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Idea Transcript


Bova Marina Archaeological Project: Survey and Excavations at Umbro

Preliminary Report, 1999 Season

edited by John Robb with contributions by Marina Ciaraldi, Lin Foxhall, Doortje Van Hove, and David Yoon

Department of Archaeology University of Southampton Southampton SO17 1BJ United Kingdom tel. 00-44-23-80592247 fax 00-44-23-80593032 email [email protected]

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dottoressa Elena Lattanzi, Soprintendente, and Dottoressa Emilia Andronico, Ispettrice, of the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Calabria, for their help and guidance in this research. As in past years, we are grateful to Sebastiano Stranges and to Luigi Saccà for their help, advice, and friendship; to Brian McConnell and Laura Maniscalco for archaeological advice; to our landlords, Antonino and Silvana Scordo, and to our cooks, Mariella Catalano and Annunziata Caracciolo. Mary Anne Tafuri translated the project summary and Fiona Coward helped assemble the final documentation. Finally, I would like to thank the field staff (David Yoon, Lin Foxhall, Paula Lazrus, Keri Brown and Starr Farr) and post-excavation staff and analysts (Umberto Albarella, Marina Ciaraldi, Sonia Collins, Kathryn Knowles, Doortje Van Hove, Jayne Watts, and David Williams) for their expertise, and all the crew members listed below for their hard work and enthusiasm. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the British Academy (Excavation Grant A-AN4798/APN7493 Supplementary post-excavation funding), the Arts and Humanities Research Board (Research Grant AHRB/RGAN4798/APN8592), the Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, and the School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester.

BOVA MARINA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT: CREW, 1999 SEASON Director Survey Co-Director Survey Co-Director Field Supervisor Field Supervisor Lab Manager Artist (Southampton) Computing (Southampton) Faunal analysis (Birmingham) Paleobotany (Birmingham) Cook Cook Crew Members

John Robb David Yoon Lin Foxhall Keri Brown Paula Kay Lazrus Starr Farr Kathryn Knowles Doortje Van Hove Umberto Albarella Marina Ciaraldi Mariella Catalano Annunziata Caracciolo Siân Anthony Francesca Binyon Rebecca Crowson-Towers Glenn Dunaway Lauren Dumford Mark Ellis Anne Forbes Helen Forbes Janet Forbes Lucy Heaver Alex Hopson Jenny House Charlotte John Claire Rees Kathryn Simms Barney Skinner Jayne Watts Matthew Wortley Johanna Farr Nicholas Robb

Child Infant

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Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

RIASSUNTO ITALIANO Nel 1999, il Progetto Archeologico Bova Marina ha intrapreso la sua terza campagna di scavo. Le finalità principali della ricerca includevano l’attività di ricognizione di varie zone intorno al comune di Bova Marina e lo scavo del sito preistorico di Umbro. Tali attività hanno avuto luogo dal 29 agosto al 26 settembre 1999, con un gruppo di 25 persone. I responsabili dello scavo erano John Robb (scavo preistorico e amministrazione generale), David Yoon (ricognizione di superficie, archeologia Romana) e Lin Foxhall (ricognizione di superficie, archeologia Greca). Ricognizione di superficie Finalità e metodi. Lo scopo principale dell’attività di ricognizione era rivolto alla comprensione dello sviluppo, avvenuto nel corso della preistoria ed in epoca storica, dei modelli insediamentali legati al territorio di Bova Marina. Si è continuato quanto intrapreso nel 1997 e 1998. Il metodo utilizzato consiste nel systematic transect walking, mediante il quale gruppi di 4-5 persone, poste ad intervalli di 10 m., camminano su territori delimitati registrandone le caratteristiche storiche e geografiche. Nel 1999, il nostro gruppo di ricognitori ha coperto una superficie di 102 ettari, portanto l’area totale finora esplorata sistematicamente a 274 ettari. Le zone ricognite comprendono due grossi appezzamenti contigui (intorno ad Umbro e nella zona costiera di San Pasquale), e numerose porzioni di territorio sparse intorno al comune. I lavori del 1997 e 1998 si erano concentrati prevalentemente nei territori di Umbro e San Pasquale. Nel 1999, la direzione della ricerca era rivolta ad estendere la porzione di territorio ispezionato ad ambienti nuovi come colline e pianori interni. Tutti i ritrovamenti sono stati catalogati e datati per quanto possibile. E’ da tenere presente tuttavia che la sequenza cronologia della ceramica presente in questa regione è piuttosto variegata. Alcuni siti preistorici, chiaramente Neolitici, possono essere facilmente individuati grazie alle decorazioni presenti sui frammenti ceramici. Tuttavia altri periodi, quali l’Eneolitico e l’età del Bronzo, sono caratterizzati da ceramica inornata la cui identificazione si basa, per la maggior parte dei casi, sulla forma del vaso, rendendo quindi molto difficile la lettura di frammenti di piccole dimensioni. Per il periodo storico, la ceramica Greca e Romana è facilmente identificabile, tuttavia, pochi dati si posseggono sulla ceramica medievale di questa regione, forse a causa dello scarso numero di siti medievali individuati. Risultati. Fino ad oggi sono stati identificati 37 siti che variano da una piccola concentrazione di frammenti preistorici non databili a grandi villagi di epoca Greca e Romana con complessa articolazione interna. I siti sono elencati e descritti al paragrafo 2.1.4. E’ da tenere presente che tale elenco aggiorna quello precedenemente fornito in quanto alcuni siti scoperti nel passato sono stati successivamente ridatati. Nel considerare i siti in ordine cronologico, fino ad oggi, non si ha traccia di attività Paleolitica o Mesolitica. I siti di epoca Neolitica sono manifestati in una numerosa varietà che comprende terrazzi costieri, basse colline prospicenti valli fluviali e pianori interni. Non si sono evidenziati insediamenti riferibili all’Eneolitico o all’età del Bronzo (benché tracce di frequentazione di età del Bronzo sono state messe in evidenza durante gli scavi ad Umbro, cfr. più avanti); tale aspetto può essere riferibile in parte a problemi di datazione dei pezzi raccolti durante l’attività di ricognizione (vedi sopra). Le testimonianze di epoca Greca includono un grande villaggio (Mazza, cfr. più avanti), e numerosi piccoli cascinali interni (siti 18 e 33). Molti sono situati su alti terrazzi. In epoca Romana si hanno per la prima volta tracce di siti su fondo valle, che suggeriscono il passaggio a forme di agricoltura intensiva. I resti ceramici di epoca Greca e Romana mostrano due apici: uno che va dal periodo Tardo Arcaico a quello Classico (VI-V secolo a.C.) e l’altro in epoca Imperiale (III-V sec d.C.). Gli insediamenti più tardi sembrano occupare gli stessi territori, ma in minore consistenza, fino all’VIII sec. circa. L’epoca Medievale rimane oscura tuttavia nel XIX sec. si registrano di nuovo numerosi insediamenti a carattere rurale. Oltre all’attività di ricognizione sono state portate a termine numerose indagini secondarie rivolte allo studio dell’uso del territorio. Esse comprendono il riconoscimento, in ambito geologico, di quelle materie prime che possono essere state utili in epoca preistorica (da continuare nel 2000), e il GIS (Geographical Information System) computer modelling volto alla ricostruzione delle antiche dinamiche di sfruttamento del territorio in termini di esigenze relative ai diversi modelli economici preistorici. Raccolta di superficie intensiva dal sito di Mazza. Si è intrapresa una raccolta di superficie intensiva sul sito Greco di Mazza. Questo ampio villaggio ha finora restituito le uniche ceramice Greche di imporazione del periodo arcaico/classico, un possibile frammento Attico ed un possibile frammento Laconico. Le finalità della raccolta intensiva erano di determinare i limiti geografici, l’intervallo cronologico e la distribuzione spaziale interna del sito. Come prima cosa è stata stabilita una griglia di punti di riferimento su tutto il sito e sono stati collocati punti di raccolta ogni 30 metri all’interno della stessa. Si è poi proceduto alla raccolta di tutti i manufatti presenti in un’area di 10 metri quadrati per ogni punto di raccolta. I risultati potranno essere

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Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

analizzati quantitativamente. L’analisi dei dati provenienti dal sito di Mazza è ancora in corso, tuttavia alcune considerazioni sono già possibili. Il sito sembra possedere una componente Romana preponderante che si aggiunge alle evidenze di epoca Greca. Un considerevole numero di tegole di epoca Romana, insieme a tegole di epoca Greca, è stato ritrovato nella parte alta del sito. Tegole di epoca Greca sono state ritrovate in piccole quantità sul resto della zona superiore del sito e sul fianco sud-est della collina. La ceramica fine Greca comprende una considerevole quantità di tazze di fattura locale e forme a cratere. Gli affioramenti rocciosi presenti nella parte centrale del sito somigliano a quelli utilizzati nelle fondazioni di Locri Epizephyrii, e possono essere aver avuto lo stesso scopo. L’insediamento si estende con minore densità su tutto il pianoro di Mazza. Il limite meridionale del sito potrebbe essere stato, in antico, una zona industriale, come testimonia l’alta concentrazione di resti di fusione e lavorazione dei metalli. Resti di concotto e scorie di fornace sono stati raccolti e sono attualmente in corso di analisi presso l’Univesità di Leicester. Il sito di Mazza è stato abitato lungo un ampio arco cronologico durante il periodo classico. I materiali raccolti hanno indicato la presenza sia di abitazioni che di attività industrali nonché di un probabile grande edificio in prossimità della sommità del sito. Si è accertata inoltre la presenza di ceramica preistorica. Studi futuri sul sito si concentreranno sulla relazione tra lo stesso e le città di Reggio e Locri Epizephyrii e sulle problematiche relative all’occupazione indigena della zona. L’individuazione, nell’area studiata, di una serie di piccoli insediamenti rurali Greci e la considerevole distanza da qualsiasi città Greca rappresentano un interessante aspetto da analizzare nella comprensione della colonizzazione Greca e dell’occupazione di territori rurali a scopo coloniale. In genere, gli studi sulla colonizzazione Greca si sono concentrati su informazioni provenienti da siti urbani come Locri e dalle zone circostanti come Metaponto. Le datazioni antiche di alcuni siti provenienti dalla ricognizione di Bova sono sorprendenti, esse potrebbero indicare che l’insediamento Greco si sia diffuso ampiamente sul territorio coloniale nell’arco di poche generazioni, o che le popolazioni indigene si siano, almeno in parte, ellenizzate piuttosto rapidamente. La funzione di questi siti, e la loro relazione con le città Greche rimane piuttosto incerta, non si hanno inoltre informazioni circa una occupazione autoctona che sia essa contemporanea o leggermente più antica. Lo scavo di un insediamento Greco di piccole dimensioni come il sito 18 (Umbro) potrebbe fornire dati da mettere in relazione con siti urbani come Locri o ‘cascinali’ presenti su territorio Greco, allo scopo di risolvere alcune questioni. Note su siti soggetti a minaccia. Benché numerosi degli insediamenti presenti nel comune di Bova Marina siano stati danneggiati dall’erosione o da processi geomorfologici, alcuni dei siti osservati sono risultati soggetti ad azioni distruttive provocate dall’uomo quali, ad esempio, l’attività edilizia. Tutti i siti minacciati sono a conoscenza della Soprintendenza; questi includono principalmente la villa Romana o cascinale di Panaghia, San Pasquale, in corso di danneggiamento da attività di costruzione e attualmente vincolato, e la villa Romana o insediamento urbano di Torrente Siderone (Amigdala), sotto la SS 106 presso la città moderna di Bova Marina, attualmente in corso di scavo da parte della Soprintendenza. Scavi ad Umbro Umbro appare come un complesso sito a più fasi, posto a circa 4 km nell’entroterra, in prossimità dell’antico confine tra i comuni di Bova Marina e Bova Superiore. Scoperto nel 1990 da S. Stranges e L. Saccà, il sito è stato soggetto a ripetute attività di raccolta di superficie e, nel 1998, ad una nostra prima campagna di scavo. Lo scavo del 1998 stabilì che l’insediamento consisteva di una piccola area, alla base di un dirupo intensamente occupato durante il Neolitico, e di numerose concentrazioni di materiale, alla sommità dello stesso, probabilmente di età del Bronzo. L’insediamento Neolitico principale ha restituito una datazione al radiocarbonio che va dalla metà del VI millennio BC alla metà del V millennio BC (Stentinello). E’ inoltre attestata l’occupazione durante la facies di Diana e, probabilmente in maniera sporadica, durante l’età del Rame. Nel 1999, i lavori si sono concentrati in tre trincee: la Trincea 1, la Trincea 6 e la Trincea 7. Trincea 1: l’area Neolitica. Tale trincea fu iniziata sottoforma di sondaggio stratigrafico nel 1998 ed esteso allo scopo di comprendere la zona centrale del sito di epoca Neolitica posto alla base del dirupo. Essa comprendeva una trincea di un metro per sei metri, con una piccola estensione laterale al centro. Gli scavi sono proceduti in aree di un metro quadrato con tagli arbitrari di 10 cm.; il terreno rimosso è stato setacciato in griglie di 5 mm. Gli scavi sono proceduti fino ad arrivare alla base rocciosa nella parte meridionale della trincea; nel margine settentrionale della stessa lo scavo si è interrotto ad 1,5 m. dal piano di calpestio; il materiale antropico presente a questa profondità era considerevolmente diminuito. La Trincea 1 ha restituito numerosi manufatti Neolitici, ma nessuna evidenza di strutture abitative quali capanne. E’ evidente che il sito consisteva in un’area ristretta (con uno spazio abitativo di forse 20 metri quadrati), occupata da piccoli gruppi di persone lungo il corso di diversi millenni. Tutti i manufatti erano considerevolmente frammentati. Sono stati identificati in tutto cinque strati. Lo Strato I consisteva di 5-10 cm. di terreno di superficie inquinato. Lo Strato II era formato da uno spesso livello di sedimento bruno chiaro con

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Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

abbondante presenza di materiale roccioso di crollo, probabilmente disturbato sian in epoca recente che in antico. Gli Strati I e II contenevano manufatti di tutti i periodi. Lo Strato III, di sedimento chiaro giallognolo, conteneva materiale roccioso di crollo di diverse dimensioni e una serie di lenti sabbiose apparentemente derivate dal disgregamento dei frammenti rocciosi. Il materiale ceramico presente è riferibile alle facies di Stentinello e Diana, e sembra essere riferibile a fasi di Diana con presenza di intrusioni di epoche precedenti; ciò non sorprende visto che l’area Neolitica è posta sul fondo di un bacino roccioso. Lo Strato IV consiste di un terreno più denso e compatto di colore bruno. Esso contiene prevalentemente ceramica di tipo Stentinello ed è databile al V millennio BC. In ultimo, lo Strato V è alla base dell’area scavata e contiene terreno argilloso di colore bruno scruro con presenza di ceramica Stentinello databile al VI millennio BC. I manufatti Neolitici raccolti comprendono ceramica tipica degli stili di Stentinello e Diana, alcuni esempi di ceramia Neolitica di altro tipo, quali ceramica a pittura rossa, ed alcuni probabili frammenti di epoca Eneolitica (prevalentemente dagli Strati II e III). L’industria litica era ricca di ossidiana ed includeva numerose piccole schegge e lamelle. Sono state ritrovate un’ascia in anfibolite ed una piccola riproduzione di ascia in fillite, si è attestata inoltre la presenza di numerosi ciottoli in pietra metamorfica di importazione, alcune macine e alcuni frammenti di concotto e di ocra rossa. I resti faunistici non sono ancora stati studiati, tuttavia è già evidente la preponderanza degli ovini e dei caprini, con presenza di maiale; i bovini sono scarsamente rappesentati e l’ittiofauna è assente. Sono stati conservati campioni di flottazione provenienti da ogni Strato. L’analisi dei semi e dei resti vegetali carbonizzati mostrano che la coltura di alcune specie era praticata; i resti vegetali includono la veccia, il Triticum aestivum s.l., il Triticum dicoccum, e l’orzo. La Trincea 6: l’area di età del Bronzo. Nel 1999 si iniziata la pulitura del profilo della rupe dal quale la ceramica dilavava dal bordo accanto alla strada che attraversa il sito. Dal fianco del dirupo è emerso un vaso intero, si è così deciso di aprire una trincea per effettuare ulteriori indagini. Nel complesso si è messa in evidenza la deposizione di un gruppo di tre vasi comprendenti due tazzine attingitoio con ansa soprelevata ed una grande olla dotata di tre anse orizzontali poste vicino all’orlo. I vasi erano affiancati e posti su uno stesso piano di calpestio distinguibile da quella di riempimento sopra per la grandezza e l’orientamento delle pietre. Si è attestata la presenza di piccoli frammenti di concotto e carbone. Subito sotto il gruppo di vasi è stato ritrovato un inusuale frammento di corno fittile. Sulla superficie del battuto si è attestata la presenza di un crollo con pietre di medie e grandi dimensioni (fino a 30 cm. ca.). Il crollo sembrava di maggiore volume ed intensità ad est del gruppo di vasi. Non è chiaramente comprensibile se ci si trovi di fronte ad un fenomeno erosivo naturale o al crollo di qualche strutture abitativa. In termini di datazione, i vasi sono chiaramente riferibile al Bronzo Antico ed il corno fittile è tipico dello stile Rodì-Tindari-Vallelunga. In stretto accordo con quanto suggerito dallo stile ceramico, la datazione al radiocarbonio, fornita da un frammento di carbone proveniente dal piano di posa del gruppo dei vasi, è riferibile al 1720-1580 BC (cal.)(intervallo 2-sigma). Il gruppo ceramico della Trincea 6 potrebbe rappresentare quanto rimane del crollo di una capanna, benchè sono scarsi i resti di frequentazione domestica all’interno della trincea e segni di strutture tipiche dell’età del Bronzo quali capanne con soglie in pietra. Una seconda possibilità potrebbe essere rituale: i vasi potrebbero rappresentare una qualche deposizione rituale idiosincratica. Una terza possibilità è rappresentata da una eventuale deposizione funeraria. Confronti effettuati con contesti della Sicilia orientale hanno messo in evidenza la presenza ricorrente, durante il Bronzo Antico, di sepolture situate lungo margini scoscesi di pietra calcarea o di altro tipo, così come appare essere Umbro. Si tratta in genere di piccole camere artificiali raramente più grandi dei di 2 metri di diametro e 1,5 metri di altezza, spesso raggiungibili attraverso uno stretto passaggio. In diversi casi, inoltre, gli archeologi hanno messo in luce aree livellate o piattaforme che contenevano gruppi di vasi rappresentanti il corredo funerario volontariamente posto all’esterno della tomba piuttosto che all’interno di essa (es. Santa Febronia, Maniscalco, 1996). Trincea 7. La Trincea 7 consiste di un piccolo (un metro per un metro) pozzetto scavato immediatamento al di sotto del margine del dirupo, lungo il limite meridionale del bacino che racchiude il sito Neolitico. Si è sperato di recuperare in questa area materiale di epoca preistorica. Tuttavia, pochi resti sono stati ritrovati, e ad una profondità di 1,5 metri lo scavo della trincea è risultato impraticabile. Sondaggi di Scavo a San Pasquale Nel 1999 è stato sondato il sito Neolitico di San Pasqule, situato su di un basso terrazzo lungo il margine orientale della valle di S. Pasquale. Si è sperato di verificare la presenza di un “villaggio” Neolitico, per il quale la zona offriva le caratteritiche tipiche. Due pozzetti di un metro per un metro sono stati scavati in una zona situata lungo il margine occidentale del sito, dove in superficie emergevano frammenti di ceramica preistorica. I risultati si sono rivelati piuttosto scoraggianti. Entrambi i sondaggi hanno evidenziato che non esistevano depositi archeologici al di sotto dello strato superficiale; il terreno si è rapidamente trasformato in uno strato di sabbia sterile. Appare evidente che il materiale ceramico di epoca preistorica proviente dal “sito” deriva

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Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

dal dilavamento della collina posta a nord-est di esso, in parte coltivata ed in parte coperta da una fitta macchia mediterranea. Indagini future potrebbero concentrarsi sull’individuazione del sito originario. Indagini Future La campagna di scavo del 1999 ha aperto la strada a nuove prospettive di ricerca. Ricognizione. Nelle campagne future, speriamo di poter continuare ed incrementare l’attività di ricognizione, che stà fornendo nuove informazioni sull’utilizzazione del territorio. Allo stesso tempo speriamo di indagare due problemi metodologici. Ricognizioni di altura a Bova Superiore. Sia le indagini storiche che la nostra ricostruzione informatica al GIS hanno dimostrato l’importanza, in diversi periodi, degli insediamenti d’altura in zone interne. Un sondaggio basato solo sull’indagine di zone costiere sarebbe inevitabilmente incompleto e non potrebbe fornire l’intera consistenza e l’evoluzione delle dinamiche insediamentali del territorio di Bova Marina; questo potrebbe spiegare inoltre la scarsa presenza di siti di età del Ferro o di epoca Medievale. Nel continuare i sondaggi a Bova Marina, speriamo inoltre di poterci estendere al comune di Bova Superiore e di completare il quadro delle conoscenze sulle strategie insediamentali antiche, investigando un completa serie di diversi ambienti. Sondaggi di scavo in siti di superficie non datati. Sono inoltre stati ritrovati una serie di siti non datati che potrebbero rappresentare i nosti “periodi mancanti”. L’unico modo per indagare gli stessi consiste nello scavo programmato di sondaggi di un metro quadrato, in grado di fornire materiale datante meno danneggiato, campioni per datazioni assolute al radiocarbonio, ed informazioni sullo stato di conservazione del sito. Nell’immediato futuro ci auguriamo di poter sondare due aree entro un raggio di 200-300 metri dallo scavo di Umbro: Limaca, dove una concentrazione di materiale potrebbe rappresentare una successiva occupazione di età del Bronzo (si è ottenuto un permesso nel 1999 che è però arrivato troppo tardi perché si potesse praticamente procedere allo scavo); e una zona a circa 200 metri a sud-ovest di Umbro dove due concentrazioni di frammenti di epoca preistorica sono visibili in superficie. Quest’ultima potrebbe rappresentare un villaggio Neolitico all’aperto; si considera critica una eventuale verifica che possa permettere di comprendere le dinamiche insediamentali del territorio di Umbro. Lo scavo ad Umbro: Ci auguriamo di poter continuare gli scavi sia del sito Neolitico che di quello di età del Bronzo dell’area di Umbro. Gli scavi saranno limitati nelle finalità e si concentreranno sulla individuazione della base della stratigrafia, sulla verifica dell’esistenza di eventuali frequentazioni preNeolitiche e sul recupero di un maggior numero di campioni per analisi, per esempio, di tipo paleobotanico. Nell’area di età del Bronzo Antico (Trincea 6), speriamo di poter verificare la natura del gruppo ceramico, ovvero se formi o meno parte di una sepoltura. Altre attività di scavo: Come già accennato, l’area di Umbro è ricca di piccole concentrazioni di materiale archeologico. In alcune di esse ci auguriamo di poter effettuare dei sondaggi esplorativi (vedi sopra). Un ulteriore sito da indagare è rappresentato dal piccolo insediamento Greco posto a circa 200 meri a sud di Umbro. La presenza di piccoli insediamenti interni di epoca greca, come il cascinale di Umbro, si sono rivelati una scoperta sorprendente e potrebbero risultare di notevole importanza nella comprensione del processo di colonizzazione di questa zona.

Note sull’organizzazione della documentazione La documentazione relativa alla campagna del 1999 risulta divisa in due parti. La prima parte (questo volume) consiste in un rapporto descrittivo illustrato. La seconda parte è formata dalla compilazione di dati di appendice per il progetto e per gli archivi della Soprintendenza. Sono inclusi cataloghi degli oggetti suddivisi per provenienza e categoria di oggetto, disegni di tutti i frammenti diagnostici, il giornale di scavo e schede standard per siti, unità stratigrafiche e frammenti ceramici.

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Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

CONTENTS Riassunto Italiano

3

1. Introduction

8

2. Field Survey and Landscape Studies

9

2.1. Field Survey (David Yoon)

9

2.2. Intensive collections at Mazza (Lin Foxhall)

19

2.3. Geological reconnaissance

20

2.4. GIS analysis of land use (Doortje Van Hove)

21

3. The Excavations at Umbro

24

3.1. Introduction: previous work, goals and methods for this season

24

3.2. Description of 1999 Trenches

25

3.3. Other areas explored

30

4. Umbro Excavations: Description of Finds

32

4.1. Ceramics

32

4.2. Lithics

34

4.3. Other Artifacts: daub, worked shell and bone, ground and polished stone, and ochre 35 4.4. Faunal Remains and Human Remains

37

4.5. Paleobotanical Remains (Marina Ciaraldi)

38

5. Test Excavations at San Pasquale

41

6. Conclusions and Future Research Directions

43

6.1. Umbro: dating, stratigraphy, and site function

43

6.2. The Landscape of Bova Marina from Neolithic through Recent Times

43

6.3. Future Work

43

Bibliography

45

Figures and Tables

47

NOTE ON THE ORGANIZATION OF THIS REPORT Description of the 1999 field season is presented in two parts. This report, which comprises the first part, presents a self-contained, synthetic description of the survey, excavations and finds. The second part presents detailed records of various kinds for archive purposes: catalogs of finds inventoried within each artifact bag and listed by kind of artifact, ceramic inventories and drawings of all diagnostic sherds, the excavation diary, and so on.

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Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

1. INTRODUCTION 1999 was the third year of the Bova Marina Archaeological Project. In 1997, a small crew of 5 Southampton students led by John Robb carried out field survey in the comune of Bova Marina. In 1998, a larger crew of 10 Southampton students and about 5 staff, directed by John Robb and David Yoon, surveyed further areas, and excavated numerous exploratory trenches at the Neolithic site of Umbro.

(2) to carry out test excavations in the Neolithic site of San Pasquale, in order to assess its potential for large-scale excavations; (3) to continue the field survey, extending it to new areas, particularly inland; the overall survey goal is to understand the evolution of settlement in the area of Bova Marina throughout both prehistoric and historic times. In addition, we aimed to carry out a number of complementary minor projects such as GIS environmental modelling, geological raw materials survey, and intensive gridded collection at the Greek site of Mazza with the goal of clarifying its internal organization and evolution.

These campaigns are described in the 1997 and 1998 preliminary reports (Robb 1997; 1998), which also detail the circumstances in which fieldwork was carried out and the geography, geology, and archaeology of the region. To avoid repetition, these topics will not be extensively described here.

The 1999 field season ran smoothly, with no major hitches, and these goals were accomplished. In some cases the results were disappointing, as in the San Pasquale test excavations, but in other cases surprises emerged, as in the Bronze Age ritual deposition discovered at Umbro. The purpose of this report is to describe the methods and results of this field season in detail, and to interpret their significance for both the archaeology of the region and the development of future fieldwork.

In 1999, we had the largest field season to date, with 18 (10 from Southampton and 8 from Leicester) crew members and 10 staff or contributing specialists, directed by John Robb, David Yoon and Lin Foxhall. We worked in Bova Marina from August 29 through September 25. The season had three major goals: (1) to carry out extensive excavations in the Neolithic area of Umbro, with particular attention to economic and contextual information about the Neolithic habitation there;

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Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

2. FIELD SURVEY AND LANDSCAPE STUDIES important differences in land use and economic organization.

2.1. Field Survey (David Yoon) 2.1.1. Background

In the 1999 survey, co-directed by David Yoon and Lin Foxhall, we therefore sought in 1999 to improve the quality of our evidence as it relates to these questions, by:

The overall goal of the BMAP field survey is to understand how people used different areas of the Calabrian landscape for various purposes such as habitation, farming, herding, foraging, specialized production, and so on, in all periods from the Paleolithic through modern times. As detailed in previous reports, the local landscape is both very rugged, with very little level ground, and highly varied, with very diverse environments located close to each other. The contrast between narrow coastal strips and valley bottoms and mountainous interior is especially marked. Historically, there appear to have been oscillations between coast-oriented settlement such as in Roman times and inland settlement as in medieval times. As also detailed previously, a number of landscape features make archaeological field survey challenging and its results sometimes problematic. These include heavy erosion on slopes and deep alluviation on valley bottoms, intensive and destructive historical land use, the rapid proliferation of fenced-in non-surveyable areas, and the fact that pottery fragments from many periods are not particularly diagnostic.



doing more survey of hilltops and highelevation areas



continuing to build up larger blocks of completely surveyed territory



obtaining more detailed information about the locations and internal organization of Greek and Roman sites

Survey of hilltops and high-elevation areas was intended to improve the representation of these in our sample, and particularly to see whether the missing time periods would be located in these places. Larger contiguous blocks of surveyed territory enable better understanding of the relative placement of contemporary sites, which is important for interpreting the organization of local communities of any period. Because Greek and Roman village sites are relatively large and complex, they are difficult to interpret through ordinary fieldwalking methods. The controlled surface collections at Deri (Site 9, San Pasquale) in 1997 provided some information on the internal structure of one large Roman site. We decided in 1999 to do similar controlled surface collections at Mazza, the largest known Greek site in the study area, to get comparable information for that period.

In 1997, a strategy of visiting previously known sites and systematically walking a variety of small areas provided an efficient introduction to the local archaeological sequence and also provided useful experience for adapting survey methods to local conditions. In 1998, the same survey strategy was continued, together with an effort to assemble larger contiguous tracts of systematically surveyed territory, especially around Umbro and San Pasquale.

2.1.2. Procedures The methods used in 1999 were essentially the same as in previous years. We worked in crews consisting either of one of the co-directors and three to four students or (more rarely) both codirectors and six to eight students. All survey was carried out within defined “areas,” zones .1-2 ha in size whose boundaries, location, and geology and land use were recorded systematically, All areas without previously identified sites were walked in parallel transects with the crew members spaced 10 meters apart (in some locations, where it was difficult to maintain this interval due to steep slopes or thick vegetation, we were able only to approximate it). Previously identified sites were collected more intensively, using either a systematic grid of 10 m2 collection areas or nonsystematic collection of any artifacts observed on the site. In 1997 and 1998 some areas with previously reported

The work in 1997 and 1998 raised a number of questions which we hoped to address in 1999. Some periods (Paleolithic, Copper Age, Iron Age, Medieval) were absent or nearly absent from our collections. Does this represent an actual scarcity of occupation in those periods or did it instead reflect poor recognition of artifacts by us or poor choice of survey areas? The recognition of several small Greek sites of early date raised many questions about the process of Greek colonization in the region, and how pre-existing native communities interacted with the Greek presence. The differences observed so far in Greek and Roman site locations (Greek sites on hills, Roman sites in valleys), despite similarities of technology and social organization, should be associated with

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sites were surveyed less systematically, but we attempted for the sake of comparability to use systematic methods for all areas in 1999.

2.1.3. Ceramics and chronology One of the biggest problems for survey in the past was the lack of a well-defined local ceramic sequence which would be used to date sites found on survey. During 1999, considerable progress was made at identification of the pottery from the survey. We were able to work several days in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Reggio di Calabria before the field season, restudying some of our 1997 and 1998 collections and also comparing them to excavated materials from the Roman site at San Pasquale (Deri). We are grateful to Dssa. Emilia Andronico and the staff of the museum for their assistance with this work.

The 1999 survey was conducted from 29 August to 17 September. This included 2 days of fieldwalking with two crews, 5 days of fieldwalking with one crew, 0.5 days of fieldwalking with a double-size crew, and 3.5 days of intensive surface collection with a large crew at Mazza. In all this represents 73 person-days of work, of which 45.5 were used for fieldwalking and 27.5 for intensive collection at Mazza. The fieldwalking survey in 1999 covered a total of 102.0 ha, of which 5.8 ha had been surveyed in previous years and 96.2 ha were new. In all, excluding repeat visits to the same area, we have surveyed a total of 274.5 ha in the three years of the project so far. We defined 53 new survey areas in 1999, numbered 102 through 154. Some of these (Areas 102, 103, 130, 131, 133, and 134) may overlap to some degree with areas from previous years. All new areas were surveyed using systematic transect walking except Areas 150 through 154, which were areas at Mazza surveyed using a systematic grid of collection areas instead (see below).

Based on this research, a new provisional ceramic classification was set up before the field season (and modified slightly during the field season), which was used for classification of the 1999 survey finds. This system will require additional modification as our knowledge of the regional pottery improves, but it has improved our ability to recognize chronological information in our surface collections, by enabling us to associate the better-known wares with changes in the local productions. Of the remaining problems in this ceramic chronology, the most important is the prehistoric period. Prehistoric pottery can usually be distinguished from that of later periods, but that is often the limit of our resolution so far. The standard chronological types for prehistoric pottery in southern Italy, based on whole vessels from burials, make use of both form and decoration. For some periods, such as the Neolithic, surface decoration is often useful, but after the Neolithic, most vessels were probably undecorated and vessel form is the most distinctive criterion. Unfortunately, the small eroded fragments in our surface collections have little evidence for either, but especially for vessel form. Traces of impressed decoration sometimes survive, making the Neolithic period more visible than other portions of prehistory, while postNeolithic periods are far less easy to identify. It is likely that some very broad divisions should be possible on the basis of fabric and surface treatment, although these are not likely to be as precise as the existing categories. Of our prehistoric sites, some have been dated by chance survival of a diagnostic element or two, some have a suggested date based on a subjective assessment of similarity to the excavated assemblage from Umbro, and some remain undated.

The survey work of the past three years has been concentrated in several locations. The two largest clusters are around Umbro (Figure 1, Figure 2) and in the lower part of the San Pasquale valley. In each of these places numerous survey areas make up almost a square kilometer of contiguous coverage. Most of this was done in 1997 and 1998, but a few areas were added at Umbro in 1999, especially to the northeast. A third cluster of survey areas is located in the middle part of the San Pasquale valley, but in this case it consists of several disconnected fragments, due to difficulties of access. A few of these areas were done in 1997 and 1998, but most were done in 1999. Several smaller clusters have been selected to represent particular types of location: Mazza (Figure 3) and Capo Crisafi for coastal hills (1997, plus the controlled collections in 1999), M. Rotonda and M. Vunemo for high inland hills (both newly done in 1999), and M. Silipone to compare the valley of the Torrente Sideroni with the San Pasquale valley (mostly done in 1998, plus two small areas in 1999). Several small isolated patches occur as well, mostly to investigate known sites or to survey small patches of accessible land near the modern town of Bova Marina; a few of these have been done each year.

The chronology of the Greek period is founded on the black-gloss finewares which, although mostly of regional manufacture, reflect stylistic trends common throughout the Greek world. These are associated with reddish brown

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Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

sandy coarseware, beige plainwares, large and coarse storage jars, and sandy beige transport amphoras of Greek-derived form. Roof tile appears for the first time in the Greek period as well, predominantly in a sandy, light-colored fabric and taking the form of flat tile (tegula) with wide flanges and cover tile (imbrex) with a flat top and angular sides.

with a sparse glaze overall but large patches and streaks of thick glaze. In the 11th century the first tin-glazed wares with green and brown decoration appear. Very little has been published on late medieval pottery in Calabria, but based on other parts of southern Italy one would expect tin-glazed protomaiolica decorated in various colors, sgraffito wares, lead-glazed cooking wares, and unglazed semi-fine wares with red painted decoration (narrower, finer painting than on the early medieval version). Until a better sense of the local productions can be obtained, it may be possible for early medieval pottery to be mistaken for late ancient, and for late medieval pottery to be mistaken for early modern.

The assemblages of the Hellenistic/Republican and early Imperial periods remain ill-defined, because very few imports of well-dated types have been found to confirm dates in this range. The assemblages of local commonwares seem to show a gradual changing mixture, however, of the sandy brown cooking ware and fine plainware of the Greek period and the gritty light-colored wares of the later Roman period. An orange variant of the Greek cooking ware is likely to belong to this period.

There is a clearly modern assemblage, often associated with abandoned farmhouses, including large beige water jars, red casseroles with a very thin green glaze, beige plates, bowls, and jars with a thin greenish or brownish glaze, earthenwares with decorated opaque glazes, and hard, well-fired, usually dark red curved roof tiles. This assemblage probably dates to the late 19th and 20th centuries. Some of our collections resemble this assemblage in some respects but also differ substantially. These collections may be associated with visible ruins, as at Site 10 (Torre Crisafi), but often are not. Characteristics include red casseroles decorated with white slip under a yellow glaze, jars in a hard, finely granular reddish fabric, and curved roof tile in a soft brown fabric containing large chunks of gneiss and schist. In some cases, such as Torre Crisafi, there is good reason to assign this material to the early modern period, but in most cases there is no evidence for an absolute date, and some of it may extend back to the late Middle Ages. Comparison with better-dated assemblages from elsewhere will therefore be important for establishing the chronological ranges of these types.

The late Roman period is well defined by the presence of imports, including African Red Slip ware, plainwares, and amphoras from North Africa, as well as small quantities of Late Roman C ware and Late Roman amphoras from the eastern Mediterranean. The types and quantities found in Bova Marina suggest a peak of imports between the late 2nd or early 3rd and late 5th centuries AD. The associated local wares include light-colored coarseware and amphoras tempered with wellsorted grit (around 1 mm in size) and light-colored fine plainware. Roman roof tile, compared to Greek, tends to be in grittier fabrics and to have slightly different forms, with thinner flanges on the tegulae and a curved shape to the imbrices. Probably at the later end of the sequence of Roman coarsewares is a brown fabric tempered with abundant grit, mica, and sometimes chunks of schist. The precision of dates within the Roman period is limited so far, however, because the sites appear in most cases to have been occupied for quite long periods, several centuries in the case of Sites 9 and 22.

2.1.4. Results to date: sites found We assigned eight new site numbers in 1999, bringing the total to 37 (Figure 1). We recognize, however, that not all of these site numbers represent comparable entities. They range from a few scattered artifacts in a field all the way to a large and dense concentration of finds such as Mazza (Site 12). The issue is further complicated by the different levels of material culture typical of different periods: a thin scatter of artifacts which would define a full-fledged prehistoric site might be less than the general off-site “background” scatter of artifacts in areas of intensive Roman land use.

There is a large, ill-defined gap between the end of the Roman period and the recent assemblage associated with farmhouses of the 19th and 20th centuries. It is not clear how much of this results from an actual scarcity of settlement and how much from poor recognition of the pottery of those periods. Judging from the few available reports, from the 9th to 11th centuries, ceramic assemblages in Calabria seem to consist of coarse cooking wares, semi-fine or finely sandy wares with red painted decoration, and Italian-Byzantine amphoras. All of these are continuations from Late Antiquity, although the details may vary. In addition, occasional lead-glazed pottery begins by the 9th century, either with a thick green glaze or

As a first approximation toward a more useful classification, we have divided them into two categories: "sites", meaning locations where the

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artifact concentration is sufficiently obvious that one can define its extent, and "scatters", meaning areas or locations where artifacts are more abundant than usual, but not abundant enough to form a definite concentration.

Site 5 (Pisciotta C, Area 7). Site, 0.4 ha. Bronze Age? This site, reported to us by S. Stranges and L. Saccà, is located on a rocky hill along the ridge to the east of the S. Pasquale valley. A scatter of prehistoric pottery was found on the peak of the hill and just below it on the western side. Most of this pottery was nondiagnostic, but one rim would be compatible with a Bronze Age or Iron Age date, and previous collections described by Saccà would support a Bronze Age date. If so, like Site 3, it may be worth further investigation to see how similar it is to recently discovered BA deposits at the base of a rocky bank at Umbro (see below).

The list here reviews all 37 locations to which we have given site numbers so far. Note that, for the sites defined in 1997 and 1998, it incorporates updated information where available from revisiting the location or restudying the collections. Some sites have been redated or reinterpreted, and hence this information supersedes earlier descriptions. Site 1 (Canturatta A, Area 2). Site, ca. 1 ha? Neolithic. This site, reported to us by S. Stranges and L. Saccà , is located on the eastern edge of the S. Pasquale valley, on the slopes just below a steep ridge. It is in a field with some vines and almond trees, and evidence for more extensive vine cultivation in the past. The 1997 collections from this area produced one Impressed Ware or Stentinello sherd, and Stranges reports having found several Stentinello sherds there. Test excavations in 1999, described in detail elsewhere in this report, failed to demonstrate the existence of significant subsurface archaeological deposits.

Site 6 (Deri A, Areas 9, 10, 83). Site, ca. 4 ha. Roman. This site is just above the east bank of the Fiumara di S. Pasquale near the sea. A rescue excavation in advance of partially completed highway construction several years ago found a Late Roman synagogue as well as other structures and some burials (Costamagna 1991). The principal data from our survey consist of a series of 15 irregularly placed 10 m2 collection units in the field just north of the intended highway bridge (Area 10) as well as collections from transect-walking in adjoining areas. In addition, a few diagnostic pieces were selected from the disturbed area around the construction. There is at least a thin scatter of artifactual material throughout the entire field, but a dense concentration only in the southwestern half of Area 10. The pottery appears to cover a time range at least from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD. Dated sherds include two rims of a form resembling Campana A Lamboglia 36 with a grayish brown slip (2nd to 1st century BC), a fragment of a thin-walled cup decorated with barbotine dots (late 1st century BC to early 2nd century AD), Eastern Sigillata B Hayes 60 (80-150 AD), African Red Slip (ARS) Hayes 8A (75/90180/200 AD), ARS cookware Hayes 23B (150-220 AD), African amphora Keay 27B (300-450 AD), ARS Hayes 50B (350-400+ AD), ARS Hayes 67 (350-450 AD), and ARS Hayes 84 small (440-500 AD). Additional finds include Campanian (black sand) amphora, Late Roman Amphora 2, and a marble mosaic tessera.

Site 2 (Canturatta B, Areas 2, 50). Site, ca. 2 ha? Roman. This site is located on the mild slopes on the eastern edge of the lower S. Pasquale valley, just below a steep ridge. Abundant fragments of Roman commonwares and tile were found, especially in the northeastern corner of Area 50. The collections need to be reexamined, but no clearly datable diagnostics have been noted so far. Site 3 (Pisciotta A, Area 5). Site, ca. 0.5 ha. Bronze Age. This site consists of a scatter of impasto sherds found on a steep rocky hillside at the eastern edge of the S. Pasquale valley. The artifacts appear to be associated with a particular level near the base of the hillside, are highly localized, and include fairly large pieces of vessels. This implies that the site is located on the slope itself rather than consisting of slopewash from above. The pottery includes pieces with carination, high raised strap handles, or horizontal lug handles, suggesting a Bronze Age date.

Site 7 (Deri B, Areas 9, 84). Site, ca. 1 ha. Prehistoric. This site, which overlaps the northern part of the Roman site at Deri, is a sparse scatter of prehistoric artifacts in a cultivated field in the bottom of the S. Pasquale valley. The finds include a small amount of prehistoric impasto, and one fragment of obsidian. There was also a piece of worked flint nearby in Area 10. The only diagnostic artifact was a horizontal lug handle. This site is noteworthy for being a prehistoric site in a valley bottom location, suggesting that landscape alteration in the valleys has not been so total as to

Site 4 (Pisciotta B, Area 6). Scatter. Roman? This area is located near the southern end of the top of the ridge overlooking the eastern side of the S. Pasquale valley. A scatter of ancient tile and pottery fragments, possibly Roman, was found in this area, in contrast to adjoining areas, but the quantity of material found is small enough that it may be background scatter associated with a site elsewhere.

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Site 11 (Cimitero, Areas 28, 29). Site? Historic. A large amount of pottery was found on the slope west of the modern Cimitero S. Pietro, overlooking the modern town of Bova Marina. A small amount was also found at the top of the hill. The artifacts are not prehistoric, but have yet to be reexamined to determine their date.

preclude all possibility of finding sites. It may be the one erroneously called “Torre Varata” in Tinè (1992). Site 8 (Pisciotta D, Area 13). Scatter. Historic. This is a sparse scatter of pottery found in a small area about 30 meters in diameter on a recently reforested slope. The artifacts are not prehistoric, but have yet to be reexamined to determine their date.

Site 12 (Mazza, Areas 30-37, 102, 103, 150-153; Figure 3)). Site, ca. 8 ha. This site, reported to us by S. Stranges and L. Saccà and the location several years ago of a small test excavation by L. Costamagna for the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Calabria, was partially surveyed in 1997. At that time the presence of a substantial Greek site, presumably a village, was confirmed. Restudy of the collections in 1999 showed the presence of prehistoric and Late Roman pottery in addition to a wide range of Greek pottery, from early Archaic to Hellenistic. Greek pottery included the base of an early Archaic cup with bichrome decoration, numerous cup and krater pieces of the 6th to 5th centuries BC, Italiote transport amphoras of the 5th to 4th centuries BC, and a possible Corinthian “frying pan” of the Hellenistic period. Late Roman material identified in the 1997 collections includes ARS Hayes 91C/D (6th to 7th century AD), ARS Hayes 105 (late 6th to 7th century AD), and Late Roman C Hayes 3C/D (late 5th century AD). In 1999, we did a small amount of new fieldwalking (Areas 102 and 103) and conducted intensive surface collections on a regular grid over all the parts of the site to which we could obtain access. These intensive collections are reported in detail below. It should also be noted that the site probably continues to the east, and possibly to the north as well, but that access to that area was blocked by fences in both 1997 and 1999.

Site 9 (Umbro A, Area 16; Figure 2)). Site, < 0.1 ha. Neolithic, Copper Age?, Bronze Age, Roman. This site has been the principal focus of the excavations in 1998 and 1999 and is discussed in detail in elsewhere in this report. To summarize briefly, this site, previously explored by S. Stranges and briefly examined by Tinè (1992), is located on a plateau near the border between Bova Marina and Bova Superiore, where the bedrock of calcareous sandstone projects out to form steep cliffs. At the foot of one of the cliffs was found a dense scatter of Neolithic pottery and obsidian; this area was excavated in both 1998 and 1999. Two areas on top of this same cliff where undated prehistoric pottery had been found on the surface were also excavated, one in 1998 yielding a poorly dated assemblage, possibly post-Neolithic, and the other in 1999 yielding an assemblage including parts of some Early Bronze Age whole vessels. Abundant small pieces of human bone were found partway up the cliff; although associated with Neolithic pottery and obsidian, these were subsequently dated by radiocarbon to the late Roman period. The presence of Roman burials at this location is somewhat enigmatic, because the nearest site found as yet which may possibly have Roman occupation is Site 33, about half a kilometer away. However, Area 130, located about 250 meters to the southwest, yielded one fragment of Italian sigillata, so there is some other evidence for Roman activity in the area.

Site 13 (Pisciotta E, Area 47). Site, ca. 0.5 ha. Roman. This site was reported to us as a possible Roman kiln site by S. Stranges and L. Saccà . It is located in a small ravine cut into a slope on the eastern edge of the S. Pasquale valley. On the slope north of the ravine, abundant tile and commonware sherds were found. A drystone wall foundation, possibly of a small rectangular building, was observed in the eroding hillside. Two rounded depressions in the bottom of the ravine may be the features suggested to have been kilns. Full reexamination of the collection remains to be done, but a brief inspection showed a small but diverse assemblage of Roman (and possibly also Greek or medieval) commonwares, including a fragment of African amphora. Surface collections contain no evidence of pottery production such as misfired wasters or a predominance of one or two fabrics. Thus, it may be best interpreted as a typical small Roman site, probably a farm. The round

Site 10 (Torre Crisafi, Area 26). Site, ca. 0.5 ha. Modern. This site occupies the peak of the promontory above Capo S. Giovanni. The central part of the peak is now occupied by the shrine of the Madonna del Mare. However, around the edges of the peak and around the ruined coastal watchtower, abundant pottery and tile fragments were collected. Although this site was originally considered both Classical and medieval in date, part of the collection was reexamined in 1999 and the site has been redated. It appears to be modern, but probably earlier than the assemblage associated with recent abandoned farms in Bova Marina. It might be useful to compare this assemblage with late medieval pottery as well. It is worth noting that the tower at this point dates to the 16th-17th centuries.

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features of unknown date and function may or may not be associated.

chronological diagnostics were found. It is likely that the assemblage is post-Neolithic, but excavation may be needed to determine a more specific date.

Site 14 (Panaghia A, Areas 51, 55). Site, ca. 0.5 ha? Roman. This site, reported to us by S. Stranges and L. Saccà , is located on the western side of the middle part of the San Pasquale valley. Collections from Area 51, done in 1997, include a variety of Roman commonwares and tile, probably predominantly early imperial, and a fragment of a fineware with a bright orange slip (possibly either ARS chiara A or Eastern Sigillata B). When the site was revisited in 1998, a trench had been dug in the site, apparently for construction, which had cut through a Roman structure with tile roof, brick walls, and opus signinum (cocciopesto) floor before being halted. In the disturbed ground around this trench we collected more Roman artifacts, including the base of an ARS bowl (chiara D fabric) with feather-rouletting on the interior, dating to the 5th or 6th century AD. We made a series of controlled collections in the field extending north of this trench (Area 55). For the most part these collections produced little or no Roman material, except for a low-density scatter about 100 meters away from the structure. Thus, the site is apparently fairly small, probably a single farm. The area to the east is inaccessible, being fenced-off orange groves, but it may be worthwhile to investigate how far the artifact scatter extends to the southwest.

Site 17 (Limaca, Area 66). Scatter. Prehistoric. On the northern slope of a rounded hill east of Umbro we collected one impasto sherd and one piece of worked flint. The quantity is too small to demonstrate the existence of any concentration that could be called a site, but ground visibility was poor, so it may be that additional items were missed. Site 18 (Umbro C, Areas 24, 68, 130). Site, 0.2 ha. Greek. The main concentration of finds is in Area 24, which is the sloping top of a small rocky outcrop. A less dense scatter of artifacts occurs also in the adjoining areas. The finds include black-gloss pottery, probably of the late 6th to early 5th century BC, as well as Greek commonwares and tile. The small but fairly dense sherd scatter suggests something like a small single farm site. A few Roman sherds have been found in nearby areas as well; it is not clear whether these relate to reuse of this location or to some other, as yet unidentified site. Site 19 (Penitenzeria, Area 72). Scatter. Prehistoric?, Greek. This area is a large, gently sloping field on the large plateau extending west and south from the rock outcrops at Umbro. A small scatter of artifacts was collected from the southern edge of Area 72. This included four probable fragments of prehistoric impasto, all nondiagnostic, as well as a fragment of Greek black-gloss and some Greek or Roman commonwares. This location should be revisited to assess whether there is a significant artifact concentration, and if so to determine its extent and obtain more evidence of its date.

Site 15 (Agrillei, Area 52). Site, < 1 ha. Prehistoric. This site is located on a small promontory at the southern end of the Agrillei ridge near the border between Bova Marina and Palizzi Marina, overlooking the sea. The presence of a prehistoric site here was reported to us by L. Saccà. Collections in 1997 and 1998 produced a significant quantity of prehistoric impasto sherds, mostly from the southern face of the hill, just below the crest. None of the fragments appear to be useful chronological indicators. The presence of a flat area at the summit and buried terrace walls eroding out of the slope suggests modern earth-moving, so the finds may not be in their original context. Several probably Greek or Roman sherds indicate the possibility of a Greek or Roman component as well, but the quantity is not enough to rule out their being background scatter.

Site 20 (Buccisa A, Area 76). Scatter. Greek/Roman? This area is an olive grove on the south face of M. Buccisa. At the southern edge, a dense concentration of Greek or Roman tile was found. No definitely ancient pottery was found in association with this tile. Thus, it is uncertain whether this tile scatter is the result of an ancient structure in this location or of reuse for building modern terrace walls. Even in the latter case, however, it is likely that the site the tile came from should be nearby.

Site 16 (Umbro B, Area 58). Site, ca. 0.4 ha. Prehistoric. This site is on a hill about 150 meters north of Site 9 at Umbro. The main concentration of artifacts is on a small saddle of land along the top of the hill and along the upper northern face of the hill. Collections in 1998 produced a large quantity of prehistoric impasto; the assemblage differs somewhat from the Neolithic pottery at Site 9, particularly in the presence of a slip on many fragments, but no obvious

Site 21 (Buccisa B, Area 79). Scatter. Prehistoric. In a small, level area at the foot of the southwest end of M. Buccisa, a small scatter of pottery was found in a cultivated field. Most was modern, but three fragments of prehistoric impasto, all nondiagnostic, were also present. This is unusual for such a small area, and although this small

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quantity could be background scatter, it is also possible that there is a prehistoric site in this location or nearby.

rim, it did not appear to be chronologically diagnostic. Site 24 (Zaccaria, Area 96). Scatter. Roman. This area is on the middle part of the slope of M. Silipone, overlooking the valley of the Torrente Sideroni. This part of the slope yielded several fragments of ancient pottery and tile, probably Roman. There was no clear concentration anywhere, but the quantity is much greater than in the surrounding areas. The quantity is not enough to rule out being background scatter related to an as yet unlocated site, but because the area is located on a soft clay slope, it is also possible that a small site here has been largely obscured by geomorphological processes.

Site 22 (Sideroni/Amigdala, Areas 88, 89). Site, > 1.5 ha. Prehistoric?, Roman, Medieval. The site is located on the eastern bank of the Torrente Sideroni, amidst the built-up area of modern Bova Marina. Much of Area 88 is directly under a highway overpass. Collections were made from vacant lots in Area 89 and the northern part of Area 88 and from disturbed areas under the highway overpass and near recent construction in Area 88. These disturbed areas produced very abundant finds in good condition; the vacant lots, despite poor visibility due to grassy ground cover, produced moderately abundant finds as well. The total size of the site is impossible to estimate, because only a few places are not currently built over. No clear evidence was found regarding whether the site should be considered as a village or as a villa. The site was under excavation by the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Calabria in 1999; it is hoped that their investigation will enable better interpretation of the nature of the site's occupation. The earliest well-dated sherds were a fragment of a thin-walled cup, perhaps of the 1st century AD, and the rim of a bowl in a gray fabric covered with a dark gray slip, possibly a Sardinian or Sicilian imitation of Campanian ware of the 2nd or 1st century BC. The principal concentration of finds ranges from the 2nd to the 5th century AD. ARS forms include Hayes 23, Hayes 32/58, Hayes 52B, Hayes 196, Hayes 59, Hayes 61, Lamboglia 52B, and a small fragment of a decorated lamp. Several pieces of African amphora were found, including an Africana II spike and a Keay 62a rim. Identified eastern Mediterranean imports include Late Roman Amphoras 2 and 3. Some red-painted commonware sherds of late ancient or early medieval date were found. Early medieval occupation was demonstrated by the presence of a lamp of the so-called lucerna a ciabatta type, dated approximately to the 8th century AD (Garcea and Williams 1987; Ceci 1992). Four possibly prehistoric impasto sherds were found in the northern part of the site (Area 89), but they were nondiagnostic.

Site 25 (Sant'Aniceto, Area 98). Site, ca. 0.6 ha. Prehistoric (Final Bronze Age or Iron Age?), Roman/Medieval?, Modern. This site is located at the top of a very steep hill overlooking the valley of the Torrente Vena. The presence of a medieval church on this hill was reported to us by S. Stranges and L. Saccà. A difficult and timeconsuming climb is required to get to the top of the hill. The most obvious feature at the top is a small ruined church built of mortared stone masonry, approximately 9-10 meters square with an apse on the eastern side. Some other traces of wall foundations are visible several meters to the north. The predominant finds include red straw-tempered roof tile, red earthenware with a thick green glaze, light-colored plainware with reddish sherd temper, and light-colored to orange-brown gritty coarseware. The last of these resembles Roman coarsewares, but no datable finewares or imports were found. The others are unusual in our collections and appear most likely to be early modern, or possibly late medieval, although no recognizably medieval types were found. On the present evidence the church is most likely to be modern, although an earlier date cannot be ruled out. In the eroding slope just west of the church a somewhat different pottery assemblage was found, consisting mostly of impasto, probably of protohistoric date. Three decorated pieces of coarse pottery were found, one with a wide band of dark brown paint and two with finger-impressed applied cordons; these could be of either protohistoric (Iron Age?) or medieval date.

Site 23 (Carusena, Area 91). Scatter. Two prehistoric sherds were found in this small area in 1998. Given the size and location of the area this was unexpected, so a site number was given to this scatter. In 1999 part of the ridge just above Area 91 was walked (Area 148), yielding no prehistoric artifacts. Although part could not be done at the time, it is likely that there is no concentrated prehistoric site in the vicinity, and that the minor scatter in Area 91 is as much as will be found. Although one of the sherds found in 1998 was a

Site 26 (Climarda, Area 99). Site, unknown extent. Greek?, Roman. This area consists of the fields at the foot of the south end of the hill on which Site 25 is located, as well as the banks of the Torrente Vena running through these fields. Most of the finds in this area were modern, probably related to an abandoned farmhouse at the foot of the hill. In the eroding river banks, however, and archaeological stratum could be seen about 1 to

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1.5 meters below the present ground surface. From the banks and the stream bed, and also in small quantities from the fields, we recovered numerous fragments of ancient pottery and tile, including black-gloss (Greek or Republican), ARS form Hayes 96 (early 6th century AD), and the spike of a Late Roman African amphora. It is not clear from the small collection made in 1998 whether the apparent hiatus between the Greek/Republican occupation and the Late Roman is real or not. Due to the depth of the overburden it is difficult to determine the extent of the site from the surface evidence, but the depth of the deposit also suggests that this may be a rare site with relatively undisturbed archaeological contexts. Thus, it may merit further archaeological testing, at least to the extent of cleaning the bank profiles.

within these areas, however, so it may all be a diffuse scatter associated with Site 2 or 13. Site 30 (Umbro D, Area 130). Site, ca. 0.6 ha. Neolithic?, Bronze Age? This site, reported to us by S. Stranges, is located on the edge of an area at Umbro partially surveyed in 1998. It is a long, narrow scatter of artifacts along the southern edge of a plateau area at Umbro, where the slope begins to become broken and steeper. The finds are mostly nondiagnostic fragments of prehistoric pottery, along with one fragment of worked flint. The majority of the pottery resembles the Neolithic pottery from the excavations at Umbro in fabric, and one fragment appears to have impressed decoration, but some are somewhat finer and may be later. One of these may be a fragment of a hornshaped handle or some similar projecting element. Another rim, though of coarse fabric, appears to have the attachment for a strap handle projecting above the rim.

Site 27 (Vadicamo, Area 100). Site, < 0.01 ha. Roman/Medieval. Area 100 is a long, badly eroded ridge of fine clay partially reforested with eucalyptus trees. At the northwest end of the ridge, a small gravely patch that looked like a possible relict deflation surface had a concentration of ten sherds of late Roman or early Medieval commonware and one fragment of Roman tile. The sherds all appear to be of the same vessel, a jar of a form known from other late Roman and early Medieval sites. This unusual concentration in such a small area, and especially the combination of tile with the remains of what may have been a whole vessel, suggests that this may have been a late Roman or early Medieval burial. If so, however, it has entirely eroded away, because the artifacts were all found resting on the apparent deflation surface.

Site 31 (Umbro E, Area 131). Site, ca. 0.25 ha. Neolithic? This site is located on the central plateau at Umbro, in an area not surveyed previously. It is at the southern edge of the central plateau, at the top of some low cliffs overlooking the field containing Site 30. A scatter of prehistoric pottery (plus one piece of obsidian) was found along the top of the cliff. No useful diagnostic fragments were found, but the fabrics generally resemble the Neolithic pottery from the excavations at Umbro. That, together with the obsidian, makes a Neolithic date most likely for this site. Site 32 (Marcasita, Areas 136, 137). Site, ca. 0.8 ha. Neolithic?, Roman. This site is at the end of a low hill projecting into the eastern side of the S. Pasquale valley, overlooking the floodplain. It is located directly across the river bottom from Site 14 (Panaghia). It comprises a fairly dense and well-defined scatter of brick, tile, and pottery in two clusters on the northeast and southwest sides of the ridge. Some of the brick and tile are modern, related to an abandoned farmhouse just to the west, but some are clearly Roman. Roman imports include one fragment of Campanian (black sand) amphora and several nondiagnostic fragments of African Red Slip ware, African plainware, and African amphora. The Roman assemblage does not contain anything that can be dated very closely but would support a date range from the 1st century AD (possibly somewhat earlier) to the 4th century AD or later. The size and density of the Roman component conform to what would be expected of a single farm site. The site also yielded a fair amount of prehistoric pottery, in fabrics resembling the Neolithic impasto and figulina from the excavations at Umbro. One fragment may have traces of impressed decoration. Thus, the

Site 28 (Papagallo, Area 101). Site, < 1 ha? Prehistoric, Greek/Roman. Area 101 is located in an eroding badlands formation on the east slope of a clay ridge near the border between Bova Marina and Condofuri Marina. From the relatively small area of this slope that we investigated, we collected several fragments of prehistoric impasto and Greek or Roman commonware. The prehistoric pottery appeared to be later than the Neolithic assemblage at Umbro, but did not include any clear chronological diagnostics. The Greek or Roman pottery needs to be reexamined to determine its date. This area should be revisited to determine the extent of the site and to see whether contexts can be identified in the eroding banks from which the artifacts are eroding. Site 29 (Pisciotta F, Areas 8, 80, 81, 82, 87). Scatter. Roman. The fields on the mildly sloping eastern side of the S. Pasquale valley, just to the east of the Torrente Turdari, contain a higher than usual frequency of Roman pottery. There does not appear to be a clear concentration anywhere

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prehistoric assemblage may be of Neolithic date. The prehistoric pottery is less eroded than usual for surface assemblages in Bova Marina, which may mean that plowing has recently cut into or is currently cutting into the archaeological levels.

site located elsewhere, possibly the Roman site at Panaghia (Site 14).

Site 33 (Cromidi, Area 117). Site, < 1 ha? Greek, Roman? A small cluster of ancient pottery and tile, including one fragment of Greek blackgloss. It is located about 500 meters northeast of the Neolithic site at Umbro, in the valley by the foot of the cliffs of M. Buccisa, near some springs. The surrounding parts of Area 117 also yielded two fragments of African Red Slip ware, as well as a fair amount of Greek and Roman tile. Thus, it is likely that there was a small occupation, possibly a farm or a seasonal fieldhouse, used in both Greek and Roman periods.

It may be useful at this point to give a brief review of what we have learned so far from our survey.

2.1.4. Discussion of survey results

We have not yet found any evidence of Paleolithic activity. Given sporadic Paleolithic finds elsewhere in the area (at Torre Mozza and Gunì in Palizzi Marina, for instance; S. Stranges and L. Saccà, pers. comm.) it is unlikely that Bova Marina was simply uninhabited before the Neolithic. Paleolithic settlements are likely to be archaeologically unobtrusive, and coastal sites are probably now under water due to rising sea levels at the beginning of the Holocene. However, the lack of Paleolithic sites may also be the result of geomorphological processes having eliminated older ground surfaces in the study area. It is also possible that we have failed to recognize them adequately: our survey has recovered very few chipped stone artifacts so far, possibly due to our reliance on inexperienced crews. As the number of later prehistoric sites grows, our understanding of site location improves.

Site 34 (Vunemo, Area 123). Site, < 0.1 ha? Roman? A small, fairly level area of vines and fruit trees was the only part of Area 123 to yield artifacts in any quantity. A concentration of artifacts in this one location included Greek or Roman coarse pottery and tile. No obvious chronological diagnostics were found, but the overall character of the assemblage may suggest an early Roman date. Site 35 (Cecilia, Area 104). Scatter. Roman. This consists of a small quantity of artifacts found during fieldwalking on the north face of a hill along the border between Bova Marina and Palizzi Marina. A large piece of Roman tegula was found on the slope below the crest, and a few scraps of pottery, some of which may be Roman, were found near the top. A stone weight for an olive press, possibly Late Roman or later in date, was found built into the wall of a recent fieldhouse at the base of the hill to the north.

Neolithic sites seem to occur in a wide variety of settings, including coastal valley terrace (Site 1), low hill overlooking a river valley (Site 32), and inland plateau (Sites 9 and 31). Later prehistoric periods are more difficult to distinguish (see discussion of ceramic chronology above), but a similar diversity is likely. In the Classical periods, Greek settlement includes a large village (Site 12) as well as small farmsteads (Sites 18 and 33). As with the prehistoric sites, however, most are located on high ground, although some exceptions occur (Site 33). In the Roman period for the first time numerous sites are known from valley locations (Sites 2, 6, 14, 22, and 26), suggesting a shift toward more intensive agricultural use of valley bottoms. The ceramic evidence for the Greek and Roman periods shows two peaks: one in late Archaic to Classical times (6th to 5th centuries BC) and one in late imperial times (3rd to 5th centuries AD). Late ancient settlement seems to continue in diminishing abundance but in the same locations as Roman settlement, to the 8th century or so (Site 22). After that, medieval settlement remains obscure, but by the 19th century abundant rural settlement again existed throughout Bova Marina, like in Greek and Roman times.

Site 36 (Panaghia B, Area 143). Scatter. Roman. This area, on the terraces of the western side of the S. Pasquale valley, produced a diffuse scatter of Roman pottery and tile, none of it clearly diagnostic. There is no clear concentration here or in the slopes above this area, so although it could be a small, low-density site, it is at least as likely to be dense background scatter, possibly related to the Roman site at Panaghia (Site 14). Site 37 (Panaghia C, Area 145). Scatter. Greek, Roman? This area, on a slope overlooking the western side of the S. Pasquale valley, produced a diffuse scatter of pottery and tile, mostly modern (related to an abandoned farmhouse at the upper end of the area) but also including a few pieces of Greek or Roman coarseware and tile. No concentration of ancient artifacts was observed, so this is likely to be background scatter related to a

In relation to the goals we had set for the 1999 season, we made reasonable progress given

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principal focus of medieval settlement in the region was the interior town of Bova, the apparent absence of medieval settlement from our survey may be a result of working too near the coast. For these reasons, a survey concentrated entirely on the lower areas within the borders of modern Bova Marina is incomplete, and runs the danger of missing important parts of past settlement systems. This danger is greatest for the warmer periods of the past, when arable cultivation could have extended higher than in recent times; such periods may include important parts of the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages.

the constraints of such a short field season. The detailed evidence from Mazza is not only likely to be important for understanding Greek settlement patterns in the region, it also revealed significant prehistoric and Roman occupations, adding to our knowledge of those periods. The size of this site compared to others, however, and the anomalously high artifact density at the highest part of the hill, raises many questions about the internal structure of the site. Geophysical prospection, for example by resistivity/conductivity or magnetometer survey, may help explain the differences in Greek and Roman settlement patterns, by allowing us to compare sites in terms of number and arrangement of recognizable structures.

The problems with the chronological sequence remain worrisome. It appears likely that a combination of continued survey and statistical seriation of our assemblages will improve the resolution for the Greek and Roman periods, already the best-known part of the sequence. Expanding the survey to higher areas near Bova Superiore or Amendolea Vecchia may improve our knowledge of the medieval part of the sequence. The problems with the prehistoric sequence will require a different approach, however. Apart from chance finds of freshly disturbed prehistoric sites, an unlikely occurrence, survey is not likely to produce assemblages in good enough condition to allow systematic comparison of the attributes used in traditional classifications with those more readily visible in our surface collections, such as paste, surface treatment, and firing. Surface collections also lack secure archaeological contexts, so one does not know whether they represent an umixed assemblage and one cannot associate them with absolute dates. What may be required, instead, is a program of small test excavations at selected prehistoric sites, to obtain samples of less eroded artifacts from better-defined contexts, possibly in association with materials suitable for radiocarbon dating. Such excavations, carefully targeted at sites likely to have intact deposits of enigmatic date, would not only enable the excavated sites to be dated, but would improve the precision of the dating of our survey in general.

The recognition of a number of small, rural Greek sites in the study area, a considerable distance from any Greek town, is a valuable addition to the understanding of Greek colonization derived from the study of urban sites such as Locri and their immediate surroundings as at Metaponto. The early date of some of these sites is somewhat surprising; it indicates that Greek settlement spread very widely through the colonial areas within a few generations. What remains unclear is the function of these sites, and their relationship on the one hand to the towns and on the other to the native population. Excavation at a small, early Greek site such as Site 18 may provide evidence that can be compared to that from urban sites such as Locri in order to address such questions. The additional evidence from higher, interior locations (M. Rotonda, M. Vunemo) is a valuable complement to our evidence from Umbro. In particular, it shows two things. First, Umbro is unusual among the higher locations in Bova Marina, in the amount of prehistoric settlement to be found there. Although both M. Rotonda and M. Vunemo produced some archaeological evidence, nothing like the cluster of prehistoric sites at Umbro was found. Second, even in highland areas that appear fairly barren at present, Greek and Roman settlement and activity were present to some degree. This suggests a problem with the present definition of our survey. In early modern times, Bova Superiore and Bova Marina formed a single unit, and it is likely that agricultural practices of the time made use of land at all elevations within this extended territory. There is no reason to suppose that the prehistoric, Greek, and Roman periods were different; interior areas in Bova Superiore were probably used by the same people using parts of Bova Marina, for cultivation of grain or other crops in the lower parts, for haying or pasture at higher altitudes, and even higher places could have been used for other purposes such as hunting, wood-cutting, charcoal-burning, or mineral extraction. Moreover, since we know that the

Finally, we were asked by the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Calabria to watch for archaeological sites at imminent risk of destruction due to human activity. While numerous sites are subject to destructive geomorphological processes such as erosion and human practices such as plowing, we observed only two sites actually threatened by active construction. One of these is Panaghia, an inland Roman villa or farmstead site where digging foundations for new houses had destroyed part of the site already. Construction has now been stopped at Panaghia following legal action by the Soprintendenza. The other site is Siderone/ Amigdala, located beneath the SS106

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overpass on the eastern side of the modern town of Bova Marina. This Roman villa or village site has been largely covered by modern building, and parts still preserved in gardens are currently being built upon. Again, the Soprintendenza has taken legal action to halt building and has also begun rescue excavations.

those of the units around H8, but it is not known whether these are in fact some or all of the missing finds. Finally, several units (L6 to L12) were incorrectly placed too far to the east. These were redone once the error was noted, but the initial mistaken collections are included on the maps between K and L. Preliminary analysis of the material suggests that temporal and spatial patterns are discernable in the controlled surface collections. Very large amounts of ancient roof tile were found at the highest part of the site, smaller quantities on the rest of the upper areas and the SE slopes, and much less around the edges. Natural rock outcrops in the central portion of the site S and SW of the summit (Area 151), look similar to those used for house foundations at Locri Epizephyrii, and might perhaps have served the same purpose. The northern slopes of the site showed low level artefact scatter almost to the gully. On the southern and southeastern slopes artifact scatter continued as far as we could survey to the edges of the steep slopes, though density levels decreased dramatically toward the edges. The southern end of the site appears to have a concentration of smelting/metal working remains. Burnt daub and furnace slag were collected and a large piece of probably furnace slag too large to collect was photographed. Slag samples were taken to Leicester University for analysis.

2.2. Intensive Collections at Mazza (Lin Foxhall) Controlled surface collections were carried out over four days on site 12, Mazza, to determine the geographical limits, the chronological range and patterning, and the internal spatial organisation of this large and complex historic-period site. A baseline was established along the fence near the summit of the site. Using a compass, tapes and ranging rods, a grid oriented along cardinal points was plotted over the accessible areas of the site with stations marked with chaining pins every 30 m. Each station was assigned a number and a letter designating its position within the grid, and each was then used as the centre point for a circle 10m2 in area. Circles were demarcated using two attached to a piece of string 1.78 m in length. One nail was held at the station point while the other was used to inscribe the circumference of a circle with a 1.78 m radius. All artefacts were collected from within each of these areas. Part of the site, near the (probably) early modern-modern structures previously identified as a ‘temple’, is fenced off so it was not possible to include this area in our intensive systematic survey. However, the intensive survey area did cover the section of the site with modern (19th century?) farmhouse buildings, just south of the summit. A total of 105 small collections were made (Figure 3, Figure 4).

Ceramic data has not yet been fully analysed, but preliminary results suggest a preponderance among the Greek fine-wares of cups and krater-like shapes. Pottery is most abundant on the eastern, southern, and southwestern parts of the plateau, as well as on the southeastern terrace below; an area of at least 8 hectares in all. The artifact scatter is variable in density, but the only major anomaly is the dense concentration of tile at the summit. Greek pottery, as represented by blackgloss wares, occurs throughout this area. Roman pottery, as represented by African imports, occurs mostly in the eastern and southeastern parts of the site. Prehistoric pottery is most abundant in the southern and southwestern parts of the site, which is also the area where the metal-smelting evidence occurred.

Spatial data is summarized in a set of distribution maps of selected artifact categories. Each map depicts the number of fragments of that category collected at each location; collection units with no items of that category are left blank. These numbers are based on preliminary sorting in 1999 and may be subject to revision. A few problems with the data which are relevant to reading these maps should be noted. First, one bag, from collection H8, became separated from its contents while the finds were being washed. These artifacts presumably became mixed with those of one or more other bags. Second, an assortment of pottery and tile became mixed with the contents of a different bag, which originally contained samples of metal-smelting debris. This group of pottery and tile fragments is shown in the circle in the lower part of each map. The quantity and types resemble

To conclude, intensive collection at Mazza has showed that there is both chronological patterning within the site, with Greek remains everywhere and an unsuspected Roman component concentrated near the highest part of the site. It has also shown that there is functional differentiation within the site, with possible residential and industrial areas identifiable. Further analysis of this data should clarify these patterns.

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rocks including predominantly phyllites, schists and gneisses. The latter are often too soft or too riven by cleavage planes to be used for tools. Harder and finer grained metamorphic and igneous stones occur at higher altitudes 10-20 km inland; these include granites, diorites, and possibly other stones (Servizio Geologico dell’Italia 1970; 1976).

2.3. Geological Reconnaissance Prehistoric people made use of a range of geological raw materials; archaeologically demonstrable examples include clay, flint, obsidian, fossil shark teeth, hard stones for polished axes, and stone for querns, mills and other ground stone tools. The sources of some of these are known. Obsidian used at Umbro generally came from Lipari (R. Tykot, pers. comm.) and some grey flint came from outcrops in the Saracena area of Condofuri Marina. The polished stone axe found at Umbro in 1999 (see below) was made from amphibolite from the Sila (P. Barrier, pers. comm.), and the miniature axe replica was made from a softer phyllite schist available locally. The source of other materials remains unknown. Petrographic analysis has shown that pots probably made at Umbro were not made from clay from the two sources nearest to the site (see below), and we have little idea where the red, brown, and yellow flint used at Umbro came from.

Given this, hard stones could have been available locally in two ways. First, fragments could have washed down from the highlands in river valleys. Secondly, a band of relatively soft sandstone conglomerate stretches across the territory at about 3-6 km inland. As road cuts in the Fiumara di Amendolea valley, Monte Bucissa, and alnog the Bova Superiore road show, this conglomerate contains strata dense with cobbles of varied stones which must have originally come from older strata higher inland. A cursory inspection on Monte Bucissa showed that most of these were granites and gneisses, but they also contain some unidentified close-grained stones which may have been suitable for tool-making. The only crystalline material was a coarse-grained and fault-ridden quartzite. These conglomerate strata would have provided another potential source of stone for tools.

Hard stone for making axes has been the object of a number of sourcing studies. Throughout Southern Italy and Sicily, prehistoric people used granite, diorites, serpentine and other greenstones, amphibolite, and other stones for axes, adzes, and similar tools. Often greenstones transported from long distances were used for smaller or finer tools, particularly amulets, while amphibolite and diorite were used for less fine axes and more resistant and commoner stones such as granite were used large pebble tools (Leighton 1999; O’Hare 1990). These studies make clear both that hard stones were transported over considerable distances, with some coming ultimately from the Alps, and that materials were often carefully matched with a tool’s intended form and use. It is also probable that the trade in stone and axes not only carried on to supply useful tools but was socially and symbolically important as well.

The logical strategy for assessing raw material availability, therefore, was through surveying river valleys where both recently transported stone and cobbles eroding from conglomerates would be available. In addition to recording raw materials present, we hoped to collect data on how much stone of each type was available, to assess the “richness” of potential source zones quantitatively. As a pilot experiment, we recorded stone resources at tweve locations along the Fiumara di Amendolea. These were spaced approximately a kilometer apart, extending inland from the coast to above the ancient castle of Amendolea. At each point, the crew laid out a circle enclosing ten square meters, and collected all cobbles larger than 15 cm long by 10 cm high by 5 cm wide. They then matched these to a type collection they carried with them and tallied how many cobbles of each type of stone were present. When a new type of stone was found, a fragment was added to the collection. Although cumbersome, this procedure allowed survey to be carried out without a trained geologist present on the crew and without collecting and transporting hundreds of kilos of cobbles. The type collection was retained for later identification of samples by a trained petrologist.

With these considerations in mind, we decided to investigate the availability of hard stones in the Bova Marina region. If appropriate raw materials were available, could they have been an economic resource for local axe production or for trade? If raw materials were not available locally, were they available inland in the highlands of Aspromonte? If so, what were the implications for trade? If raw materials were available and were not used, why would this have been so? The geology of Aspromonte is highly varied, but the potential sources of polishable hard stone seem limited. The territory of Bova Marina itself, like much of the coastal strip, consists of harder and softer sedimentary stones (limestones, sandstones, clays, shales) and of metamorphic

Results are pending at this time. However, it is clear from this exercise that plentiful cobbles of an appropriate size and shape are available in the major river valleys, and at least some of them are

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hard, potentially usable stones. It is also clear that different points in river valleys varied in their raw material “richness;” this may have had implications for landscape use and social rights of access.

Mediterranean geographical and ecological information, and comparative studies from Mediterranean prehistory. In the broader area around Umbro, incorporation of different kinds of environments allowed us to model the travel distances and sizes of specific activity-zones of the Neolithic cultures in the region.

2.4. GIS Analysis of Prehistoric Land Use (Doortje Van Hove)

As basis for the analysis, topographic and geological maps were digitised. The base map used was the IGM 1:25000 map quadrant for Bova Marina. Eight categories of environment were defined on the basis of the elevation, slope, river and geology maps. For this purpose, parameters were established on the basis of literature, assumptions and observations of the terrain in order to represent and evaluate the present and past landscape. General map algebra was used, which involves calculations with different categories of various maps to generate a new map, which can give novel insights into a newly generated environment. The eight different environments are coastal plain, river channel, river valley, clay terrace, sedimentary plateau, sedimentary hill, metamorphic plateau and metamorphic hill.

Much archaeological research focuses upon human settlements, ceremonial sites, and the material that is found within them rather than on the spaces in between. This is because ‘off-site archaeology’ (Foley 1981) provides poorly studied material to work with and immense methodological difficulties. However, humans live in a world composed of many different kinds of places, so restricting our view of prehistoric people to discrete sites will inevitably and unnecessarily narrow our understanding of how they lived. In emphasising the fuller landscape, this research highlights human usage of land, one of the key means by which humans categorise and lay claim to their surroundings. This research is aimed at understanding how people used the landscape in prehistoric Southern Italy through the use of computer GIS (Geographical Information Systems). The overall goal is to create a simulated environment representing one possible situation in which Southern Italians could have lived throughout the different periods of human occupation of the area. Particular attention is paid to land use and resource exploitation within the possible economies of each period, and the possible cultural categorisation and social use of off-site areas.

To evaluate the potential usefulness of each zone on the map and its possible utility for humans, a combination of yield values and accessibility had to be attributed to each environmental niche. Thus, the environment reconstruction map was reclassified to hold estimated resource yield values. These valued were estimated based on the usefulness of each environmental zone to a specific kind of Neolithic economy. Four kinds of possible economy in the Neolithic have been selected for the analysis: foraging, mixed foraging-farming, subsistence horticulture and intensive pastoralism.

To investigate the scope of the research, a pilot study was done which focussed on a very limited area during the Neolithic period. This preliminary research has drawn together elements of archaeology, human psychology, geography and simulation modelling to provide novel insights into human-landscape relations. The research simulated environments and human land uses around three Neolithic sites: Castello Bova Superiore, Umbro and San Pasquale (see Figure 5). The quantities of archaeological and environmental data and the spatial dimensions of the area examined were very limited. This prototype allowed developments to be made in the techniques and interpretative frameworks, before applying the methodology on a larger scale.

In assessing how people will use their environment, not only the qualitative yield but also the accessibility of the area plays a significant role. For each site, a cost-surface model was built to assess the possible access to areas around the different sites. Therefore, a friction surface was created based upon a valid and plausible assumption of the cost traversing a sloping landscape. The area is quite hilly, and therefore it was considered that a given distance will be traversed with different time and effort costs on level or on sloping ground. In addition, walking uphill or downhill will affect time-intervals as well. It becomes increasingly more difficult and time consuming as the slope increases. To understand the values of the cost-surface model, a calibration was made, based on a plausible assumption about the landscape. Five classes of ‘distance’ or ‘cost’ were defined to calculate what it takes to get from

GIS modelling, based upon relevant data from IGM (Istituto Geografico Militare) topographic and geological maps, and limited field survey site distributions from the Bova Marina Archaeological Project, was used. Environmental relations were modelled using current and historical

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each site to the different environmental zones defined earlier.

maps, defining land use per site, economy and specific type of impact on the environment. Some examples are displayed as Figure 5.

Combining yield and accessibility values, three kinds of dynamic simulations were run on a fixed population-size (50 people) for purposes of simplicity. Each simulation can be considered as a sequence of events. The first simulation shows how far people need to travel before reaching enough land for their particular economies. The assessment of the size of land needed per population and economy was based on literature, especially the work of Susan Gregg (Gregg 1988). The value of specific land use and its land size desired will depend on the economy used. Farmland will be more important in the horticulturalist and mixed farming-foraging economies than in the pastoralist and forager ones. For foraging a larger territory is required, although it does not have the same impact on the land. For herding, a slightly larger terrain will also be necessary as animal husbandry is more mobile than farming. This will have an effect on the time and distance needed to cover to achieve the suitable land size for the amount of people concerned.

When simulating these land use maps, some basic assumptions were used, which applied to the yield and accessibility. For people to use a particular landscape zone, the yield has to be sufficiently high in order to be selected. In addition, it is assumed that foraging people will travel further than those herding and farming. Therefore the cost assumptions are different per specific land use. This will influence the land use maps and is interesting in comparative studies. It was also moderately based upon literature about site catchment analysis (Higgs and Vita-Finzi 1972: 27-36; Jarman, Bailey and Jarman 1982: 26-46). The analysis thus resulted in maps illustrating anthropogenic environmental impact and potential spatial dimensions of the cultural world that humans lived in. These results have two basic implications. One is economic and ecological: human landscape use and environmental impact can be examined in a systematic way, in contrast to isolated single site-based studies. The second is cultural: humans use the landscape, including ‘offsite’ areas for many other non-economic uses. Many of these uses are conditioned by the existent human use of those areas.

A second kind of simulation is vegetational growth. One starts from a set of empty maps, which all grow a particular kind of vegetation during a fixed time period. After the vegetation has iterated for a particular amount of time, the simulation stops and assumptions can be made about when a vegetation type reaches its climax state as each type grows at its own rate. It was assumed that wet plants will grow faster than plants on heavy soil, depending on the soil texture, temperature and precipitation. Beach vegetation is conditioned to withstand a lot of extreme climatic and edaphic conditions and will grow at an average rate. Varied plants were given a rate of growth in between the other types of vegetation.

In this regard, it is interesting to observe that sites are preferably ecotonally located, enabling the exploitation of two or even three resource zones: cultivation on a plateau, some pasture for grazing and a possibility for hunting and gathering in wooded alluvial margins. The primary result of the GIS study to date is to underline the importance of non-farming land uses for site distribution. Instead of the commonly held view that competition for farmland was of greatest importance in farming societies, the simulation showed that even in these, human interaction was probably structured by non-farming uses such as the needs of foraging and pasture. The sizes of the different specific land uses such as for foraging, mixed foraging-farming, farming and herding show a different picture. In the region under consideration, farmland is stretched out in small patches around the sites, while foraging and herding zones are continuous and large. Neolithic groups were probably more mobile, using bigger territories and moving frequently within them, than is usually assumed (e.g. (Higgs and Vita-Finzi 1972). This means that the distribution of sites, even in mountainous areas like Calabria, should not be limited to available farmland. Observing the contacts between the areas of human impact associated with different sites enables inference of possible elements of South Italian social and

For the purpose of simplicity, both previous simulations were combined. First, the natural vegetation grows for a fixed amount of years until it is mature enough to let people use it for their specific purposes. Humans then use the land for farming, herding or foraging for a certain period, after which these are abandoned and the natural vegetation can grow back slowly. Because of the different impacts that foraging, farming and herding can have on the environment, different parameters were used in the regeneration of the vegetation. This is because land that has been used for herding and agriculture is a lot more degraded than when it was used for foraging and it will take longer for natural vegetation to grow back. Huntergatherers tend not to exhaust their environments in order to reserve the possibility of returning to them after several seasons. The result is a total of 36

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cultural behaviour. These might include exchange and competition. GIS study of prehistoric land use in Calabria will be continued as part of an ongoing PhD thesis. Future developments include comparisons with actual land use at each site, as indicated by archaeological data, which could further support studies of site potential and the development of an environmental and economical site-type model for Southern Italy. Other future possible adaptations of the analysis and approach will seek to highlight a more pluralistic view on Neolithic land use. These would implement a higher level of detail and environmental data such as water resources, soil types and economic resource needs (biomass, nutritional components of animals and plants). An expanded site database would also be introduced. In addition, different parameters considering human resource needs can be implemented and compared to see whether they make a significant difference in land use around each of the analysed sites. Finally, ongoing research will address current problems representing the temporal dimension in modelling. In part, it will examine population shifts across the landscape in response to resource exhaustion and the differences of human land use during the whole period of occupation of this area.

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3. THE EXCAVATIONS AT UMBRO remains to speak of were found here. The origins of this deposit remain a puzzle.

3.1. Introduction: previous work, goals and methods for this season Umbro is one of several names for a calcareous sandstone and limestone plateau about a kilometer in diameter located along the unpaved Bova Marina – Bova Superiore road just south of the border between the two comunes (Figure 7). The plateau consists of sloping fields between 360 and 400 meters above sea level, surrounded on all sides by sporadic, interrupted cliffs 10-20 meters high. On some sides, the cliffs were probably penetrated by shallow caves in the past; in other zones they afford vertical sheltering walls. To the east and south underlying, impermeable clay beds are exposed, and there may have been springs at the foot of the cliffs here in the past.



Occupation was patchy; for instance, the Neolithic area, though rich in archaeological materials, was restricted to a small area below the main cliffs at the site.



Human bone at the Neolithic site was actually of Late Roman date, though no other Roman



The depositional sequence at the main Neolithic area is complex and difficult to interpret, particularly in the upper levels; in contrast, other areas such as the Bronze Age area in Trench 4 typically have shallow and simple stratigraphies.

(1) one basic goal was to clarify and elaborate the dating of Neolithic sequence in Trench 1. (2) the Trench 1 Neolithic sondage was undertaken primarily to explore the cultural sequence and the potential for further investigation. In 1999 we hoped to excavate a much broader area to yield substantial data on Neolithic economy, settlement and culture. (3) investigations in other parts of the site were intended to clarify the presence or absence of any further Neolithic deposits, for instance on the clifftops above Trench 1 and the fields atop the plateau. They were also intended to provide further dating material for the post-Neolithic but poorly dated area located in Trench 4. The basic methods remained unchanged from those used in 1998 (see Robb 1998 for description). To summarize, all excavations were located within an overall site grid whose datum was off the edge of the site to the east. For each trench a local trench datum was established from which depths could be measured and converted to absolute depths. For Trenches 1 and 7, all soil was removed in 10 cm arbitrary levels; records were kept of how these related to the sometimes clear, sometimes fuzzy natural soil units. Trench 6 was excavated in arbitrary 10 cm levels except for the removal of large rock fall along the east side of the trench, where this was impractical. All deposits removed were sifted in 5 mm screens. Finds were bagged separately for each level and 1x1 meter square. When features such as pits or postholes were encountered, they were excavated and finds bagged separately as separate contexts. Carbon

These researches established several basic facts about the prehistoric use of the site: The general area of Umbro was occupied in the Neolithic and in at least one phase of the Bronze Age, possibly the Middle Bronze Age (Tinè 1992).

The main Neolithic area was dated radiometrically to the mid-6th and mid-5th millennia (both Stentinello periods). It was probably also occupied later in the Late Neolithic (Diana) and possibly in the Copper Age as well.

We approached the 1999 excavations with a number of research questions in mind:

The prehistoric site at Umbro is located along the east margin of the plateau (Figure 6, Figure 7). It has been the subject of about a decade of investigation before the work described here (see Robb 1997; 1998; Stranges 1992; Stranges and Saccà 1994; Tinè 1992). Stranges, Saccà and coworkers have made periodic informal surface collections since their original discovery of the Neolithic site in the early 1990s. Tinè conducted a walkover of the site in 1992, and dug a shallow, .5m square test pit, unfortunately in a sterile area of the site. The site was re-surveyed by the Bova Marina Archaeological Project in 1997 and 1998. Finally, the only excavations at the site were conducted in 1998 by the Bova Marina Archaeological Project. These excavations put a one by two meter sondage in the main Neolithic area (Trench 1), excavated a one by one meter sondage along the south slopes of the cliffs (Trench 3) and on the valley floor just below Trench 1 (Trench 5), and an area excavation atop the cliffs which revealed post-Neolithic, probably Bronze Age deposits.





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samples were photographed in situ and removed with metal tools only to foil envelopes. Flotation samples were also removed from selected levels as detailed below. Following excavation, all trenches were mapped, profiled and photographed.

work, but we excavated a further 10-20 cm. At the bottom, about half the square consisted of bedrock and open, air-filled fissures were gaping between buried boulders along the east side of the pit. Deposits in the next three squares to the south (9n/-36e, -10n) were relatively shallower, as the underlying bedrock sloped upward. Excavation in these squares finished when bedrock was reached. We also excavated another 30-40 cm in the westward extension square (-8n/-37e) which reached a depth of about 280 cm below the trench datum.

3.2. Description of 1999 Trenches 3.2.1. Trench 1 (continued excavation) Trench 1 was located just below the cliffs in the densest area of Neolithic artifacts (Figure 10). It was dug into sediments more than 2 meters deep, which had accumulated on top of large boulders which had fallen from the rock face before the Neolithic period, creating a small talus cone about 3 meters high at the base of the cliffs. Excavations in Trench 5, at the base of these boulders, in 1998 had established that these boulders lie directly upon sterile clay and thus predate any human occupation of the site.

Unexcavated deposits remain at the base of the northern half of the square, at the bottom of the westward extension, and below a large boulder just northeast of the trench. It is clear that the underlying boulders slope sharply downwards as they approached the cliff, and the ultimate depth of deposits close to the cliff face remains unknown. The stratigraphy was described in terms of five strata, as in the 1998 sondage (Figure 9; Table 1). These were more or less found throughout the new, larger excavated area, with some ambiguity at times.

In 1999 we opened a long narrow trench extending six meters north-south by one meter eastwest. After excavating the top 10-20 centimeters in four of these six squares, we changed strategy and excavated one of them (-8n/-36e) and the adjacent square to the west (-8n/-37e) as a deep sondage. Thus at the beginning of the 1999 season Trench 1 essentially consisted of a one by two meter sondage. The goal of the 1999 season was to finish excavating all six meters of the original north-south trench down to bedrock or sterile soil (Figure 8).

Stratum I. This stratum consisted of a layer of topsoil 5-10 cm thick, with an irregular conformation and extensively disturbed by erosion, soil washing in, and vegetation. A loam containing sand, silt and clay, it was a light brownish color (Munsell color 10YR 4/2 dry). It contained cultural finds from all periods within the Neolithic. Stratum II. This stratum consisted of the same basic sediment as Stratum I, but was less disturbed with less vegetation. It was slightly sandier in places, probably due to the decomposition of sandstone slabs, and consisted of a mixed sandy loam (Munsell color 10YR 5/3 dry). It contained some rock fall, particularly small rocks 20-40 mm in diameter, and much penetration by small roots. Stratum II varied greatly in thickness, from about 20 cm up to about 60 cm. While its top surface was irregular, its bottom surface was far closer to horizontal. It contained cultural finds from all periods within the Neolithic as well as almost all the possible Copper Age sherds.

By the end of the season, this goal was largely accomplished through work with trowels, handpicks and pick. The only major difficulty was the removal of excavated soil, since there was little unexcavated area atop the talus for a backdirt heap, while shipping soil down to the base of the slope with buckets and ropes was very hard work and unsafe. In the end, we devised a system by which soil was poured down a plastic pipe about 20 cm in diameter and three meters long which dumped it directly in a screen hung from a tripod. Finds were then passed back up to the trench to be bagged inside small plastic containers. This system may have resulted in slight micro-damage in transit to a few delicate finds, but allowed excavation to continue rapidly without undue crew fatigue. The problem of ultimately carrying the soil back up the three meter drop to the trench to fill the trench back in remains unresolved.

Stratum III. This stratum consisted of light, yellowish, gritty sediments similar to those in Stratum II (sandy loam, Munsell color 10YR 5/4 dry), and in places the distinction between the two strata was not particularly clear. It contained more rock fall of all sizes. Rocks generally lay roughly horizontal, suggesting gradual rather than catastrophic accumulation. The differences between Statum II and Stratum III may be due in part to less root penetration in Stratum III, which might leave larger, undecomposed rocks while Stratum II was

In the northernmost two squares of the trench (-6n/-36e and –7n/-36e), we stopped at the end of the season in sediments which, though still including sporadic Neolithic material, were increasingly sterile. In –8n/-36e, most of the sediments had been removed in the previous year’s

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slightly sandier. The north end of the trench contained considerable rock fall in this stratum with accompanying sandy lenses. Stratum III was a relatively horizontal level between 30 and 50 cm thick. It contained both Stentinello wares and abundant Diana wares (see below for further discussion).

the far southwestern corner of the pit, contained almost pure brownish sand ca. 25 cm deep in a neatly delimited area about 25 cm in area. The source of such sand is not clear as it does not occur on the site, nor in most geological contexts. Hence it may have been transported to the site for a specific purpose. In contrast, several sand lenses in –9n/-36e, -8n/-36e, and –6n/-36e were clearly derived from decomposing bedrock. They consisted of yellowish sand in broad, flat, generally horizontal lenses, diffusely bounded. The sand was very similar to that demonstrably freed from dissolving tabular sandstone fragments in the upper levels of the north end of the pit, and they contained virtually no cultural material.

Stratum IV. This stratum was clearly distinguishable from Stratum III in section. It was a denser, browner, and more compact sandy clay with much less rock fall in it (Munsell color 10YR 4/4, dry). The rocks in this layer lay more or less horizontal. In the northern end of the trench, Stratum IV formed a homogeneous layer between 30 and 40 cm thick. In the southern half of the trench, Stratum IV was less thick and overlay rising bedrock. It contained Stentinello pottery.

The only feature showing the cultural use of fire consisted of a small area about 15 cm in diameter and about 10 cm deep, running into the west wall of the trench deep in the westward extension (-8n/-37e). This feature contained abundant charcoal and ash, but no really associated artifacts. It is very similar to one encountered in the 1998 excavations of Trench 5 (Robb 1998). Its form suggests it is not natural burning and it may represent a small fire area used for cooking or for a special purpose.

Stratum V. This stratum made up the bottom 20-30 cm of excavated deposits in the northern end of the square. Although bedrock underlay this sediment directly in –8n/-36e, its depth at the northern end of the trench is unknown. It consisted of a dark brown (Munsell color 10YR 4/4, dry) dense, compact, clayey sediment with little rock fall in it. It contained small flecks of charcoal and disintegrated animal bone, resembling midden deposits. It contained Stentinello pottery.

The form of the site has evolved substantially during its use. The earliest levels excavated so far consist of Early Neolithic deposits on top of sloping boulders in the north half of the trench; in this period, the site would have afforded at most about six square meters of approximately level area. Only after enough sediments accumulated to cover bedrock to the south and make it more or less level was this area also occupied. Even so, level area for occupation consisted of at most ca. 15 square meters. This implies that the site was never used by very large groups, particularly during the earlier Neolithic, and that certain functions would have required the use of off-site areas. For instance, the herding of animals could have been carried out conveniently in the basin enclosed by rocky arms of the cliffs just below the site.

This definition of the stratigraphy is based upon the six-meter north-south strip of squares in – 36e. In the westward extension square (-8n/-37e) all strata appear to slope downward sharply as one approaches the cliff face. This clearly has implications for both dating the site and interpreting the living area available at any one time. Clarifying the depth of the stratigraphy close to the cliff wall is a major goal of future excavation seasons. Nowhere in the excavated area did we encounter clear evidence of structures. Several faint, possible pits or post-holes all turned unconvincing upon full excavation, and may easily have been due to ancient disturbances by rodents or roots. Concentrations of small, dispersed, lightly fired fragments of daub were noted in certain levels, notably in Stratum III. Here the fragments consisted of flattish pieces ca. 5 cm thick, smoothed on both sides and with occasional impressions of sticks up to 3 cm in diameter. These may be evidence of a house, wall, or shed; alternatively, they may be from a non-habitation structure such as a wall or daub-lined pit. When found, they were scattered in the soil at a consistent depth but without contextual position or orientation.

Radiocarbon dating and stratigraphic interpretation. Radiocarbon dates for Trench 1 from the 1998 excavations placed Stratum V in the 6th millennium BC and Stratum IV in the 5th millennium BC, with a date of ca. 3000 BC in Stratum III probably representing an intrusive or sporadic Copper Age occupation (Table 6). Following the 1999 season, we obtained two further dates for Trench 1. One was for the transition between Strata II and III, and dated it to 4945-4615 BC (Umbro-13, Table 6). The other was for the center of Stratum III, and dated it to 5660-5485 BC (Umbro-15, Table 6).

Likewise, few features were found, and none which were unequivocally interpretible. Several large sand lenses were encountered. One, in

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These dates are incompatible to some extent with the chronostratigraphic interpretation established in 1998, and there are four possible interpretations.

later materials and earlier material washed in or mixed in. This provides grounds for understanding Stentinello pottery mixed in the upper part of the stratigraphy and early dates from upper levels, and is consistent with both the “low” or “medium” interpretation.

(1) One is a “high” chronology in which Strata III-V all date to the 6th millennium BC, Stratum II/III date to the 5th millennium BC. To argue this, one needs to argue that Diana wares were in use for most of the 5th millennium BC at the same time as Stentinello wares, and to discount one date, Umbro-4, as intrusive into an earlier stratum.

Here it is worth noting some conclusions which both views point towards, and some unresolved issues.

(2) A second is a “low” chronology in which Stratum V belongs to the 6th millennium, Stratum IV belongs to the 5th millennium, and Stratum III is a Diana ware level undated but later than Stentinello times. To argue this, one needs to discount two dates (Umbro-13 and Umbro-15) as based upon earlier material remixed into later strata. (3) A third is a “middle” chronology in which Stratum V belongs to the 6th millennium, Stratum IV is undated but dates to between the 6th and 5th millennia, and Stratum III dates to the 5th millennium. To argue this, one needs to argue that Stentinello and Diana wares were used together during the 5th millennium, and to discount one date, Umbro-15, as based upon earlier material remixed into a later level. (4) The final possibility is that the stratigraphy is completely mixed and no sense can be made of it. Of these, the last possibility can be readily discounted. Sediment profiles show a distinct difference at least between Strata II/III and Strata IV/V, a difference which wholesale mixing would obliterate. Moreover, Strata IV/V contain no Diana wares, while Stratum II/III contain both Diana wares. Again, wholesale mixing of levels would obliterate this difference. The first possibility can probably also be discounted on archaeological grounds. Stratum III contains abundant Diana pottery, and while we might imagine an early Diana date in the earlier 5th millennium BC (cf. Leighton 1999), dating a Diana stratum to the earlier 6th millennium would place it far earlier than any other known Diana site (Skeates 1994) and must be an error.



In both scenarios, Stratum V is a Stentinello level dating to the 6th millennium BC, and Stratum IV is a Stentinello level dating to sometime between the 6th and 5th millennium.



In both scenarios, Stratum III is a Diana level.



In both scenarios, Stratum II may be a Copper Age level with substantial mixing of earlier material, as most of the few possible Copper Age sherds are found in it along with Stentinello and Diana wares.



One key unresolved issue is the chronology of Stratum IV, which may date to anywhere between the 6th and 5th millennium BC. More radiocarbon dates from Stratum IV may help resolve this.



A second key unresolved issue is the dating of the Diana level, Stratum III, and the related issue of whether Diana and Stentinello wares were in use simultaneously or whether their association in Stratum III represents mixing of earlier and later material. The chronological issue may be resolvable through further radiocarbon dates for Stratum III. The ceramic question may be impossible to resolve with archaeological evidence from Umbro.

Lest we despair, it should be pointed out that these problems are normal rather than exceptional. Virtually every site explored from this period has similar difficulties. For instance, the regional cornerstone, the Lipari chronology based upon the Lipari Acropolis, Contrada Diana, and Castellaro Vecchio (Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1956; 1960; 1980), achieved a clear periodization by discounting numerous sherds in “mixed” levels. This method assumed in advance of the data that the ceramics seriate into short, clearly-bounded periods and that any finds to the contrary are merely contingent errors of site preservation which should be ignored. If one allows other possibilities such as the contemporary use of several styles for long periods, quite different interpretations are possible.

This leaves the “low” chronology and the “middle” chronology as possible interpretations. Both are plausible archaeologically. Given the shape of the site, with Trench 1 intensively occupied and lying below steep slopes to the south, it is clear that the stratigraphy was not sealed in each period but was accumulative. In other words, early levels contain only early ceramics, charcoal, and other materials, but later levels contain both

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concentration of small stones; many small stones were lying flat; and most of the few sherds found scattered through the level were lying flat. This level was about fifteen centimeters thick. It was excavated away only in the westernmost part of the Trench, and left in situ for further excavation in the eastern areas. The radiocarbon samples for Trench 6 came from this stratum.

3.2.2. Trench 6 Trench 6 proved one of the most interesting surprises of the 1999 field season. We began investigating this area simply to understand what archaeological deposits existed on the west side of the site. At this point, prehistoric sherds were visible eroding out of a bank about a meter high, about three meters east of the Bova-MarinaBova Superior road.

Stratum IV. This stratum was visible only at the western edge of the pit where erosion and excavation had exposed it. It appears to be a whitish, sterile soil of variable thickness (a greyishwhite concreted sand and clay, Munsell color 10YR 5/2). It appears to contain a few pieces of archaeological material but may be the top of sterile sediments derived from decomposing bedrock.

The first effort was to cut a vertical profile along the face of this bank; we expected to find archaeological material tumbled out of context at the base of the rocky peak here, but wanted to check this. A profile about three meters long was cleaned and mapped, running generally north-south (Figure 11). As this work was completed, it was clear that most of the sherds were localized at one point where large fragments of a single vessel were visible in the profile. We then decided to cut a trench back from the profile to explore further. A two meter by two meter trench was laid out, anchored on the site grid. Because the profile cut across the grid at an angle, the actual trench excavated was a trapezoid including one complete one meter square and parts of two others. Finally, an extension of half a meter thick was opened up on the eastern and southern margins of the trench; this was excavated only to the upper zones of the rock fall in Stratum II (Figure 12, Figure 15). Trench 6 was excavated by grid squares in 10-cm levels and all soil was screened in 5 mm mesh.

Stratum V. Bedrock. Pot deposition and other features. As we excavated Trench 6, the vessel appearing in the profile turned out to be part of a group of three pots (Figure 14, Figure 16). The pot visible in the profile was a basin between thirty and forty centimeters in maximum diameter, apparently undecorated on the surface but with three horizontal handles under the rim. Its overall form is yet to be understood as it was extensively crushed. The other two pots consisted of small attingitoi or cup-dippers with tall upraised handles. One was relatively thin-walled, the other cruder and thicker. The three pots were placed close together, with their walls almost touching. Their bases rested on the same plane at 70 cm below trench datum, a place corresponding with the floor level defined in Stratum III. As these pots were excavated, they were mapped and photographed, and their fill was collected completely as a series of flotation samples (see below). Under the two attingitoi, we found a fragment of a fourth pot, which consisted only of one horn of a horned bowl.

Five strata were defined in Trench 6 (Figure 13). Stratum I. This consisted of topsoil 5-10 cm thick, a clayey loam (Munsell color 10YR 3/2 dry) with much root penetration and very little archaeological material.

Large and small rock fall covered the entire area including the pot deposition group, but grew thicker to the east. Larger stones were more common in the southeastern corner of the square. No order was visible in the rock fall. No other possible features or structures were visible, though the bedrock at the southwestern corner of the trench may have been artificially shaped to some extent.

Stratum II. The basic sediment was the same as in Stratum I though slightly darker in color (clayey loam, Munsell color 10YR 5/2 dry). It contained far less vegetation but much rock fall. Rocks included both large tumbled stones and many smaller irregular rocks, tightly packed together. Overall, the stratum was between thirty and fifty centimeters thick. Archaeological material was infrequent. This stratum contained two fragments of a ground stone quern (see below), possibly in secondary context.

Dating. Both the vessel styles and absolute datations agree in assigning the deposition to the Early Bronze Age. While analysis of the large bowl must await its reconstruction, the form of the attingitoi is very similar to ones from Mursia, Pantelleria, varied Rodi-Tindari-Vallelunga sites such as Ciavolaro in Sicily, and S. Domenico Ricadi in Calabria. The ceramic horn is distinctive of the Rodì-Tindari-Vallelunga style (Tusa 1993;

Stratum III. This level included a prehistoric floor or surface. The basic soil continued to be a sandy, clayey loam (Munsell 10YR 4/2 dry). There was no sign of plaster or paving, but the soil was compacter than above; there were fewer large rocks but a dense

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profile” (see Robb 1998). The “cliffs” above it were only about two meters tall, consisting of very irregularly sloping bedrock outcrops. It was located about six meters southeast of Trench 3. This level patch, one of very few on the hillside, had been used in the previous year for a backdirt heap for Trench 3, and some soil remaining after Trench 3 was backfilled was removed without screening. By these means, the terrace was cleared to a uniform surface, except for a low, flat boulder in its center. Beyond a few historic sherds clearly in secondary context, no artifacts were evident either in this soil removal or in the surface thus cleared. Once the working ground was cleared, before laying out the trench, we cleaned away some lose, irregular soil adhering to the cliff wall directly above where we wished to place the trench; this was to prevent this soil from falling into the trench later. About half a cubic meter of soil was removed in this way, leaving a vertical surface. Again, only a few historic sherds out of context were found.

Castellana 1996). A radiocarbon sample from charcoal on the surface below the vessel group gave a date of 3390 +/- 60 BP (1780-1520 BC calibrated). Because of the limited excavations carried out at this location to date, it is not entirely clear what kind of deposition this group of pots represents. They may represent the remnant of a house context. The daub fragments associated with them may argue in favor of this, but the finds from the trench are far sparser than one would expect from a domestic context, including virtually no animal bone or lithics, and there is yet no sign of any structure such as the typically substantial stonefooted Bronze Age huts known from eastern Sicily and Lipari. A second possibility is ritual: the pots may represent an idiosyncratic ritual deposition of some kind, though no comparable sites have been published. At this point, burial seems an equally plausible possibility. In eastern Sicily, EBA burials are commonly found in cemeteries of small rockcut tombs, located along elevated ridges or cliffs of limestone or other calcareous stone. Umbro is in just such a location, and the vessel group lies 2-3 meters from an outcropping, low bedrock ridge, now buried. Furthermore, in several cases, outside rock-cut tombs archaeologists excavated leveled areas or platforms which contained groups of pottery vessels, interpreted as grave offerings deposited outside tombs rather than inside (see for instance Santa Febronia, Maniscalco 1996). Pottery vessels used as grave goods in the Bronze Age often consisted of groups including a bowl or basin and several cups or dippers, interpreted as a complete pottery service used for ritual functions (Maniscalco 1999). This is precisely the composition of the Umbro pot group. It is possible that there are rock-cut tombs in the rocky bank just behind the pottery group, and that the pots represent external grave goods for such tombs, with the rock fall representing remnants of a wall closing the tombs (B. McConnell and L. Maniscalco, pers. comm.). Needless to say, we hope to excavate further in this area, to ascertain the actual nature of the site.

Trench 7 was located directly against the rocky wall rather than in the center of the level, open area. Trench 3 had shown that such level pockets adhering to steep slopes could contain considerable depth of soil, but that they were often stratigraphically complex. Moreover, there were no indications on the surface of the level area of underground deposits here. A primary consideration, however, was that of caves. The shelving, angled bedrock at this point creates the possibility of small pocket caves in the cliff wall. With increasing evidence that the cliff-tops immediately above were not settled, and that the hillslope deposits such as in Trench 3 and Area 2 are not in original context, we wondered whether prehistoric hillside deposits might originally have been in small caves or shelters, now buried or collapsed, high along the rocky walls of the basin. Trench 7 was excavated using the same methods as elsewhere: excavation with trowel, handpick, and pick proceeded in 10 cm arbitrary levels, and all soil was screened in 5 mm mesh. A trench datum was set up using the cleft in the large flat boulder north of the trench to lodge a datum spike; this was the only secure point available from which depths could be practically measured. Excavation continued to a total depth of 150 cm below trench datum, or ca. 110 cm below the cleared ground surface.

3.2.3. Trench 7 Trench 7 continues the exploration of outlying parts of the site already begun with Area 2, Trench 3, Trench 4 and Trench 5.

Two strata were defined in the pit, both of extremely irregular dimensions (Figure 18). The upper one was a very loose loam containing sand, silt and clay. It contained stones of all dimensions jumbled without consistent orientation, and was much disturbed by rootlets. The maximum depth was about 120 cm below trench datum, or close to

The trench consisted of an exploratory one meter square pit (Figure 17, Figure 19). It was located on a small (ca. 4 meters in either direction) level area at the very crest of the southern slope below the cliffs, just below the small field described below and next to the “south slope

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the bottom of the pit. This sediment clearly represents soil filtering in among the rocks of the cliffs, a process visible everywhere on the cliff slopes. It did not appear internally stratified in any sense, and it is not clear when it was deposited or formed. It contained a few sherds from all dates including prehistoric, medieval and modern. The second, lower stratum was very similar in its basic substance, but was slightly less loose in texture, slightly browner. Again, it contained both prehistoric and historic sherds. It thus seems to be an ancient version of soil and rocky infill of irregularities in the cliffs.

We had, of course, thoroughly examined the entire ground surface of these peaks in previous years, and we did so again. Perhaps half the surface consists of irregular, shelving bedrock outcrops; between these are pockets of soil of varying depths, and the whole area is sparsely covered in scrubby vegetation. Ground visibility was thus patchy but reasonable in places. All previous examinations had failed to find any archaeological material of any date. This season, we decided to check for possible archaeological deposits below the surface (for instance, surviving in bedrock crevices). Since there were no known archaeological deposits in this area, and since the soil covering the area consisted of thin, irregular pockets, we excavated it informally by cleaning the bedrock off with a shovel. A team of L. Saccà and a student carried out the work. Most of the soil removed was screened, but not all was, as it rapidly became apparent that the sediments were entirely sterile and that the team could monitor it adequately in the process of removing it. This strategy carried the risk of damaging real archaeological deposits through loosely controlled excavation, but we felt that any deposits encountered could be recognized rapidly enough to stop, grid, and excavate in a controlled way with only limited damage; meanwhile, we needed rapid information without committing ourselves for a full-scale excavation in an area of patchy, sterile soil and bedrock. All cleaned areas were backfilled when finished. In the event, this strategy was justified.

Trench 7 finds included only ceramics. The density of finds was very low and three levels produced no artifacts at all. Prehistoric and historic sherds were mixed down to the bottom of the trench, suggesting that all the fill excavated was mixed and of recent date. We stopped excavating Trench 7 because the field season ended, and because it was not clear how to continue excavating safely in a small trench more than a meter deep in loose deposits partially below a rocky overhang. There was no indication how deep soil deposits ultimately run here on the cliff-side; if we assume that the cliffs were originally vertical all around the sides of the basin enclosing the Neolithic site, and that the current slopes of approximately forty-five degrees have been formed by millennia of rock fall and soil infill, there could potentially be twenty meters of deposits here. With this in mind, we need to return to the question of how to check for possible cave deposits in the rocky walls of the basin. Figuring out how to investigate this safely and practically remains a challenge for the future.

We cleaned the bedrock in five areas, three on the high area of the cliff-top, one along the cliff edge above Trench 3, and one to the southeast above Trench 7. In all of them, the soil consisted of a loose, dark loam with much organic material. Atop the cliffs, the northernmost area consisted of the largest pocket of soil close to the actual cliff edge which could be safely worked at. It lay directly above Trench 1, about three meters in from the actual lip of the cliff. The soil filled a shallow trough about two meters east-west and perhaps .75 meters north-south. The deepest part of the excavation was about 40 cm deep. The other two areas cleared atop the cliffs were located southwest of here, on the very highest point of the hill. These consisted of two parallel troughs about four meters long and less than a meter wide, each filling in a v-shaped recess created by shelving bedrock (Figure 20). The maximum soil depth in both was 30 cm. None of these trenches contained any artifacts.

3.3. Other Areas Explored With the discovery of distinct archaeological areas on the west side of the site above the cliffs, and with continued questioning about the nature of the upper stratigraphy of Trench 1 below the cliffs, we decided it was important to re-check whether there were any archaeological deposits in the intervening parts of the site – the highest peak of the rocky cliffs. In particular, we were concerned to know whether there was any possibility that the artifacts in Trench 1 and elsewhere below the cliffs had fallen there from cliff-top deposits, and whether the newly-found Bronze Age deposits in Trench 6 were in situ, as they seemed to be, or could have eroded from deposits higher on the peak.

Along the cliff edge above Trench 3, we cleared a thin covering of loose topsoil from

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bedrock in a series of small pockets. None contained any cultural material. Southeast of the rocky peak, there is a small level field which lies above the southern slope of the basin between the cliffs. The profile just below this field was cleaned and recorded in 1998 (“South slope profile”, Robb 1998), and Trench 7 was excavated just below it in 1999. If archaeological material was washing into the basin from somewhere high on the southern slopes, this seemed one candidate for a source area. We did not clean this area down to bedrock, as the soil was of unknown depth and we were reluctant to intervene here substantially without setting up a formal excavation area. However, we cleared the ground vegetation and removed the top 10 cm of soil using the same techniques as above. The only finds included a number of sherds from a single modern vessel. This confirms the generally sterile nature of this part of the site inferred from the south slope profile and from Trench 7. These exercises were very useful in understanding the site. It seems virtually certain that the Trench 1 deposits and the south slope deposits in the area of Trench 3 were probably originally deposited below the cliffs; it is difficult to imagine substantial enough deposits above the cliffs which would not leave at least some residual archaeological material up above. Likewise, the Bronze Age deposits in Trench 6 seem localized and in their original location. The presence of an elevated, archaeologically empty area between the Neolithic and Bronze Age areas confirms the separation of these deposits. While on the topic of other areas investigated, it is worth illlustrating some of the 1998 trenches briefly; these trenches were described in the previous preliminary report (Robb 1998) but no photographic docmentation was then available. Figure 21 shows Area 2, a zone on the southern slope of the basin where we cleaned a profile within a cleft between tumbled boulders but found only redeposited material in secondary position. Figure 22 shows Trench 3, a one meter by one meter test pit further up the same slope, and Figure 24 depicts Trench 5, a three square meter trench located below Trench 1 in the very bottom of the basin. The boulders looming over the trench are those underlying Trench 1. Finally, Figure 23 depicts Trench 4, a broad, shallow four by five meter pit located on a rocky outcrop above the cliffs. It yielded no structures or architecture, but a small assemblage of post-Neolithic pottery which is probably Bronze Age in date.

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4. UMBRO EXCAVATIONS: DESCRIPTION OF FINDS In this section, finds from the Umbro excavations are discussed. Note that this discussion includes both new finds from the 1999 excavations and previously described finds from the 1998 excavations; the reason is that our understanding of earlier finds has often changed as research has progressed.

wares. The Umbro Diana finewares include many shallow carinated bowls with reddish, brownish or buff fabrics, highly burnished, occasionally slipped with a red slip, and usually undecorated save for a thin line below the rim and for the famous trumpet handles attached horizontally below the rim. In addition to Diana and Stentinello wares, other Neolithic wares included a few red-painted sherds on a buff fabric, including some from relatively deep in Stratum IV.

4.1. Ceramics 4.1.1. Neolithic and Copper Age wares: Trench 1.

A few sherds unusual for Neolithic wares (though not entirely unparalleled) and with generic Copper Age parallels were found in the 1998 excavations (Figure 27). These included several body sherds with large circular bosses, and several large horizontal handles lacking the typical Diana flaring. More such sherds were found in 1999, and the greater extent of excavation allowed us to define their stratigraphic level as Stratum II. These included several large, thick body sherds with a double band of finger-pinched cordoned decoration, perhaps from the same vessel. Another sherd was incised with a series of evenly-spaced vertical lines ending in spirals at the top. An especially unusual fragment was decorated with a broad, shallow groove interrupted by a pair of protuberances. Finally, several sherds bore incised designs consisting of two parallel zig-zag lines, the space between which was filled with rough hatching (cf. Cocchi Genick 1996 for parallels from the Southern Italian Copper Age).

The typical wares found in the Neolithic area of Umbro have already been described (Robb 1998), and pending statistical analysis, little additional comment can be made. They will only be briefly presented here. Pottery styles found in the area below the cliffs at Umbro include Stentinello coarse wares and finewares, Diana wares, and possible Copper Age sherds. Stentinello coarse wares (Figure 25) are often thick-walled and relatively crudely made, executed in dark brown, light brown, red and orange fabrics. Some vessels in this category may have been bowls or cooking pots, while others appear to have been large storage vessels. They were decorated with a range of impressed designs, including “stab and drag” punctuation, shell and rocker impressions, and arrays of short parallel lines, often arranged vertically. They are similar not only to coarse wares at other Stentinello sites such as Acconia and Capo Alfiere, but to coarser Impressed Ware vessels in general.

4.1.2. Stampini and other ceramic-production related implements

Stentinello finewares (Figure 25) are usually thinner-walled, with dark, glossy burnished surfaces apparently intended to highlight the impressions filled with yellow, red or white pastes. Decoration was by impression, with geometrical arrays of small motifs forming elaborate design schemes. The most common motifs were “v” impressions, small straight lines and fine grids of diagonal lines. These were recombined in bands below the rim of a vessel, with vertically “hanging” strips of decoration or further banding below. Decoration also occurred elsewhere on vessels, as shown by a small handle with an elaborate strip of impressions down its back. Many of these vessels appear to have been small open bowls, probably for serving food and drink.

The Umbro excavations have yielded six stampini, or small ceramic punches, to date (Figure 29). They consist of small fired clay cylinders with simple geometrical motifs in raised clay at the end or on the side. These small tools were used to impress unfired vessels to create the stereotypical Stentinello pottery designs. At Umbro, they have been found in all strata of Trench 1. Examples include:

Diana wares (Figure 26) include both coarse and fine fabrics, though the coarse fabrics can be difficult to distinguish from other Neolithic

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a complete stampino with a v-motif at one end; the edges of the v are finely ticked (Bag 1021; length 70 mm).



a fragmentary handle of a stampino (Bag 1035).

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999



a fragmentary stampino, approximately 48 mm long and 10 mm in diameter and slightly broken; the end was flared but the exact motif was eroded and indistinct (Bag 1152).



a fragmentary stampino, whose end had broken off. The surviving end appears to have been triangular, suggesting that the motif on the end was originally a “v” (Bag 1170).



a fragmentary stampino ending in an eroded but distinct “v” impression (Bag 1195).



a fragmentary stampino with a cylindrical body. Unusually, this fragment bore a raised motif for impressing clay on the side of the body rather than the end. The motif consisted of a thin ridge of clay forming a straight line with tick marks along its edge (Bag 1225).

and reproduced in the attached documentation. All sherds were impregnated with a consolidating glue and then thin-sectioned. Sherd 1 proved too soft and crumbly to thin-section, but was macroscopically described and illustrated. The clay samples were worked into lumps, fired, impregnated with consolidating glue and thinsectioned. Thin section analyses, while preliminary, suggest a number of trends. First, virtually all the sherds had the same composition. Common mineral inclusions in the pastes include mica, quartz, and feldspar, with possible metamorphic rock sources including gneiss and micaschist. All of these are consistent with the kinds of minerals to be found locally resulting from the decomposition of metamorphic rocks common in Aspromonte at altitudes of 500 meters and above. Hence, these minerals are available, for instance, in the form of sand in river valleys, and by crushing up parent rock from nearby outcrops. The only exceptions were the daub sample (5) and a rim (14). The daub contained similar mineral inclusions but included more of them and larger grains. Sample 14, a small, fine greyish Diana rim with the characteristic tubular handle, contained an unusual base clay with abundant foraminifera fossils and contained mica, quartz, and black iron grains. Given the high mica content, it seems likely that it, too, came from some area of Aspromonte, but it may have been made in a different area, from different raw clay, or using different temper.

These numerous tools for making pots suggest that ceramic production was a common activity at Umbro in the Stentinello period. This impression is reinforced by the presence of other implements which could have been used for forming or decorating pots, including a shark’s tooth, a smoothed bone, several small marine shells with worked edges. Finally, one large, reddish sherd had two edges worn round rounded and smoothed by protracted use in smoothing or polishing some material (Figure 29). All of these could have been used in forming, decorating or burnishing pots prior to firing them.

4.1.3. Thin section analysis of prehistoric ceramics

The fact that all the other sherds had a common composition suggests that they were all locally made, even when they are made in very different styles such as red-painted wares, originally thought to be a potential import from Northern Calabria. This emphasis on local production is a common finding in prehistoric Italian thin-section studies (for instance, Skeates 1992).

Fifteen sherds were transported to the University of Southampton for thin section analysis (we are grateful to the Soprintendenza Archeological della Calabria for permission to carry out this work). These sherds represented a variety of prehistoric wares in use at the site, including Stentinello coarse wares (sample 4) and decorated (2, 3, 9, 11) and undecorated (7, 8, 15) fine wares, Diana vessels (10, 13, 14), Early Bronze Age vessels, possible Copper Age vessels (6, 12), and red-painted wares (1) which were considered possible imports. A piece of daub was also examined (5). Finally, samples of clay from two clay sources were examined. One clay sample was from the field directly east of the site at a distance of 10 meters east of the site datum point. The other was taken from a pure clay bank in the Bova-Bova Superiore road cut just south of the Umbro plateau where the road begins to rise steeply, about 500 m south of the Neolithic site.

The second surprising finding emerged from comparison of the pottery with clay sources near the site. Both clay sources near the site contained high levels of organic elements in the form of microfossils. They were clearly distinguishable from the clays used in all the sherds except for sample 14 (discussed above) and to a lesser extent sample 15. This suggests that, although there is strong evidence that people were making pottery at Umbro (see below), and although large quantities of apparently suitable clay are available within a few meters of the site, people preferred to transport clay from somewhere else to make pots. This is especially interesting as regards the daub sample, as one would expect a bulky material such as daub to have been made from the

The thin-section analysis was carried out by Sonya Collins and Jayne Watts under the supervision of Dr. David Williams; we are grateful to these researchers for their work, discussed here

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closest available clay to save work. It may be that the potters of Umbro knew the qualities of the local clays intimately and preferred to choose the most suitable for a particular task even if they were not the closest to hand.

inclusions. The surface showed occasional signs of having been burnished, but is now eroded. There was a shallow groove the outside surface under the rim. •

Vessel 3 was a large impasto bowl, executed in a soft orange-brown fabric. There was no observable surface decoration, though the surface was eroded and in places covered with a tenacious concretion. The precise form of the vessel is not yet known, as it is still under reconstruction, but it measured 20-25 cm in diameter at the mouth, 10-15 cm in diameter at the base, and was 15-20 cm tall. Below the rim there were three horizontal strap handles.



Below these was found a fragment of a fourth vessel, a ceramic horn. This was made of a dark brown, burnished fabric. The concave side was flattish, while the convex side of the horn was rounded. This cross-section makes it resemble more closely the horns from the Rodi-Tindari-Vallelunga style horned cups (see Castellana 1996) than the later Ausonian wares.

These investigations require further samples and further contextualization in the local geology and should be considered preliminary indications only.

4.1.4. Bronze Age wares: Trench 6. Ceramics from Trench 6 were completely different from the Neolithic wares found elsewhere on the site. The general paste was soft, coarse and light, ranging from orange to brown in color and usually with a black oxidation stripe in the center of the fabric. There was no surface decoration evident beyond an occasional groove or ticking along a rim. The repertory of vessel forms was also distinct, with everted rims, thick, beaded lips, ring bases, and tall raised strap handles. These wares closely resembled pottery found in Trench 4, and the two probably date to the same period, the Early Bronze Age.

4.2. Lithics

In addition to these wares, a few sherds of a very different style were found, of a black fabric with a very glossy highly burnished surface. These sherds represented at least two vessels. Two sherds were decorated with broad, shallow grooves. These wares may be similar to Apennine pottery, although the grooves are not excised. Alternatively, they may be the wares which Tinè (1992) considered similar to Maltese Borg-in-Nadur wares.

Lithics in 1999 were found only in Trench 1. One flake was found in Trench 6, but it was a crude quartzite flake and may be natural rather than humanly manufactured. The large number of lithics found in Trench 1 brings the total lithic assemblage there to 401 items (Table 3). Of these, 17 (4.2%) were made from flint; 384 (95.8%) were made from obsidian. This overwhelming use of obsidian is typical of Stentinello sites in southern Calabria, eastern Sicily and Lipari (see Ammerman 1987), though obsidian use falls to about 50% in the further margins of Stentinello culture area (e.g. Stentinello, Orsi 1890; Capo Alfiere, Morter 1992).

The pottery deposition from Trench 6 contained three vessels and a fragment of a fourth. These vessels are currently under restoration by conservators of the Museo Nazionale di Reggio Calabria. •



To date, only a small sample of about twenty pieces has been examined by a lithics analyst (G. Marshall, see Robb 1998); the finds from the 1999 season do not appear to change the conclusions of this analysis. A full analysis will take place during the 2001 study season. Marshall’s analysis showed that obsidian probably entered Umbro in the form of small blade cores, which were then used to produce blades until they were too small, at which point they were were crushed using bipolar percussion to create small flakes for expedient use.

Vessel 1 (Figure 28) was a small, thin-walled cup-dipper (attingitoio). The fabric was a soft buff/orange inside and outside, with fine grit temper and a thin oxidation stripe. There was no surface decoration. The lip was everted, and a tall handle was raised directly from the lip. Both this cup and Vessel 2 resemble in form, though not necessarily in fabric or surface treatment, contemporary vessels from Mursia (Pantelleria), Capo Graziano, Rodi-TindariVallelunga sites, and S. Domenico Ricadi (Tropea)(Bernabò Brea 1957; Castellana 1996; Tusa 1993).

Obsidian provenience analysis in progress at the University of South Florida has shown that all samples examined from Umbro came from Lipari (R. Tykot, pers. comm.). Flint came from a variety of sources, as at least five distinct colors of

Vessel 2 (Figure 28) was a small, thick-walled cup-dipper (attingitoio). The fabric was dark brown externally and orange-brown internally, with a black oxidation stripe and small grit

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raw material are known (grey, brown, yellow, red, and pink). While grey flint of poor quality is found at Saracena in the hinterlands of Condofuri Marina, the sources of the other varieties are unknown. As elsewhere in Calabria, Sicily and Lipari, obsidian was used primarily for bladelets and unmodified flakes; flint was used disproportionately for formal tools and modified flakes, probably for tasks which required its somewhat tougher cutting edge.

centimeter to spare on the inside and outside. One side was smoothed, and occasionally betrays possible plank impressions or smoothing marks. The other side is roughened. The rough side was consistently burned to a blackish color; the smoothed side was burned far less intensely, and at most shows some reddening. Daub is stereotypically interpreted as having been used for house construction. However, sites of Neolithic houses built in daub often yield very large amounts of it (Shaffer 1985; Tozzi and Tasca 1989). There is no signs of such large quantities of daub at Umbro, nor is it clear that there would have been room for a house even 3-4 meters square in the constricted area below the cliffs at Trench 1. Rather, the daub may have been used in some other kind of artifact or facility. The group of flat daub fragments may belong to some feature such as a partition, daub-lined storage pit, a large clay-daubed storage basket, or even a claylined oven or hearth. It is possible that refitting these daub fragments may shed some light on the original structure they formed part of.

4.3. Other Artifacts 4.3.1. Daub Daub, or intonaco, is a common Neolithic technology. To date, 1172 daub fragments have been recovered at Umbro (Table 4). Of these, 3 came from Trench 3, 5 from Trench 4, 4 from Trench 5, and 46 from Trench 6. These serve to document the use of daub at least in the Trench 6 area. The vast majority of fragments (1142) come from Trench 1, the Neolithic area of the site. Almost all of the daub fragments recovered consist of tiny fragments less than a centimeter or so in maximum dimension. Only about 80 pieces are larger. The largest fragment found is about 10 cm. No daub fragments were found in original position; all were scattered through the soil, though there were slightly greater concentrations between 150-180 cm below datum (in the lower part of Stratum II and in Stratum III) in the central part of the trench.

4.3.2. Shell, Worked Bone and other utilized Fauna Several kinds of organic materials were utilized to make tools. As noted previously (Robb 1998), a small fossil shark’s tooth from Trench 3 may have been kept as a curiosity or used as a tool for some purpose such as incising unfired pottery. Similarly, two fragments of boar’s tusk from the upper strata of Trench 1 may have been used for tools or ornaments rather than simply representing culinary debris; one may be artifically smoothed at the end.

All fragments found were burnt to some degree, usually only lightly but intensely in a few cases. This does not necessarily imply that burning was part of the use of daub here; rather, burning probably helped preserve daub and daub fragments which were not burned at some point simply disintegrated and were not preserved. However, some burning clearly happened before the daub was completely fragmented and quite possibly during its use-life; this is suggested by a number of flat fragments consistently burned on one side only (see below).

One small marine shell, from a clam-like bivalve, was found in Stratum II of Trench 1. Its edges were artificially smoothed and rounded all around, and a small hole at its apex may have been naturally or artificially created. This example closely resembles a worked shell found in 1998 in the same stratum, as well as an unworked shell from the same stratum and a burnt shell fragment from Stratum IV. As these show, small marine shells were probably commonly used as tools for smoothing or scraping soft materials.

A handful of fragments display impressions of sticks or reeds; the largest impression is of a stick about four centimeters in diameter, but impressions between one and two centimeters are more common.

One worked bone implement was found (Figure 29). This was a long bone, probably a radius or metapodial from a sheep-sized animal, which had been split lengthwise and smoothed all around. The non-articular end was sharpened to a point, now broken, and the edges of the fragment were rounded. The result was a small awl of a type common in Neolithic sites. Its overall dimensions were 37 mm long by 10 mm wide by 8 mm thick.

Between twenty and thirty fragments appear to come from a single artifact or structure. These fragments are flat Running cross-wise through these fragments in places are impressions of three reeds or sticks about one centimeter in diameter, laid edge to edge. The daub thus formed a flattish sheet about five centimeters thick, enclosing on a framework of three parallel reeds with about a

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end on the sides of the axe the polished surface has been removed by pecking with a hard stone. The most likely interpretation seems that this piece was originally a much larger axe which was in the process of being remodelled into a smaller axe when it was discarded. The thickness, too great for a small axe, and the highly polished surface remain from the larger axe, which has been trimmed to a new, shorter length and was just starting to be thinned and re-pointed.

4.3.3. Ground and Polished Stone Excavations to date have found between ten and twenty artifacts of ground and polished stone. The exact number is difficult to determine, since some pieces are clearly modified by humans, while others pieces consist of stone not found naturally on the site but do not display clear traces of working or shaping. It should also be noted that many of these are difficult for excavators to identify and a certain number of ground stone artifacts, particularly fragments or ones not obviously modified, may have been discarded accidentally during excavation.

Both of these axes are reasonably similar to other axes known from the area, for instance the three from loc. Cavalli near Bova Superiore in the Bruno Casile collection (examined in 1997 by kind permission of Sig. B. Casile). Unfortunately, such axes could have been used in any period from the Early Neolithic through the Bronze Age, and the relatively high stratigraphic positions of both Umbro examples does little to resolve their dating (see above). Polished stone axe manufacture may also be evident in the form of occasional thin spalls of hard stones alien to the site, whether worked or not.

Non-flaked stone artifacts fall into several categories: •

polished stone axes and other tools, and possible fragments from working or damaging them



fragments of large grinding stones, of limestone or sandstone, with clearly worn surfaces



fragments of large metamorphic or igneous pebbles, sometimes showing worked facets or surfaces



small pebbles of unusual stone without any clear signs of human modification

A more unusual polished stone artifact was the replica stone axe (Figure 30). Found close to the surface in Trench 1 (-10n/-36e, surface to 120 cm), it cannot be considered in a secure stratigraphic context. It consists of a small, shaped and polished axe made of a locally available, streaky white, black and brown phyllite with mica (P. Barrier, pers. comm.). The surface is uniformly smooth except where small areas are broken away. The blade end is sharpened, but displays no use damage. The axe measures 4.5 mm thick, 10 mm high, and at least 17 mm long (part is missing). The stone is soft and has strong cleavage planes, which would rule out the possibility of using it as a chisel or other small hand tool. Rather, it appears to be simply a replica axe, perhaps for use as a toy or amulet. Tiny replica axes or adzes are not unknown in the Southern Italian Neolithic, though most reported examples seem to be greenstone.

Polished stone axes and other tools. To date, two polished stone axes from Umbro have been found. The first was a broken fragment from the pointed (butt) end of a small, greenish-black axe or adze tool which was found in Stratum II of Trench I in 1998 (see Robb 1998 for further detail). Excavations in 1999 uncovered a polished stone axe in Stratum II of Trench I (-10n/36e)(Figure 30). Because of its position close to the surface (120-130 cm below datum, 10-20 cm below surface, in loose, sloping sediments), it is almost sure not to be in original depositional context. The axe is made of blackish amphibolite originally from the Sila (P. Barrier, pers. comm.). It measures 85 mm long by 47 mm high by 36 mm wide, and weighs 254 grams. The axe has an unusually round, stocky or barrel-shaped form which is unlike most published examples of prehistoric axes from this region. Most of the body is highly polished and glossy. However, the small (butt) end is blunted with post-polishing damage of some kind, and the large (blade) end is in the process of being reworked. The blade end has been broken off flat to form a cylindrical end; a diagonal spall has been flaked off this flat surface and partially smoothed, possibly as a beginning of refashioning a point to it; and in a band around the

Large grinding stones. Several stone fragments represent large querns or grinding stones made from relatively soft sedimentary rock. One flat chunk of sandstone (135 x 112 x 48 mm, from Stratum II in the north end of Trench 1) had been shaped into an oval form; one flat face of it had been ground very smooth, while the other face and the side had been left rough. This fragment is probably a large piece of a two-handed rubber or mano. A second flat piece of sandstone with one very well-worn side (41 x 35 x 31, from the same general context) is probably part of a similar tool. Large querns are known from Umbro from only two fragments. This is a piece of a limestone slab 120 mm by 110 mm and 41 mm thick. One

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edge of the fragment is raised with a lip ca. 1 cm high, so that the piece forms part of a very shallow basin. The top surface is smoothed. This piece probably formed part of a large flat quern or metate of a type common in Italian Neolithic villages. A second flat limestone fragment without a lip but of similar dimensions (90 x 85 x 27) and smoothness probably comes from the same or a similar quern.

conglomerate outcrops 200 meters north of Umbro. Their function was clearly grinding, as demonstrated by the flat facets worn on many of their surfaces, and they were evidently curated and reused for some time, to judge from the multiple grinding facets many display. They may not have been the normal tools for grinding grain, and at least some may have been used to crush and grind ochre pigments, as several display reddish stains. It is not clear why most of them were broken; perhaps they were also used as hammerstones.

Note that these two fragments were found in Trench 6, in an Early Bronze Age context. Two granite pebbles were also found in this context, one of which had a smooth facet and the other of which had possible ochre stains. It is possible that these are genuine EBA querns and grinding stones deposited in either a ritual or a domestic context; alternatively, they may be Neolithic tools re-used as building stone during the Bronze Age.

Small pebbles. Finally, a number of small pebbles were found which were imported into the site and probably used as expedient tools. These include six examples from Trench 1 (Bag 1010; Bag 1136, 2 examples; Bag 1161; Bag 1211; Bag 1216). Only one shows a possible smoothed facet (Bag 1211); the rest are identified solely by their non-local raw material. Other examples have probably been discarded by excavators. These pebbles are usually found unbroken and their maximum dimension is usually less than 50 mm. They may have been used for some purpose such as smoothing and burnishing unfired vessels.

Raw materials for these tools could have come from the site of Umbro itself, for limestone, or from nearby sandstone outcrops. Large pebbles. A third class of ground stone tools consisted of pebbles of granite and other non-local rock. These tools were identifiable in some cases by their raw material, and in other cases by evident modification. A total of eight were collected, two from Trench 6 and six from Trench 1. •

granite pebble with two grinding facets (86 x 46 x 31 mm, broken; Bag 1066)



granite pebble with one side ground smooth (88 x 88 x 44 mm, broken; Bag 1121)



granite pebble with several smooth grinding facets and a slight pink/red stain, perhaps from ochre (60 x 41 x 45 mm, broken; Bag 1134)



pebble of unidentified metamorphic stone with several oblique grinding facets (76 x 58 x 37 mm, broken; Bag 1135)



granite pebble with one side probably artificially smoothed (57 x 40 x 37 mm, broken; Bag 1149)



pebble of unidentified stone with one side probably artificially smoothed (69 x 58 x 39 mm, broken; Bag 1149)



granite pebble with smoothed surfaces (79 x 58 x 35 mm; Bag 1160, from Trench 6)



granite pebble without visibly smoothed facets but with possible ochre stain (68 x 56 x 45 mm; Bag 1150, from Trench 6)

4.3.4. Ochre To date, eight small fragments of ochre have been found. All come from Trench 1, where they are found throughout the stratigraphy in all levels. The largest fragment is 21 mm in diameter, but most are smaller than 5 mm. They display no form or wear facets, but have clearly been imported to the site by humans for use as a pigment. This interpretation is corroborated by ochre stains on grinding stones (see above) and the use of red pigment to color impressions in vessels. It is worth noting that several levels in Trench 1 displayed slight concentrations of small, chalklike nodules. These were not collected, as they were soft, disintegrating, and at times difficult to recognize. Such white lumps may represent a natural soil concretion, but they may also represent the remnants of materials used to make a white paste for encrusting impressed pottery.

4.4. Faunal Remains and Human Remains Faunal Remains. The 1999 excavations recovered 892 fragments of animal bone; of these, 5 came from Trench 6, 3 from Trench 7, and all the rest from Trench 1. Counting material from the 1998 excavations, this brings the total faunal remains from Trench 1 to 1340 pieces (Table 2). This body of material will be studied by a trained faunal analyst following the 2000 field season. The following preliminary comments should be

It is likely that other examples were discarded inadvertently by excavators. most

The raw material for these pebble tools probably came from the sandstone/

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understood as based on rapid impressions in the field by people untrained in animal bone identification.

excavations yielded only three human skeletal fragments. All came from Stratum II in Trench 1. One consisted of a proximal pedal phalange fragment. The other two consisted of small cranial vault fragments whose precise location on the skull could not be determined. Like the four fragments of human bones and teeth found in Trench 1 in 1998, these seem to be isolated fragments probably transported in from deposits higher up the southern slopes of the site and without any particular significance for the function of this part of the site. Supporting this interpretation is the fact that all seven fragments were found in Stratum II, a relatively high stratum probably representing mixed deposits.

Taphonomically, the animal bone from Umbro is remarkable for its poor preservation. Most pieces are less than one centimeter in maximum dimension and are probably not identifiable. The most common identifiable pieces will almost certainly be tooth fragments. This marked degradation is not typical of extensive Neolithic village sites, in my experience, and serves to underscore the particular nature of Umbro. It probably derives from a very long-term use of a very restricted habitation area. It may also have something to do with the particular use of animal resources or food preparation or consumption at the site.

4.5. Paleobotanical Remains (Marina Ciaraldi)

Between one third and one quarter of all fragments are burnt, usually to a shade between black and white. Burning is found on bones from all strata of Trench 1 down to the earliest levels. This indicates exposure to extreme heat, as opposed to a brownish color which can indicate exposure to lesser temperatures. Intense burning on a par with cremation seems hardly compatible with thermal alteration in the process of cooking. Instead, it suggests that the sediments around Umbro were intensely heated periodically or repeatedly. Such intense burning no doubt contributed to the high fragmentation of the faunal remains.

In 1999, we began a flotation program. Flotation samples were collected from all the features in Trench 6, for which the entire fill was bagged. This yielded four samples (one each from the three pots and one from the surrounding soil matrix). Samples were also taken from four representative levels in Trench 1, for which 20 liter samples were collected. For consistency, all Trench 1 samples were taken from the same grid square (7n/-36e); one sample was taken from each of strata II-V. Finally, one sample was taken from a feature in Stratum IV of Trench 1 (–8n/-36e). Flotation samples were first sifted in 5 mm mesh, like all excavated soil, and the finds were recorded and reunited with other finds from the bag. The samples were then floated by hand using basins and hand strainers. The coarse fraction was collected using 1 mm nylon mesh, and the fine fraction was collected using a .5 mm nylon mesh. These fractions were then dried in fine mesh bags. The residue and the flotation (fine) fraction were both sorted and identified for seed and charcoal analysis by Dr. Marina Ciaraldi (Birmingham University Field Archaeological Unit). In the case of the flotation fraction, a standard low power stereomicroscope was used. Identifications were made using a reference collection of modern material and various identification atlases.

As an informal impression, the commonest kind of animal at the site seems to have been a small herbivore, most likely sheep and/or goat, though at this stage deer cannot be excluded. Several bones from very young individuals (lambs?) were found; these may prove informative on the season of occupation of the site. Pig has been identified as definitely present from several pieces submitted to faunal analysts (U. Albarella, pers. comm.; D. Serjeantson, pers. comm.), and teeth resembling pig are moderately common. It is unclear whether the pig would have been domesticated, wild boar, or feral. Cattle are probably represented by several fragments, but seem very uncommon. One fragment of cattle bone appears to be a nearly complete metapodial with numerous cut marks.

None of the four samples from the Trench 6 (Early Bronze Age) pots and feature fill contained organic remains. This is unsurprising as most of these samples were less than a liter in volume, and the largest was less than five liters.

Other animals present include bird of some kind, snake and rodents. It is likely that some snake and rodent bones are intrusive modern specimens, especially as at least snakes now inhabit the site. Fish bones appear to be completely absent.

The remaining five samples all yielded botanical remains (Table 5). Sample 9 represents Stratum II, possibly mixed later Neolithic deposits; Sample 7 represents Stratum III (Diana); and Samples 5, 8, and 6 represent Stentinello deposits

Human Remains. In contrast to the 1998 excavations which yielded a large assemblage of disarticulated bone from Trench 3 (which later proved to be probably Roman in date), the 1999

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from Stratum IV, Stratum V and a feature respectively.

economy of the site. However, considering the general dearth of data from the Neolithic of the area, the plant material from Umbro provides an important contribution to the more general reconstruction of the Neolithic economy of Calabria.

Many modern rootlets and some modern seeds were observed in sample 9 and, to a minor degree, in sample 7. The remaining three samples presented a very similar sandy matrix. All the samples contained some charcoal (although in very small quantity) and all samples but N.6 contains some small bones. The general preservation of the charred plant remains was generally poor. The cereal grains had clearly undergone carbonization under intense heat and they presented a damaged surface and numerous holes. The same applied to some of the chaff elements. The identification to species level was therefore difficult and in many cases impossible. Most of the cereal grains recovered were fragmented and distorted and they were assigned to the wide category of cereals.

Overall the plant assemblage from Umbro represents a typical assemblage from a Southern Italian Neolithic site, with the simultaneous presence of three different cereals: barley, emmer (and einkorn?) and a free-threshing wheat. This group of cereals represents the typical Neolithic “package” of Southern Europe (Zohary and Hopf 1993). The absence of pulses from the plant assemblage may be the consequence of the generally poor preservation of the plant material. The agricultural component of the economy may also be attested by the common finds of grinding stone fragments (see above).

In some cases it was possible to attribute some of the grains to barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). However, even in these cases it was impossible to observe details such as the symmetry of the embryo, the presence of hull on the surface of the grain or eventual signs of germination. It was therefore impossible to establish whether these grains belonged to the six-row or to the two-row variety. In two cases some barley grains were identified simply as Hordeum sp. because they were rather small and they could have been either tail grains (underdeveloped grains) of cultivated barley or a species of barley.

There are only two Neolithic sites of the Stentinello facies from Calabria whose plant assemblage has been studied: Capo Alfiere, Crotone (CZ) (Costantini 1988) on the Ionic coast and Acconia area C, Curingia (CZ) (Ammerman 1987) on the Tyrrenic coast. The information on the plant assemblage from Acconia is very limited and it only attests the presence of barley (Costantini and Stancanelli 1994). For the plant assemblage from Capo Alfiere we only have a preliminarily report but there is evidence of a higher number of species. The plant assemblage from Capo Alfiere reflects closely the findings from Umbro although there is no reference to the presence of chaff at Capo Alfiere (Costantini and Stancanelli 1994).

Only two wheat grains were found and only one was identified as bread wheat (Triticum aestivum s.l.). The diagnostic features used to identify this grain were its roundness and its curved bottom profile. Most of the charred chaff found was damaged too and although the presence of emmer (Triticum dicoccum Schank.) was confirmed by the identification of some of the better preserved glume bases and forks, it was impossible to establish with certainty the presence of einkorn (Triticum monococcum L.).

The presence of grains, chaff and a few weeds (possibly associated with the cereal crops) is an important indication that part of the crop processing took place on site. The crop processing may have happened at different levels. It could have taken place as a large-scale crop cleaning directly on site or it may just have taken place as daily cleaning of cereals to be eaten. A higher density of charred plant remains was recovered from the feature fill (Sample 6, T1 8n.36e –230240). Its composition was very similar to the rest of the plant assemblage. This could perhaps be interpreted as evidence of the fact that crop cleaning took place on a daily basis and that the plant assemblage recovered from the feature fill reflects this activity.

None of the weed seeds found is particular informative in the interpretation of the assemblage mainly because they could not be identified to species level. One possible olive pit was recovered from a good Early Neolithic context and identified in the field (identification by L. Foxhall); however, this did not form part of the material available for identification by a trained paleobotanist, and the identification must be considered tentative. If it is indeed an olive pit, it is likely to represent wild olive and may have been used for animal fodder (L. Foxhall, pers. comm.).

It is evident from the data that there is no clear differentiation between the assemblages from the different strata and occupational periods. If in some cases this can be due to a certain degree of remixing of the layers (especially for Stratum II and III), on the other hand this might be interpreted as a sign of continuation between the Stentinello and

The paucity of the plant remains recovered does not allow to make any general statment on the

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Diana occupation levels. This seems in agreement with the hypothesis that these two kinds of ware might have been in use at the same time over a certain number of centuries (Whitehouse 1986). However the data are too scarce to be used with confidence in confirming this statement.

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5. TEST EXCAVATIONS AT SAN PASQUALE San Pasquale is a Neolithic site located on a natural clay terrace at the eastern margin of the San Pasquale valley. It was found by S. Stranges and L. Saccà and first surveyed by the Bova Marina Archaeological Project in 1997 (see survey site catalog, above, in which it is referred to as Canturatta A, Area 2). Both Stranges and Saccà and our survey have found pottery to include mostly small, highly eroded fragments with a few diagnostic impressed or Stentinello pieces; there are also some fragments which may be later prehistoric and some apparently Roman fragments which may be associated with Site 2.

western part, the terrace is in derelict scrub, and had recently been burnt over at the time of excavation; hence surface visibility was excellent. Across the ravine on the broader eastern part, there was an active and fenced vineyard and, further east, a grove of olive and almond trees with some scrubby vegetation between them. As a preliminary to test excavations, we examined current ground surfaces as well as interviewing past surveyors (especially D. Yoon and L. Saccà) as to the location of artifact concentrations. It is clear that some cultural materials are found throughout the terrace, but that there are at least two distinct concentrations. One is located in the center of the western part of the terrace. Here we found, for instance, scattered prehistoric and historic sherds, all small eroded fragments. A second is located along the southern margin of the center of the eastern plateau, between a large outcropping boulder (collected as “Location B”) and the nearby olive trees (collected as “Location A”). Finds here seemed to be predominantly Roman or modern, though at least one flake of obsidian suggests prehistoric occupation.

The natural setting of the site would have been quite attractive for Neolithic settlement. It is located about 100 m from the present day coastline and about 30 m above sea level, overlooking the broad, level valley of the Torrente di S. Pasquale. The terrace itself consists of pure clayey and sandy deposits, as its eroding margins show. A deep ravine divides it into an eastern and a western part. Like most such terraces, it has now been built up with a cascade of small agricultural terraces, but it seems likely that this reflects the underlying shape of the hill substantially. In prehistoric times, the torrente may have had marshy areas at its mouth, and the valley would have probably been wooded. Plenty of level ground would have been available for building and farming, as well as marine resources and a variety of montane resources from the Agrillei ridge just behind the site. The ridge would have also sheltered the site from northern and eastern winds. In addition, there may well have been springs available at points around the base of the Agrillei ridge; a large clump of reeds near the eastern end of the terrace suggests some ground moisture, and a spring is still extant at a similar stratigraphic level below the ridge on the western side of the valley.

We decided to excavate test pits on the western part of the terrace in the center of the concentration of sherds there (Figure 31). Two one by one meter test pits were excavated, Trench 1 and Trench 2 (Figure 32, Figure 33). The two pits were aligned to a hypothetical north-south grid and spaced 16 meters apart. They were excavated in ten centimeter arbitrary levels. Work was carried out with a crew of 8 on September 9th. The results were disappointing, but at least they were clear. In both pits, the ground surface was littered with small, tabular gravel, consisting largely of schist fragments evidently originating from the slopes of Agrillei just 40-60 meters to the northeast. When this was removed, the soil rapidly turned to a brownish sandy clay which contained virtually no archaeological materials. As the trenches grew deeper, the soil grew yellower and both stones and bulbs and roots from surface vegetation became fewer and fewer. Both trenches were stopped between 40 and 50 cm deep, when it was clear that the soil below the surface was essentially sterile and was rapidly turning identical to the 20+ meter thick deposit of clay visible in the eroding banks of the terrace. Both trenches were backfilled.

Such a location – on a low terrace commanding ecotonal resources – is often considered virtually stereotypical of Neolithic villages, based on areas such as the Materano and the Tavoliere (Jarman and Webley 1975; Jones 1987; Tinè 1983). Hence, if we suppose that the Calabrian Neolithic was based around large villages as in other areas, San Pasquale seems an obvious area to look for one. Thus, we were especially interested in test-excavating San Pasquale to investigate sites complementary to Umbro, which is clearly not a large, open village. At present, the area of the site is used for several kinds of agricultural production. On the

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While these excavations were taking place, three crew cleaned profiles in eroding places at four locations around the edges of the terrace. In all four places, with profiles up to three meters deep, we encountered stratigraphy identical to that in the test trenches: a litter of stone fragments on the surface, followed by a thin transition to sterile geological deposits. The main, and apparently indisputable, conclusion is that the archaeological deposits in this particular place are entirely superficial. A suggestion was made by L. Saccà that farmers earlier in the century, to improve the quality of land for vines, dumped gravel into the field; few remains were visible on the surface because the real site lay buried a meter or more deep. However, this concept does not account for a number of facts: some artifacts are indeed found on the surface, the scatter of stones is entirely superficial rather than a thick stratum well mixed with the soil; and nowhere in exposed sections is there any evidence of a buried site outcropping at any depth. Instead, the most likely interpretation is that both the sheet of thin schist fragments and the scatter of artifacts identified as the site have washed in from the ridge to the northeast. This is the geological source of the schist, which has nothing to do with the soft sedimentary deposits of the terrace. It would account for the apparent mixing of the fragments, and would also explain their highly fragmented and eroded state, which is so severe that virtually none of them retains its original surface. The concentration of both stones and sherds on the surface of the field where we excavated can be explained through repeated cycles of alluviation and deflation. We thus concluded that there is a genuine Neolithic site somewhere in the vicinity of the area excavated, probably at no great distance. Although some of the relevant areas have been fieldwalked and do indeed yield low-level concentrations of both prehistoric and historic material, it is unclear whether these represent the real site or are also slopewash. The task for the future is to walk and rewalk all areas in the environs, including some steep and thickly brushy areas, to check where the site may have been.

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6. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS 6.1. Umbro: Dating, Stratigraphy, and Site Function

have been a burial site, a ritual site or a domestic site.

The dating and stratigraphy of Umbro are gradually becoming clearer, thanks to numerous small test excavations and radiocarbon dates. The site was first occupied in the early 6th millennium BC by people using Stentinello wares. The area occupied then consisted of a small zone in the shelter of low, east-facing cliffs. Stentinello occupation appears to have continued, continuously or intermittently, at least through the middle of the 5th millennium BC and likely for longer, as Late Neolithic Diana wares are common. There also appears to have been some Copper Age occupation, although this is poorly defined. Following a lapse of perhaps a thousand years, the site was reutilized in the Early Bronze Age by people using ceramics akin to the Eastern Sicilian Rodi-TindariVallelunga wares. Nothing is known of later Bronze Age or Iron Age use of the site, but a small Greek farmstead was occupied from Archaic times onward.

The function of Umbro is inextricably linked to use of the surrounding landscape. For both the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age, understanding the function of the site depends on understanding other sites in the neighborhood – whether Neolithic villages existed nearby, and whether there were domestic or funerary Bronze Age sites nearby.

6.2. The Landscape of Bova Marina from Neolithic through Recent Times General trends in settlement as known from the field survey have been discussed above and are only briefly summarized here. Prehistoric settlement is theoretically poorly understood for the Neolithic and not known for later periods. However, survey data shows early settlement by Greeks, or acculturation of native populations to Greek customs. Surprisingly, hellenization occurred early even at small, inland farmsteads as well as in cities such as Rhegion. Probably the densest settlement in antiquity took place in the later Roman period, between the second and fifth centuries A.D., when intensive occupation of coastal plains and river valleys probably reflects villa-based intensive agriculture. Little is known of the following early medieval period until the foundation of inland hilltop towns such as Bova Superiore. Population rose again in historic times, with dense peasant land use bespoken by numerous now-abandoned farmhouses. Perhaps the final turn in recent settlement history is a general shift in the last century back to the coastlands with the gradual abandonment of traditional mountain villages.

The nature of occupation in each period is less clear and more interesting. In the Neolithic, Umbro was a very small site, which could have been occupied by perhaps five to ten people at most. Influenced by areas such as Puglia, the Materano, the Adriatic coastal strip and eastern Sicily, archaeologists have usually understood Neolithic settlement as centered around villages housing many families. If this settlement pattern was found in Calabria as well, then Umbro must be understood as a special function site of some kind. It would have been occupied by a fraction of society performing some combination of specialized tasks such as hunting, herding, making pottery, or conducting rituals. Such a group may have been a nuclear family, or it may have been recruited along age, gender, ritual or other lines. However, we must also consider the possibility that Neolithic settlement in Calabria did not follow the pattern established elsewhere; it could have been decentralized, without fixed, aggregated villages (cf. Whittle 1996). Evidence from Trench 1 gives some idea of the nature of activities carried on at the site. Pots were made, probably in the dry season; cereals were prepared for consumption; domestic animals were eaten; exotic materials were fashioned into axes and cutting tools.

6.3 Future Work Future work includes several logical developments of this season’s researches. Our field survey plans include three primary objectives: (1) to continue survey in the comune of Bova Marina, exploring especially inland territories. (2) to expand survey inland to the comune of Bova Superiore, in order to understand settlement in the entire range of environmental zones locally available and used in historical times.

The function of Umbro in the Early Bronze Age is currently equally ambiguous; as known from limited preliminary excavations, it may

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Areas to target specifically include the hills between Umbro and Bova Superiore, the immediate surroundings of Bova Superiore, and the Campi di Bova, a small highland plain traditionally used as pastures for people based at Bova.

area, though on a limited scale. The specific goals will be to further define the chronology of the site, to ascertain the beginning of occupation at the base of the sequence near the cliff, and to recover further scientific samples (for example, for flotation). We hope to conduct substantial excavations in the Early Bronze Age area, primarily to understand the nature of the site and, if it turns out a burial site, to learn about EBA funerary ritual. Finally, we hope to conduct test excavations in the Greek site about 200 meters south of Umbro. As noted earlier, excavation of a small, early inland Greek farmstead has the potential to yield much new information about social processes of acculturation in the early colonial period.

(3) to begin a program of small test excavations in undated prehistoric sites, to check the presence of periods such as the Copper and Bronze Ages which are very difficult to identify from survey materials and to verify the presence of Neolithic sites in the surroundings of Umbro. The targets for 2000 include a probable Bronze Age site at Limaca, about 200 meters north of Umbro, and two undated ceramic scatters about 300 meters southwest of Umbro. The excavation goals are straightforward. We hope to continue excavations in the Neolithic

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Ammerman, A.

Foley, R.

1987 Ricenti contributi sul neolitico della Calabria. Atti, Riunione Scientifica dell'I.I.P.P. 26:333-349.

1981 A model of regional archaeological structure. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 47:1-17.

Bernabò Brea, L.

Garcea, F., and D. Williams

1957 Sicily before the Greeks. Thames and Hudson, London.

1987 Appunti sulla produzione e circolazione delle lucerne nel napoletano tra VII e VIII secolo. Archeologia Medievale 14:537-545.

Bernabò Brea, L., and M. Cavalier 1956 Civiltà preistoriche delle Isole Eolie e del territorio del Milazzo. Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 66:7-98.

Gregg, S. 1988 Foragers and farmers: population interaction and agricultural expansion in prehistoric Europe. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

1960 Meligunìs Lipára. Volume I: La stazione preistorica della contrada Diana e la necropoli preistorica di Lipari. Pubblicazioni del Museo Eoliano di Lipari. S. F. Flaccovio, Palermo.

Higgs, E., and C. Vita-Finzi 1972 Prehistoric economies: a territorial approach. In Papers in economic prehistory, edited by E. Higgs, pp. 27-36. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

1980 Meligunìs Lipára, Volume IV: l'acropoli di Lipari nella preistoria. Publications of the Museo Eolio. Flaccovio, Palermo.

Jarman, M., and D. Webley

Castellana, G.

1975 Settlement and land use in Capitanata, Italy. In Palaeoeconomy, edited by E. Higgs, pp. 177-231. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

1996 La stipe votiva del Ciavolaro nel quadro del Bronzo Antico Siciliano. Assessorato regionale beni culturali ambieltali e pubblica istruzione, Agrigento.

Jarman, M. G., G. Bailey, and H. Jarman

Ceci, M.

1982 Early European agriculture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

1992 Note sulla circolazione delle lucerne a Roma nell'VIII secolo: i contesti della Crypta Balbi. Archeologia Medievale 19:749-766.

Jones, G.B.D. 1987 Apulia. Society of Antiquaries, London.

Cocchi Genick, D.

Leighton, R.

1996 Manuale di Preistoria. III. Età del Rame. Octavo, Firenze.

1999 Sicily before history. Duckworth, London.

Costamagna, L.

Maniscalco, L.

1991 La sinagoga di Bova Marina nel quadro degli insediamenti tardoantichi della costa jonica meridionale della Calabria. Mèlanges de l'école française di Rome 2.

1996 Early Bronze Age funerary ritual and architecture: monumnetal tombs at Santa Febronia. In Early Societies in Sicily, edited by R. Leighton, pp. 81-87. Accordia Research Centre, London.

Costantini, L. 1988 Cereali e legumi del sito neolitico di Capo Alfiere, Unpublished manuscript.

1999 The Sicilian Bronze Age pottery service. In Social Dynamics of the Prehistoric Central Mediterranean, edited by R. H. Tykot, J. Morter, and J. E. Robb, pp. 185-194. Accordia Research Centre, London.

Costantini, L., and M. Stancanelli 1994 La preistoria agricola dell' Italia centro-meridionale: il contributo delle indagini archeobotaniche. Origini 18:149243.

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Whitehouse, and J. Wilkins, pp. 29-34. Accordia Research Center, London.

Morter, J. 1992 Capo Alfiere and the Middle Neolithic period in eastern Calabria, Southern Italy. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas, Austin.

1994 A radiocarbon date-list for prehistoric Italy (c. 46,400 BP - 2450 BP/400 cal. BC). In Radiocarbon dating and Italian prehistory, edited by R. Skeates, and R. Whitehouse, pp. 147-288. Accordia Specialist Studies on Italy, 3. Accordia Research Center, London.

O'Hare, G. 1990 A preliminary study of polished stone artefacts in prehistoric southern Italy. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 56:123-152.

Stranges, S. 1992 Importante ritrovamento stentinelliano a Bova Marina. Calabria Sconosciuta 15:51-52.

Orsi, P. 1890 Stazione neolitica di Stentinello. Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana 16:177200.

Stranges, S., and L. Saccà 1994 Nuove acquisizioni sulla preistoria nella Jonica Reggina. Calabria Sconosciuta 17:19-22.

Robb, J. 1997 Bova Marina Field Survey: Preliminary Report, 1997 Season. Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Southampton.

Tinè, S. 1983 Passo di Corvo e la civiltà neolitica del Tavoliere. Sagep, Genova.

Robb, J. E.

1992 Bova Survey 1992. Istituto Italiano di Archeologia Sperimentale, Genova.

1998 Bova Marina Archaeological Project: Survey and Excavations at Umbro. Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, Southampton.

Tozzi, C., and G. Tasca 1989 Ripa Tetta. Atti Convegno Nazionale sulla Preistoria, Protostoria e Storia della Daunia 11:39-54.

Servizio Geologico dell'Italia 1970 Carta Geologica dell'Italia. per il Mezzogiorno. 1:25000. 1976

Cassa Tusa, S.

1993 La Sicilia nella preistoria. 2nd ed. Sellerio, Palermo.

Carta Geologica dell'Italia. IGM.

1:500000.

Whitehouse, R.

Shaffer, G.

1986 Siticulosa Apulia revisited. Antiquity 60:36-44.

1985 Architectural resources and their effect on certain neolithic settlements in Southern Italy. In Papers in Italian Archaeology IV: the Cambridge conference, edited by C. Malone, and S. Stoddart, pp. 101-117. BAR International Series, 245. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.

Whittle, A. 1996 Neolithic Europe: the creation of new worlds. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Zohary, D., and M. Hopf 1993 Domestication of plants in the Old World. Clarendon, Oxford.

Skeates, R. 1992 Thin-section analysis of Italian neolithic pottery. In Papers of the Fourth Conference of Italian Archaeology. Volume 3: New developments in Italian archaeology, edited by E. Herring, R.

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FIGURES AND TABLES Figures 1.

Map of areas surveyed and sites found, 1997-1999.

2.

Map of areas surveyed in the Umbro area.

3.

Map of areas surveyed in the Mazza area.

4.

Map of grid collection units at Mazza.

5.

GIS reconstruction of prehistoric land use.

6.

Umbro: site map.

7.

Umbro: general view of cliffs with Neolithic site below, Bronze Age site above (from north).

8.

Trench 1 plan.

9.

Trench 1 section.

10. Trench 1 general view at end of excavations. 11. Trench 6 profile of road cut before excavation of trench. 12. Trench 6 plan of excavations. 13. Trench 6 profile of excavations. 14. Trench 6 plan of pot group. 15. Trench 6 general view of Bronze Age surface and rock fall. 16. Trench 6 Bronze Age pots in situ. 17. Trench 7 plan. 18. Trench 7 profile. 19. Trench 7 general view. 20. Clearing bedrock near peak of site. 21. Area 2 general view (1998 excavations). 22. Trench 3 general view (1998 excavations). 23. Trench 4 general view (1998 excavations). 24. Trench 5 general view (1998 excavations). 25. Umbro: Stentinello pottery. 26. Umbro: Diana pottery. 27. Umbro: Other prehistoric pottery. 28. Umbro: Early Bronze Age vessels from Trench 6 deposition. 29. Umbro: miscellaneous tools: (a) stampini, (b) worked bone, (c) worked shell. 30. Umbro: ground stone (a) axe, (b) miniature replica axe. 31. San Pasquale general view of location of test pits. 32. San Pasquale Trench 1 test pit. 33. San Pasquale Trench 2 test pit.

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Tables Table 1. Trench 1 finds and taphonomic characteristics by depth. Table 2. Summary of faunal assemblage from Trench 1. Table 3. Summary of lithic assemblage from Trench 1. Table 4. Summary of daub frequencies in Trench 1. Table 5. Paleobotanical samples. Table 6. Radiocarbon dates.

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1.

Map of areas surveyed and sites found, 1997-1999.

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2.

Map of areas surveyed in the Umbro area.

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3.

Map of areas surveyed in the Mazza area.

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4.

Map of grid collection units at Mazza.

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5.

GIS reconstruction of prehistoric land use.

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6.

Umbro: site map.

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7.

Umbro: general view of cliffs with Neolithic site below, Bronze Age site above (from north).

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8.

Trench 1 plan.

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9.

Trench 1 section.

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10. Trench 1 general view at end of excavations.

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11. Trench 6 profile of road cut before excavation of trench.

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12. Trench 6 plan of excavations.

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13. Trench 6 profile of excavations.

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14. Trench 6 plan of pot group.

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15. Trench 6 general view of Bronze Age surface and rock fall.

63

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

16. Trench 6 Bronze Age pots in situ.

64

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

17. Trench 7 plan.

65

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

18. Trench 7 profile.

66

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

19. Trench 7 general view.

67

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

20. Clearing bedrock near peak of site.

68

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

21. Area 2 general view (1998 excavations).

69

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

22. Trench 3 general view (1998 excavations).

70

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

23. Trench 4 general view (1998 excavations).

71

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

24. Trench 5 general view (1998 excavations).

72

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

25. Umbro: Stentinello pottery.

73

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

26. Umbro: Diana pottery.

74

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

27. Umbro: Other prehistoric pottery.

75

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

28. Umbro: Early Bronze Age vessels from Trench 6 deposition.

76

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

29. Umbro: miscellaneous tools: (a) stampini, (b) worked bone, (c) worked sherd.

77

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

30. Umbro: ground stone (a) axe, (b) miniature replica axe.

78

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

31. San Pasquale general view of location of test pits.

79

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

32. San Pasquale Trench 1 test pit.

80

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

33. San Pasquale Trench 2 test pit.

81

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

Table 1. Trench 1 finds and taphonomic characteristics by depth. Stratum

Depth

I II III IV V*

0-130 130-160 160-190 190-230 230-250

Ceramics

Obsidian

Flint

Fauna

Daub

Ground stone

% Fauna burnt

528 1172 710 388 99

59 110 106 71 28

2 6 7 2 0

186 329 338 343 135

54 269 361 330 80

1 10 8 0 1

37 29 19 17 20

82

sherd diameter (mean) 29.7 33.9 32.6 32.6 26.1

obsidian length (mean) 15.7 19.9 17.2 19.0 17.7

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

Table 2. Summary of faunal assemblage from Trench 1.

stratum

depth

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5

0-100 0-120 0-130 0-147 100-110 110-120 120-130 135-150 110-120 120-130 130-140 140-150 150-160 160-170 160-170 170-180 180-190 190-200 200-210 200-210 210-220 220-230 230-240 240-250 240-250 250-260 260-270 270-280

unburned fragments 44 8 2 3 22 16 18 4 21 27 47 50 77 13 62 82 74 49 7 69 76 83 25 30 67 24 16 1

burned fragments 13 6 1 1 40 7 1 22 9 14 26 18 5 28 18 13 3 2 17 11 12 13 7 3 19 2 3

83

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

Table 3. Summary of lithic assemblage from Trench 1.

stratum 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5

raw mat. f o f o f o f o o

blade

blade fragment

chunk

core

4

5 1 12 1 20

5

1

12

4

12

1

10 5

7 2

1

3 1 3 3

84

flake

tool

1 42 4 72 4 63 1 48 20

1 2 1 7 1 7 1 2 1

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

Table 4. Summary of daub frequencies from Trench 1.

stratum

depth

Total fragments/level

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5

0-100 0-120 0-147 100-110 110-120 120-130 135-150 110-120 120-130 130-140 140-150 150-160 160-170 160-170 170-180 180-190 190-200 200-210 200-210 210-220 220-230 230-240 240-250 240-250 250-260

8 5 3 13 9 7 9 9 9 36 58 128 29 107 91 46 76 41 129 116 40 39 6 46 34

Average fragments/ square 2.66 5 3 6.5 9 7 9 2.25 2.25 7.2 5.8 11.64 29 11.89 10.11 5.11 12.67 41 16.13 16.57 10 9.75 3 15.33 17

85

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

Table 5. Paleobotanical samples.

Sample N. Feature/Context

Sample vol. Seed/Litre flot/res Type of context Period/phase common Taxon body name part cereals cereals barley

Cerealia Cerealia Hordeum cf. vulgare Hordeum sp.

(wild?) barley heinkorn/ Triticum emmer monococcum/ dicoccum heinkorn/ Triticum emmer monococcum/ dicoccum emmer Triticum dicoccum emmer Triticum dicoccum bread Triticum aestivum wheat s.l. wheat Triticum sp. wheat Triticum sp. Atriplex sp. vetch Vicia/Lathyrus Trifolium/Medica go/ Melilotus grape Vitis vinifera grasses Gramineae (Poa type) grasses Gramineae

Charcoal eggs/coprolites cyst small bones

9 T1 7n-36e (160-170) str.II 20

7 T1 7n.36e str.III 20

5 T1 7n.36e (230-240) Str IV 20

8 T1 7n.36e (250-260) str.V 20

6 T1 8n.37e (230-240) 2.5

f stratum Neol

f stratum Neol

f stratum Neol

f stratum Neol

f feature fill Neol

4

6

10

6

6

1

2

4

6 1 3

1

1

1

1

pres.

gr c.n. gr

carb carb carb

gr

carb

gl.b.

carb

3

f

carb

1

gl.b.

carb

1

f

carb

gr

carb

gr r.in. s s s

carb carb carb carb carb

s s

mo carb

s

carb

carb carb

2

1

3

1

1

1

2 1

1 1 1

3 1

2

1 1 1 1

1

1 modern seeds 5fr

3fr

x

2 x

86

10fr x 1 x

15fr 2 x

15fr 3

Bova Marina Archaeological Project 1999

Table 6. Radiocarbon dates. Sample

Material

Trench

Level

ID

Umbro-1

Charcoal

3

210-220 cm

Beta122935

Uncal. Date 1770 +/60 BP

Umbro-2

Charcoal

3

220-230 cm

--

--

Umbro-3

Charcoal

1 (-8n/37e)

Beta122937

4330 +/50 BP

Umbro-4

Charcoal

1 (-8n/37e)

Beta122938

5790 +/50 BP

Umbro-5

Charcoal

1 (-8n/36e)

Beta122939

6750 +/50 BP

Umbro-6

Animal bone

4

181 cm, sublocus 1 (Stratum 3) 210-220 cm (Base of Stratum 3) 250-260 cm (Stratum 5) Stratum I

Beta122940

modern

Umbro-7

Human bone

3

Beta125061

1600 +/40 BP

180-190 cm

Calibrated date* AD 120 415 (AD 250) --

3045 2880 BC (2910 BC) 4780 4515 BC (4680 BC) 5685 5565 BC (5600 BC) modern

Notes Late Roman sample not analyzed Copper Age

Middle Neolithic

Early Neolithic

AMS date; no valid result AMS date; Late Roman AMS date

AD 395560 (AD 440) Umbro-13 Charcoal 1 (-7n/160-170 Beta5930 +/494536e) cm (Strata 135146 70 BP 4615 BC II/III) (4785 BC) Umbro-15 Charcoal 1 (-7n/180-190 Beta6620 +/5660AMS date 36e) cm (top of 135147 60 BP 5485 BC Stratum (5610 III) BC) Umbro-19 Charcoal 6 (-60n/60-70 (III: Beta3390 +/1865AMS date 6e) same level 135150 60 BP 1520 BC as base of (1680 pot scatter BC) * calibrated date is 2 sigma, 95% probability range with intersection of radiocarbon age with calibration curve in parentheses **Umbro-8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, and 20 are charcoal samples archived and not dated.

87

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