Roca Vecchia
Roca Vecchia (also Roca or Rocaveccia ) is the name of an archaeological site that is only a few hundred meters south of the modern village and fraction Roca Vecchia, which belongs to the municipality of Melendugno , and just under 8 kilometers east of the city center of Melendugno, in the Italian province of Lecce in Puglia is located.
The Roca Vecchia site mainly comprises a multi-phase, fortified settlement, which despite several destruction from 17th / 16th centuries. Century BC It was continuously inhabited until the early Iron Age (until the early 7th century BC) and from the 13th to the 11th century it probably also had a Mycenaean- Greek population. The very high number of both native and imported clay pots that came to light during the excavations in Roca Vecchia is unique. The very massive defensive wall that was built during the Middle Bronze Age is also unparalleled in the region. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance , the area was partially built over. Not far from there is a cave, the Grotta della Poesia, in which traces of prehistoric and ancient cult activities were found, in particular thousands of rock inscriptions, drawings or carvings from the 3rd millennium BC. BC to the time of the Roman Republic , including hundreds of Messapic graffiti . Remains of prehistoric and ancient necropolises have also been discovered in the area.
location
The excavation site is a few hundred meters southeast of the modern town on what is now an approximately circular peninsula jutting out into the sea. Through erosion , the size of the peninsula has since ancient times reduced. The settlement stretched over an area of at least five hectares during the Bronze Age. To the west of it there was very likely an extensive lagoon, so that the settlement could only be approached from the south-southwest. The naturally well-protected place was also always fortified inland with an imposing defensive wall.
Research history
The humanist Antonio De Ferrariis already reported in his work De situ Japigiae , written in 1510/11, of an ancient settlement under one of Walter VI. Fortress built by Brienne in the mid-14th century and called “Rocca”. The first systematic excavations were carried out by Guglielmo Paladini 1928–1932, during which, among other things, Hellenistic walls from the 4th / 3rd centuries. Century BC Were examined. 1945–1950 further archaeological research of the place and of necropolis in the area took place under the direction of Mario Bernardini and Giovanna Delli Ponti. In 1981 Roca Vecchia became part of a project by the University of Salento to explore the region between Otranto and San Cataldo ; Since 1987, under the direction of Cosimo Pagliara , the peninsula called "Area Castello" with the settlement that extends over it has been systematically explored.
Middle Bronze Age
The first settlement, which was built in the 17th and 16th centuries. Century BC BC, was protected towards the interior by a very massive defensive wall at least 200 meters long. With a main gate, which is up to 23 meters thick, as well as at least five posternes (side gates) or side gates, it is unique for the Italian Middle Bronze Age, its monumentality only finds parallels in the eastern Mediterranean and requires a high degree of social and economic organization. without which such buildings could not have been realized. The wall was restored several times and in the second phase of the settlement a trench was also carved into the rock, which was 2.5 meters wide and deep and over which a stone bridge led. Inside the main gate and the postern there were corridors and interiors, the roof of which - sometimes even a second floor - was supported by mighty wooden beams. The rooms could have served as places of refuge for the population during sieges, as indicated by the arrangement of various types of vessels as well as stone and bone tools that could be detected in some of these rooms.
In the third and final phase, the Middle Bronze Age settlement was destroyed by a major fire, probably as a result of a siege. The drama of this event, which took place in the second half of the 15th or the beginning of the 14th century, is shown by seven skeletons that were discovered in Poterne C together with numerous vessels: the seven people - a man, a woman, two young people and three children - died of smoke inhalation during the siege in which a fire broke out. Only after their death did the room collapse and bury the bodies. Another victim of this event is believed to have been an 18-20 year old man who died near the main gate - most likely as a result of stab wounds in the lumbar area - and was later buried under parts of the gate when it collapsed. A dagger of Aegean origin and an ivory head, probably from an oriental pyxis , were found near the remains of this man . It is unclear whether the dagger belonged to an attacker or a defender and how he got such an exclusive piece.
It is also noteworthy for this period that Roca Vecchia is one of the few sites in Apulia for which about 1400 BC. Contacts with Greece could be proven - mainly through Mycenaean fragments of vessels from the Late Helladic II A and B (15th century according to traditional chronology ), which were discovered in the layers of the Middle Bronze Age.
Late Bronze Age
After the last Middle Bronze Age settlement was destroyed, it was quickly rebuilt and the walls were reinforced again. A new gate was created. It is noticeable that hardly any wood was used when erecting the building, but all the more limestone blocks . Another difference to the Middle Bronze Age settlement is the lack of smaller posterns in the defensive wall. The settlement shows traces of several fire disasters. Furthermore, the archaeological research showed that Roca Vecchia was well structured at that time, with main streets and quarters for cult activities and quarters for specialized production facilities. During the excavations, large amounts of local impasto ceramics , but also a high proportion of Mycenaean ceramics were brought to light. The latter dates to the 13th and 12th centuries BC. Chr. (Periods SH III B and III C) and encountered in an abundance of different vessel shapes. A distinction must be made between various open forms for enjoying beverages and food and closed, large vessels for transporting or storing goods. It is noteworthy that Aegean-looking ceramics were now also produced locally: in addition to so-called Italo-Mycenaean ceramics, also gray-polished goods and vessel shapes that were previously unfamiliar to Impasto ceramics .
In addition, traces of a large number of plants and animals have been detected, which not only provide information about the food habits of the population, but also about the other uses of animal materials that were further processed.
End Bronze Age and Early Iron Age
The Late Bronze Age layers date from the 11th to the beginning or the middle of the 10th century BC. The defensive wall was rebuilt and new buildings were built in the settlement. It is noticeable that significantly more wood was used than in the previous period. The interior development was very planned in a right-angled scheme. However, in terms of area, the settlement was somewhat smaller. In this phase, too, contacts with Greece did not break away, as did imported Late and Sub-Mycenaean ceramics from the 11th century BC. BC, which came to light together with indigenous impasto goods and southern Italian protogeometric ceramics (formerly mostly called “ japygic protogeometric ”). In a room that is associated with ritual acts (the so-called “hut temple”), two alleged hoards came to light: a gold and a bronze hort. Among the finds were two golden discs of the sun.
Even after it was destroyed by fire in the 10th century BC The settlement was not abandoned, but quickly rebuilt. The weir system, however, was no longer restored, but also not removed. Also in this period of the early Italian Iron Age, in the Roca Vecchia from the 10th to the 7th century BC. Was inhabited, the settlement continued to be of strategic importance. There is no evidence of any contact with Greece in the early phases, but trans-Adriatic trade flourished again in the 8th century, as shown by amphorae and other high-quality vessels made in Corinth or Kerkyra . Roca Vecchia was probably an important stopover for pre- and early colonial trade with other regions of Italy and Sicily. There are also strong signs of cultic acts and (burial) rituals, especially in the vicinity of the crumbling Bronze Age defensive wall. The excavators suspect a "cult of the ruins" or of ancient memory.
Grotta della Poesia
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Not far from the prehistoric settlement is the Grotta della Poesia, an elliptical cave for which human activities have been documented since the Neolithic . Its name is derived from the Middle Greek Πόσις , which refers to a source of drinking water that used to exist here. While the access and parts of the cave are under water today, they were dry in earlier times. Also the roof of the cave collapsed after ancient times. The cave was used for cultic purposes for a very long period of time, as evidenced by numerous rock paintings and graffiti . The oldest, but also the worst preserved traces come from the Neolithic and show hands, feet, human, animal or abstract motifs. Close parallels can be found in the Grotta dei Cervi near Porto Badisco (municipality of Otranto ), about 25 km away . Furthermore, numerous inscriptions and graffiti from the 4th to the late 2nd century BC were found in the cave. They are written partly in Messapic , partly in Latin , and an inscription is in ancient Greek . These votive inscriptions testify to the worship of the local deity Thaotor Andirahas (or Latin: Tutor Andraios ) and come from people of different social origins.
literature
- Riccardo Guglielmino: Roca Vecchia (Lecce). New Evidence for Aegean Contacts with Apulia During the Late Bronze Age. , Accordia Research Papers 10 (2006), pp. 87-102.
- Teodoro Scarano: Refuge or dwelling place? The MBA fortification wall of Roca (Lecce, Italy): the spatial and functional analysis of postern C. Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche 61 (2012), pp. 95-122.
- Teodoro Scarano: The Siege of the Bronze Age Fortifications of Roca Vecchia. In: Harald Meller - Michael Schefzik (Ed.): War. An archaeological search for traces. Accompanying volume for the special exhibition in the Prehistoric Museum Halle (Saale) November 6, 2015 to May 22, 2016. Theiss, Halle (Saale) 2015, pp. 309–311.
Web links
- Reports of the excavations on the website of the University of Salento
- Information on the Roca Vecchia faction
Remarks
- ^ Teodoro Scarano: Refuge or dwelling place? The MBA fortification wall of Roca (Lecce, Italy): the spatial and functional analysis of postern C. Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche 61 (2012), p. 95.
- ↑ Reinhard Jung: ΧΡΟΝΟΛΟΓΙΑ COMPARATA. Comparative chronology of southern Greece and southern Italy from approx. 1700/1600 to 1000 BCE Vienna 2006, p. 94.
- ↑ Angelo Romano: De Ferrariis, Antonio , Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 33, 1987 - online at Treccani.it
- ^ Oldest surviving edition, printed in Basel in 1558
- ^ Teodoro Scarano: Refuge or dwelling place? The MBA fortification wall of Roca (Lecce, Italy): the spatial and functional analysis of postern C. Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche 61 (2012), p. 100ff.
- ↑ Teodoro Scarano - Giovanna Maggiulli: The golden sun discs from Roca Vecchia, Lecce, Italy: archaeological and cultural context. in: Harald Meller - Roberto Risch - Ernst Pernicka (ed.): Metals of Power - Early Gold and Silver. Metals of power - Early gold and silver. Conferences of the State Museum for Prehistory Halle Volume 11 / II, 2014, p. 508.
- ^ Francesco Iacono: The Archeology of Late Bronze Age Interaction and Mobility at the Gates of Europe. People, Things and Networks around the Southern Adriatic Sea. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018, pp. 176f.
- ↑ On this in detail Teodoro Scarano - Giovanna Maggiulli: The golden sun discs from Roca Vecchia, Lecce, Italy: archaeological and cultural context. in: Harald Meller - Roberto Risch - Ernst Pernicka (ed.): Metals of Power - Early Gold and Silver. Metals of power - Early gold and silver. Conferences of the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle Volume 11 / II, 2014, pp. 505–526.
Coordinates: 40 ° 17 ′ 16 ″ N , 18 ° 25 ′ 36 ″ E