Ricerc@Sapienza

The project targets the site of Cannatello near Agrigento, Sicily: excavations and analytical study are the focus of this integrated project.

The present project started in 2016, with excavations since 2017 (former research in 1897, 1907, 1989-2001).
Cannatello is one of the crucial Italian sites of the Late Bronze Age (LBA) Mediterranean network, with finds coming at least from Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Crete, Greece and Cyprus. The presence of locally produced pottery with distintive Nuragic shapes is particularly impressive. It is part of the debate about the "boom-and-crisis" phase of the LBA (14th-12th cent. BCE), and a focal point to discuss the involvement of Central Mediterranean communities from Sardinia and Sicily, in connection with the traditions on the "Sea Peoples".
The site lacks an adequate edition of past excavations and a complete definition of the sequence of the buildings and of the encircling wall, already brought to light. Furthermore, the earliest phase (ca. 14th cent. BCE) is still poorly known from stratigraphic contexts.

Three main research pillars are the subject of the 2017-2019 project phase, already granted financial support by the "Grandi Scavi" call in 2017 and by INSTAP in 2018:
- ENVironment, i.e. geomorphological evolution of the coast; pollen and stratigraphic cores to study the climatic and anthropic influence;
- STRATigraphy, i.e. targeted excavation of specific areas, producing good contextual associations of finds, coupled with an intensive sampling policy for advanced analyses;
- CONNections, i.e. framing the site in the wider Mediterranean network, and particularly with Crete and Cyprus, aiming at social and political analysis of the "boom-and-crisis" years.

The innovative potential is very high, and we foresee that the improved knowledge of the site, in its enhanced environmental and cultural context, will foster a renewed phase of debate and publications about LBA developments in the Central Mediterranean.