I Cantaroidi in area Nord-Lucana. Proposta di classificazione

Among the most widespread locally-made vase shapes in pre-Roman southern Italy, there is a distinctive type known in literature under different names (olla, olletta, olletta-kantharos, cantharos, cantharoid vase, anforetta, nestoris). This shape and its variants are most common in the so-called “northern Lucanian” area. In the present paper, the whole range of cantharoid vases, regardless of differences in size, profile and decoration is analyzed, in order to look at this shape from a fresh perspective, to shed light on the development of its profile over time, and, above all, to gain a better understanding of its function. A new typological classification is proposed on the basis of a systematic study of the grave-goods of the necropolis of Ruvo del Monte (Potenza), which represents an excellent term of comparison for other northern Lucanian centers. Differences in shape and decoration can be traced to different local workshops influenced by the geographical and cultural proximity of groups using different decorative repertoires. Further, the size of cantharoid vases and the fact that it is mainly found in funerary contexts calls for new hypotheses about its function.