An investigative program carried out by the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria and the province of Vibo Valentia, in collaboration with the Aspromonte National Park, has enabled the rediscovery of a wall structure that spans nearly 3 kilometers through the forests of Dossone della Melia, overcoming steep slopes, a plain, and, in the final stretch, also a stream.
The discovery of Roman weapons, datable with certainty to the late Republican period, makes it plausible to identify the structure with the wall built by Consul Marcus Licinius Crassus in 72 B.C. to trap the rebels led by Spartacus and to prevent them from accessing any supplies.
According to the Greek historian Plutarch, in a short time, the Romans dug a fortification across the isthmus from sea to sea, 330 stadia long and 15 feet wide and deep, flanked by a wall of admirable height and solidity.
The revolt of Spartacus ended in Bruttium. Defeated twice by Crassus and after unsuccessfully attempting to cross the Strait of Messina and bring the revolt to Sicily, Spartacus and his army were forced to take refuge in the Calabrian mountains where they were again defeated, and where the Thracian gladiator met his death in battle.
The research activities conducted at the site have already led to the discovery of numerous metallic objects dating between the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C., including some curved iron blades, a spearhead, two examples of pilum, a particular type of javelin used by the Roman army in close combat.
Additionally, a pommel possibly belonging to a sword and a handle of a cutting weapon have been found. Research will continue: what is currently a working hypothesis may find support after the execution of broader and deeper excavation investigations already planned by the Superintendence in concert with the central bodies of the Ministry.
The findings and corresponding research that the central and peripheral structures of the Ministry of Culture are carrying out in Calabria demonstrate once again how much there is to discover and how vast our cultural heritage is. A unique site of art and historical sediments in the world, concentrated mainly in the South, that spans millennia and can represent an opportunity for cultural growth and awareness of our history and identity, but also for economic and social development. With great determination, the Ministry will continue in this action of research and enhancement of what has been discovered, declared the Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano.
Only in a few cases does archaeological research manage to provide elements that allow the immediate identification of the findings with specific sites or even monuments mentioned by ancient sources. More often, it constitutes an opportunity for new knowledge, allows for updates and new interpretations, drives the construction of new hypotheses, and different interpretations of already known contexts.
This is the case with the powerful wall structure located near Cancelo Pass, within the territory of the municipality of Ciminà (RC), already known for some time by hikers traversing the Aspromonte trails, which can now be proposed for identification with the barrier wall “from sea to sea,” from the Ionian to the Tyrrhenian, built by Marcus Licinius Crassus in 72 B.C. to prevent Spartacus from obtaining the supplies necessary to survive the harsh winter on the Calabrian plateaus where the rebels, having failed to pass into Sicily, had to quarter, stated the Director General of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape, Luigi La Rocca.
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