La necropoli peuceta (fine VII – inizio del VI sec. a.C.) di loc. Sant’Antonio Abate (Ferrandina, MT): i risultati preliminari delle campagne di scavo 2019-22

Abstract

In 2019, in the locality of Sant’Antonio Abate on a hill approximately 500 meters south of the historic center of Ferrandina
(Basilicata, Southern Italy), the University of Basilicata’s research project “FArch – Ferrandina Archeologica”
made a significant discovery. Following a preliminary analysis through drones and field survey, the team uncovered a
Peucetian necropolis dating from the late 7th century to the early 6th century BC. The tombs, along with their grave
goods, structural features, and funerary spaces, not only contribute to defining the specific social and cultural identity
of this community – which was highly traditional and relatively resistant to contact with newly arrived Greek settlers –
but are also of great archaeological importance for reconstructing the broader and more complex settlement patterns
of ancient Basilicata during the pre-Roman period. The scope of this paper is to present the preliminary results of four
archaeological excavation campaigns conducted between 2019 and 2022, during which 30 burials were unearthed.