Rutigliano (Bari): la necropoli di contrada Purgatorio. Le tombe del settore settentrionale (scavi 1976-77). Riflessioni preliminari

A significant contribution to the knowledge of the indigenous peoples of Apulia is offered by the archaeological research carried out in Rutigliano, a settlement of the sub-coastal area of Peucetia where, between 1976 and 1980, in "contrada" Purgatorio, 367 burials of various types were identified, datable between the 7th and 4th century BC. Particularly interesting were the discoveries in the northern sector of the necropolis (excavated in 1976-1977) with the excavation of 133 burials, still substantially unpublished, which have yielded an impressive amount of pottery and valuable objects. In all likelihood, this is an area reserved for the dominant aristocratic group. In the analysis of the complex tomb assemblages - many of which are composed of hundreds of finds - the presence of dozens of metal, ceramic, glass paste, bone and amber objects, both locally produced and imported from the most varied geographical and cultural areas, such as Etruria, Magna Grecia, Greece and the Near East, is particularly striking. The remarkable variety of Attic and Italiote vases is surprising: to these specimens a "key role" was probably entrusted, comparable only with that played by the precious bronze vases and weapons, that is those objects inserted since the Archaic Age in the burials of the aristocracies warriors of central Apuglia as a sign of prestige and an expression of status.