ARCHAEOLOGY AND GOLD SMITHRY

Gold is the precious material par excellence: its adaptability has allowed its working from the earliest times and its rarity has meant that it has been considered the ornament of the divine and royal, a sign of luxury and prestige. It is, though, also an archaeological material of great historical interest in the same way as are manufactured items in ceramics or other metals. The diffusion of ornaments in precious metals is a reliable indication of economic level, of cultural tendencies, of self-promotion and so on. When verified data from excavations can be made use of, jewels contribute to the understanding of the ritual practices, be they funereal or votive, the archaeological differences between the sexes and different age groups, particularly with regards clothing and body decoration.
The funereal origin of the gold jewellery indicates just the final period of the ornaments use and not that of their production. If objects of personal ornamentation thought of as symbols of state (e.g. crowns, diadems and rings) can be directly connected to the deceased, leaving no doubt about their relationship with the deposition in which they were found, it is possible that, for other objects to which a different value was attributed in ancient times, a different situation and a longer period between production and burial than was previously thought should be attributed.
The oldest gold jewellery known of in Southern mainland Italy today was found on the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria. This find included armills in gold wire, form Oppido Mamertina, and spirals of cylindrical beads, in gold wire from Drapia-Torre Galli; and on the Adriatic coast of Apulia where a bracelet in gold wire from Arpi was found.
These finds are repetitions of forms which have already been documented in bronze and fromm this it can be seen that the metal used did not influence the production, already well spread in the Iron Age. Such ornaments, even though the introduction of gold into the respective cultural contexts came from outside.
Excluding certain areas of the regions of Campania and Basilicata, the places where these finds were made do not correspond with those of successive Greek colonisation.
Greek gold was introduced into Southern Italy by the Greeks in their trade relationships, be they abroad or with the indigenous populations of the interior.
The greatest production of jewellery came from the goldsmith workshops of Taranto which created many elaborate jewels. Amongst these is a diadem in silver showing the distinctive particularities of composition which demonstrate the autonomous inspiration of the Tarantino goldsmiths.
From Sybaris comes a gold-plated silver breastplate embossed with motives of palmettes and lotus flowers. This ornament decorated a robe, probably ritual judging from the reconstructed burial conditions. The style which was used in the decorative elements do not permit precise indication of where the workshop which produced the breastplate lay, but, however, one may suppose that it was at Sybaris.
Other jewellery is from Gizzeria and is part of the “Treasure of Sant’Eufemia”.
Near Amendolara and Francavilla Marittima were found some other jewels, mostly in silver, which would seem to have been related to the relationships which united the Achaean colonies and these “satellite” settlements.
From the sanctuary of Hera Lacinia at Capo Colonna, Crotone, thanks to the discovery of the Treasure of Hera Lacinia, certain objects were brought to light amongst the gifts to the goddess which are unique masterpieces. These include a diadem, made from a band in gold laminate (37.5 x 4.9 cm), on which can be found decoration in wrought metal in the form of engravings.
The nature of archaeological documentation of goldsmith products is, unfortunately, sporadic and incomplete, both with regards to geographical distribution and to absolute chronology. Amongst the reasons for this are not only the having undervalued the use of jewellery as a useful piece of information in historical research, but also because of ignorance or eagerness for wealth resulting in innumerable lootings of sanctuaries and tombs. To this can be added the, more or less clandestine, trade in which has led to the breaking up of original contexts and, so, excluded the possibility of understanding where objects come from.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
A.A.V.V., L’Oro dei Greci, Istituto geografico De Agostini, Novara 1992.
A.A.V.V., Il tesoro di Hera Lacinia (scoperte nel Santuario di Hera Lacinia a Capo Colonna, Crotone), catalogo della mostra, Crotone, Palazzo Morelli, Luglio-Settembre 1993, Milano 1993.
Pugliese Carratelli G. ( a cura di), I Greci in Occidente, Bompiani; pp. 471-480.
Guzzo P. G., Oreficerie dalla Magna Grecia, La Colomba, Taranto 1993.