Regional archaeological patterns in the Sibaritide; preliminary results of the RPC field survey campaign 2000

Abstract

In the late summer of 2000 members of the Groningen Institute of Archaeology carried out a three-week archaeological field survey in the Sibaritide (Calabria, South Italy) within the framework of the Regional Pathways to Complexity project, a joint undertaking by the archaeological institutes of Groningen University and the Free University of Amsterdam. The survey area is located opposite the protohistorical site of Francavilla Marittima that is currently being excavated by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology and transects series of marine and fluvial terraces along the river Raganello. The survey covered 125 hectares intensively and 315 hectares extensively. The aims of the survey were twofold; to compare the results obtained by modern survey methods such as adopted by the RPC project with those from earlier region-wide topographical surveys in order to identify possibie biases in the older regional data sets; and to add to the earlier piecemeal site catchment surveys carried out by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology as part of the Francavilla Marittima excavations in the period 1991-2000. Following a description of the survey and finds processing methods employed, the results of the survey are presented and discussed in two main chronological phases (protohistory and Hellenistic/Roman). Finally, implications for future research in the catchment of Francavilla Marittima are laid out.