Sicily in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries AD: A Case of Persisting Economic Complexity?

Abstract

The archaeology of Late Antique and early medieval Italy has attracted considerable attention over the last three decades, with many projects designed to shed light on the transformation of urban and rural landscapes and on patterns of economic change. In Sicily, despite the island's central position at the crossroads of Mediterranean connections and its significance as an ideal litmus-test for analysing settlement and economic change in the Mediterranean context, the early medieval period has been neglected until recently. New research over the past decade has begun to focus on this period. By combining these data with the results of the archaeological project in the territory of Philosophiana-Sofiana in central Sicily and integrating coinage, pottery production and trade, this paper aims to offer an interpretative model of the region on the eve of the Muslim conquest which emphasises its persistent economic vibrancy during the last two centuries of Byzantine rule.