During the Bronze Age, communities across continental and Mediterranean Europe experienced remarkable interconnectedness. Roca Vecchia emerged as a key hub in the central Mediterranean, providing an ideal case study for exploring interactions between southeastern Italy and the Aegean. In addition to the exchange of material goods and mobility of human groups, these interactions involved the transmission of technical knowledge, socio-economic models, and ritual practices.
The Bronze Age settlement of Roca, located on the Adriatic coast of southeastern Italy, occupied a strategic position for maritime routes linking the Aegean and Central Mediterranean. Settled from the mid-17th to the late 11th century BCE, Roca was fortified by a massive wall that was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt, reflecting a sociopolitical context of ongoing conflicts. The Middle Bronze Age levels (17th–14th century BCE) indicate Roca's early involvement in the Aegean network. In the Late Bronze Age, Roca yields more Aegean-type sherds than any other indigenous settlement and demonstrate significant cultural hybridization with Minoan and Mycenaean elements.
By integrating typological classifications with ceramic petrography, geochemistry and residue analyses, this project aims to distinguish local, imported and imitated vessels and assess their contents. It will explore the relationships between vessel shapes, manufacturing technology, provenance, and function, while examining how these factors evolved from the Middle to Late Bronze Age. This approach will contribute to a new model of interaction between southeastern Italy and the Aegean, incorporating perishable goods and their consumption into the reconstruction of the exchange and hybridization systems.
A broader aim of this project is to advance ceramic studies by linking material properties and manufacturing technologies to the movement and use of vessels within the context of significant changes, adopting an object life-cycle approach. Additionally, it seeks to foster collaboration between organic and inorganic archaeological sciences, particularly in examining how these disciplines converge around a single artifact with its unique social, cultural, and economic dimensions
since 2022
