Cumae in Opicia in the Light of the Recent Archaeological Excavations by the University of Napoli L’Orientale: From the Pre-Hellenic (LBA-EIA) to the Earliest Phase of the Apoikia (LG I)

This paper reassesses the Pre-Hellenic and early colonial phases of Cumae, based on the new evidence brought to light in the archaeological excavations carried out since 2007 by the University of Napoli L’Orientale. These excavations were conducted on the plain, in the area north of the Roman Forum baths. Deep trenches drilled beneath an insula of the Greek and Roman period have revealed evidence of the indigenous phase of the site. This shows that in the Pre-Hellenic period, in the plain in front of the acropolis, in addition to the development of a large burial ground, there are documented offshoots of the indigenous village that occupied the acropolis, both in the Late Bronze Age and at the end of the Pre-Hellenic phase. In the latter period, very recent excavations have uncovered an indigenous hut with an oval/apsidal plan. This dwelling preserved in situ, among other findings, a concentration of jars and cooking stands in the storage sector. In this hut and its adjoining areas, Geometric ceramics, mostly Euboean imports, were found: skyphoi of the pendant semicircle, black, chevron and one-metope bird types (corresponding to MG IIb and LG Ia of the Attic Geometric phases), along with the entirely predominant indigenous impasto pottery. This Geometric pottery allows us to collocate the life of the hut in the second quarter of the 8th century BC: this is, according to the evidence brought to light, a period when the indigenous village opened up to a tight network of exchanges with Euboean and Phoenician merchants who visited the site before the colonial foundation. The abandonment of the indigenous hut, which is associated with a fire, is roughly contemporary with the end of the burial ground of Pre-Hellenic Cumae, to be dated around the mid-8th century BC (at the transition between phases IIa and IIb of the Early Iron Age chronology in Campania). The deconstruction of the indigenous settlement system seems to reflect those historical dynamics, leading to the foundation of the apoikia of Cumae by Euboean colonists. The excavations conducted in depth by the University of Napoli Orientale in the block north of the Forum baths also provide evidence of the later first phase of Greek apoikia, starting from 750-740 BC. The frequentation of this area for residential purposes refers to this chronological horizon. Primary evidence of the occupation of this sector (dwelling floors with hearths) and ceramics of both Corinthian imports and Corinthian imitations produced in Pithekoussai, along with a few Euboean imports, refer to the period between 750 and 720 BC (LG I): these ceramics consist of skyphoi with a decoration of debased chevrons, tremuli, a chain of lozenges of the Thapsos type with panel, together with kotylai of the Aetos 666 type etc. The foundation of Cumae’s apoikia should be dated, also on the basis of this new evidence, shortly after that of Pithekoussai (the latter must have been founded around 760-750 BC). Indeed, Pithekoussai may well have played an important role in the foundation of Cumae: in line with the indication that comes from some ancient authors (Livy and Phlegon of Tralles), this is also suggested by the archaeological picture, which finds exact matches in that of Pithekoussai’s contexts. In turn, this new evidence suggests that Cumae’s apoikia must have predated, albeit by very little, the first Greek foundations in Sicily: this reconstruction is supported by the information provided by ancient authors such as Thucydides and Strabo.

Il presente lavoro riesamina le fasi preelleniche e dell'inizio della colonizzazione greca di Cuma, sulla base delle nuove evidenze portate alla luce dagli scavi archeologici condotti a partire dal 2007 dall'Università di Napoli L'Orientale. Questi scavi sono stati condotti nella piana, nell'area a nord delle terme del Foro.