DiscoVereto. Sunrise and Sunset at Capo di Leuca

The University of Naples L’Orientale’s first excavation campaign at the Vereto site in Patù, in the province of Lecce, carried out as part of the Storie Meridiane project, has come to an end. The initial findings confirm Vereto’s great scientific potential, providing a solid foundation for future research campaigns.

DiscoVereto, the first systematic archaeological excavation campaign at the site of Vereto – an ancient Messapian city on Capo di Leuca – came to an end on Friday 19 June. The campaign was organised by the University of Naples “L’Orientale” under the scientific direction of Valentino Nizzo, a professor at the university and an archaeologist specialising in the cultures of pre-Roman Italy.

The excavation, carried out under a licence granted by the Directorate-General for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of the Ministry of Culture, was supervised by the Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the provinces of Brindisi, Lecce and Taranto, in close collaboration with the municipalities of Patù and Morciano di Leuca and numerous cultural institutions and local associations.

The initiative forms part of the activities of the PNRR Storie Meridiane project, supported by the European Union – Next Generation EU, and constitutes the first concrete implementation of the Leucantica project, conceived by Valentino Nizzo and Daniela Ventrelli and dedicated to the study of the history, archaeology and cultural landscapes of Capo di Leuca. Fifty years after the studies by Cosimo Pagliara and Francesco D’Andria, and ten years on from the most recent research led by the Superintendency, ancient Vereto has once again become the focus of a comprehensive archaeological research programme: five weeks of investigations have yielded results that confirm the site’s great scientific potential and open up new avenues of research for reconstructing the history, identities and trade networks of Capo di Leuca between the end of the Bronze Age and the early Romanisation period. The most significant findings come from the uppermost section of the settlement, where two test pits were excavated.

In the southern section of the site, structures dating from the final phases of occupation of the area – between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD – have come to light. Two floor levels have been identified, covered by substantial debris consisting of roof tiles and slates, laid over older masonry and attributable to buildings of some importance, probably belonging to high-status social groups. This is also suggested by the materials found, including glassware, terra sigillata and tableware and kitchenware. The excavation also yielded residual evidence of Messapian occupation, including black-glazed pottery and fragments of an Italiot krater dating from the 4th to the 3rd century BC.

The northern test pit, situated immediately adjacent to the church of the Madonna di Vereto, has yielded a particularly promising sequence. The excavation has revealed large pits filled with rubble and materials from the demolition of earlier buildings, probably linked to processes of stripping and transformation of the area that may be connected to the site’s subsequent use for religious purposes. Also belonging to this context is the discovery of a fragment of an oil lamp decorated with the chi-rho symbol, evidence of Christian activity in the area during late antiquity. Beneath these layers, a substantial artificial fill, up to approximately ninety centimetres thick, dating to the Roman Imperial period, was uncovered.

Although this is a secondary deposit, it has yielded an important collection of artefacts relating to the earliest phases of the settlement, ranging from the Early Iron Age to the Archaic period, as well as numerous examples from the Messapian phase and fragments of imported Corinthian-style pottery dating to the 7th century BC. The most significant evidence consists of two large monolithic blocks set directly upon the bedrock, which may be interpreted as the possible foundations of a monumental structure of a communal nature. The quality of the calcarenite used and the context in which they were found suggest the possibility that these structures were connected to buildings of particular importance, perhaps even of a cultic nature; this hypothesis will need to be verified by extending the excavation area in future campaigns.

Among the most significant finds is also a fine female head sculpted from calcarenite, characterised by refined details of the hair and the presence of earrings, dating from the Hellenistic period; this discovery seems to indicate the existence in the area of monumental structures that remain largely unexplored. In the Grotta Suda area, investigations have documented the massive collapse of the front section of the natural cave, without reaching any significant archaeological layers. The results nevertheless suggest that it would be worthwhile to continue exploring the site in future campaigns, including the involvement of specialists in the study of speleological contexts.

Alongside the scientific findings, the campaign stood out for its open-excavation format, conceived from the outset as an accessible and participatory site. Over a thousand visitors followed the activities closely over the course of the five weeks, often returning several times to observe the progress of the research. They were joined by 230 pupils from local schools and numerous sixth-form students, who took part in educational activities organised directly on site.

DiscoVereto is one of the activities planned as part of Storie Meridiane, a cultural and social regeneration project promoted by two municipalities in the Capo di Leuca area, Patù and Morciano di Leuca, funded by the EU – NextGenerationEU and the Ministry of Culture under the PNRR Cultura – M1C3I2.1 ‘Attractiveness of villages’, which uses culture as a concrete lever for economic and employment development to combat phenomena such as depopulation.