Fragment of an Italo-Geometric Ceramic Jug

The fragment belongs to the body of a jug, of which the neck and handle are no longer preserved. The vessel must originally have had an oval shape, with a handle whose point of attachment to the body is still visible. The base is flat. The surface of the vase bears a painted decoration with geometric motifs typical of Italo-Geometric pottery: at the base of the neck there is a double horizontal line, while on the shoulder there is a star motif alternating with undulating vertical lines, arranged between bands of horizontal lines.

In the 7th century BC, the San Nicola plateau was already frequented, as shown by the ceramic materials found in the earliest occupation layers, including this jug fragment. Its decoration is characteristic of Italo-Geometric pottery, widespread among the indigenous populations of southern Italy between the 9th and 7th centuries BC. In addition to the ceramic finds, an important testimony to life in the settlement during this period is provided by a wall built using a construction technique different from that of the later Archaic-period buildings (6th century BC). This structure therefore indicates the presence of an initial settlement nucleus, predating the more regular urban planning of the 6th century BC. This evidence, together with the ceramic fragments found at Amendolara, makes it clear that a first settlement developed on the San Nicola plateau as early as the 7th century BC, although little is known about it due to the later superimposition of the planned settlement of the 6th century BC.