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Excavation

  • Grotta San Biagio
  • Ostuni
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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)

    • The Grotta di San Biagio is situated a few kilometres from Ostuni (292 m a.s.l.), close to the sanctuary of San Biagio from which it takes its name. This is a large karstic cave, rich in stalactite and stalagmite formations, at present linked to the exterior via a short cuniculus, artificially widened following the grotto’s discovery in the 1950s.

      Excavations have documented occupation of the cave between the end of the Neolithic and early phases of the Eneolithic periods, when the entrance to the cave must have been similar to the present situation – that is difficult to access which suggests that the cave was not used as a dwelling.

      Therefore, it is possible that the cave was used mainly for cult and funerary purposes, as attested by the presence of decontextualised human remains. On this basis it is probable that the identified features relate to cult structures in which simple rites were practiced involving lighting of fires and food consumption.

      During the 2010 campaign the trenches were extended across almost the entire rear area of the cave, becoming a single area open excavation. Two large structured hearths were identified, probably relating to different periods of use, one at the centre of the cave and the other on the north-eastern side, on top of a deposit of red earth. The structures were sub-circular characterised by the presence of grey ash interspersed with charcoal layers and surrounded by stones. The hearth on top of the red earth deposit (diameter about 80 cm) was built of a series of flat stones laid on edge and arranged around it; it was filled with greyish ash. Outside the hearth, large rocks were found on the eastern side of the cave, perhaps deliberately placed to form some sort of structure. Furthermore, the investigations identified a large enclosure on the western side, perhaps delimiting the northern part of the cave, along its perimeter. The structure comprised large blocks arranged horizontally in irregular courses, probably bonded with compact red earth. Inside the enclosure the archaeological deposit was characterised by levels of gravel interspersed with charcoally or blackish-grey lenses, containing numerous pottery fragments, some reconstructable, animal bone and objects of personal ornament.

      Inside the enclosure a circular pit of a ritual nature was identified, bordered by small and medium- sized stones, with a diameter of circa 50 cm and depth of 60 cm. The walls were partially reinforced by larger stones and the fill was loose. Diverse elements were found inside the pit suggesting its cult function. Together with numerous large animal bones, there was a double point on a worked bone of circa 15 cm in length, a bivalve shell filled with yellow and red ochre, a grey flint scraper point probably from the Gargano, a large jar fragment painted in the Serra d’Alto style with meander and cruciform motifs, and at the base of the well a bone figurine, probably female with a bird mask, which can be ascribed to the tradition of Neolithic anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines of the Serra d’Alto facies.

    • Antonio Curci - Università degli Studi di Bologna 
    • Francesco Genchi - Università degli Studi di Bologna, Dipartimento di Archeologia 

    Director

    • Donato Coppola - Università degli Studi di Bari “Aldo Moro”, Dipartimento di Beni Culturali e Scienze del Linguaggio, Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici, Museo di Civiltà Preclassiche della Murgia meridionale di Ostuni

    Team

    • Francesca Romana Del Fattore - Matrix 96 Società Cooperativa
    • Elena Maini - Università degli Studi di Bologna
    • Letizia Carra - Università degli Studi di Bologna

    Research Body

    • Università degli Studi di Bologna “Alma Mater Studiorum”, Dipartimento di Archeologia

    Funding Body

    • Fondazione Flaminia, Ravenna

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