A DAY TO: Grumentum | excursion from Maratea
Grumentum. The Last Roman Outpost
In one and a half hours from Maratea one can reach the archaeological park of Grumentum, either by taking the provincial roads 26 and 19 from Lagonegro towards Moliterno or by taking the SA-RE motorway to Padula and then the state road 103 in the direction of Taranto.
This is an ancient Roman outpost, which gives us a long lesson in history.
Grumentum [Grumento Nova]
- Historic Centre
- National Archaeological Museum
- Archaeological Site
Romans and Carthaginians
Our first stop is the Museum of Alta Val d'Agri, which houses fragments of the tusk of Elephas antiquus and teeth of Pleistocene mammals; Bronze Age utensils, related to domestic activities, such as bowls for milk processing or boilers; ceramics and ornaments from the 8th and 7th centuries BC, also from burials, demonstrating the cultural and commercial growth of the area, due to increased contact with the Greek coasts and colonies.
The museum's strength lies in the artifacts from the nearby archaeological site, now turned into a park: fragments of marble statues, including a head depicting Livia Drusilla, coins, inscriptions, funerary furnishings, clothing accessories, etc.
The abundance of testimonies is due to the history of the city of Grumentum - and we move on, accompanied by a museum custodian, towards the extensive archaeological site.
The Archaeological Area
The earliest evidence of fortified settlements founded by the Lucani in the Val d'Agri, both on the hills and in the valleys, dates back to the 6th-5th century BCE.
Grumentum is located at the confluence of two rivers, and a bronze figurine dating to the 6th century, depicting a mounted soldier, was found there and is now preserved in the British Museum in London.
On this pre-existing settlement, the Romans founded a strategic military outpost in the 3rd century B.C., located between two important trade routes (towards Taranto and towards Reggio), and it became the scene of two battles between Carthaginians and Romans, and was then severely affected by the Social Wars for supporting Rome.
From the 1st century BC, Grumentum was rebuilt and enriched with public and private buildings, becoming in the imperial age one of the richest and most important cities of Roman Lucania, with a very extensive jurisdiction, to the point of being chosen in 305 AD as a residence by Maximian, Augustus for the West.
Even today, those stones reveal their ancient splendor: strolling around, we recognize the forum, the amphitheater, the theater, the baths, the temples, a patrician house with splendid mosaic floors.
The theater, in particular, being well preserved, revives the splendor of days gone by within the framework of the summer event Stone Theaters.
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