Spring-Summer 2024. As part of our broader research related to the themes of abandonment and transformation of the Versilian side of the Apuan Alps (projects: ArchMOSS, ARAM, Forsaken Ecologies), we have decided to focus on the analysis of a particular practice and materiality. From the 1960s to the late 1980s, it was common practice not to bring waste produced in the mountains back to the valley but rather to disperse it, in more or less concentrated forms, in the woods and valleys.
DUMP is a project that documents, reconnaissances, and excavates one of the dumps created during those decades. It is located under Monte Matanna in the Alpe della Grotta area. In collaboration with the Rifugio Forte dei Marmi, our logistical base during the investigation campaigns, we identified the extent of the dump, analysed the dispersion and characteristics of materials, dug two excavation essays to document the sequence of use levels of the area with numerous waste deposits and thousands of discarded objects.
Meantime, we sampled the surrounding soil to analyse the level of microplastic dispersion.
DUMP involved the MAPPALab team, which is now working on organizing and analysing the data and studying the many artefacts collected.