Archaeologists from INRAP have discovered the first Etruscan domestic structure (dating from the 6th to 4th centuries BCE) in Corsica during a preventive excavation in the municipality of Ghisonaccia.
The discovery occurred in the context of a single-house construction project, conducted from mid-October to early December 2023, on a 605 m² area in the locality of Chiusevia, 3.5 km east of Ghisonaccia and about 800 meters from the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The excavation, conducted under the supervision of the Regional Archaeology Service (DRAC of Corsica), identified a building with pebble foundations on a slightly sloping alluvial terrace. This building, situated on a natural level area north of the site, extends on a northwest-southeast axis and has an internal space of at least 34 m², defined by three pebble floors.
The discovery of the pebble floors that define an internal space 6.35 m wide by an observed length of 5.30 m, suggests a total building area of at least 50 m², the archaeologists explain.
The constructive characteristics of the wall foundations, formed by pebbles of varying sizes bound by silty sediment, indicate a rudimentary but effective construction technique, with slanted walls and irregular arrangement.
The researchers also discovered several small excavations around the pebble constructions, intended to hold wooden posts that could have been structural elements for the building’s elevations and roof.
The entire internal surface of the building is covered by a fine silty layer, dotted with small adobe nodules, microcharcoal, and several hundred ceramic fragments that evidence its use. According to the researchers, the central hearth of the building, formed by reused storage vessel fragments, and a large pit that received combustion residues, testify to the daily activities of its inhabitants.
About twenty meters south of the building, a large ditch 1.70 m wide and 15 m long has been identified, which could have been used to collect water from the Alzetta stream, thus contributing to the settlement’s water supply. This ditch could also have served to structure the site’s boundaries and extent.
Several domestic waste pits, with reddened oven walls and carbonaceous matrices, were also found near the building, indicating activities related to the domestic sphere.
The set of ceramics found, composed of 43.3 kg of undecorated fragments and common Etruscan ceramics, reflects an occupation between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE.
The homogeneous corpus is particularly characterized by the absence of locally modeled ceramics and the lack of refined Etruscan productions, suggesting a specific and differentiated use of these containers, the archaeologists indicated.
They added that the combination of typochronological studies, organic marker analysis, and petrographic studies will allow for a more precise definition of the chronology and characteristics of this Etruscan settlement in Corsica, placing it within the broader context of cultural and commercial interactions in the Mediterranean.
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