Thapsos

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Grave in Thapsos
Pottery from Thapsos in the Syracuse Archaeological Museum

Thapsos is the name of an archaeological site on the Magnisi peninsula, in eastern Sicily , whose ancient name was also Thapsos. Thapsos is best known for the Bronze Age settlement discovered here and the associated necropolis, which consist of around 300 rock chamber tombs . The Middle Bronze Age Sicilian Thapsos culture was named after the site. Thapsos was an important point of contact for the seafaring trade, as evidenced by numerous finds of Mycenaean , but partly also of Cypriot and Maltese origin. In research it is therefore often assumed that Thapsos was an Emporion .

Geographical location

Area archeologica of Thapsos

Thapsos is located about 18 km northwest of Syracuse in the Syracuse Free Parish Consortium on the territory of the municipality of Priolo Gargallo . The settlement, the largest dimension of which is estimated to be around 1000 × 300 meters, is located in the west of the Magnisi peninsula, directly east of a narrow isthmus that connects the peninsula with the hinterland. The more than 300 graves are mainly concentrated in the north and east of the peninsula. The location offered two good anchorages in the west of the peninsula, north and south of the isthmus.

Research history

The excavations began in the 19th century, initially by Francesco Saverio Cavallari (from 1879), later under the direction of Paolo Orsi . The necropolis was researched and over 100 graves were excavated. Orsi published the results of these early excavation campaigns in 1895. It was not until much later that parts of the settlement were discovered and explored first by Bernabò Brea (from 1964), then intensively by Giuseppe Voza (from 1968). Above all, a northern settlement district with predominantly round huts and a central quarter were excavated in which buildings with a rectangular floor plan and three long building complexes were uncovered, which in their complexity are quite atypical for the Sicilian Bronze Age. The moving finds are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Syracuse . Despite the long, intensive research into Thapsos, there is still no monograph on this site of the Thapsos culture .

chronology

The vast majority of the finds of indigenous ceramics and other everyday objects can be assigned to the Thapsos culture, which Bernabò Brea, mainly based on the association of artifacts of the Thapsos culture with well datable Mycenaean ceramics , from approx. 1450–1270 BC. Started. The finds in the necropolis of Thapsos were also and especially taken into account. The time approaches of Bernabò Brea for the Thapsos and the closely related, parallel running Milazzese culture of the Aeolian Islands, which have only been slightly modified since then, have been accepted in research and have since been confirmed by new discoveries and more recent analyzes.

Overview of excavations and sites

After excavating the settlement in the late 1960s and 1970s, Giuseppe Voza distinguished three successive settlement phases for the Thapsos site: Phase 1 he assigned the northern part of the settlement and round huts in the central area and dated them from the second half of the 15th century to in the late 14th century BC Phase 2 according to Voza covers the period from about 1300 BC. Until the first half of the 11th century BC He assigned two monumental building complexes (A and B) in the center of the settlement to it, while the northern quarter was no longer in use at that time. Phase 3 dated Voza from the middle of the 11th century to the 9th century BC. Rectangular huts and the third building complex (C) belonged to it. Voza's relative and absolute chronological inferences were mainly based on typological considerations related to architecture. Since in complex C ceramics of the type Cassabile from the End Bronze Age (10th / 9th centuries BC) discovered and Voza assumed that Thapsos had previously been permanently settled, his phase 2 and - in his opinion, the subsequent one - took a long time - Phase 3 on. Fragments of Mycenaean pottery , which were also found in small numbers in the settlement, were not taken into account for the dating; in any case, no stratigraphic information was given about them .

Although important publications were based on the chronology of the three Middle and Late Bronze Age phases, which was later only slightly modified by Vozas, his assignments and dates harbor some problems and inconsistencies. With uninterrupted settlement from the 13th to the beginning of the 11th century, Vozas' phase 2, the lack of Mycenaean ceramics from the middle of the 13th century is astonishing. Furthermore, no pottery of the Pantalica Nord type (named after the necropolis of Pantalica ) was discovered in Thapsos, which follows the Thapsos culture at other sites and possibly overlaps with it at the beginning. With a permanent settlement over the first half of the 13th century, this would also have been expected in Thapsos. The only clear evidence for a settlement of Thapsos in a much later period are the above-mentioned Cassabile-style finds from the end of the Bronze Age.

In 2007 Giuseppe Alberti published a heavily modified chronology for the settlement of Thapsos, which was received positively in the professional world and which is now e.g. B. The Cambridge Prehistory of the Bronze and Iron Age Mediterranean from 2015 follows. According to Alberti, the round huts in the central quarter and the northern quarter (Vozas phase I) were built from the late 15th century to the first half or middle of the 13th century BC. Built and used, which corresponds to the phases SH  III A1 to SH III B1 of the Greek mainland, from which Mycenaean pottery was found in Thapsos. This occupancy time thus overlaps with that of the rectangular huts and the large building complexes (Votas phases II and III), for which Alberti a period from the first half of the 14th to the first half / middle of the 13th century BC. Chr. Assumes. He also assumes that building complex C will be settled late in the end bronze age, which roughly corresponds to phase III of Voza.

Archaeological evidence

The earliest traces of human activity date back to the early Sicilian Bronze Age (approx. 2300–1700 / 1450 BC). It was named after the Thapsos culture (around the middle of the 15th to around 1270 BC, however, due to the Middle Bronze Age settlement and numerous grave finds. This was an independent Sicilian culture, which is closely related to the Milazzese culture of the Lipari Islands revealed, but according to the archaeological finds it differs significantly from the cultures on the Italian mainland - except for parts of Calabria. In particular with regard to some buildings within the settlement and some types of graves, Thapsos has peculiarities that have not yet been found at other sites of the Thapsos culture were observed.

The settlement

Round hut
Reconstruction model

The excavations to date have uncovered two main areas of the settlement: a northern and a central one. The northern quarter is mainly characterized by one-room huts with round, often circular to oval, sometimes semicircular floor plans. Post holes arranged in a circle inside the huts prove that the roofs were supported by vertical wooden posts. Some round huts had rectangular extensions. There were narrow paths between them.

The central area, which is also known as the “Residenzviertel”, consists of huts with a round floor plan as well as buildings with a rectangular floor plan. The research pays particular attention to three long, rectangular complexes (AC) in the “residential district”, which were divided inside by walls into right-angled rooms and are unique in this type and extent for the Bronze Age Sicily. The rooms within the complex mostly had benches on the inside of the walls. Some rooms were grouped around an inner courtyard. The function of these complexes, which in addition to local artifacts also contained Maltese Borg in Nadur ceramics, is unclear and controversial. In addition, streets were discovered in the "Residenzvirtel", the course of which appears to be much more planned than in the northern quarter. Overall, the central quarter has strong protourbane features.

The necropolis

About 300 graves were discovered in the necropolises in the north, east and south of the peninsula, of which Paolo Orsi has already researched about 100. A few more were excavated from the 1970s. However, only 67 of the graves are published. The most extensive necropolis is at the northern end of the peninsula. Most of them are rock chamber tombs that were usually used for several burials. The number varies from one to forty-nine buried individuals in the graves so far explored. Most of the graves were in poor condition when they were found, due to the seawater that entered them during storms. The access to the graves, which was sometimes greatly lengthened to a dromos , led to a chamber of varying shapes carved into the rock. Some chambers were tholos-like in shape. On the sides of the chambers there were often different numbers of burial niches in which the dead were usually buried.

Some of the graves were richly furnished. Clay vessels, knives, swords, jewelry made of gold, bronze, amber , faience and ivory as well as everyday objects were discovered as additions . Mycenaean, Cypriot and Maltese clay pots were also found. However, the number of graves in which very valuable and / or foreign grave goods were found is significantly smaller than the number of graves that contained comparatively modest, native grave goods.

Importance of Thapsos as a trading center

Thapsos gained attention in research mainly because of finds from Mycenaean imports, which on the one hand facilitate dating and on the other hand testify to Thapsos' importance at least as a trading partner of the Aegean world. In addition, some of the rock chamber tombs, especially those with a tholos-like shape, as well as the AC building complexes in the “Residenzviertel” were seen as being influenced at least by the Mycenaean or the Cypriot Bronze Age cultures. Opinions that Thapsos could be a Mycenaean settlement or colony contradicts the fact that hardly any Mycenaean ceramics were found within the settlement, but rather local goods clearly predominate; Even finds of Maltese Borg-in-Nadur pottery are more common in the settlement than Mycenaean pottery. Of the total of 67 published graves, 58 contained grave goods, 23 of which were clearly of Aegean origin. The fact that Thapsos was one of the most important centers for long-distance trade in the western Mediterranean is undisputed in research. However, it is controversial whether Mycenaean Greeks (e.g. traders and craftsmen) also lived permanently in Thapsos and how high their number was in relation to the total population. Closely related to this is the question of whether the atypical building complexes in the center of the settlement and the tholos-like tombs go back to strong Mycenaean or Cypriot influence or whether they were built by residents of Eastern Mediterranean origin.

Later development

According to Thucydides , 730 BC The Greeks settled on the peninsula under the leadership of Lamis of Megara . When Lamis died soon afterwards, they moved on, around 729 BC. To found the colony Megara Hyblaea , which is about 8 km northwest of Thapsos.

literature

  • Giuseppe Voza: Thapsos. , in: Paula Pelagatti, Giuseppe Voza (Ed.): Archeologia nella Sicilia Sud-Orientale. Habelt, Naples 1973, pp. 30-52.
  • Giuseppe Voza: Thapsos. Resoconto sulle campagne di scavo del 1970–1971 . In: Atti della XV riunione scientifica: Verona-Trento, 27-29 ottobre 1972. Florence 1973, pp. 133-157.
  • Giuseppe Voza: Thapsos. Resoconto sulle campagne di Scavo del 1970–1971 . In: Atti XV Riunione Scientifica. Verona – Trento, 27-29 October 1972. Florence 1973, pp. 133-157.
  • Gert Jan van Wijngaarden : Use and Appreciation of Mycenaean Pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (1600-1200 BC). Amsterdam University Press, 2002, ISBN 978-90-5356-482-0 , pp. 229-236.
  • Gianmarco Alberti: Per una “gerarchia sociale” a Thapsos: analisi contestuale delle evidenze funerarie e segni di stratificazione . In: Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche , 56, 2006, pp. 369-427. ( Digitized on academia.edu )
  • Gianmarco Alberti: Minima Thapsiana. Riflessioni sulla cronologia dell'abitato di Thapsos. Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche 57 (2007), pp. 363–376 ( digitized on academia.edu)
  • Anthony Russell: In the Middle of the Corrupting Sea. Cultural Encounters in Sicily and Sardinia between 1450-900 BC Dissertation, University of Glasgow, 2011. pp. 102-127.

Web links

Commons : Thapsos  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Lord William Taylour: Mycenaean Pottery in Italy and adjacent areas. Cambridge 1958, p. 56
  2. ↑ cf. Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri : The Bronze Age in Sicily . In: Harry Fokkens, Anthony Harding (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook often the European Bronze Age . Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 659.
  3. ↑ Piccolo, Salvatore (2018). Bronze Age Sicily . Ancient History Encyclopedia.
  4. ↑ Paolo Orsi: Thapsos: necropoli sicula con vasi e bronci micenei . In: Monumenti Antichi dei Tincei 6, 1895, pp. 85-150.
  5. ^ Davide Tanasi: La Sicilia e l'arcipelago maltese nell'età del Bronzo Medio . Officina di Studi Medievali, 2008, p. 23 f. with references to the respective excavation publications
  6. ^ Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri: The Bronze Age in Sicily . In: Harry Fokkens, Anthony Harding (eds.): The Oxford Handbook often the European Bronze Age . Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 659.
  7. ^ For the first time in Luigi Bernabò Brea: La Sicilia prima dei Greci. Saggiatore, Milan 1958, pp. 119-153.
  8. ↑ Russell 2011, pp. 106ff.
  9. ↑ last: Giuseppe Voza: Nel segno dell'antico: archeologia nel territorio di Siracusa. , Lombardi 1999
  10. ↑ u. a. Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri: The Bronze Age in Sicily . In: Harry Fokkens, Anthony Harding (eds.): The Oxford Handbook often the European Bronze Age . Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 659-661.
  11. ↑ Mycenaean ceramics of the late Helladic phases III B2 and III C were not found in Thapsos either in the necropolis or in the settlement
  12. ^ Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri: The Bronze Age in Sicily , in: Harry Fokkens, Anthony Harding (ed.): The Oxford Handbook often the European Bronze Age . Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 663.
  13. ↑ Gianmarco Alberti: minima Thapsiana. Riflessioni sulla cronologiadell'abitato di Thapsos . In: Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche , 57, 2007, p. 364.
  14. ^ Davide Tanasi: La Sicilia e l'arcipelago maltese nell'età del Bronzo Medio. Officina di Studi Medievali, 2008 p. 24, which still followed Voza's chronology, mentions Alberti's hypotheses, published shortly before the completion of his work, as “molto convincente” (very convincing)
  15. ^ Edited by Bernard Knapp, Peter van Dommelen
  16. ^ Also meanwhile Daniele Tanasi: Living and Dying in a Foreign Country. Maltese Immigrants in Middle Bronze Age Sicily? In: D. Tanasi, NC Vella (Ed.): Site, Artefacts, Landscape: Prehistoric Borġ in-Nadur, Malta . In: Praehistorica Mediterranea , 3, Polymetroca, Monza 2011, pp. 283–337.
  17. ↑ see remarks on Bernabò Brea; Davide Tanasi ( La Sicilia e l'arcipelago maltese nell'età del Bronzo Medio , Officina di Studi Medievali, 2008 p. 5) gives a total period 1440/20 - 1270/50 BC. For the three phases of the Thapsos culture which he distinguished
  18. ^ Anna Maria Bietti Sestieri: The Bronze Age in Sicily . In: Harry Fokkens, Anthony Harding (eds.): The Oxford Handbook often the European Bronze Age . Oxford University Press, 2013, pp. 658 f.
  19. ↑ cf. Van Wijngaarden 2002, p. 206
  20. ↑ Russel 2011, p. 113 (with further evidence on different theories on function).
  21. ^ Gert Jan van Wijngaarden : Use and Appreciation of Mycenaean Pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy (1600-1200 BC). Amsterdam University Press, 2002, p. 229 note 8.
  22. ↑ z. B. still David Abulafia: The Mediterranean: A biography. S. Fischer, Frankfurt a. M. 2013, p. 34 f. (with reference to R. Ross Holloway : Italy and the Aegean, 3000-700 BC Louvain-La-Neuve 1981, pp. 87, 95), which however (see 35 ibid.) assumes a mixed population.
  23. ↑ Van Wijngaarden 2002, p. 231 f.
  24. ↑ Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 6, 4, 1,

Coordinates: 37 ° 9 ′ 13 ″  N , 15 ° 13 ′ 50 ″  E