Rituale funerario e cultura materiale nell'Abruzzo interno: il caso di Navelli

The necropolis of Piano at Navelli was excavated during 2013-2014 by the University of Chieti-Pescara “G. d’Annunzio”. In this area, still scarcely known from the archaeological point of view, the campaign brought to light a hundred graves dated between the end of the 7th and the 4th-3rd century BC, deployed around two female burials, whose grave goods (dated to the end of the 7th century BC) suggest an emerging role for the women buried. The 6th century graves are characterized by a certain pattern of grave good composition. Recurrently, adult males are buried with offensive weapons and women with ornaments. Only a few tombs are characterized by rich artifacts. A substantial number of tombs can be ascribed to newborn, infant and juvenile individuals. During the later phase of the necropolis (4th-3rd century BC) the funerary custom becomes more narrow in range: weapons and ornaments almost disappear. The necropolis of Piano reveals a pre-Roman community of the internal Abruzzo territory similar to those of nearby Fossa, Bazzano and Capestrano, diverging for the tendency to minimize the funerary goods. This work also tries to define the site of Piano in the framework of ancient settlement, referring to the few inhabited traces known for the pre-Roman period.