Red and yellow ocher exploitation in the Lessini mountains (Veneto, NE Italy)

Red and yellow ocher (hematite and goethite in a clay matrix) were exploited in Lessini mountains since Palaeolithic time and continued until the half of the 20th c. when the natural pigments were replaced with synthetic products. The majority of the known deposits - except the red ocher outcrop in Alpone Valley at San Giovanni Ilarione, are located in palaeokarst caves and, in most cases, they are yellow ocher. The most important system not only in Italy but most probably in Europe is Torricelle mines, just in the north of Verona city (Valdonega suburb). The caves develop along 20 Km of documented natural tunnels over an area of about 2 Km2. The karst channels present dendritic and hurdle ramification whose disposition is controlled by fractures oriented NNE-SSW, WNW-ESE and NS. For this mines, traces of layered yellow ocher in the main karst channels and well preserved layered deposits of yellow and red ocher in a secondary channel are still present. Traces of yellow ocher deposits in Verona province are located at Ponte di Veja (Sant’Anna Alfaedo) where both layered and massive materials are still visible in diverse palaeokarst caves; layered yellow ocher are well preserved at S. Bortolo Mountains (town of Selva di Progno) and S. Ambrogio di Valpolicella. The interest for these sites is very high not only for the geological and environmental aspects but also for the implications concerning the archaeological research. Therefore, the proposed research is a contribution to keep local culture’s memory alive also supporting other research fields such as geology, history and archaeology.