The Sannitico Tombs of Gildone
Description
The small group of graves (23 graves) is located in the resort Morgia
Lock the limits of a small plateau in the north / north-east slopes towards
the valley of Gildo. The tombs occupy a narrow and elongated and are found
in three groupings that may suggest not to successive moments of the deposition,
but in nuclei intentional (family members, for example). The graves are
all in the pit, without coverage (but there had to be a segnacolo outside,
since there are cases of overlapping), filled with earth and stones; a
definite case and one certainly had coverage "cappuccina", that
is, with tiles arranged to form a gabled roof. The skeleton is lying on
his back sometimes with head bowed. In funerary ritual there are significant
changes: most of the graves has one or two pots placed at the foot, in
those of children (two cases), it is clear the ritual of crushing ritual
vessels, in one case (that of the tomb canes) vessel (different from the
others, since no cups or basins but a jar of perfume) is placed under
the head; in two cases are observed traces of wood, which leave presuppose
the use of plates for floor laying or for protection of the upper body.
The male graves are characterized by a small boxcutter positioned on the
shoulder, from razors, small axes, in three cases by belts of bronze and
in three cases from the tips of the javelin. The female graves have fibulas
(the clips for clothes) and bronze iron, sometimes with decorative filigree;
one individual (the deceased's tomb in the Capuchin), has two rings of
ronzo, one in each hand. On the south-east of the cemetery there was a
small building built when the use of the site in tombs was the beginning;
it was probably intended for rituals connected with the burial and those
in more occurrences of the deceased.
The graves occupy a space between the chronological order of the V and
the beginning of the third century BC.
The anthropological analysis allow to define the age of the deceased
and nutritional stress and from work. In Gildone there is a high mortality
in the juvenile period especially among males; in adult classes up to
50 years prevails female mortality with a very low presence of women after
age 50. The average age of adults is about 40 years, 36 for women; infants
represent a very small percentage (13%). The presence of dental disease
is very high, especially in women, indicated by scholars as a consequence
of malnutrition, with a high consumption of carbohydrates and low use
of meat, typical condition of community devoted to agriculture. In the
field of injury from work activities joints most affected are the hip,
shoulder and elbow; scholars associate arthritis in the elbow of women
to grind the seeds. These lesions are present in both men and women, dedicated
to activities in general hard and heavy, carried out at a young age. |