|
One of the most fascinating and problematic subjects in the
study of Sicilian prehistory is surely the relationships that the peoples from
Cyprus, the Greek mainland and the Levant had with the local communities,
particularly between the XVth and XIth centuries BC.
The most obvious result of these contacts (which were not only episodic visits,
and not only for strictly commercial reasons) is the large amount of Mycenaean
and Cypriot pottery, bronze artefacts and jewellery that are present in the
cultural assemblages of the indigenous settlements. Another important aspect of
this engagement is, however, the way in which the cultural customs of the
indigenous peoples changed and developed, e.g. in terms of religion, politics,
society and craftsmanship. Century by century, this Aegean interest in Sicily
became stronger and maintained itself unaffected after the fall of the Mycenaean
Palaces, continuing until the dawn of protohistory and the conclusion of the
Mycenaean cultural experience in the Greek Mainland.
The Mycenaean presence in Sicily in MBA and LBA is a subject of interest for
many scholars whose primary area of research is not specifically Italy and
Sicily. The difficulty, in particular for non-Italian scholars, of finding
publications and information about the various arguments (which are usually
written in Italian and distributed to a very local audience), and of retrieving
old and rare publications of excavations, together with the absence of a
share-network, combine to make research activity difficult and unrewarding.
The aim of this website is to systematically review the most recent publications
and events concerning this topic, in order to give greater diffusion to ideas
and works produced in the local ambit, thereby offering foreign scholars those
tools and resources that are otherwise so hard to find. And, of course, to link
together scholars who are interested in this
argument for the purpose of sharing ideas and projects in the name of scientific
cooperation. |
|
|
News board
|