Fasti Online Home | Switch To Fasti Archaeological Conservation | Survey
logo

Excavation

  • Chiaro
  • Chiaro
  •  
  • Italy
  • Calabria
  • Province of Catanzaro
  • Sellia Marina

Tools

Credits

  • The Italian Database is the result of a collaboration between:

    MIBAC (Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali - Direzione Generale per i Beni Archeologici),

    ICCD (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione) and

    AIAC (Associazione Internazionale di Archeologia Classica).

  • AIAC_logo logo

Summary (English)

  • Early in 2006, in the territory of Sellia Marina on the Ionian coast of the province of Catanzaro, a trench opened for gas pipe laying, cut into an extensive and substantial dump of pottery. This comprised mainly amphora sherds and the remains of demolished kilns. In the summer of 2006 this watching brief was followed by the first of a series of extensive investigations, still ongoing, undertaken by the Calabrian Superintendency in collaboration with the Ionian Archaeological Group “L. Magrini”.

    It is more than likely that the containers recovered were produced on site. The presence of the kiln rubble supports this hypothesis as do the characteristics of the pottery assemblage found. Moreover, the sherds are similar to those of the Dressel 1A and 1B which came out of the kiln at the villa rustica a few kilometers away in the locality of Cropani in Basilicata. The presence of wasters also supports this hypothesis. The dump at Sellia Marina, locality of Chiaro, which was probably put into place for drainage purposes, was formed by several hundred amphorae, which although very fragmentary – there were no completely reconstructable or intact examples – can be identified as Dressel 1A.

    In contrast to the Cropani amphorae, their forms show clear affinities with the Lamboglia 2, falling into the category of hybrids which are found in growing quantities Ionian Calabria. This seems to be justified by its geographical position which permitted it to act as a link between the two sides of the peninsula. A very few diagnostic sherds document the sporadic presence in the dump of Dressel 1B, Lamboglia 2, Dressel 2-4 and the Brindisian type. The second highest percentage after the Dressel 1A, but still greatly inferior in number, was that of “bag-shaped” containers without handles, very similar to those already known in the regional territory as they were used for the transportation of pix bruttia. These containers were also probably made on site.

    Although only two stamps were found amongst the Cropani amphorae, only one of which complete (LVSI), circa one hundred fragments of Dressel 1A from the locality of Chiaro constitute an interesting and somewhat unusual epigraphic collection. There was a clear prevalence of three anthroponyms.

Director

  • Maria Grazia Aisa - Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Calabria

Team

  • Giuseppe Nicoletti - Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Calabria

Research Body

  • Soprintendenza Beni Archeologici della Calabria

Funding Body

  • SNAM Rete Gas

Images

  • No files have been added yet