On the periphery of the periphery. Contacts between coastal and inland sites in south-eastern Sicily during the Middle Bronze Age - The Middle Bronze Age (according to the traditional terminology of Sicilian protohistory; Middle Bronze Age 3 in the rest of the Italian peninsula: 1450-1270 BC) is the time when the island effectively entered the trade routes between the central Mediterranean and the Aegean. Thapsos, on the east coast, Cannatello, near the south, and, probably, Mozia, at the western end, acted as hubs for the encounter and dissemination of elements, both material and cultural, from outside. These centers show, in fact, a significant projection towards the sea, and constitute evidence of relations and mobility even over long distances. Our contribution intends to investigate the routes linking the coastal centres and the inland areas, and the relative nodes of a network of relations between the eastern and southern coasts, both through the river valleys that penetrate to the heart of the Hyblean area, and through Plain of Catania and the course of the Margi River, to the territory of Caltagirone and from there to the southern coast, across the plain of Gela. The recent discovery of fragments belonging to a threehandled jar datable to LH IIIA1, in one of the caves in the hill of Marineo (Licodia Eubea - CT), from the Middle Bronze Age levels, together with a spearhead and a dagger, is the starting point for addressing the question of the existence of connection routes between the ‘Mycenaeanised’ sites of the east coast and those of the inland, where evidence of the Aegean type, until now, was extremely rare and limited, as we know, to a stirrup jar of Buscemi and an alabastron of Floridia, which can be dated to a slightly later phase (LH IIIB). A triton shell is associated with these objects, and it constitutes an important link with the Aegean symbolic sphere. The results of the new research give evidence to the ability of the indigenous communities in this part of Sicily, similarly to what has been observed for the central-southern area, to assimilate stimuli from the Aegean world, via the groups residing along the coasts, not only limited to the acquisition of objects of foreign origin, but also to the reworking of cultural and symbolic aspects.
Alla periferia della periferia. Contatti tra siti costieri e aree interne della Sicilia sud-orientale durante la media età del Bronzo
Orazio Palio;
2024-01-01
Abstract
On the periphery of the periphery. Contacts between coastal and inland sites in south-eastern Sicily during the Middle Bronze Age - The Middle Bronze Age (according to the traditional terminology of Sicilian protohistory; Middle Bronze Age 3 in the rest of the Italian peninsula: 1450-1270 BC) is the time when the island effectively entered the trade routes between the central Mediterranean and the Aegean. Thapsos, on the east coast, Cannatello, near the south, and, probably, Mozia, at the western end, acted as hubs for the encounter and dissemination of elements, both material and cultural, from outside. These centers show, in fact, a significant projection towards the sea, and constitute evidence of relations and mobility even over long distances. Our contribution intends to investigate the routes linking the coastal centres and the inland areas, and the relative nodes of a network of relations between the eastern and southern coasts, both through the river valleys that penetrate to the heart of the Hyblean area, and through Plain of Catania and the course of the Margi River, to the territory of Caltagirone and from there to the southern coast, across the plain of Gela. The recent discovery of fragments belonging to a threehandled jar datable to LH IIIA1, in one of the caves in the hill of Marineo (Licodia Eubea - CT), from the Middle Bronze Age levels, together with a spearhead and a dagger, is the starting point for addressing the question of the existence of connection routes between the ‘Mycenaeanised’ sites of the east coast and those of the inland, where evidence of the Aegean type, until now, was extremely rare and limited, as we know, to a stirrup jar of Buscemi and an alabastron of Floridia, which can be dated to a slightly later phase (LH IIIB). A triton shell is associated with these objects, and it constitutes an important link with the Aegean symbolic sphere. The results of the new research give evidence to the ability of the indigenous communities in this part of Sicily, similarly to what has been observed for the central-southern area, to assimilate stimuli from the Aegean world, via the groups residing along the coasts, not only limited to the acquisition of objects of foreign origin, but also to the reworking of cultural and symbolic aspects.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
