L'abitato di Mursia (Pantelleria) nel quadro delle interazioni nel Mediterraneo durante l'età del Bronzo

The new results from the excavationsat Mursia lead to a revaluation of the characteristics and role of the Early/Middle Bronze Age (1750-1450 BC) community of Pantelleria in the context of exchange and interactions in the Mediterranean. On the one hand, certain types of pottery, and above all the more consistent presence of engraved decoration, suggest a reassessment of the entire Mursia complex from a Mediterranean perspective. More specifically, the generic attribution to the RTV facies in a restrictive sense no longer appears satisfactory. On the other hand, the presence of different elements of external origin, and in particular valuable elements and ceramics of oriental production, confirm the role of Pantelleria as a reference point for those navigating in the central Mediterranean.

The peculiarity of the foundation by a community of presumably Sicilian origin and the interactions already attested in the early II millennium BC make Pantelleria an exceptional context for further exploration of the mechanisms of mobility, exchange and maritime control within a particularly wide geographical area. The relationships extend towards the southern Tyrrhenian, the Sicilian channel, the Ionian and, in the most easterly region, presumably stretching as far as the Peloponnese and the Adriatic coasts. The only missing evidence concerns relations with northern Africa, but we can assume that this gap is due more to a lack of investigation than to any closure towards this area, moreover documented by elements that suggest the presence in navigation of a southern Mediterranean route. [Publisher's text]