PAESAGGI MONTANI APPENNINICI TRA STRADE, TRATTURI E INSEDIAMENTO SPARSO NEL TERRITORIO DI MORANO CALABRO: NUOVI DATI IN RAPPORTO ALLA VIABILITÀ

Abstract

The research related to the Archaeological Map of the municipality of Morano Calabro (Calabria, Italy) provides data for the
reconstruction of the road system in a mountain environment. The via ab Regio ad Capuam crossed this area during the Roman
Age, which is the present research conducted also with GIS spatial analysis. The central role of the Coscile river, or ancient Sybaris,
is evident. Archaeological finds discovered along its path, particularly concentrated in the Foce district near the source of the river
where remains have emerged dating from the Final Bronze Age to the Roman Period. Even the narrow mountain valleys, crossed
by the roads leading to the highland pastures, attract the population such as the settlement recognized on Timpone Sant’Angelo
in the north-eastern sector of the territory. Walls, tiles, and pottery fragments situated on the peak allow a comparison with small
upland settlements identified on the other side of the Pollino chain, along the northern Tyrrhenian coast of the Calabria and in the
Brettia area. The preliminary data from the Campotenese plateau are useful for reconstructing the prehistoric paths. In the Southern
sector of this plateau a Neolithic stone axe was found. This site is in connection with the river valleys of Coscile and Garga,
on which other Neolithic sites were located.

Keywords: Morano Calabro, Campotenese, ancient viability, via Regio-Capuam, Pollino chain, fortified site, highland pastures