North-Lukanian culture and earthquakes in a hidden landscape in Southern Italy (VI-V cent. B.C.)

In the first half of the fifth century B.C., a distinguished woman is buried in the necropolis of S. Donato in Ripacandida (Basilicata, Southern Italy). Her relatives choose to put into her grave a jug waterproof with a strange decorative motif (some stars in different colours and a lightning into a circle). This one, reinterpreted through topographical research and historical investigation, could be one of the first representations of an earthquake. This is probably the memory of an ancient event that it is not documented anywhere else and in the Vulture volcano area drew a 'hidden landscape'. Indeed, there the earthquake has been no longer considered for these centuries and the waterproof is useless to recognize another beginning to the historical seismic activity in this area. A 'hidden landscape' is more dangerous than other types of lands exposed to natural hazards because it is quiet and appears like every other site without problem. Instead of it in the past a real disaster was so big, dreadful and incredible that nobody wanted to remember it directly. Mentioning it again it could say to wake up the phenomena another time. Now there are only some tangible clues, very different but they give the same message: something happened there in the past and it is very important to know because it has to do the countdown.