21 - G. Cacciaguerra, 2011, Thapsos tra l'età romana e medievale (original) (raw)
Related papers
in La ceramica in Sicilia dalla Preistoria all’Età Contemporanea, Atti del II Convegno Internazionale 2021, a cura di R. Panvini, A. Nicotra, Catania-Museo Diocesano 11-13 novembre 2021, Roma 2022, pp. 149-161., 2022
Minima Thapsiana. Riflessioni sulla cronologia dell'abitato di Thapsos
Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, 2007
This paper is faced with the problem of the relative and absolute chronology of the first two phases of Thapsos’ residential quarter. It is well known that the phasing put forward by the excavator (G. Voza) is in contrast with the traditional Sicilian cultural sequence outlined by L. Bernabò Brea. In Bernabò Brea’s view, the Thapsos period (Middle Bronze Age), spanning from XIV BC down to the first quarter of XIII BC, was followed by the Pantalica North period (Late Bronze Age) from about middle XIII BC onward. Voza, on the basis of his excavations at the Thapsos’peninsula between the 70’s and 80’s of the past century, isolated three different phases: the first two belonging to the Thapsos period, the third to the Final Bronze Age. The first, characterized by round huts with annexes, was dated to the XIV BC, while the second, with its rectangular complexes, was ascribed to the XIII-XII BC. In this view, Thapsos’ second phase was contemporary to the Pantalica North culture. It becomes clear that the topic of the chronology of Thapsos’ residential quarter is of utmost relevance in the frame of the cultural sequence in eastern Sicily. This paper is aimed to ascertain if and how the chronology of the ceramic items from Thapsos’ residential quarter could shed a new light on the problem of Voza’s phasing. The author attempts to take into account distribution, provenance and possible chrono- logy of both imported (Maltese-Borg in-Nadur) and local wares (the latter bearing Mycenaean-inspired decorative motives), in order to critically review the absolute and relative dating of the structures. He proposes a chronology that is alternative, but no always incompatible, to that previously put forward. The author proposes: a) to lower down to the early XIII BC (parallel to the early MIC IIIB) the chronology of the later use of Thapsos’ northern quarter with round huts (Voza phase I); b) the items from the Complex B are not consistent with a date later that the early XIII BC; the possible provenance of these items from a use-level of the structure leads to believe that this Complex was build during the XIV BC, claiming, therefore, a dating earlier than the traditional one as well as a period of coexistence between round huts and complex structures; c) in lack of any good chronological hint, the Complex A is dated on the grounds of its typological consistence with the Complex B; d) only for the Complex C it can be assumed a period of re-use during the Final Bronze Age. Finally, these remarks are related to other data. On the one hand, it is stressed the synchronism between the construction of the Complexes and the social stratification in act in the Thapsos’ society during the same period; on the other hand, it is stressed the existence at Cannatello (Middle Bronze Age settlement) of a situation similar to that of Thapsos, as far as the coexistence of round and rectangular structures during the XIV BC is concerned.
FOLD&R Fasti On Line Documents & Research, 443, 2019
Situated in the township of Cinigiano in the subcoastal area of the Province of Grosseto, Tombarelle was the eighth Roman rural settlement excavated by the Roman Peasant Project (RPP). The project, focusing on the lifestyle, economies, architecture and material culture of the Roman rural non-elites, selected Tombarelle for excavation because the surface evidence pointed to its possible function as a nucleated settlement serving as a reference point for smaller rural sites in its hinterland. A recently published paper – Tombarelle 1 – presented the field walking survey, excavation and late-Republican to early-imperial ceramics, whereas this article focuses on the late imperial and medieval pottery. As in Tombarelle 1, ceramics are analysed through various perspectives, including typological and functional, to shed light on cultural, economic and culinary changes over time. Moreover, the pottery’s fragmentation in the archaeological record is tested by statistical tools to illuminate the processes of formation of deposits. The excavated data reveals that Tombarelle was, rather than a small village as suggested by field survey, a Roman farmstead provided with annexes and production facilities that experienced a long but intermittent occupation and medieval reuse. Pottery shows its vast potential in shedding light on the local economy and the site’s artisanal vocation in two different phases of its Roman occupation. In sum, Tombarelle with its datasets offers a significant contribution to the understanding of the variety of activities undertaken by the Roman rural communities along the middle Ombrone valley.
MDCCC 1800, 2019
The present paper takes the cue from an anonymous letter sent in 1844 to the camerlengo Tommaso Riario Sforza to denounce the poor conservative conditions in which Veronese’s Rape of Europe, in the Pinacoteca Capitolina in Rome, was placed. Considered one of the gems of the Roman collections, as the contemporary sources attest, especially due to the scarcity of works by Venetian masters in Rome, the large canvas was important above all as a model for young artists to exercise on colouring. Following this complaint, the painting will be taken over by the under-inspector Filippo Agricola, who will make the design for a new frame and will entrust the restoration to Giovanni Regis.