What to see in Calabria: the Trachina caves in Palmi and trade with the peoples of the sea
The cave of Pietrosa (or cave of Tràchina), which in the land register is marked as Cb 182, is a cave located in the homonymous locality in the municipality of Palmi. The findings, dating from the Bronze Age and the Helladic Period, found in the cave, can further clarify the relations that took place between the local populations of the time and the Aegean ones.
History
In the period 1991-1993, excavations on Bronze Age levels were carried out inside the cave by the Italian Institute of Experimental Archaeology of Genoa, on behalf of the Archaeological Superintendency of Calabria.
The excavations carried out in the main 'room' of the cave did not yield any stratigraphic results, but brought to light findings in the small southern 'room', proving that the latter was used by the inhabitants of the time as it provided greater shelter.
Archaeologists assume that the cave was used from the Early Bronze Age, thanks to the findings of the 1995 excavations.
In medieval, modern and contemporary times, the large underground chamber was also used as a shelter for flocks of sheep.
Description
The cave is located at an altitude of 90 metres above sea level, with a depth of 2 metres, a spatial development of 19.00 metres and a planimetric development of 18.50 metres. The maximum height difference is 2 metres. The geological terrain consists of limestone from the Upper Miocene-Sarmatian period.
The cave can be reached from the hamlet of Palmi Scalo by continuing along a dirt road to the locality of Pietrosa, following the Southern Tyrrhenian Railway route in parallel.
The site where the cave is located consists of a large rock shelter in a high cliff of the Costa Viola[4], currently separated from the sea by land that can be used for agricultural purposes. Since the Tyrrhenian Sea is visible on the horizon, from the strait as far as Capo Vaticano, and the Aeolian Islands, the location of the cave also explains its use in past millennia.
The cave has two separate entrances. The first, the main one, faces west and is semicircular in shape (about 17 metres wide and 5 metres high) while the second, the smaller one, faces north (10 metres wide and 4 metres high). The entrances lead to a single hypogeal room, in which there is natural outdoor lighting.
The shelter for the inhabitants of the cave was provided by the lower level of the palaeosuolo compared to the outside, and by some blocks that had collapsed and were placed at the entrance. There are twelve layers below the historic levels, and at the base of one of them there is a ballast with a hearth.
Agglomerates of lithodomains, caused by the action of marine molluscs, are visible on the walls of the cave. Therefore, the cave was submerged by the waters of the sea in a historical phase.
Discoveries
The artefacts found in the cave are mainly ceramics from the late Bronze Age phase, while some sherds can be interpreted as imports from the Aegean area. This suggests that the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria was part of the Mycenaean trade routes.
Foto Sopra: In località Rovaglioso (Porto Oreste), non lontano dalle grotte di Trachina nella proprietà Cordopatri, durante la piantumazione di alberi, contadini hanno casualmente scoperto grandi anfore contenenti tracce di ossa umane mescolate a cenere. Il ritrovamento è stato descritto come la scoperta di pietre disposte a formare un muro a secco a piramide durante lo scavo per piantare alberi. Un frammento spesso di terracotta è risultato essere il bordo superiore di una grande anfora, che, purtroppo, si è frantumata durante il tentativo di estrazione. La testimonianza di questo ritrovamento è stata comunicata alla Soprintendenza Archeologica della Calabria. L'Ispettore ai monumenti, Antonino Raneri di Bagnara, ha esaminato i cocci e ha ipotizzato che potesse trattarsi di un "campo di urne", una pratica funeraria delle popolazioni italiche del XII secolo a.C. diffusa in tutta la penisola, particolarmente associata alle popolazioni identificate come "Tauriani". Considerando la presenza della città dei Tauriani, fondata da loro stessi nel nostro territorio, si ritiene probabile che lungo la costa da Rovaglioso al pianoro di Taureana possano esserci stati insediamenti e necropoli Tauriani.
Further information
fonte articolo: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotta_della_Pietrosa
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