Campanaio. The rise and fall of a late antique rural settlement in central southern Sicily. First results of the 2024 study season

Abstract

All over the Sicilian countryside numerous settlements are known from the late antique period, forming part of a complex economic network. The number recognized and in part excavated along the central southern coast of Sicily is particularly impressive; surface finds and excavation show a zenith of prosperity in the fifth century CE, and also that most suffered violent destruction at around the same time. The likely causes of both the prosperity and its sudden end require explanation. In this context, Campanaio emerges as a compelling case-study. Archaeological excavations between 1980 and 1998 under the direction of Roger Wilson have shown that it was a thriving rural settlement with both dwellings and industrial facilities from the 2nd century BC until the 6th century CE. Sudden destruction occurred approximately between 440 and 475 CE, leading to the collapse of many buildings, including three likely warehouses. Were Vandal raids from north Africa responsible for this?This paper will discuss the results of a recent multidisciplinary study as part of a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Fellowship funded by the European Commission. We will focus on a substantial group of unpublished ceramic finds from well-preserved levels from four different areas of the site. The exceptional quality and quantity of information underscores a significant peak in African imports, above all amphorae, during the second half of the 5th century. The new work raises fresh questions about the precise destruction date and its supposed causes (if post-Vandal, was it caused by earthquake?) and has emphasized the crucial role that Campanaio played in both regional and Mediterranean-wide trade. The site perfectly fits within economic patterns hypothesized by earlier work on late antique rural Sicily, and at the same time demonstrates an intriguing, gradual transition from a production-oriented settlement to a consumption-oriented one in the course of the fifth century.