Ilaria Battiloro
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University of Alberta Lucanian Sanctuaries History and Evolution from the Fourth Century B.C. to the Augustan Age by Ilaria Battiloro A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Classical Archaeology Department of History and Classics ©Ilaria Battiloro Fall 2010 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. Examining Committee Helena Fracchia, History and Classics Jeremy Rossiter, History and Classics Lisa A. Hughes, Greek and Roman Studies, University of Calgary Ehud Ben Zvi, History and Classics, Religious Studies Program John Harris, History and Classics Edward Bispham, Brasenose College, Oxford ABSTRACT This work seeks to provide new insight into understanding how the Lucanian sanctuaries were conceived, built, and used during a chronological period which ranges from the fourth century B.C. to the first century A.D. Within this time, the end of the third century B.C. and the bloody events of the Hannibalic war represented a crucial turning point for the Lucanian communities, concomitant with more infiltration of the southern peninsula by Rome. The last two centuries B.C. are therefore generally neglected in literature as a period of decline. The basic line of thought of this research is that changes in function and form of sanctuaries reflect political, socio-economic and cultural transformations and development of those communities who built and frequented them. The function of the sanctuaries went well beyond the merely religious, for they also functioned as gathering, political and economic centers. The evidence used in this thesis was mainly archaeological, and therefore the analysis of the realia represents the starting point and grounds for historical reconstructions. Archaeological data are diachronically analyzed at different levels: topographic location and relationship of sanctuaries with inhabited settlements, architectural structure and spatial organization of the complexes, and systems of votive offerings. During the fourth and the third centuries B.C. the picture of the Lucanian sanctuaries appears at a first glance quite homogeneous, as the cultural expressions of the Lucanian communities derived from the same models. However, archaeological evidence does not support the theory regarding the existence of a collective sanctuary which belonged to the Lucanians as a whole ethnos, as has been hypothesised for the Rossano di Vaglio sanctuary. After the end of the third century B.C. archaeological evidence from the sites under scrutiny attests that the sanctuaries continued to be used, despite the abandonment of the surrounding inhabited settlements. Nevertheless, such continuity did not mean full frequentation of the sanctuaries, as the majority of them noticeably contracted. Thus the second century B.C. is greatly under-represented at the archaeological level, although in some cases a revival is attested during the first century B.C. In this scenario, the only sanctuary which experienced a phase of revitalization during both of the last two centuries B.C. was the Rossano di Vaglio complex, as it became the point of reference for a new, specifically Roman, territorial entity, the praefectura of Potentia. This analysis, therefore, is a further contribution to current studies concerning the transformations which occurred in Italy in conjunction with the rise of Roman power, the conquest of Italy, and the consequent diffusion of hegemonic culture. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor Professor Helena Fracchia, for her academic supervision, guidance and constructive criticism at all stages of my work. The substantial achievements of this research are the result of the invaluable discussions I had with Helena during these years, and I know that the stimulating conversations with her will continue. I am very grateful for Helena’s generous sharing of her priceless resource, time and help. I want to express my full gratitude to my co-advisors, Professor Lisa A. Hughes (University of Calgary) and Professor Jeremy Rossiter (University of Alberta), for their intellectual support, insightful comments, and challenging questions, which had immense impact on the whole content of my research. It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the important contributions of the other members of my thesis committee, Professor Ehud Ben Zvi (University of Alberta), Professor Edward Bispham (Brasenose College, University of Oxford), and Professor John Harris (University of Alberta). I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to Professor Frances Swyripa, who was Graduate Chair at the University of Alberta during most of the years of my doctoral program, for her constant support, careful advice and words of encouragement. I am greatly indebted to many friends and colleagues, who always had confidence in me: Chiara Albanesi, Vincenzo Capozzoli, Patrick Conway, Sean Gouglas, Tanya Henderson, Michael Polushin, Nicola Taddonio, and Luca Vacca. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my teacher in the past, Professor Massimo Osanna (Scuola di Specializzazione in Archeologia di Matera), for his unconditional support and encouragement to pursue my interests. In addition, I extend my heartfelt thanks to my family, who sustained me during all the years of my doctoral program. I owe them more than I can ever say. I am grateful to acknowledge the financial support of the University of Alberta, which granted me with the Dissertation Fellowship during the academic year 2009-2010. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 PART I The Lucanian Facies: between the Fourth Century B.C. and the End of the Third century B.C. CHAPTER I: 22 Lucania and Lucanians. Geography, History, Society, Settlement System I. 1 ~ Physical geography: geomorphology and topography 23 I. 2 ~ Pre-Roman Lucania in written sources: a territory with unclear 25 limits I. 3 ~ The emergence of the Lucanian ethnos 27 I. 4 ~ Social structure: oligarchies and “intermediate” groups 33 I. 5 ~ Political structure: touta-, “military democracy” and basileis 36 I. 6 ~ Settlement system of Lucania: a landscape of fortified centers, 45 farms and extra-mural sanctuaries CHAPTER II: 54 Lucanian Sanctuaries from the Fourth Century B.C. to the End of the Third Century B.C. Topography, Architecture, Spatial Organization II. 1 ~ The sanctuary: a distinctive sign of Lucanian ethnos 55 II. 2 ~ Sanctuaries and settlement system of the region: geographic 61 location and relationship with the inhabited areas II. 3 ~ Political administration of the sanctuaries: who held the religious 66 power? II. 4 ~ The architecture of Lucanian sanctuaries: a look at the 68 archaeological data II. 4. 1 ~ Architectural features and spatial distribution 69 II. 4. 2 ~ Observations regarding sacred architecture in Lucania 89 CHAPTER III: 93 Lucanian Sanctuaries from the Fourth Century B.C. to the End of the Third century B.C. System of Votive Offerings III. 1 ~ System of votive offerings and ritual dynamics: archaeological 93 phenomenology and historical interpretation III. 2 ~ Votive offerings 100 III. 2. 1 ~ A “poor” gift to the gods: terracotta figurines 100 III. 2. 2 ~World of men and world of women: weapons, utensils, and 110 ornamental objects III. 2. 3 ~ Ceramics and common meals 115 III. 2. 4 ~ Miniature ceramics and aparchai 117 III. 3 ~ Sacrifices, libations and fumigations 118 III. 3. 1 ~ Animal sacrifice and ritual banquets 118 III. 3. 2 ~ Aparchai and libations 122 III. 3. 3 ~ Fumigations 123 III. 4 ~ Observations on the system of votive offerings in Lucanian 124 sanctuaries CHAPTER IV 127 Religion and Cults in Ancient Lucania IV. 1 ~ Female cults: water, fertility and fecundity 128 IV. 2 ~ Male cults 131 IV. 3 ~ The cult of Mephitis in the Rossano di Vaglio sanctuary: the 132 epigraphic evidence IV. 3. 1 ~ Mephitis: etymological issues 135 IV. 3. 2 ~ The inscriptions from the Rossano di Vaglio sanctuary: 137 Mephitis’ epithets IV. 3. 3 ~ Mephitis and other deities 140 IV. 3. 4 ~ Observations on the cult of Mephitis in Lucania: a cross 144 reading of written sources and archaeological evidence IV. 4 ~ Concluding remarks 147 Conclusion to Part I 151 PART II Under the Shadow of Rome: between the End of the Third century B.C. and the First century A.D. CHAPTER V 161 The Roman Penetration in Lucania. Impact on Settlement System and Sanctuaries V. 1 ~ Historical framework: from Leukania to Regio III 165 V. 2 ~ Settlement and socio-economic change 171 V. 2. 1 ~ New political-institutional set-up of the region 172 V. 2. 2 ~ The disappearance of the Lucanian hill-top centers and the 177 “ruralization” of the territory V. 2. 3 ~ Socio-economic change 187 V. 3 ~ The fate of the Lucanian sanctuaries after the end of the third 188 century B.C. V. 3. 1 ~ Cases of continuity of Lucanian sanctuaries in late Republican 191 age: the archaeological data V. 3. 1. 1 ~ Torre di Satriano 191 V. 3. 1. 2 ~ Civita di Tricarico 196 V. 3. 1. 3 ~ Chiaromonte 199 V. 3. 2 ~ The transformations of the Lucanian sanctuaries in the late 201 Republican age V. 3. 3 ~ The role of the Lucanian sanctuaries in the post-Hannibalic age 211 CHAPTER VI 215 The Rossano di Vaglio Sanctuary During the Last Two Centuries B.C. VI. 1 ~ The Rossano di Vaglio sanctuary in post-Hannibalic age: the 216 archaeological data VI. 1. 1 ~ Restoration and monumentalization of the buildings 217 VI.