Summary (English)
The excavations were carried out by CNR and students from Naples ‘Orientale’ University. Work continued in the north-west quadrant of the area, completing that begun in 2014. The excavations exposed the margin of the sanctuary on this side of the site: this was represented by a complex architectural feature, formed by a monumental channel on a NW-SE alignment. Today it appears in an altered state, particularly the parapet and underlying cuniculus with arched vault that exits in the rock face above the ravine of the Manganello torrent. At the surface, the channel presented a “U” shaped section. Several iron bullet casings from a modern automatic weapon were recovered from inside the channel, which a preliminary classification dates to the Second World War. Abutting this structure were the sub-foundations in tufa of a quadrangular structure, each side c. 1.20 m, whose corners were aligned with the cardinal points. The structure was apparently explored in its entirety at the surface. It can be interpreted as a sacrificial altar. There was no stratigraphy around it; in fact, the tufa bedrock was covered by only a few centimetres of humus. The bedrock showed signs of systematic quarrying. A small trench was opened to the south west of the altar in order to investigate the depth of soil covering the western side of the tufa plateau on which the sanctuary stands. A sheer drop in the bedrock was revealed, the result of a cut on a NW-SE alignment, thus in perfect alignment with the channel-cuniculus structure.
- Vincenzo Bellelli 
Director
Team
- Andrea Ercolani - ISMA – CNR
- Isidoro Tantillo - Università degli studi di Palermo
- Rocco Mitro - Soc. coop. Aretè. Archeologia e territorio, Potenza
- Ylenia Salvadori - Università “Federico II”, Napoli
- Daniele Mallardi
- Gerardo Sassano
- Giorgio Trojsi - Università “Suor Orsola Benincasa”, Napoli
Research Body
Funding Body
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