Excavations at Francavilla Marittima 1991-2004

This publication is the first volume of what is intended to be a series of publications on the archaeology of the Timpone della Motta, a hill of 280m asl at Francavilla Marittima (Calabria, southern Italy) where the Groningen Institute of Archaeology has carried out a series of excavations between 1963 and 1969. Among the excavations, the 'acropolis' site has revealed the remains of an Oenotrian-Italic sanctuary dating from circa 800-730BC. This sanctuary contained among other features an apsidal timber building with a courtyard and altar, and a large room used for textile production. Significant among the Early Iron Age ceramics is the characteristic Italic/Oenotrian-Geometric production of matt-painted pottery that existed in Calabria, Basilicata and Campania. The Oenotrian pottery workshops of Francavilla-Lagaria were very much part of this Geometric, matt-painted tradition. From the pottery from the Timpone della Motta and the tombs of the Macchiabate necropolis at Francavilla Marittima a distinctive, local, Middle Geometric decorative style emerges, one mainly based on painted undulating bands as decorative elements, which were named the 'Undulating Band Style'. The style continued in a modified form during the Late Geometric period and is the specific subject of this volume in the series.