I risultati delle recenti ricerche nei livelli subappenninici di Coppa Nevigata nel contesto del bronzo recente dell’Italia meridionale

This paper presents fresh results of the field research conducted at the Bronze Age settlement of Coppa Nevigata (Manfredonia – FG) in the last few years, which have particularly focused on the north‐eastern portion. Here a sequence of Late Bronze Age deposits is well preserved; these, have yielded a number of elongated rectangular dwelling structures and cooking structures, belonging to diverse phases of the Recent Bronze Age (13th‐12th centuries BC). In particular, a cluster of huts, neatly arranged close to one another with the same orientation, represents a very interesting example of a coherently planned settlement fabric. A further similar cluster of huts was brought to light by S.M. Puglisi’s excavations 1972‐1975 in the north‐we‐ stern portion of the settlement. In southern Italy evidence of similarly planned settlement fabric is scarce, while comparisons can be drawn with the Terramare settlements in northern Italy. Moreover, the possible links between such a highly organized settlement plan and the rise of an elite in the Coppa Nevigata com‐ munity during the Late bronze Age are discussed.