From Bovino-Castelluccio dei Sauri to the Apulian Tavoliere: New Data on the Stone Sculptures of the Protohistoric Daunia (15 min)

Presenters

Maria Luisa Nava, Universit? Suor Orsola Benincasa di Napoli

Abstract

Since the end of the third millennium B.C.E. in ancient Daunia (currently the province of Foggia) the production of anthropomorphic stone sculptures begins, representing both female (with breasts in relief and ornaments) and male figures (with bandolier and dagger). All these statues/menhirs come from Sterparo Nuovo, a site on the border between the municipalities of Castelluccio dei Sauri and Bovino and they have been known since the 1950s. More recently, new findings confirm that there was a place on the site, probably a ceremonial area, dedicated to hosting a significant number of these sculptures. Among them there is a significant amount of aniconic stelae: the Daunian phenomenon is part of the protohistoric megalithism of the Mediterranean. It is similar to the menhir sculptures in central and northern Italy and it shows close analogies with the stone sculptures found in France and in central–eastern Europe.

In Daunia (unlike the rest of Italy) the anthropomorphic sculptural production continues in successive periods (from 12th century B.C.E. to the fifth century B.C.E.) with different results and cultural meanings, moving from an abstract representation of the deity to the personification of the single individual, and involving a wider territory, from the Tavoliere to the Gargano. The production of sculptures becomes increasingly relevant and lasts until the loss of the cultural identity of the Dauni, almost close to the Roman conquest.

  AIA-6F