Original scientific paper

Hellenistic graves at the palm nursery in Vis

Boris Čargo

Abstract

This text contains a publication of three Hellenistic graves with
numerous ceramic goods discovered at a palm nursery in Vis in
1952. The author expresses the opinion that the discovered graves
were inside a farm building, in contrast to the view that this is a
new Issa necropolis. 31 to 37 items were placed in each grave,
which can be classified in various pottery styles: Upper Adriatic
ware, Gnathian ware, black gloss ware and plain ware. An iron
strigil was also found in the graves. Which items belonged to which
grave is not known, because by the time archaeologists had arrived
on the scene, all of the items had been removed from the graves.
Given the high number of items and only three graves, this author
assumes that each grave contained oenochoes, pelikai, skyphoi
and pyxides, meaning items which may be associated with a
wine-drinking culture (except the pyxides) and which testify to the
fact that viniculture and wine played a major role in the economy
and life of the Issa community, which is also reflected in burial
rites. Interments at the nursery began at the late fourth or early
third century BC, and they were contemporary and typologically
identical to those at Martvilo and Vlaška njiva (the western and
eastern Issa necropolises). The burials were from the era of full
affirmation of the city, when Issa, as a city with a flourishing
economy, began to penetrate into the surrounding southern and
central zones of the Eastern Adriatic, with the goal of establishing
their own settlements and shrines, creating their own sympoliteia.

Keywords

Vis; Issa; palm nursery; Đardin; graves; necropolis; Hellenistic pottery; Southern Italy; Magna Graecia; Apulia

Hrčak ID:

31104

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/31104

Publication date:

1.12.2008.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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