From one side to another. An overview on trans-Adriatic connectivity during the Middle Bronze Age

Abstract

Since the earliest systematic excavations in Bronze Age sites in northern  Apulia in the 1930s, it has become clear that their archaeological record retained, among other things, a broad and variegated archive of Adriatic seaborne connectivity.

Thanks to the huge amount of data available at present from both the western and eastern coasts, it is possible to point out that, in the post-Cetina horizon, trans-Adriatic interactions increased noticeably from the 17th  to the 14th century BC, in conjunction with the emergence of hillforts and fortified settlements in the Adriatic area. We will briefly analyse all data at our disposal for the reconstruction and interpretation  of these four centuries in which trans-Adriatic journeys, transmission of models, trade, exchange, exogamic practices etc. contributed in shaping the worldview of the communities living along its coasts.