Monte Giove (Cermignano e Penna Sant'Andrea, TE): abitato e necropoli. Campagna di scavo 2021

The sanctuary of Monte Giove in Cermignano and the underlying necropolis in Penna Sant’Andrea provided important archaeological documents, such as the lithic steles with paleosabellic inscriptions from the necropolis that mention a self-defined Sabine community (touta safina; found by means of short archaeological excavation during the 1970s). This paper concerns the preliminary results of the first excavation campaign (2021). The investigations are concentrated in two different areas: the necropolis area and the settlement area, the latter identified during the survey carried out in October 2020. Taking advantage of a landslide (that was in the 90s) it was possible to identify the presence of probable structures related to counter-slope terracing in association with layers of collapse. The artifacts that were found are mainly represented by architectural material, cooking and black-glazed pottery that attest a period of occupation comparable to the one known also for the sanctuary. In the area of the necropolis, two trench tombs (Tomb 11 and Tomb 12) were discovered; being very superficial, therefore they were heavily compromised by agricultural work. The skeleton present in tomb 11 was oriented to SE-NW and kept about upper half of its skeletal system up to the right side radius. The position of the clavicles, almost in contact and below the mandible, suggests the use of a shroud at the time of deposition. Tomb 12, with S-N orientation, concerned a female burial and it contained two simple arched iron fibulae and a necklace made up of colored glass paste beads. During this excavation campaign the survey also continued and, in fact, it was possible to find: glass paste beads, a fragment of a digital ring, a bronze fibula and a hook of an Italic belt of the palmette type of particular interest that confirm the presence of further male and female burials of the late 5th and 4th centuries. B.C. Finally, this paper deals with the preliminary archaeometric results carried out on 9 pottery samples (cooking pottery, black glazed and italic terra sigillata). Through the use of the digital Ht-60s microscope analysis, it was possible to identify the different fabrics and divide them in groups.