Analisi antropologica dei reperti osteologici tardo-antichi provenienti dal contesto ipogeico di Licata. L'ipogeo Zirafi-settore G ‒ Licata (Sicilia)

Abstract

From the third century BC until late antiquity, the settlement of the ancient Finziade (Licata) was characterized by intense socio- cultural dynamics that significantly changed the social and economic assets of central-southern Sicily. The Zirafi hypogeum with its an architectural funerary unicum of the time was part of this multiform scenario. Its complex and the articulated depositional plan reflects a long phase of sepulchral use. Here we report on the anthropological analysis of human skeletal remains, found during the systematic excavation campaigns of the University of Messina in collaboration with the Anthropology Laboratory of the University of Palermo. The study aims to combine the evaluations of the human findings with the previous historical and archaeological literature. We defined the use (intensity and typology) of the tombs, placed inside the hypogeum. Our results support previous assumptions about the status of the city during late antiquity.