Archaeology

This paper will have at its focus the complicated connection between the production and circulation of copper and the control over it exercised by political elites and religious authorities. During the Late Cypriot period, copper production and trade were a central source of wealth and internal development on the island. This can be seen in terms of external trade, but also in relation to an ideological control of this metal by religious authorities in the urban centers. Indeed, workshops were situated in close vicinity to sanctuaries, and symbols iconographically related to metallurgy are attested specifically at Enkomi, with notable specimens being the Ingot God statuette and the miniature bronze ingots. The transition between the LC IIC and LC IIIA periods marks a phase of radical transition all over the East Mediterranean, characterized by the decline of economic exchanges, as well as a destruction horizon clearly visible in many macro-regions of the Mediterranean. On Cyprus, a destruction level is attested in many large settlements, but such discontinuity cannot be ascribed to several sites of crucial cultural importance, such as Enkomi, Kition and Palaepaphos, which enjoyed a new floruit. This paper aims to define the cultural sequence for the transition to LC IIIA in a critical light.

The last few years, in the history of studies on Late Bronze Age Mediterranean, archaeology has been particularly productive in the investigation of the ancient economy and trade, having brought to light a complex system of connections, both maritime and terrestrial. The existence of a wide and systematic network regulated by laws, norms and a value system, although in nuce, is now evident. Within this network, commodities, people and ideas freely circulated and a certain degree of safety seemed to be assured. These connections were mostly in the hands of the palaces, as testified by the written sources, but nonetheless it is possible that some commodities circulated by different means, external to the palatial control. In this talk we will enquiry the possibility of the existence of a private agency in the Eastern Mediterranean trade and its relationship with the palatial controlled economy. In order to do so, two kinds of data will be taken into consideration: written sources and pottery. The first piece of evidence will consist mostly in tablets coming from Ugarit and the Amarna letters, and an overview of possible traces of trade in the Linear B tablets will be made, along with a short reference to some interesting new interpretation of the miniaturized inscribed ingots coming from Cyprus. For the latter, the case study in exam will be the Mycenaean pottery, mainly due to its wide distribution and the large amount of available data, but also because presumably out of the palatial control, as it is not mentioned in the archive records. The analysis of the pottery will be mainly quantitative and focused on an area that includes Anatolia, Syria, Cyprus and Levantine coast during a chronological span that goes from 1450 to 1200 ca. BC (LH IIB-LH IIIC in relative chronology). In this area, the imports include fine examples of drinking pottery and stirrup jars, these latter intended for the transport of wine and perfumed oils. As the results of this research will show, the distribution pattern of this kind of pottery is not homogeneous and varies in time and space.

Through the study of the two ancient shipwrecks, Uluburun and Cape Gelidonya, probably of Canaanite origin, dating back to the Late Bronze age, information can be gathered on active trades up until 1200 BC in the eastern Mediterranean. Detailed analysis of the type of cargo has been performed to find a possible connection with the so-called Sea Peoples, who could operate as traders on board or "ship owners".

Fin dall'età repubblicana, a Roma e nei territori da essa controllati, le aree sepolcrali appaiono ben distinte e topograficamente distaccate da quelle abitative grazie a una legge contenuta nelle XII tavole. Questa norma aveva validità giuridica solo per le città, ma si affermò, sotto forma di consuetudine, anche nelle ville residenziali e nelle altre espressioni della vita rurale, dove infatti fino a tutto il periodo imperiale si nota come cimiteri e mausolei venissero costruiti distanti dalle zone abitative. Questo tabù sembra rompersi durante la tarda antichità: In questo periodo inizia, nelle campagne, la prassi dell'inumazione dei defunti in ambienti delle ville ancora parzialmente abitate, in cui quindi si crea un rapporto nuovo, più stretto, tra vivi e morti. Successivamente questa pratica si afferma anche all'interno delle mura cittadine. E' stata svolta un'analisi quantitativa delle necropoli deposte all'interno di ambienti un tempo aventi finalità abitativa, in città e in campagna, estendendo l'indagine a tutte le regioni della penisola Italica. Sono state indagate quindi le caratteristiche principali di questa prassi, che sembra avere inizio nel III-IV secolo nelle campagne, in quello successivo all'interno dei contesti cittadini. Altre indagini sono state svolte sulle tipologie di sepolture, sui corredi e sui rituali funerari, con lo scopo di poter individuare l'estrazione sociale degli inumati e la loro identità religiosa e culturale. Per tutti questi dati sono stati svolti dei confronti tra le varie zone d'Italia, al fine di comprenderne analogie e differenze. Particolare attenzione verrà posta al periodo iniziale in cui questa prassi si verificò, con lo scopo di comprendere le motivazioni che portarono alla rottura delle secolari tradizioni di età romana.

The dissertation consists of a collection and discussion of all the available data on southern Italy’s Bronze Age fortified settlements. The first section describes the study area, its main characteristics and paleo-environmental features; on this basis the author hypotesizes the existence of a precise settlement model consisting in medium-large size settlements located on the coastal or sub-coastal zone, and smaller sites in the interior, with some exceptions such as Masseria Chiancudda. 

The sites of Coppa Nevigata and Roca Vecchia in Puglia are analysed in greater detail, for the presence of a better archaeological documentation that reveals the great complexity of Bronze Age defensive systems. Both the sites gave clear evidence of war-related events. The author compares the fortifications of the two settlements, analyzing in detail the different architectural features, discussing similarities and differences. Then, on the basis of this analysis, and comparing the results with the weaponry coming from southern Italy’s warrior burials, she makes an attempt of reconstructing Bronze Age war techniques employed in the attack and defense of the settlements.

In conclusion, evidence from Puglia is compared with data from Broglio di Trebisacce and Torre Mordillo (Calabria), and Thapsos and Ustica (Sicily).