Kroton has not been the subject of large open area excavation. Instead, it has been explored through small, often rescue, excavations. The present book focuses on interventions that have taken place mostly since the turn of the millennium and builds upon previous compendium volumes, published in the past thirty years.
The book is divided into three sections, the largest of which presents results from excavations and field surveys. Three substantial papers, by A. Racheli, G. Verbicaro, and E. Lippolis and R. Stocco, deal with different districts of the Greek city. In the southern area, occupation is documented, albeit discontinuously, from Bronze Age to medieval times. In the third century b.c., domestic buildings were converted into workshops: a change tentatively linked to contemporary military and political crises. This is a recurring theme in the volume, where changes in exploitation of the site are linked to events from ancient history. Such approaches should come with a health warning. Seldom are chronologies tight enough to establish a definitive link and, in any case, not every archaeological change requires a political explanation and not every historical event leaves a physical trace. A careful review of the work undertaken in the central quarter since the 1970s allows Verbicaro to identify the town's kerameikos. The ex-Montedison area to the north is believed to have been the most recently established quarter of the settlement, dating to the late Archaic period. Again, urban development is linked to historical events, specifically Kroton's military successes against Sybaris.
G. Aversa and G. Verbicaro report on an excavation in the ‘Carrara 3’ cemetery, which brought to light sixty-two burials from the late sixth to the early fourth centuries b.c. Local customs avoided ostentation in the number of objects deposited in honour of the dead; nevertheless, some high quality Athenian vases made their way into the graves. Despite the level of preservation, the bone assemblage might reward further study, in terms of identifying sex, age profiles and pathologies.
The Roman presence in the area of the sanctuary of Hera Lacinia is the subject of A. Ruga's lengthy paper. This area is identified as the site of the colony established in 194 b.c.
Field survey conducted by the University of Texas at Austin in the chora during the 1980s and 1990s produced exciting results, which complement the same team's research at Metapontum. Since 2005, work at Kroton has resumed and the report offered here adds significant numbers of new sites, filling in the prehistoric landscape and revealing the intensive agricultural activity of the late antique period. The final publication of the survey should make a major contribution to our knowledge.
New discoveries, made between 1997 and 2007, of architectural materials, especially terracottas, are used by G. Aversa to re-evaluate earlier finds. Together these are used to reconstruct the trajectory of urban development at the Greek site.
The second section of the book deals with material culture. E. Lattanzi re-assesses small bronzes in the British Museum, which are believed to have been produced in Magna Graecia. However, Lattanzi remains rightly sceptical of linking these bronzes to workshops at Kroton. By contrast, in his contribution, Spadea argues for local workshops from the evidence of two bronze askoi and fragments of a terracotta gorgon. The remains of a griffin-head protome found at Capo Colonna are explored by A. Muleo. The hybrid manufacturing technique attests to the technical abilities of late seventh-century bronzesmiths and argues for an East Greek origin.
Inscribed statue bases and the fragments from a bronze equestrian statue, connected to Manius Megonius Leo and family, are the topic of R. Belli Pasqua's contribution. A tentative reconstruction of the location and layout of the statues is proposed.
Three papers, by E. Arslan, A. Ruga and R. Spadea, deal with hoards from Fondo Gesù. The main hoard yielded eighty-two coins in gold, silver, electrum and bronze from various mints in South Italy and the wider Mediterranean. The hoard testifies to the broad circulation of medium-value coins and to Kroton's connectedness. From the same hoard come a small number of gold and silver jewellery items, mostly attributed to Tarentine workshops. Once again, the military upheavals of the earlier third century b.c. are invoked as an explanation of the hoarding behaviour.
F. Cristiano's paper on bronze belts casts light on the Italic population of the region. The belts' rôle as signifiers of male status becomes apparent and warrants further analysis.
Three papers are lumped together in a ‘Varia’ section. P. G. Guzzo discusses Alkisthenes' donation of a decorated mantle to the sanctuary at Hera Lacinia, arguing that the textile was produced at Sybaris. Fragments of a third-century b.c. honorary decree allow E. L. Lazzarini to identify a previously undocumented magistracy. Finally, A. Caruso speculates on Pythagorean mouseia, their relationship to gymnasia and the possible location of these centres of learning at Kroton, Metapontum and Tarentum.
Compendium volumes devoted to particular sites can be narrow in their focus. However, the importance of Kroton, together with the chronological and cultural breadth of the material presented, obviates these concerns. Some of the material in this book will undoubtedly be rapidly superseded by final publications. However, experience shows that too often the papers in such volumes are the only publications that ever appear. For this reason, specialists in the field greatly value books such as this and it is gratifying to see that a learned society can, with the subvention of a bank, still produce them in such a lavish style.
