Su alcune tombe aristocratiche femminili dalla necropoli peucezia di contrada Purgatorio (scavi 1976-1977) a Rutigliano (Bari). Considerazioni sui contesti

In the territory of Rutigliano, one of the most important settlements of Peucetia, the community of contrada Purgatorio emerges in the phase between the Archaic and Hellenistic ages, which stands out for its particular development and for its great prosperity. The excavations have brought to light a rich necropolis including over four hundred burials of different types, which are distinguished by the presence of prestigious grave goods, datable between the 7th and the 4th centuries BC, whose testimonies can be considered among the richest in central Apulia. Amongst these burials some female funerary assemblages stand out, probably belongig to high rank members of the dominant class into the community. These grave goods included a rich ceramic service for the simposium composed above all by Attic red-figure and black-gloss pottery, Greek and Etruscan bronze vessels, glass balsamaries of Eastern origin, but above all a great number of personal adornments in precious material, like gold, silver and amber necklaces, pendants, fibulae and other similar artifacts as a sign of prestige and an expression of high status. These rich assemblages demonstrate the important role of the indigenous aristocratic women into the community between the 6th and 5th century BC, able to acquire prestige goods of different origin, and the intense relationships between Rutigliano and Greek and Etruscan people.