Bronze Pendant with Human Couple

The pendant depicts two nude human figures, probably a man and a woman. The bodies are rendered in a highly stylized and schematic manner: the figures are compact in build, with round heads showing only minimal indications of facial features such as lips and eyes, while the arms and legs are simplified in form. Positioned side by side, the two figures embrace each other closely: each places one arm over the other’s shoulder, while the other arm rests at the level of the navel or pelvis.

Together with another similar example, this small bronze pendant formed part of the grave goods of the so-called Tomba Strada (Road Tomb), one of the richest and most important burials of the Macchiabate Necropolis, near Francavilla Marittima. The tomb was so named because of its proximity to an ancient road alignment that, at the time of the excavations in the 1960s, connected the settlement of Francavilla with the Raganello stream. The burial, datable to around 750 BC, consisted of an oval stone tumulus paved with pebbles.

It certainly belonged to a woman of aristocratic rank, as attested by the rich assemblage of grave goods, which included various metal ornaments, ceramic vessels, a necklace with amber beads, and a bronze cup—the so-called Phoenician Cup—imported from the eastern Mediterranean. The meaning of the small bronze pendant depicting the union of two human figures is still debated, but it is very likely that it symbolized a hierogamy, that is, a divine union associated with ideals of regeneration and fertility.

Objects similar to this one, also known as “coppiette,” have been found at the Sanctuary of Timpone Motta, likewise at Francavilla Marittima, as well as at other sites in the Sibaritide, such as Torre Mordillo, Castiglione di Paludi, and Torano.