Index for 2013

• 1 - Paolo Visonà. 2013. University of Kentucky Archaeological Investigations at Monte Palazzi (Passo Croceferrata, Grotteria, Calabria) and in the Locrian chora in 2010-2012. Abstract: The University of Kentucky’s last field season at Monte Palazzi in 2010 included both excavation and a geophysical survey aimed at establishing the boundaries and the structural characteristics of the site, identified as a Greek mountain fort of Locri Epizephyrii. Topographical reconnaissances were also conducted between 2010-2012 at locations in the upper Torbido River Valley that could have been used for intersignaling (such as Monte Limina), and at other fortified sites in southern Calabria (e.g. San Salvatore, Serro di Tavola, and Monte Gallo) in order to better understand the functions of a military installation on Monte Palazzi. Excavation was focused upon two adjoining units at the southern end of the summit (E4 and F5), which had been partially investigated in 2008. It uncovered a portion of the fort’s central area, probably an open-air courtyard, and of the inner face of the southern perimeter wall, 2.5 m wide. The construction of this rampart was dated to the first half of the 5th century B.C. by the fineware recovered beneath its foundations. However, there is evidence that a Greek outpost existed at Monte Palazzi at least as early as the second half of the 6th century B.C. The site appears to have been occupied continuously throughout the classical period. It may have been abandoned or destroyed in the first half of the 3rd century B.C., although traces of an abandonment or destruction stratum have not yet been found. A magnetic and an electrical resistance survey have determined that a large structure, encompassing an area of c.1,300 m², occupied the entire summit. Its irregular design followed the contour of the mountaintop, and its general features are consistent with those of other Greek archaic forts within the region. The longer life span of our fort attests to its singular importance as a key node on an overland route connecting Locri to the Tyrrhenian and a control point on the northeastern flank of the Locrian chora. PDFpermalinkRecord Sheet