Traders, architects and craftsmen: Considerations on Mycenaean presence in the Hyblaean area This paper reviews the evidence of Mycenaeanisation from the area of Syracuse and Ragusa during the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age, in order to test the different models of interaction till now proposed. Imported items have been long known and studied, especially Mycenaean and Cypriot pottery from Thapsos, Syracuse, Matrensa, Plemmyrion, Cozzo del Pantano, Floridia and Buscemi. Jewellery from Thapsos, Syracuse and Cozzo del Pantano can be added, even if amber and spacer beads may be of Northern origin, and a cylinder (?) seal from Syracuse of levantine manufacture. Bronzes have been considered mainly of local production, with only a few imported specimina. Imitation of Aegean pottery (both shapes and decoration) in local Thapsos ware is another well documented phenomenon, but it has nothing to do with the so called Italo-Mycenaean ware, with the exception, perhaps, of Cypriot pottery perhaps locally made. As far as architecture is concerned, a thoroughly reexamination of complexes A and B of the II phase of Thapsos settlement allows us to consider them as a result of a formalisation of a local tradition carried on by an Aegean architect using experience from the Levant. The internal arrangement of the building is, however, purely local, and excludes its use by an "Aegean" community. A similar phenomenon can be found in the excavated tholos tomb, which can be considered the result of an Aegean restyling of the traditional rock-cut tomb. Taken together, however, all this signs of Aegean influence show different patterns of distribution (imported items only in the area around Thapsos and Syracuse, tholos tomb type widely diffused also in the area around the Irminio and Cava d'Ispica, but almost absent in Thapsos, no Mycenaean pottery found in a true tholos tomb). To sum up, an apparent contrasting picture emerges from the review of the evidence. While there is no proof of the existence of a Mycenaean community in Thapsos or elsewhere, the deep influence in pottery, figurines and architecture hints at the existence of direct and long contacts; it is not possible however to identify a single source of origin for Mycenaean elements present in this area, while they can be attributed to the Levantine and Cypriot area, to Argolid or to Messenia. This apparent contradictions can be solved by the long acquaintance between this area and the Helladic world, begun already during the Castelluccio period, the strong appeal of Mycenaean lifestyle for local élites, who however plays always an active and selective role, and the existence of itinerant craftsmen. As far as the indigenous side is concerned, the patterns of distribution of Aegean elements hints to the existence of strong internal competition, with Thapsos aiming at playing the leading role in the relations with the outside and in controlling the internal circulation of imported goods.
Commercianti, architetti ed artigiani: riflessioni sulla presenza micenea nell'area iblea
MILITELLO, Pietro Maria
2004-01-01
Abstract
Traders, architects and craftsmen: Considerations on Mycenaean presence in the Hyblaean area This paper reviews the evidence of Mycenaeanisation from the area of Syracuse and Ragusa during the Sicilian Middle Bronze Age, in order to test the different models of interaction till now proposed. Imported items have been long known and studied, especially Mycenaean and Cypriot pottery from Thapsos, Syracuse, Matrensa, Plemmyrion, Cozzo del Pantano, Floridia and Buscemi. Jewellery from Thapsos, Syracuse and Cozzo del Pantano can be added, even if amber and spacer beads may be of Northern origin, and a cylinder (?) seal from Syracuse of levantine manufacture. Bronzes have been considered mainly of local production, with only a few imported specimina. Imitation of Aegean pottery (both shapes and decoration) in local Thapsos ware is another well documented phenomenon, but it has nothing to do with the so called Italo-Mycenaean ware, with the exception, perhaps, of Cypriot pottery perhaps locally made. As far as architecture is concerned, a thoroughly reexamination of complexes A and B of the II phase of Thapsos settlement allows us to consider them as a result of a formalisation of a local tradition carried on by an Aegean architect using experience from the Levant. The internal arrangement of the building is, however, purely local, and excludes its use by an "Aegean" community. A similar phenomenon can be found in the excavated tholos tomb, which can be considered the result of an Aegean restyling of the traditional rock-cut tomb. Taken together, however, all this signs of Aegean influence show different patterns of distribution (imported items only in the area around Thapsos and Syracuse, tholos tomb type widely diffused also in the area around the Irminio and Cava d'Ispica, but almost absent in Thapsos, no Mycenaean pottery found in a true tholos tomb). To sum up, an apparent contrasting picture emerges from the review of the evidence. While there is no proof of the existence of a Mycenaean community in Thapsos or elsewhere, the deep influence in pottery, figurines and architecture hints at the existence of direct and long contacts; it is not possible however to identify a single source of origin for Mycenaean elements present in this area, while they can be attributed to the Levantine and Cypriot area, to Argolid or to Messenia. This apparent contradictions can be solved by the long acquaintance between this area and the Helladic world, begun already during the Castelluccio period, the strong appeal of Mycenaean lifestyle for local élites, who however plays always an active and selective role, and the existence of itinerant craftsmen. As far as the indigenous side is concerned, the patterns of distribution of Aegean elements hints to the existence of strong internal competition, with Thapsos aiming at playing the leading role in the relations with the outside and in controlling the internal circulation of imported goods.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
