of his students from England. He then directed the excavation of the Madonna dell'Uva Secca in Povegiano, where pre-Roman and Lombard tombs emerged. This work was done in collaboration with the director of the operative nucleus of the Veneto, Superintendent Giuliana Cavalieri Manasse.

Between 1997 and 1999, he was the lead archaeologist during the AGSM excavations in via Mazzini, which led to the discovery of the walls built around the Arena in 265 AD by Gallieno. The walls were constructed to prevent the Arena from being used as a bulwark, were it to fall into the hands of the barbarians. In the area around the Due Campane pharmacy, Dr. Hudson discovered the span of these walls that connected them to the axis that is now Via Alberto Mario. Among other findings, the remains of a beautiful staircase emerged: it had been part of a temple demolished to make room for the Gallieno walls. The following year, Dr. Hudson turned to the excavations in Corso Cavour, where he brought to light, in all its majesty, the Via Postumia, which he called the "highway of antiquity.”  It deserved the name, as it was an ancient street, 14 to 16 meters wide, in the Castelvecchio area.

Dr. Hudson then turned his attention and efforts to Palazzo Maffe, and thus to the Roman Basilica, at the end of Via Mazzini, where today a darker tract of pavement recalls the presence of the underlying apse—which is among his most striking discoveries.  The bureaucratic problems Dr. Hudson encountered along the way hindered his work and troubled his thoughts.  Those who knew him felt that the obstacles that stymied further discoveries afflicted his passionate lion's heart. This metaphor seems apt for Dr. Hudson, a man with a tawny mane and a powerful physical presence—a man of action. Our city remains in the debt of this sensitive, humble, intelligent and dedicated man. We are enriched by the historical data Dr. Hudson collected and processed through his deep love for archeology.  Peter John Hudson was an innovator of the stratigraphic excavation technique, used first in Verona, then throughout Italy. The academic world owes much to Dr. Hudson as well, although he rarely attended conferences because of his predilection and preference for fieldwork.  

With his death, Verona has lost an important witness of its evolution as a city, from the time of its foundation through the Middle Ages, and we would be right to feel we have also lost a friend.

Translation by Susan Crosby