Necropolis in Contrada San Nicola - Giglia
Byzantine church of S. Nicola and late antique cemetery
Site of excavations by the University of Bologna which has created an in-depth site: https://site.unibo.it/progetto-chiaramonte-gulfi/it
he archaeological site, the subject of research by the University of Bologna in collaboration with the Superintendence of the BB. CC.AA, the Municipality of Chiaramonte Gulfi and the Social Cooperative Nostra Signora di Gulfi, is located in the San Nicola district in the municipality of Chiaramonte, about half a kilometer west of the sanctuary of the Madonna di Gulfi. The investigations conducted made it possible to identify a large sepulchral area already partially detected and investigated by the archaeologist F. Cardinale together with the participants in the SPRAR project (protection system for asylum seekers and refugees) on behalf of the social cooperative "Nostra Signora di Gulfi ". The necropolis is located in an area of the modern country that does not coincide with ancient Akrillai (῎Ακριλλαι), and can be considered part of a large rural settlement that developed in the imperial, late antique and Byzantine periods. The area, known thanks to the writings drawn up at the end of the 800th century by Baron Corrado Melfi and to archaeological emergency investigations, has returned over time a considerable amount of emergencies, a sign of the importance of the town located along the road between Syracuse and Selinunte, of which we have uninterrupted news from the sixth century. to. C. until 1290. Most of the tombs are of the pit type dug directly into the rocky bank with the exception of two lithic sarcophagi found in a fragmentary state. In some cases the burials have been identified intact, sealed with slabs in local limestone and clay mixed with small and medium-sized lithic elements. The depositions are mostly monosome or bisome, with the exception of a multiple burial containing the relative remains of 13 individuals of heterogeneous sex and age. A large number of burials preserved the funerary equipment: small or medium-sized jars, bowls, plates, pitchers and clay oil lamps, glass bottles and plates, objects of personal adornment such as earrings, rings with carnelian or band bezels, brooches and buckles. Some funerary steles dating back to the XNUMXth century come from superficial layers. In the vicinity of the necropolis, downstream, a further area of archaeological interest has been identified, consisting of a series of walls built with heterogeneous lithic material and which define the perimeter of an internally divided building. At the same time, with a view to an overall study on the Chiaramonte territory for the late antiquity and proto-Byzantine phases, a data recording process (bibliographic and otherwise) was started in order to create a territorial and excavation GIS that can allow both a transversal reading useful for the study of the development of the territory, and for the management, understanding and dissemination of the data of the necropolis. (Source: University of Bologna website)
Well subjected to archaeological constraint Decree 2799 of 10/11/1990
PRESS: Well cataloged but not geolocated. We invite you to provide your contribution by providing us with useful information that will allow us to geolocate the listed asset. See also "Cultural Heritage to be Geolocated"
Card insertion: Ignazio Caloggero
Information contributions: Web, UniBo
Photo: University of Bologna website
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