Gela : la necropoli arcaica. Paesaggio funerario, rituali, società e “piccoli principi”

This paper focuses on the results of a recent new examination of the Archaic cemeteries of Gela (founded in Sicily in 689 BC), containing mainly 7th and 6th century burials. Although it mainly deals with an excavation carefully scheduled and directed at the very beginning of the 20th century by Paolo Orsi himself, whose strictness in unearthing and registering the finds is well known, two main difficulties had to be faced and, if possible, solved. The first is strongly connected to the current laws at the end of the nineteenth century for antiquities and archaeological diggings. The second has to do with the different way of approaching data from necropoleis. The research has revealed how the funerary scenario of Archaic Gela is characterized by a relative lack of expensive burial rites and rich grave goods, a well-known tendency observed in almost all Sicilian cemeteries, which in Gela resembles a singular mesotes, rigorously curbing the ostentation of wealth. In addition, it is to be highlighted an overall lack of interest in distinguishing males from females and displaying ethnic distinctions, even within a mixed and hybrid society. The priority was rather to show the development of a new social structure and the progressive formation of the main family groups. In this respect, a very special attention is paid to a jeunesse dorée, formed by the young sons and daughters of aristocratic ghene in Gela: their exceptionally wealthy graves, containing exotic and prestige goods, large amounts of metal work and imported pottery, clearly demonstrate adults’ claims to elite status and their attempt to exorcise the fear of a sudden disruption in the bloodline. In fact, this marked visibility conferred after death to an elite group of children and adolescents, even if also due to emotional factors, can be interpreted as a compensatory reaction after death for the significant social investment in the offspring by the household. Also interesting is that the chronological range studied (650-550 B.C.) is the same of the rapid Geloan expansion over the surrounding territory, involving the establishment of large estates belonging to aristocratic families and the foundation of the subcolony Akragas. Certain changes in the funeral customs can also be correlated with these events.