I modi dell'abitare a Sorgenti della Nova: case, magazzini e aree di lavoro

The research conducted on the Late Bronze Age settlement of Sorgenti della Nova yielded to identify three main settlement models, which lean on artificial terraces characterizing the cliff’s arrangement: the built-in base dwellings, the elliptical huts founded on channels and the artificial caves. A monumental ditch structure is added to these, located on the lowest terrace investigated. Through the analysis of these models and the evaluation of the structural characteristics of the different rooms and artefacts here discovered, it is possible to reconstruct the daily life behaviours of its ancient inhabitants. The result of this work reveals that the built-in base structures, the elliptical huts based on channels and the caves fail to mirror a functional distinction because they seems to be intended for the same activities: in all of these three structures, it is feasible to find “private” and “public” spaces, in addition to pantries/warehouses. Furthermore, the above-mentioned typologies of construction can have coexisted in the same areas, establishing a unitarian functional system: in the most investigated excavation sectors, self-sufficient “neighbourhoods”, where all the pivotal daily life activities were carried out, can be identified. The evidences of the daily life activities are spared both inside and outside the rooms. Thus, at Sorgenti della Nova, it is possible to observe a complex housing system, mirroring a well-structured organization that we can only partially assess, but which its inhabitants had to be fully aware of.