THE 'CROSSHATCHED BAND STYLE' AND 'THE UNDULATING BAND STYLE', Two Italic Middle geometric Matt-painted Styles from the Timpone della Motta (Francavilla Marittima)
Abstract
Of all South Italian regional styles of matt-painted pottery, that of the Sibaritide was until recently one of the least known. However, the 1991-2004 excavations at Francavilla have produced a large quantity of it, and we are now finally able to assign this material to its proper place in the archaeological history of South Italy.
Handmade matt-painted pottery from the Timpone della Motta differs from most material found elsewhere in that it is not found in tombs but is associated instead with an early Oenotrian sanctuary, as well as being strongly linked to a contemporary, local production of wheel-thrown Euboean-style pottery decorated in red glossy paint. This paper discusses examples of the two earliest matt-painted styles and of Euboean-style pottery, all three coming from an apsidal building with an altar courtyard (associated with the sanctuary and known as the Weaving House), and compares them with similar pottery excavated in 1888 in a necropolis at Torre del Mordillo.
The three styles each have their own separate history but they occur simultaneously, which suggests that from the early 8th century BC onwards the sanctuary on the Timpone was the focus of a variety of activities by different groups of worshippers. Remarkably, the Sibaritide matt-painted decoration shows no connection with some classical Oenotrian Middle Geometric decorative schemes, particularly the 'a tenda' motif and stylized long-legged birds, but instead seems strongly influenced by wares from the Salento peninsula.