A paper by Clara-Maria Hansen, University of Vienna for the Ancient World Seminar at 6:00 on Monday 29 April via Zoom.
To receive the Zoom link please email Dr Edward Jeremiah (edwardj@unimelb.edu.au).
The Métauros Archaeological Project (MAP) is a new project focusing on a vast ancient necropolis comprising c.1500 graves in the area of modern Gioia Tauro, Calabria. Métauros, the settlement to which this necropolis belonged, is located in a prime location at the coast, with a large natural harbor and Sicily is in a direct line of sight. Described either as a Greek polis or anchorage (ὕφορμος) in the ancient literary sources, the settlement of Métauros was situated in a region referred to in antiquity as “Magna Graecia”, and therefore in traditional research closely associated with the concept of Greek colonization. This concept, however, implies simplistic models of identity construction and lived mobilities. This has been questioned in more recent research, and instead, a greater complexity in matters of culture, identity, and mobility has been suggested.
In line with these newer approaches, the goal of MAP is the documentation, analysis, and publication of material that was brought to light during several emergency excavations conducted in second half of the previous century. This paper presents preliminary results from the first sample under investigation, a number of approximately 250 archaic tombs from the “Canerossi” plot dating between the early 7th and 5th centuries BCE. Although still a new project, it is already becoming clear that the site of Métauros harbors immense potential for the study of mobility and regional dynamics, the construction of community identity, as well as ancient perceptions of the funerary sphere.
Clara-Maria Hansen is a PhD researcher with the ERC-funded project MIGMAG, which is an acronym for “Migration and the Making of the Ancient Greek World.” This project considers expressions of civic identities along with different scales of human mobility in the Mediterranean during the Early Iron Age and the Archaic Period. Within MIGMAG, her research delves into ancient Greek foundation myths in the Western Mediterranean, particularly in Italy, the Iberian coast, Corsica, and North Africa. For her doctoral project, she has been studying the Archaic necropolis of Métauros in southern Calabria, the first project in the new Métauros Archaeological Project. Her research interests have a broad scope and mainly revolve around periods of significant change, cultural and social developments, identity formation, and its integration into communal structures. She is also the founder of the theatre group Ekstasis at the University of Vienna, which performs ancient plays in an authentic manner, reflecting her passion for ancient literature.
Classical Association of Victoria 