Tracing connections: the Bronze Age site of Torre Castelluccia in the regional and interregional networks of the Gulf of Taranto

Starting from the South Italian Middle Bronze Age (1700 - 1300 BC), we can observe a complex landscape of fortified coastal settlements around the Gulf of Taranto (Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria). These long-lasting sites, often occupied until Greek colonization (ca. 700 BC), were located at a short distance from each other and mostly stood on headlands flanked by natural bays and inlets. This location made the settlements highly accessible and thus privileged landing places, further allowing defense from external threats. While in the Mediterranean basin trade, mobility, and social connectivity were ever-expanding in complexity, the Gulf communities participated in both local and interregional networks, hence developing social and economic relationships (e.g. LBA Mycenaean contacts). In this setting, the renewed studies on the site of Torre Castelluccia (18 km south-east of Taranto) offer a fresh perspective, increasing the current state of awareness on the social and cultural dynamics in the focus area. Excavated around the middle of the XX century, Torre Castelluccia belongs to the quoted group of long-lasting sites. Both settlement - placed on the hilltop - and funerary areas are known, with a clear spatial relationship of contiguity. Furthermore, the Late Bronze age cremation cemetery is in part coeval with the use of one chamber “grotticella”-type tomb, revealing a complexity of coexisting rituals. We present the results of our research based on a solid typo-chronological frame, using a multi-layered spatial approach (local, regional, supra-regional). The analysis of legacy data combined with the renewed study of artefacts sheds new light on Torre Castelluccia, offering both a valid testimony of the settlement dynamics in the Gulf of Taranto and relevant information on the communication networks established in the broader Mediterranean scenario.