Nola: A Prehistoric "Pompeii"To date, five Bronze Age villages have been found near Vesuvius. "Obviously there were more," said Stefano de Caro, director of the Naples Archaeological Museum. "This shows how densely settled the area was even in prehistoric times." But de Caro also noted that the Nola site is by far the most complete Bronze Age village yet found: "This is the first time [in Italy] we have found everything together: the dead, dwellings, crafts, customs, food."
by Judith HarrisBronze-Age VeniceThere is evidence of stilt houses and drainage systems, and the settlements' small islets are separated by artificial canals whose edges were strengthened with vertical logs later replaced by squared timbers... The islets, joined by bridges, may have eventually been home to as many as 2,000 people and were enlarged several times over the centuries to accommodate the community's growing population. The remains of wooden huts, stands for dugout canoes, furnishings, as well as evidence of bronze and perhaps amber working, have also been found. The site was abandoned during sixth-century floods and mudslides, and scholars say it is possible that the deserters of Poggiomarino were, in fact, the founders of Pompeii.
by Jarrett A. Lobell
July/August 2002Move Over, Pompeii"Since Nola is only 7.5 miles from the volcano, people probably did not have time to pack before the eruption, and left behind cooking utensils, drinking cups, hunting tools, a hat decorated with wild boars' teeth, and a pot waiting to be fired in the kiln... So far no human remains have been found at Nola -- only several footprints preserved in the mud -- but scholars believe the skeletons of a Bronze Age man and woman discovered nearby about five years ago may be associated with the prehistoric eruption as well."
by Jarrett A. Lobell
Archaeology
March/April 2002
Volume 55 Number 2Bronze Age VillageA prehistoric village has been uncovered near Pompeii, more than 3,500 years after it was buried by Mount Vesuvius as the Roman city was centuries later. Experts called the find at Nola, near Naples, "sensational" and said the site could be the world's best preserved early Bronze Age village. The site is north of both Pompeii and Vesuvius, and suggests that the community was thriving when it was surprised by the eruption. Wooden structures in the village were destroyed by the heat but the mud that filled the buildings created a natural mould of everything they contained. Archaeologists believe that a man and a woman whose skeletons were dug up five years ago had been trying to escape from the village during the eruption.
Thursday 29 November 2001
