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Ceramic building materials (CBM) are interesting archaeological items for gathering the material culture identity and urban setting of the ancient populations since their production is generally related to the local availability of clayey raw materials and advancements of technological skills of ancient makers. This paper investigates the Hellenistic and Roman productions of ceramic building materials from the archaeological site of Témesa on the Tyrrhenian coastline of Calabria region (southern Italy), a settlement where a flourishing ceramic tradition has been attested for all of its occupation phases, from the late Archaic to the Roman period. Here, the local availability of clayey and sandy raw materials permitted the development of a thriving worksite. A combined study of mineralogical, petrographic and micropaleontological features of archaeological samples and geological raw materials collected nearby the archaeological settlement, permitted to constrain the raw materials sources, and investigate the technological level achieved between the second half of the 4th century BCE and the 3rd century CE. This study highlighted that most of CBM was made by mixing sands from a nearby fluvial deposit with upper Miocene clayey raw materials. Chemical composition and micropaleontological investigation of the foraminiferal content of archaeological samples and clays validated the possible exploitation of local raw materials. Textural parameters and the mineralogical assemblage of temper grains, characterized by the peculiar presence of metamorphic lithics, also attested the use of Savuto river sands. Ceramic technology accounts for a firing process at reasonably high temperatures, evidencing the good technological level of production. Moreover, the presence of samples characterized by mix-designs and mineralogical assemblages consistent with geological materials from Campania region witnesses the importation of ceramic materials from other sites, suggesting the existence of operating trades as already attested for other sites of Tyrrhenian coast.

We present the results of a geophysical study at the site of Pian della Tirena, near the town of Nocera Terinese (Calabria, Italy). Geophysical imaging is a recent technique providing a reliable mapping of the three-dimensional magnetization distribution below the ground and, thus, effectively estimating the depth of buried structures. The site studied gained archaeological interest following the hypothesis of the presence of two adjacent, but distinct, settlements. The first one of Hellenic/Hellenistic age (the Temesa of Brettian age), the second (called Tempsa) of Roman age. Even though the site was recently excavated, extensive investigation was not possible due to the broadness of the area and the scarceness of traces at the surface, making it difficult to plan a targeted survey. Two detailed geophysical (magnetic and electromagnetic) surveys were performed in 2006 and 2013 to provide the archaeologists with precise information about the type and position of the buried structures, and increase the efficiency of the investigation. The survey aimed to: (i) confirm and outline the existence of a true urban settlement instead of isolated dwellings; (ii) locate centres of manufacturing activities (local pottery and metal handicrafts); (iii) verify the existence of a boundary wall or road around the settlement. Our three-dimensional analysis and interpretation detected several anomaly trends, most of which show a rather regular shape and orientation. This allowed us to infer the possible existence of a well-developed urban network. The final results provided an archaeological interpretation, building upon the urban network and different use-zones within the town.

Il sito di Pian della Tirena, a Nocera Terinese (Cz), è al centro di un dibattito animato sulla localizzazione dell’omerica Temesa e, in età romana, di Tempsa, la colonia maritima del 194 a.C. La ripresa delle indagini, tra il 2004 e il 2006, dopo più di un decennio di sospensione, ha consentito di raccogliere nuovi elementi sulle diverse fasi di occupazione del sito. Il contributo propone un primo inquadramento di queste ricerche, che hanno interessato l’abitato brezio e quello di età romana. Tra i dati più interessanti per l’età ellenistica, oltre all’individuazione di due edifici disposti lungo un asse stradale, si segnala lo scavo di un tratto di fortificazione che ha mostrato la presenza di un sistema difensivo di notevole portata, contraddistinto da più fasi edilizie, fino, presumibilmente, all’età romana. Ancora interessante è il rinvenimento del primo nucleo di necropoli relativa alla fase brezia, che si dispone lungo le pendici settentrionali del pianoro, costituito da inumazioni alla cappuccina. Per l’età romana è stato possibile documentare stratigraficamente, per la prima volta, un’occupazione che si sviluppa dagli inizi del I sec. a.C. fino all’età imperiale inoltrata, con almeno due edifici parzialmente indagati. Nel complesso Pian della Tirena si propone come un sito chiave nell’organizzazione dei centri brezi della Calabria tirrenica, per l’estensione e la struttura dell’insediamento, mentre la fase di età romana si dimostra molto più ampia e consistente di quanto si fosse finora proposto, offrendo un contributo non secondario al dibattito sulla localizzazione di Tempsa.