From
the Prehistoric and Protohistoriceras to the Greek and Roman ages
by
Maria Teresa Iannelli
Reconstructing the various
stages of man’s life in this territory is nearly impossible because
of the total lack of data connected with the prehistoric and protohistoric
eras. The same applies for the ages closer to ours, the information
we have is not enough for a complete historical comprehension of the
happenings. For this reason it will be necessary to consider the territory
of the nowadays Caulonia in the light of the happenings in the vaster
territory of today’s Locride (between Cape Bruzzano and Punta Stilo)
for which we are notably more informed. At this point in the researches,
man has not been proved to have lived in this territory in the paleolithic
era; however it is certain that the dwellers of this part of the Ionian
coast did not have fixed homes, they lived in natural caves and were
hunters. Consistent clues indicating the presence of a neolithic village
are found in the Prestarona locality in the municipality of Canolo;
there have not been proper digs, but the objects found on the surface
of the land show the presence of pottery decorated by fingernails
or shells (by imprinting the shell’s pattern), utensils and shards
ofobsidian (black, shiny rock imported from the Eolie islands).
Regarding the Iron age (X-IX century B.C.), we have a few more
elements to work with thanks to the necropolis found in the localities
of Canale, Ianchina and Patarriti in the municipality of Locri, in
the districts of Stefanelli di Gerace and S. Stefano and even in an
area near Caulonia, in the district of S. Onofrio in the municipality
of Roccella. By this age, man was working with metals, mostly bronze
and iron; he was also fashioning crude clay pots; he was also now
dedicated to agriculture and cattle breeding. He was building villages
of huts and burying the dead, along with many riches (vases, weapons,
pins, bracelets, necklaces, etc depending on the deceased person’s
sex ), in tombs dug in the rock. Sometimes these men cremated their
dead, gathering the ashes in big crude pots called Acromi.
At the dawn of the VIII century B.C., a new event occurred in
the west Mediterranean: the Greeks, from different parts of Greece,
touched on the coasts of Campania, Calabria and Sicily and settled
building colonies.
The Locride territory had settlements in Locri Epizefiri (today’s
Locri and Portigliola), in ancient Caulonia (today’s Monasterace Marina),
later inhabited by Crotone. The indigenous elements, who in the protohistoric
ages had inhabited the high planes, gradually integrated with the
Greek colonies who brought a more evolved and refined civilisation.
The cities (poleis) of Locri and Caulonia which rose on the coast,
conditioned the historical events of the surrounding territories under
their influence. Today we are still uncertain about the territorial
limits between the two colonies, it has also not been established
whether the territory now called Caulonia was under the influence
of the Locresi or the Cauloniati. It is, however, certain that Caulonia
strongly felt the effects of the contrasts between the Locresi, allied
with the Siracusians, and the poleis of Reggio and Crotone, to which
they were probably bound. The hostilities between Locri and Crotone
culminated in a battle fought on the river Sagra (the whereabouts
of which are still unknown) half way through the VI century B.C. The
outcome favoured the Locresi, who, from then on, established their
supremacy over that of Crotone. It appears that Caulonia found advantage
from this victory because the inhabitants began to make coins in the
second half of the VI century B.C. The beautiful silver coins (Stateri
incusi) belong to this era.
The Incusa technique characterises all the coin making of all
the Magno Greek colonies, with the exception of Locri, which seems
to have begun making coins later. The coins have a scene in relief
on one side and the same scene hollowed out on the other side. The
scene on the Caulonian coins of this period depict a naked man, standing
tall, whose left arm is held outstretched and bears another smaller
figure; next to him is a deer whose head is turned backwards.
The
emission of these coins represents great economic power and autonomy
for Caulonia. The V and IV centuries are dominated by threats on behalf
of the Lucani against the western Greek influence and by the tyrant
of Siracusa, Dioniso I’s, expansion objectives of extending his territory
over all Magna Grecia.
Dionisio and the Lucani became allies against the Lega italiota,
who were all the italo-greek cities of southern Italy with the exception
of Locri who remained faithful to its alliance with Siracusa.
The Lega italiota however, was defeated by the Lucani and in 399
B.C. Dionisio destroyed the city of Caulonia, deporting the population
to Siracusa and handing over the land to the Locresi. Caulonia was
rebuilt entirely shortly afterwards.
Between the end of the IV century and the beginning of the III
century B.C., precisely after the death of the siracusian tyrant Agatocle
who had restricted Caulonia’s power, the Lucani and the Bretti reinitiated
their invasions of the italo-greek cities gaining most of the Magna
Grecia territories, including the cities of Locri and Caulonia. We
are in the year 282 B.C. when Rome decides to intervene in Magna Grecia
against the Bretti and the Lucani. First occasionaly, securing strongholds
in Locri, Crotone and Thurii, then triumphing definitively over those
people in 276 B.C. During this time the Roman force challenged Pirro,
king of Epiro, who had intervened in Magna Grecia as allies of Taranto
which had repeatedly instated strongholds at Locri, forcing him to
leave Italy.
From here onwards, Rome will carry on confirming its predominance
over Magna Grecia which it will fully conquer after its victory over
Hannibal.
During the Roman ages, the Greek city of Caulonia seems to have
been abandoned, while the more important Locri became a fully functioning
“municipium”.
In the territory in question, as in the rest of Calabria, the
typical Roman settlements are characterised by the construction of
big structures known as “villae”. These were essentially farms conceived
for the agricultural exploitation of the land. The “villae”, which
based their economy on large estates and on the work of slaves, combined
buildings and production equipment with residential sections, often
particularly monumental, designed as the master’s living quarters.
The most important structures in this territory, and have also
been subject to archaeological research, are “Il Naniglio” at Gioiosa
Jonica, and the villa in the district of Fontanelle di Monasterace;
further north, near Locri, recent digs have brought to light another
monumental structure near the nowadays casino Macri in the municipality
of Locri as well as the already famous Villa di contrada Palazzi in
the municipality of Casignana. This last villa is thought to have
functioned as “statio”, that is, a resting spot along the great road
that linked Capua to Reggio, built in the II century B.C., and which
roughly coincides with today’s SS106 Jonica.
Also in the territory of today’s Caulonia, along the road which
leads from Marina to the medieval “borgo”, small sections of a farm
have been found with paving in “cocciopesto” (a crunbled mixture of
bricks and mud), and recycled use of construction materials documented
by the presence of a capital with decoration in cincture.
From
the Prehistoric and Protohistoriceras to the Greek and Roman ages
by
Maria Teresa Iannelli
ITINERARI
CAULONIESI - July 1999
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