The recent excavations (2010-2018) conducted by the University of Turin in the central area of the ancient Greek colony of Locri Epizephyrii in Calabria (southern Italy) brought to light imposing hydraulic structures and further evidence, dating from the archaic period. In particular, the remains of a great channel that split the ancient city into two distinct areas was discovered near the so-called Casino Macrì Roman bath. These discoveries raised new questions about the way the polis controlled its seasonal watercourses, the solutions adopted to avoid floods, and the implications related to geomorphological constraints and to the hydrogeology of the site and its surroundings. Due to this new evidence and the general re-thinking about the water management in the city, Locri actually constitutes a case-study in international programmes dealing with hydraulic systems and resources in the ancient world. The paper offers a preliminary outline of the water management within the city, both in the coastal area and in the inner part of the ancient settlement, where some imposing structures already known in the archeological literature of the beginning of the 20th century are now the object of new studies and of a reappraisal. The hydraulic system is analyzed in order to illustrate its relation with the birth and development of the urban plan as well as its implications with the political and economic life of the polis during the archaic period.
Locri Epizefiri: la città e la gestione delle acque in età arcaica
Diego Elia
2020-01-01
Abstract
The recent excavations (2010-2018) conducted by the University of Turin in the central area of the ancient Greek colony of Locri Epizephyrii in Calabria (southern Italy) brought to light imposing hydraulic structures and further evidence, dating from the archaic period. In particular, the remains of a great channel that split the ancient city into two distinct areas was discovered near the so-called Casino Macrì Roman bath. These discoveries raised new questions about the way the polis controlled its seasonal watercourses, the solutions adopted to avoid floods, and the implications related to geomorphological constraints and to the hydrogeology of the site and its surroundings. Due to this new evidence and the general re-thinking about the water management in the city, Locri actually constitutes a case-study in international programmes dealing with hydraulic systems and resources in the ancient world. The paper offers a preliminary outline of the water management within the city, both in the coastal area and in the inner part of the ancient settlement, where some imposing structures already known in the archeological literature of the beginning of the 20th century are now the object of new studies and of a reappraisal. The hydraulic system is analyzed in order to illustrate its relation with the birth and development of the urban plan as well as its implications with the political and economic life of the polis during the archaic period.
I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
