TWENTY YEARS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS

A brief summary of the history of human occupation on the Aeolian archipelago, that on Lipari in particular (the only island which has been virtually permanently inhabited from the beginning of the Middle Neolithic period, i.e. from the last centuries of the 5th millennium BC, up to the present day)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mediterranean archaeology 1992-01, Vol.5/6, p.5-13
Main Authors: Cavalier, Madeleine, Robinson, E. G. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bronze age
Excavations
Forts
Graves
Island settlements
Obsidian
Pottery
Sarcophagi
The Archaeology of the Aeolian Islands Proceedings of the Conferences held at the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney on 28/29 May and 5 June, 1992
Trenches
Vases
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Summary:A brief summary of the history of human occupation on the Aeolian archipelago, that on Lipari in particular (the only island which has been virtually permanently inhabited from the beginning of the Middle Neolithic period, i.e. from the last centuries of the 5th millennium BC, up to the present day), is followed by an account of the main archaeological discoveries made on the islands during the last twenty years, such as the Neolithic settlement on the island of Salina in the Rinicedda area, with remains of huts going back to the last centuries of the 5th millennium BC; the unique thermal tholos of San Calogero on the island of Lipari, built before the end of the 15th century BC; a votive pit found in the sanctuary dedicated to Aeolus on Lipari (its mouth covered with a lid of volcanic stone decorated with a lion, the emblem of Knidos, Lipára's mother city); remains of Lipari's successive city walls (the most recent of which is probably to be connected with the period of the Civil Wars between Octavian and Sextus Pompeius between 43 and 36 BC, a time during which the Aeolian Islands were of great strategic importance). The most important finds come from the Greek necropolis of Lipari, where more than 2800 graves have so far been excavated, ranging in date from the 6th century to 252 BC, the year of the Roman conquest. The rich grave-offerings suggest that throughout this period the standard of living was very high, and that there were no major differences in wealth based on social class. The impression is of growing prosperity, and although there is a good number of objects of high artistic value from the 6th and 5th centuries, the richest graves are those of the 4th and the first half of the 3rd centuries BC.
ISSN:1030-8482