Bronze Vessel

The bronze vessel (patera or phiale) is characterized by a broad, shallow bowl with a thin rim. The handle, made from a folded strip of bronze sheet, consists of two elements attached to the bowl with three bronze rivets. Its surface is decorated with three rows of incised hatched triangles.

The patera (or phiale) comes from Tomb 6 of the Mangosa Necropolis, a female burial dating to the early 7th century BC, corresponding to the earliest phase of use of this funerary area. The presence of such an object in a grave assemblage is rather rare: in the Amendolara area, only four female burials have yielded vessels made of bronze sheet. These are prestigious objects that indicate the high social status of the women interred, who are often accompanied by grave goods including rich personal ornaments, sometimes of Eastern origin, confirming their privileged role within the community. The importance of the object lies not only in the material from which it is made, but also in its function. In the ancient world, bowls such as paterae and phialai were used primarily in religious rituals, especially for libations—that is, the offering of liquids to deities or to the dead. The presence of such an object in the tomb therefore suggests that the buried woman took an active part in ritual ceremonies, probably as a prominent figure within her community.