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Excavation

  • Siris Herakleia
  • Policoro
  • Siris Herakleia
  • Italy
  • Basilicate
  • Province of Matera
  • Policoro

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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)

  • In 2011, excavations continued on the fourth terrace in the northern part of the sanctuary, where the layout of the structures was further defined. Trench 1/10 on the slope was extended downwards to the north in order to gain an overall idea of the aspect and actual dimensions of the building known as “oikos H”, discovered in 2010. Building H measures 5.30 × 3.10 m. Adjacent to building H, to the west, was another rectangular structure of similar size (“oikos I”). An alley, 80 cm wide ran between the buildings, almost on the same alignment as the so-called via sacra and the steps leading to the upper terrace. A significant find in this area was a dump of ceramic table and kitchen wares in association with animal remains and shells. The great quantity of the shells suggests that the eating of seafood was an important part of ritual banqueting. A certain variety of edible bivalve marine molluscs were documented, including venus verrucosa (warty venus), glycimeris glycimeris (bittersweet clam), arca noae (Noah’s ark), donax trunculus (tellina), pectin jacobaeus (scallop) and even marine gastropods such as the common murex. Work also continued on the removal of US 293, which covered the entire terrace. This layer contained finds dating from the 4th century B.C. until well into the second half of the 3rd century B.C., including cooking pots, tablewares, Gnathian style vases and Demetriacal protome-busts.

    New dedicatory inscriptions to Demeter by Zopyriskos («ZOPYRISKOS DAMATRI ANETHEKEN») were documented on the rims of two hydria, a name already known from other inscriptions on vases from the sanctuary. An entrance to structure “H” (1.60 m wide) came to light in the middle of south wall USM 297 below the earth layer US 320. This entrance, later blocked, was paved with cobbles and reused elements dating to the end of the 6th-4th century B.C. A concentration of stones and fragmented building materials was found at the northern edge (of the northern part) of oikos H. This was probably a dump of materials in secondary deposition. Numerous 4th century B.C. deposits were identified within layer US 310 in the sector west of the oikos. These produced the usual table and kitchenwares as well as miniature vases, animal bones and edible marine mollusc shells.

    An interesting find was the skeletal remains of dogs’ paws. North of deposit US 319, a wall 40 cm wide came to light, on an east-west alignment (USM 324). It reused earlier building materials and 4th century pottery B.C., for example a louterion fragment.

    A long trench (16 × 2 m) was opened in area 3/07 situated between the two zones of the sanctuary, where work on the eastern sector continued. Layer US 288 comprised five layers of cobbles, among which were fragments of tegulae, archaic pottery, Ionic cups, one-handles cups with banded decoration and skyphoi dating to the second half of the 6th century B.C. and beginning of the 5th century B.C.

  • Michael Tschurtschenthaler - Univ. Innsbruck Institut fur Klassische Archeologie Leopold-Franzens 
  • Veronica Gertl - Università di Innsbruck 

Director

Team

  • Brinna Otto - Università di Innsbruck
  • Salvatore Bianco - Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Basilicata
  • Gerhard Forstenpointner - Università di Innsbruck
  • Barbara Welte - Università di Innsbruck
  • Otto Defranceschi - Università di Innsbruck

Research Body

  • Università di Innsbruck, Istituto di Archeologia Classica e Provinciale Romana

Funding Body

  • Università di Innsbruck

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