Iapygians and Greeks in ancient Apulia

This room displays a significant selection of ceramics of indigenous and Greek production, dated between the 6th and 3rd centuries BC, which constitute one of the most important nuclei of the Archaeological Mu-seum of Bari.

Canosa di Puglia, Ceglie del Campo, Ruvo di Puglia, Rutigliano, Turi, Noicattaro, Monte Sannace… the archaeological sites that have yielded the pottery on display refer to some of the most famous necropoli of ancient Apulia.

The handmade wares adorned with meticulous geometric patterns, peculiar to the three ethno-cultural areas (Daunia, Peucetia, Messapia) in which Iapygia was divided in the 8th century BC, are opposed to those imported from Greece or originating from South Italian workshops, which exhibit elegant mythological representations or scenes of everyday life.

Purchased by the Museum of Bari between the late 1800s and early 1900s, the vases, unfortunately, lack data about the types of burials and the assemblages they come from. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the archaeological analysis to bring them back into the plot of a fascinating and complex story, that of the relationship between the indigenous peoples and the peoples from overseas: a story full of violent contrasts but also of openness and exchange, which just becomes visible in the archaeological record.