The Hellenistic pottery from the Southern Quarter, in of Elea-Velia (Salerno, Italy)

The Elea-Velia settlement is located along the Cilento coast, southern portion of Salerno bay, in the Southern Italy. The town was founded at the end of the 6th cent. B. C. by migrants from Phocaea. During the 5th cent. B. C. the city became renowned for the famous Eleatic philosophy school, founded by Parmenides and Zeno. The settlement reached its’ greatest extent of development in the Hellenistic and Roman Age (late 4th cent. B. C.–5th cent. A.D.), when its name was modified to Velia. In this paper, we present two pottery research programs on black gloss ware from 20th and recent excavations, and Hellenistic age pottery (amphorae and coarse ware) from the excavations in the Souther Quarter lead by the University of Naples ‘Federico II’. The results of analysis of the Hellenistic ceramics suggest that the settlement was fully integrated in the Mediterranean maritime trade dynamics. The presence of fine wares and amphorae reveal long distance exchanges within the Mediterranean. Furthermore, our results also allow us to infer intense exchange with other settlements in southern Italy through the inland communication routes, or short distance maritime trade.