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L’area del Golfo di Castellammare (Sicilia occidentale) è nota per le numerose fornaci di età romana. In questo articolo, si cercherà di ricostruire l’attività di un’officina destinata principalmente alla produzione di laterizi con bollo ΟΝΑΣΟΥ, databile fra III e I secolo a.C. Ricerche precedenti hanno permesso di riconoscere nel produttore di questi laterizi lo stesso Onasus Segestanus citato nelle Verrine di Cicerone e di localizzarne una possibile officina presso la Baia di San Cataldo. La scoperta di nuovi laterizi bollati e di scarti ceramici assume notevole importanza per una ricerca sugli ateliers ceramici del Golfo di Castellammare e della Piana di Partinico. Ne deriva un quadro aggiornato e ricco di prospettive di ricerca, relative all’espansione commerciale di Onasus nel corso del tempo e all’attività produttiva di altre fornaci, i cui manufatti potevano essere esportati o utilizzati localmente. The area of the Gulf of Castellamare (western Sicily) is well known for the several roman kilns. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the productive activity of a workshop mainly manufacturing tiles with ΟΝΑΣΟΥ stamps, probably dating between the 3rd and the 1st century B.C. The previous researches permitted to recognize Onasus Segestanus, mentioned in Cicero’s Verrines, as the producer of these tiles and to localize a possible workshop in the Bay of St Cataldo. The discovery of new stamped tiles and ceramics wastes assume considerable importance for an investigation focused on the ceramic workshops in the Gulf of Castellamare and the Bay of St Cataldo. The result is an up-to-date picture rich in research perspectives, concerning the Onasus’s trade expansion during the time and the productive activity of other kilns, whose artefacts could be exported or locally employed.

International audience; Abstract: Trade fluctuations between North Africa and Southern Sicily: the 6th and 7th centuries AD. Cignana as a case study. This essay will examine the trend in imports of African potteries – notably amphorae and fine wares – in a rural zone of southern Sicily. We are dealing with the region of Cignana, not far from the coastline, where archaeological excavations documented a large settlement that experienced a big growth between the 5th and 6th centuries AD. During this period, a shift in the ceramic supply from the Zeugitana towards the Byzacena occurred. Nevertheless, the positive trend in imports persists until the last decades of the 6th century. Thereafter, it shows a decrease until the apparent interruption after the mid-7th century. New changes in the Mediterranean trading system seem to undermine the proximity exchanges between northern Africa and southern Sicily, but not the long-distance ones. At Cignana, this causes a gap in our knowledge that is still difficult to fill today. However, the discovery of a new ceramic class inspired by African prototypes of the late 7th century stimulates further reflection on the material culture of early Byzantine Sicily.

African Red Slip wares (ARS) are among the most common classes found in Sicily and a reliable chronological marker dated from the end of the 1st to the 7th century AD. We will here analyse data concerning the ARS wares collected during the Cignana and Himera surveys, carried out by the University of Palermo in northern and southern Sicily. The quantitative approach based on the Minimum Number of Vessels (MNV) allowed us to compare two different areas and therefore to detect differences and similarities in pottery distribution. The interdisciplinary (archaeological/archaeometric) approach helped us to improve the typological identifications of pottery and to identify with precision the origin of the imports. As a consequence, this research will help to enhance the understanding of the trade routes existing between different regions of Tunisia and Sicily during the centuries.

International audience; Among the events that occurred in Sicily during the First Punic War, the historians remember the Asdrubal's army march from Lilybaeum to Palermo across the Σελινουντία δυσχωρία. What might appear as a minor detail aroused the interest of scholars, who tried to identify this impervious region in Palermo's rugged mountains over the centuries. Nevertheless, is it possible to localize nowadays the passes the Carthaginian army crossed? This paper tries to answer this question through Palermo's mountains geomorphology examination supported by an in-deep historical and archival data analysis concerning the ancient paths linking Palermo to the southern coast of Sicily.

This paper offers an overview of the archaeological evidence known along the Eleuterio valley, in northern Sicily.

International audience; The rural settlement of Viticchié was found during the Cignana project, an archaeological survey carried out by the University of Palermo in collaboration with the Soprintendenza of Agrigento in the area around the Roman villa of Cignana (20km SE from Agrigento). Among over 200 new sites identified since 2007, Viticchié stands out from the others by the large number and the variety of pottery referable to a wide chronological range (3rd BC – 7th AD). In this paper, I will talk about the imports from Africa during the imperial age that represent the most common finds on this site. In many cases typology and fabrics allow us to distinguish different production and ateliers.

National audience; Powerpoint presented during the Eleuterio project conference

International audience; Powerpoint presented during the Sixth International Conference on Late Roman Coarse Wares, Cooking Wares and Amphorae in the Mediterranean: Archaeology and Archaeometry Land and sea: pottery routes, 24-28 May 2017, Agrigento

International audience; PowerPoint presented during the DAAD international workshop for MA and PhDs, 19-22 April 2016, Augsburg University

International audience; Between 1927 and 1930, Pirro Marconi investigated a small rectangular structure near house Filippazzo, in the central urban area of Akragas. The presence of a bothros and fragments of female figures with stephane suggested the presence of a small sanctuary or themenos for chthonic deities. The little news published by Marconi and the vague indication of location made us forget the existence of this sanctuary for many years. However, a survey carried out in 2016 allowed to identify the remains of Marconi’s structure, partly covered by ground. At the same time, other little-known structures have been identified. In some cases, their function is still unknown.