Espaces de circulation, espaces de cheminement. Quelques « pistes » de réflexion pour le Sud de la Corse entre Bronze final et premier âge du Fer

Abstract

This paper aims at introducing some original and preliminary considerations on zones at least partially dedicated, in varying proportions, to the circulation of individuals in the chrono-cultural frame of the Late Bronze Age (’ Apazzu-Castidetta-Cucuruzzu’ cultural group) and the early Iron Age (’ Nuciaresa’ cultural group) in Southern Corsica, an area characterized by a clear cultural territorialization phenomenon which can be observed throughout the period considered. These thoughts are presented here in their preliminary state and concern different fieldworks, including excavations (Cuciurpula, Puzzonu and Nuciaresa settlements), surveys and systematic architectural layouts. The first approach concerns the revelation of ’ corridors’ within the internal space of the long double-nave dwellings that have been excavated in the past few years in the micro-region of Alta Rocca (the granitic and mountainous area of the southern part of the island, constituted by the high valleys of the Fiumicicoli and Rizzanese rivers), notably in the settlement of Cuciurpula, in the northern part of the region. We shall especially present the information collected during the excavations of dwellings 6, 1 and 3 of this important village, which provides an exhaustive view of a complete chronology between the 12th and 6th centuries BC, and thus allows the spatial and functional evolution of the typical Southern Corsican protohistoric houses to be considered in a diachronic manner. More particularly, we will develop the ceramic vessel distribution analysis in order to interpret particular concentrations and/ or absences, according to the different contexts (chronology and typology of the house, spatial position and comparison with other vestiges : fauna, vegetal macro-remains, lithic industries, etc.), defining circulation, sleeping, cooking or stocking areas. We shall then examine the means of access related to the daily use of these domestic spaces through analysis of the vestiges of the pathways linking them together, which have recently been the topic of an independent study. This consisted in the compilation of a catalogue and the excavation of these specific constructions, whose aspect clearly indicates their function, linked to the circulation of individuals, naturally difficult at Cuciurpula because of the inclination grade and rock clusters. These structures include ramps, stairs, passageways and even footbridges, etc., which link the forty dwellings of the settlement. The possibility of a modern chronology for these paths has to be raised because of the presence of miners on the site over several centuries. Nevertheless, many aspects indicate that construction took place during the transition between the Bronze and Iron Ages, around the 9th century. A recent discovery in the Tàravu valley, at Val’di Cuccu, in the south-western part of the island, will be described in this paper. It is interpreted as a Cyclopean Bronze Age bridge, similar to Minoan, Mycenaean and Nuraghic examples. It could have linked the two important protohistoric fortified settlements of Filitosa and Castellucciu-Calzola. We shall conclude with a broader study, aimed at specifying the layout of the protohistoric roads, for which some clues, taken from toponymy and settlement pattern studies, enable us to observe a persistent local usage lasting up to the medieval and sub-present periods. Analysis of the protohistoric settlement distribution model in Alta Rocca, almost superposable on the medieval land occupation pattern, may relate to factors imposed by the environment in order to avoid major obstacles, calling on effort-efficiency optimization. However, the material (particularly ceramic) and architectural unity which characterized these areas and its rapid dissolution beyond their margins (Tàravu and Solenzara valleys, Cuscionu plateau, Alcudina massif) show that the social character plays a fundamental role in the mechanisms which define cultural networks, which are thus not only generated by geographical constraints, even where topographical compartmentalization is very important, as in Southern Corsica.