Was it all Greek in Southern Italy? Large numbers of Greek people migrated from the mainland during the first millennium BC and new colonies were established in different areas around the Mediterranean. This colonisation process has mainly been viewed from the Greek perspective, yet evidence shows that local people also had a major influence on cultural development, as Professor Martin Guggisberg explains. Many Greek people
migrated from the mainland to different areas around the Mediterranean during the first half of the first millennium BC, particularly to Italy. These migrants established colonies along the Southern Italian coast, including Paestum and Taranto, and brought with them many aspects of Greek culture. “People spoke Greek, buildings were inspired by Greek architecture and the Greek economic system was adopted. The region became essentially part of the Greek world until the Romans conquered the entire area around the 3rd-2nd century BC,” outlines Martin Guggisberg, Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Basle. This process of Greek colonisation has previously been investigated mainly from the Greek point of view, yet evidence shows that the local people weren’t simply absorbing Greek culture. “Evidence from the necropolis of Francavilla Marittima tells us more about the local people. They had their own civilisation – we can see how these two civilisations merge,” says Professor Guggisberg. Grave of an adult man in a crouched position, late 8th - early 7th century BC
Investigating colonial identity This topic is at the heart of Professor Guggisberg’s work as the Principal Investigator of a research project looking at questions around the impact of the Greek colonisation on cultural identity, on both the settlers and the local population. While the Greeks had a marked cultural influence, there is also evidence that many local customs and practices persisted, which Professor Guggisberg says is leading to a shift in perception. “This is changing our view of what happened; from an imperialist perspective, where the Greeks came and took over, to a model of co-existence with the local population,” he explains. There is evidence of cultural interaction from around 800 BC but it was not until later that permanent settlements were established, now Professor Guggisberg and his colleagues are looking to gain deeper insights into the interaction between Greeks and the local, indigenous populations. “We are excavating graves in the necropolis – the cemetery – of Francavilla Marittima, a native settlement situated next to the Greek colony Bronze armlet, pendant and other jewellery of a female burial, 8th century BC
of Sybaris founded at around 710 BC in northern Calabria,” he outlines. There are burials at this site dating back to the 8th century BC and thus to a period prior to the foundation of the Greek colony, with evidence showing that locals were laid to rest with different items, such as jewellery made of bronze and amber as well as iron weapons and tools. This cemetery was used until around the end of the 6th century BC. “We are studying these graves, because we want to better understand the cultural and ethnic identity of these people,” says Professor Guggisberg. Greek settlers and their descendants lived alongside local people in this area, now researchers are analysing archaeological remains to see whether this is reflected in physical evidence from these graves. “We’re analysing teeth, as they are quite well preserved and offer us the opportunity to do anthropological and scientific investigations, such as the determination of tooth abrasion or isotope analyses,” outlines Professor Guggisberg. “Strontium isotopes depend on the food that you ate during your lifetime - they are in the soil, as well as in rocks and water. If you live One-handled drinking cup, 8th century BC
in a certain landscape and you feed from crops, cattle and local resources, then you will have in your teeth the same isotopes as those found in the local landscape.” Researchers are conducting isotope analysis to see where people originated from, whether they were local, indigenous people, or if they had migrated from elsewhere. Alongside isotope analysis, Professor Guggisberg and his colleagues are also looking at artefacts that were included as part of burial rites. “People were buried with dress ornaments, consisting of mainly local, bronze neckrings, armlets and pendants. They also had standardised sets of pottery and containers of liquids - possibly of wine - with a few cups or vessels for drinking. This was the local tradition,” he says. At a certain point however the local vessels were replaced by imported Greek vessels, showing that there was contact and cultural exchange between locals and the Greek settlers. “The Greek containers were probably the more highly esteemed, the more prestigious vessels,” continues Professor Guggisberg. “However, the Greek vessels had different functions to the local ones which they replaced in the graves. The appeareance of a big container, the so called Krater, for example attests to the adoption of the Greek custom of mixing wine with water.”
People spoke Greek in Southern Italian colonies, buildings were inspired by Greek architecture and the Greek economic system was adopted. The region became essentially part of the Greek world until the Romans conquered the entire area around the 3rd –2nd century BC. Symposium The Krater was used during a Greek drinking ceremony called a symposium, at which colleagues, friends, political partners and others would drink together in a very specific ritual act. If this same vessel is found in a nonGreek context, this raises questions about whether the custom of holding a symposium had spread to the local population. “Did these non-Greek people have symposia too? If so, did the symposium still function in the same way?” says Professor Guggisberg. Drinking wine was also part of a religious belief system, and if local people adopted the same customs then Professor Guggisberg says this may point to wider changes. “If we now see that local people drank wine in the Greek way, using these mixing bowls, does that mean they also took on the Greek religion and way of life?” he asks. “There are lots of questions which are only now starting to emerge. The nature of the interactions between these two civilisations is much more complicated than it first appears.”
Exploring Identity: Swiss students excavating ancient burials at Francavilla Marittima, Southern Italy.
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EU Research
The aim in the project is to shed new light on these interactions over the first half of the first millennium BC. While researchers found many graves at Francavilla Marittima from the 8th and 6th centuries, it is only relatively recently that Professor Guggisberg and his colleagues have found burials from the period inbetween, the 7th century, which had previously been a gap in the record. “For the first time we have found burials from throughout the 7th century,” he says. Analysis of these graves shows a process of gradual transformation as Greek practices became more common. “In the Iron Age, in the 8th century BC, people were buried in a crouched position. In the 6th century, we find that corpses were buried in a supine position, lying on their back, which corresponds to the Greek tradition,” outlines Professor Guggisberg. “In the 7th century, we can see how corpses become ever more stretched, more supine. The legs are no longer flexed as densely as in the past.” A similar transformation has been observed with burial gifts. In the graves of the 7th century BC, new grave goods like perfume flasks were sometimes included, which is a product typical of the Greek world. “The presence of these perfume flasks underlines the fact that their owners were familiar with the Greek concept
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of what a body is and how it has to be treated in death,” says Professor Guggisberg. This shows that the process of the local population becoming culturally Greek was accelerated at the time of the foundation of the nearby Greek colony of Sybaris at around 710 BC, and became ever more dynamic over time. With Southern Italy today once again seeing large numbers of migrants, Professor Guggisberg believes it’s important to investigate questions around cultural identity and interaction. “We want to connect our archaeological results with present day developments,” he says.
Investigating colonial identity Investigating colonial identity: Greek and Native interaction in Northern Calabria (800 - 500 BC) Project Objectives
In the early 1st millennium BC the Mediterranean world is shaped by processes of human migration and mobility as reflected in the so called “Greek Colonisation”. By combining archaeological investigations and natural scientific analyses (stable isotope) on skeletal remains from various burial grounds in Southern Italy, the present project aims to establish a broad interdisciplinary basis for the discussion of the resulting social, cultural, and economic transformations.
Project Funding
This project is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).
Project Partners
• Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), University of Basel • Museo Nazionale Archeologico della Sibaritide • Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la provincia di Cosenza
Contact Details
MA Marta Billo-Imbach Projektassistentin Francavilla Marittima Universität Basel Klassische Archäologie/ Departement Altertumswissenschaften | Petersgraben 51 | 4051 Basel | Schweiz T: +41 61 207 29 50 E: marta.imbach@unibas.ch W: https://klassarch.philhist.unibas.ch/de/home/ Professor Martin Guggisberg
Martin Guggisberg is Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Basle. He has a long-standing interest in questions around cultural interaction in the ancient Mediterranean, which led to the research at Francavilla Marittima. He is an active member of several scientific societies and has participated in many research projects.
Cluster of burials with excavated and reconstructed graves of the 8th and early 7th century BC
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