FERRANDINA
Lucania, Italy.
An isolated
crest on the slopes that dominate the right bank of the
Basento river, about 60 km from the plain on which
Metapontion stood. The crest was divided into two plateaus. At the base of the plateau to the E, scattered tombs
have been discovered (8th-3d c. B.C.). On the smaller
one to the W, Croce Missionaria, destroyed today, a native settlement has been brought to light comprising
ovoid and rectangular huts dating from Iron Age I to
the end of the 7th c. B.C. when the original inhabitants
came into contact with the Greek habitations along the
coast.
At the edge of Groce Missionaria, in the present-day
Piazza Mazzini, various tombs (late 8th-early 7th c. B.C.)
have been discovered. The grave gifts include mixed
vases (small sacrificial bowls), and uncommon riches in
bronzes with geometric designs. Other furnishings (late
8th-early 3d c. B.C.) include pendants, brooches, bracelets, and a belt richly decorated with incised bands of socalled wolf teeth, with swastikas and rhombuses.
Greek contact is also characterized by the presence of
a series of skyphoi and cups thought to be original to the
area of Metapontion. These vases indicate that the native
population of Ferrandina was also part of the zone of
influence of Metapontion (proschoros) along the borders
of this colony. During the second half of the 4th c. B.C.
the rich grave gifts include vases of the Painter of Pisticci,
Apulian vases in the ornate style. The local production
had completely disappeared.
At the beginning of the 3d c. B.C., habitation on the
two hills was abandoned, but in the Republican period
large farms appeared and continued to exist until the late
Roman era. These farms are situated in the Macchia region toward the mediaeval fort of Uggiano.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
E. Bracco,
NSc (1947) 153f; (1953)
383-89; G. F. Lo Porto,
NSc (1969) 157-65.
D. ADAMESTEANU
