Archaeology on the Apulian – Lucanian Border

Description

The broad valley of the Bradano river and its tributary the Basentello separates the Apennine mountains in Lucania from the limestone plateau of the Murge in Apulia in South East Italy. For millennia the valley has functioned both as a cultural and political divide between the two regions, and as a channel for new ideas transmitted from South to North or vice versa depending on the political and economic conditions of the time. Archaeology on the Apulian – Lucanian Border aims to explain how the pattern of settlement and land use changed in the valley over the whole period from Neolithic to Late Medieval, taking account of changing environmental conditions, and setting the changes in a broader political, social and cultural context. There are three levels of focus. The first is on the results of a field survey (1996-2006) in the Basentello valley by teams from the Universities of Alberta, Edinburgh, and Bari, directed by the authors. The second concerns the discoveries of earlier field surveys in the late 1960s and early 1970s undertaken in connection with excavations on Botromagno near Gravina in Puglia. The third is a much broader synthesis of the results of recent scholarship using archaeological, epigraphic and literary sources to reconstruct an archaeological history of the valley and the surrounding area. The creation of a vast imperial estate at Vagnari around the end of the 1st century BC and its long-lasting impact on the pattern of settlement in the area is a significant theme in the later chapters of the book. Cover Title Page Copyright page Contents Preface I. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1. Communications i. Land routes ii. The Bradano – Basentello river 2. Three levels of focus i. The Basentello valley survey (Our Survey Area) Vagnari ii. The Older Surveys a. The Vinson Survey b. The Chapman and Ammerman survey c. The Aldridge survey d. A comparison between the New and Older Surveys iii. The Fossa Bradanica 3. The limits to contextualizing 4. Changes in land-use 5. Climate and the environment 6. Plague and malaria 7. Periodization II. THE BASENTELLO VALLEY FIELD SURVEY 1996–2008: AN OVERVIEW 1. Methods We aimed to cover the entire area on foot, walking in teams about 15m apart. This was labour-intensive but we rejected the alternative of working in sample areas since we were interested in the changing details in the pattern of settlement rather than in i. Findspots and sites ii. Gridding iii. Processing of finds iv. Field-walking v. Distorting factors and limitations of the Survey 2. The results of the Survey i. Changing settlement patterns ii. Changes in land use in the Survey Area iii. Off-Site scatter 3. The crossing of the Basentello 4. Table of site occupancy in our Survey Area III. DIACHRONIC INTERPRETATIONS Chapter I. The Palaeolithic period 1. Middle Palaeolithic (ca. 300,000 – 50,000/40,000 BC) 2. Upper Palaeolithic (ca. 50,000/40,000 – 10,000 BC) Chapter II. The Neolithic Period 1. Chronology 2. Climate and agriculture 3. Neolithic settlements in the Fossa Bradanica and adjoining areas III. DIACHRONIC INTERPRETATIONS i. Early Neolithic settlements (ca. 6200 – 5600 BC) ii. Middle Neolithic settlements (ca. 5600 – 4800 BC) iii. Late Neolithic settlements (ca. 4800 – 4300 BC) iv. Final Neolithic settlements (ca. 4300 – 4000 BC) 4. The Older Surveys in the Fossa Bradanica i. Classes of Neolithic pottery and their distribution within the Older Survey Areas a. Impressed ware (Early/ Middle Neolithic) b. Matera scratched ware (Advanced Early Neolithic/ Middle Neolithic) c. Masseria La Quercia ware (Advanced Early Neolithic) d. Red painted wares (Ceramica a fasce rosse) (Middle Neolithic) e. Serra d’Alto ware (Late Neolithic) f. Diana – Bellavista ware (Final Neolithic) g. Unpainted figulina ware (Middle – Final Neolithic) ii. Lithics on the Older Surveys iii. Summary 5. Our Survey Area i. Wares, types, and the chronology of the sites ii. Site locations iii. Internal organisation iv. Site sizes and hierarchies v. Regional communications vi. Lithics in our Survey Area vii. Conclusions Chapter III. The Eneolithic Period (Copper Age) 1. Climate, Settlement, Economic and Social trends 2. Eneolithic in the Fossa Bradanica: the Older Surveys 3. Eneolithic in our Survey Area: continuity and discontinuity Chapter IV. The Bronze Age 1. Chronology 2. The climate, the environment and the economy i. Stock-raising ii. Hunting iii. Agriculture iv. Bronze v. Lithics vi. The pottery 2. Settlement patterns and territorial organization i. Distribution ii. Consolidation iii. Huts 3. Burials 4. Trade 5. The Older Surveys 6. Our Survey Area. The Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age i. Continuity and discontinuity ii. The character of Bronze Age settlements in the Survey Area iii. The change to the Final Bronze Age iv. Conclusions Chapter V. The Final Bronze Age (ca. 1200 – 1000 BC) / Early Iron Age I (ca. 1000 – 750 BC) 1. Chronology 2. Climate 3. Economy i. Stock-raising Chapter V. The Final Bronze Age / Early Iron Age I ii. Textiles iii. Vegetation and cultivation a. Olives b. Vines and wine production c. Cereals and legumes 4. The material culture 5. Settlements i. Late Bronze Age to Final Bronze Age ii. Final Bronze Age to Early Iron Age iii. Minor settlements in the Fossa Bradanica iv. The origins of the Bradano culture v. Settlement organization 6. Burials i. Burial practices ii. Burials and social organization in the Early Iron Age 7. The Older Surveys 8. Excavations near the Survey Areas i. Botromagno ii. Monte Irsi 9. Our Survey Area 10. Conclusions Chapter VI. The Early Iron Age II (ca. 750 – 675 BC) and Middle Iron Age (ca. 675 – 500 BC) I. THE EARLY IRON AGE II (PERIOD GRAVINA II) 1. Chronology Chapter VI. The Early Iron Age II and Middle Iron Age 2. Pottery Bichrome pottery 3. Greek “colonisation” Greek pottery imports II. THE MIDDLE IRON AGE (MIA) ca. 675 – 500 BC 1. Chronology 2. Pottery i. Indigenous matt-painted geometric pottery ii. The function of the bichrome “subgeometric” wares iii. The problem of the ethnic classification of the ceramic styles iv. Distribution of regional and sub-regional ceramic styles v. Ethnic units and ceramic styles in Central Apulia and the Fossa Bradanica vi. Wheel-made wares 3. Settlement patterns i. Fortification ii. Territorial organization iii. Internal settlement organization a. Acropoleis / suburbs b. Humbler buildings 4. Burials i. Élite burials ii. Lesser burials iii. Female burials iv. Burials and Greek pottery imports 5. The rural economy i. Agriculture ii. Olives and grapes iii. Fauna iv. Commerce 6. The Older Surveys 7. Our Survey Area Settlements and their territories 8. Conclusions Chapter VII. The Late Iron Age (Lucanian / Late Peucetian period) 1. The pottery i. Painted (slipped) wares ii. Plain and cooking wares 2. The historical context i. The 5th century: Taras / Tarentum ii. The 5th century: Metapontion / Metapontum iii. The 5th century: Athens and South Italy a. Attic red-figure pottery in Peucetia b. Attic imports in the Fossa Bradanica c. The political context iv. Peucetians v. The Oscan-speaking tribes: Samnites and Lucanians vi. The wars of the 4th century BC 3. Settlement patterns i. Lucanian settlements a. Fortifications ii. Peucetian settlements a. Fortifications b. Internal structures of the large Peucetian settlements iii. The model of the Greek polis? iv. Farmhouses a. Metapontine farmhouses b. Farmhouses in Lucania c. Farmhouses in Apulia 4. Cults i. Communal cults ii. Household cults The cult of ancestors in Peucetia 5. Burial customs i. Extended burials ii. Flexed (rannicchiato) burials iii. Neonates iv. Cremation 6. Burials as evidence for Social structures i. The élite: Apulia ii. Lesser warriors: Apulia iii. Lucania. Élite and warrior tombs iv. Artisans v. The lower classes, slaves vi. Grave goods as evidence for social change 7. City status and state formation i. Peucetia ii. Lucania iii. Consolidation of the urban communities iv. Coinage as a means of hoarding wealth 8. Private life i. Changes in domestic activity ii. Signet rings 9. Farming in the 5th – 3rd centuries BC i. Carbonized seed analyses ii. Pollen analyses iii. Olives and vines iv. Other fruits v. Stock-raising 10. Sources of wealth 11. The Survey Areas i. The Older Surveys ii. Our Survey Area iii. The economic status of the rural sites a. Figured wares b. Dolia iv. Site grouping and territorial organization in the area of the Surveys a. The left bank of the Basentello: Botromagno b. The left bank of the Basentello: Settlements of intermediate size c. The left bank of the Basentello: Small settlements d. The right bank of the Basentello 12. Conclusions Chapter VIII. The Hellenistic Period 1. Pottery and other artifacts i. Black-gloss ii. Grey-gloss iii. Relief-decorated bowls iv. Plain and banded wares v. Unguentaria vi. Thin-walled ware vii. Glass vessels viii. Cooking ware ix. Amphorae x. Lamps 2. The transformation of the economy and material culture in the last three centuries BC i. Coinage a. Greek versus Romano-Campanian coins b. Roman coins c. Peucetian coins ii. Agricultural processing iii. Construction techniques iv. Houses v. Eating and drinking habits vi. Religion and cult vii. New burial customs 3. The historical context: the 3rd century BC i. The Second Samnite War and the invasion of 306 BC The impact of the Roman invasion on Botromagno/ Silvium ii. The foundation of Venusia in 291 BC and its impact a. Venusia (Venosa) b. Bantia (Banzi) iii. The conflict of Rome with Tarentum a. Cleonymus b. Pyrrhus iv. The Fossa Bradanica in the 3rd century BC a. Monte Serico b. Jazzo Fornasiello c. Botromagno d. Monte Irsi e. Timmari f. Montescaglioso g. Difesa San Biagio h. Cozzo Presepe j. Metapontum 4. The historical context: the Second Punic War 5. The historical context: the 2nd century BC i. Confiscations Traditional peasant economy reinforced at Venusia ii. Ager publicus a. Ager publicus and grazing limits b. Transhumance and drove roads c. Slave herdsmen iii. The weaving economy iv. Use of the Greek language v. Commerce vi. Roads: the Via Appia vii. The Gracchan land reforms 6. Settlement and land use: The Fossa Bradanica in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC i. Venusia ii. Monte Serico iii. Metapontum iv. Botromagno / Silvium a. The re-foundation of Silvium b. The toponym Silvium c. The economy of Silvium: weaving d. The economy of Silvium: industrial activities e. The economy of Silvium: animal resources f. The wooded environment of Botromagno v. Monte Irsi 7. The Older Survey sites in the Hellenistic period i. Sites of the 3rd and early 2nd centuries BC ii. Sites of the mid-2nd – late 1st century BC 8. Our Survey Area i. Our Survey Area in the 3rd and early 2nd centuries BC a. The decline of San Felice b. Vagnari: probable abandonment of the site ii. Our Survey Area in the late 2nd and early 1st centuries BC Sites of the period in our Survey Area b. Vagnari: resumption of occupation 9. The 1st century BC down to the beginning of the Principate i. Romanization ii. The Social War iii. Municipalization iv. A praefectura of the Silvini? v. The end of Silvium vi. Slingshots on Botromagno and the war of Spartacus vii. Amphorae and brick stamps as evidence for the rise of great estates The numerous political upheavals of the late Republic provided many opportunities for the ambitious and unscrupulous to enrich themselves, often by acquiring landed estates confiscated from political enemies or bought at low prices in a glutted market. Th viii. Pompey as an estate owner in our Survey Area These tile stamps show that Pompey owned an estate with tile works in the Basentello valley somewhere in the vicinity of the two sites in our Survey Area where the stamped tiles were found (Sites 229 and 704). The centre of the property is most likely to ix. Pompey and the war of Spartacus x. Inanissima pars Italiae xi. The acquisition of the estate by Octavian / Augustus xii. The veteran settlement at Venusia 11. Hannibal’s legacy 12. Conclusions Chapter IX. The Roman imperial period 1. Pottery and other artifacts i. Italian terra sigillata (ITS) (see Kenrick’s introduction in Cat. 15 A) ii. Eastern Sigillata B (ESB) iii. African red slip (ARS) (See Kenrick’s Introduction Cat. 15 B) iv. Regional red slip (RRS) and thin-walled wares v. Cooking wares vi. Plain wares vii. Amphorae viii. Dolia Dolia were also specialized products, likely to be imported considerable distances, but there is as yet insufficient evidence of production centres and regional types. The basic shapes were long-lasting, but in general there was a tendency for dolia to gr ix. Lamps x. Loomweights xi. Glass xii. Tiles 2. Regional factors i. The Augustan regions ii. The development of regional organization in the 2nd and 3rd centuries 3. Cities in the first three centuries AD Curatores 4. The landowning classes i. The greatest landowners a. Domitia Lepida b. Calvia Crispinilla 5. Settlement in the countryside: villas, farms and villages i. Huts and cottages ii. Farmhouses iii. Villas in the first three centuries AD a. Excavated villas b. Villas in field surveys iv. Vici Vici in field surveys 6. The supposed crisis of the 3rd century AD 7. Imperial estates The administration of the imperial estates 8. Roads i. The public roads in the first three centuries AD ii. Drove roads 9. Stock-raising and agriculture 10. Commerce The transport amphorae found in the field survey provide much more information on the complexity of these trade patterns. The evidence is discussed in detail by Disantarosa who has set each amphora type within a broad picture of production and distributio 11. The administration of the Fossa Bradanica in the Early and Middle Empire. 12. Field surveys in the Fossa Bradanica i. The Ager Venusinus ii. The survey around Monte Serico iii. Survey in the Chora of Metaponto iv. The Older Surveys a. Sites of the Early Empire b. Sites of the Middle Empire 13. Excavated sites in the vicinity of our Survey Area i. Botromagno ii. Monte Irsi 14. Our Survey Area in the 1st – 3rd centuries AD i. Sites known from the Survey a. Sites South of the drove road and West of the Basentello (in Lucania) b. Sites South of the drove road and East of the Basentello (in Apulia) c. Sites North of the drove road and East of the Basentello (in Apulia) ii. Vagnari a. The settlement b. The cemetery and the human osteology c. The faunal remains d. Cultivated plants e. The carbonized wood remains f. A problem of interpretation: olive cultivation and the production and use of olive oil g. Coinage in the economy h. Summary of the economy iii. The villa on San Felice (Site 229) iv. The imperial estate centred on Vagnari a. The estate in the Early Empire b. The development of the estate in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD c. The agronomics of the imperial estate d. Sub-regional economic factors relating to the estate Chapter X. The Late Roman Empire 1. Pottery and other artifacts i. African red slip (ARS) ii. Amphorae iii. Other wares 2. The Historical background i. South Italy in the Later Roman Empire ii. The provincialization of Italy 3. Taxation i. Pork levy in Lucania ii. Grain levy in Apulia iii. Taxation in the countryside 4. Roads 5. Ports 6. Cities i. Jews in the cities ii. Christians and pagans 7. Social structures i. The landowning classes – possessores ii. Coloni 8. Settlement patterns i. Villas ii. Vici iii. Casae 9. Imperial estates Coloni on imperial estates 10. Abandoned and unprofitable land 11. Some comparative survey results from our broader study area. 12. Monetary circulation 13. Commerce 14. Agriculture and stock-raising i. Stock-raising ii. Cultivation 15. Brigandage 16. Vagnari i. The settlement ii. The cemetery iii. Stock-raising iv. The forest environment 17. The Older Surveys 18. Our Survey Area i. Sites South of the drove road and West of the Basentello (in Lucania) ii. Sites S of the drove road and E of the Basentello (in Apulia) iii. Sites N of the drove road and E of the Basentello (in Apulia) iv. Imported amphorae in the context of the Late Roman settlement pattern 19. Conclusions Chapter XI. Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages to the mid- 7th century 1. Pottery and other artifacts i. African red slip ii. Late Roman Painted Ware iii. Plain wares iv. Cookpots v. Amphorae vi. Glass vii. Combed tiles 2. The historical background before Justinian i. Barbarian settlement and other population movements ii. Administration The provisioning of Rome and the army iii. Socio-economic change a. The cities The cities continued to decline. Cassiodorus in his letter to Severus gave orders to prevent the landowners and town councillors from abandoning the cities in favour of country life. It was hardly a new complaint and it referred in this instance only to B b. The disintegration of the old city centres c. Burials d. Villas e. The rural population f. Christianity in the countryside g. Jews h. Agriculture 3. From the Greco-Gothic war to the invasion of Constans II i. The Greco-Gothic war ii. The Lombard invasion In 568 AD, Lombard tribes from Pannonia under their king, Alboin, broke through the frontier and conquered the Alpine regions and the Po valley. Two of his followers, Zotto and Faroald, carried on further S and in due course set up the duchies of Benevent iii. The Lombard settlement iv. The Byzantine administration v. The papal properties 4. Socio-economic developments i. The landowning class ii. The church iii. Jews 5. Settlement in Apulia and Lucania i. Demographic decline? ii. Cities iii. The countryside iv. Rural churches v. Early Lombard burials Lombard-type burials in the vicinity of the Older Surveys vi. Combed tiles vii. Some conclusions on rural settlement 6. Economic and social change, late 5th – late 7th century AD i. Roads ii. Commerce and the circulation of goods iii. The environmental evidence; stock-raising and cultivation 7. Settlement patterns i. Comparative survey results ii. The Older Surveys iii. Vagnari iv. Our Survey Area a. Site occupancy in the Late Antique period b. Settlement types in the Late Antique period c. Settlement in our Survey Area in the Early Middle Ages, late 6th to early 8th centuries d. Santo Staso e. The end of the period in our Survey Area 8. Conclusions Chapter XII. The Middle Ages. Late 7th – 15th century 1. Early Medieval artifacts mid-7th – 11th century i. Broad line (Nos.2089-2091) ii. Narrow line (Nos.2092-2093) iii. Cooking pots 2. Central and Later Medieval artifacts 12th – mid-14th century i. Lead-glazed wares ii. Tin-glazed ware: protomaiolica iii. Plain wares iv. Cookpots v. Chaffy ware (ceramica da fuoco vacuolata) vi. Lamps vii. Coins viii. Tiles (coppi vacuolati) 3. The historical evidence: late 7th–9th century i. Shifting power: Lombards, Byzantines and Franks ii. Cities iii. Rural settlement 4. Settlement in the late 7th – late 9th century: the archaeological evidence i. Problems of evidence ii. Our Survey Area iii. General remarks on the settlement pattern 5. The historical evidence: later 9th – 11th centuries The archaeological evidence for this period in South Italy remains scanty but from the 9th century onwards there is an increasing, if haphazard, volume of documentary sources. For the 9th century the main narrative accounts are the later sections of Paul i. Historical summary ii. The Byzantine recovery iii. Administration iv. Settlement v. The Church. Eigenkirchen and monasteries 6. The 11th and 12th centuries: the Norman influx i. The Normans in the vicinity of Gravina ii. Our Survey Area: 10th–12th century 7. The Hohenstauffen i. Castles and comuni ii. Population growth iii. The Survey Areas a. The Older Surveys b. Our Survey Area 8. The Later Middle Ages i. The Angevins. Population decline ii. Causes of the decline iii. The rural economy a. Cereals b. Equines and cattle c. Forests d. Sheep e. Olives and vines f. Fish: the Pantano g. The fair of San Giorgio iv. The Survey Area 9. Conclusions SECTION IV. LIST OF SITES Section v. CATALOGUE OF ARTIFACTS found in our Survey Area 1. The Lithics 2. THE NEOLITHIC POTTERY 2/3. NEOLITHIC OR BRONZE AGE 3. IMPASTO POTTERY OF THE COPPER, BRONZE AND IRON AGES 4. MATT-PAINTED SOUTH ITALIAN GEOMETRIC WARES 5. WHEEL-MADE PAINTED (WMP) POTTERY 6. IMPORTED GREEK POTTERY 7. SOUTH ITALIAN RED-FIGURE WARES 8. OVER-PAINTED WARES 9. BLACK-GLOSS WARES 10. GREY-GLOSS WARE 11. PRE-ROMAN RED-SLIP WARE 12. UNGUENTARIA 13. HELLENISTIC RELIEF-DECORATED BOWLS 15. ROMAN FINE WARES 14. THIN-WALLED WARE – UNSLIPPED 16. LATE ROMAN PAINTED WARE 17. THE PLAIN WARES 18. COOKING POTS 19. THE AMPHORAE 20. PITHOI/ DOLIA, GLIRARIA AND PUTEALIA 21. LAMPS 22. LOOMWEIGHTS AND SPINDLE WHORLS 23. GLASS VESSELS AND BEADS 24. METAL OBJECTS INCLUDING COINS 25. MILLSTONES 26. MARBLE OBJECTS 27. THE ARCHITECTURAL TERRACOTTAS 28. TERRACOTTA MODELLED OBJECTS 29. DAUB 30. INDUSTRIAL OBJECTS 31. MEDIEVAL WARES 32. TILES 33. GAMES BOARDS (TABULAE LUSORIAE) SECTION VI. THE OLDER SURVEYS I. Introduction 1. Surveyors and survey methods 2. Mapping the Old Surveys 3. Problems of classification 4. Changes in site occupancy 5. The List entries 6. Illustrations 7. Abbreviations For the period codes used in the following table, see the list of periods and phases at the end of the General Introduction to this book. Other abbreviations used in this section are as follows. II. List of Sites on the Older Surveys III. Table of illustrated artifacts from the Older Surveys Artifact Figures Artifact Plates BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX Le anfore dalla valle del Basentello: ricostruire la rete dei commerci e dei consumi delle derrate Periodo tardo-antico Back cover