I nuclei funerari in località Ussano (Cavallino, LE)

Abstract

This paper presents the archaeological evidence for the site of Ussano, which lies a few kilometers from Lecce, along
the road to the Serre Salentine or Salento hills. The principal archaeological evidence, partly known since the last
century, has recently permitted detailed reconstruction of the varied settlement dynamics of the area from proto-historic
times down to modern times with the construction of Masseria Ussano that now represents the main monument of the
site, together with the nearby menhir. The burial groups presented here are to be set within the late antique and early
medieval settlement framework, when the territory seems to have been dominated by small rural sites. The analysis of
the cemetery groups, unfortunately heavily disturbed in the past, is of archaeological significance in the context of the
late antique and early medieval burial sites of the Salento. However, the burials take on even greater meaning when
seen in conjunction with the preserved Ussano menhir that, although described in studies since the nineteenth century,
can now be dated to the early middle ages and thus placed in context.