Protohistoric sites on the coast between Nettuno and Torre Astura (Pontine Region, Lazio, Italy)

Abstract

This article, based on recent fieldwork by the GIA, summarizes the ceramic evidence for protohistoric occupation in the coastal part of the Pontine Region near the present-day town of Nettuno. Data derive from three different sources: 1. the mapping and sampling of sections exposed by marine erosion along the coastal stretch between Nettuno and the Roman villa at Torre Astura; 2. the study of a local museum collection, containing mainly stray materials collected in the same area; and 3. GIA surveys carried out in the inland part of the municipality of Nettuno and along the lowerstream bed of the Astura river. The ceramics of some coastal sites clearly exhibit industrial characteristics and these sites may possibly be associated with salt extraction. As such, they fit into a wider pattern of similar sites found throughout coastal Tyrrhenian central Italy. The ceramic data is less clear for the more inland parts of the study area, where protohistoric sites are predominantly characterized by thin scatters of mainly undiagnostic pottery.