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Modern Description: Pomarico Vecchio is situated on high Plateau overlooking the Basento Valley. Pomarico Vecchio is well attested archaeologically and has been extensively excavated. The settlement was laid out on a regular street plan with a number of public buildings. The fortifications walls were isodomic in construction and several towers were constructed at regular intervals. Large amounts of black gloss and local wares were visible in the freshly ploughed soil during inspection on the ground. Pomarico Vecchio is intervisibile with a number of other neighbouring sites. In particular, it may have had an important part in extending and reinforcing a control network along the lower reaches of the Basento river valley along with Pisticci, its neighbour to the south. Its relationship ‐ visually ‐ with Cozzo Presepe is also important. Cozzo Presepe is the hub of a large control network that extended visual control over much of the Bradano River Valley from the coast to over 40 kilometres inland. Cozzo Presepe was also able to see and report upon the arrival of ships off the coast of Metaponto. However, Cozzo Presepe had no visual control over the lower Basento valley. But with the addition of Pomarico Vecchio (and Pisticci) this control could have been extended to cover the neighbouring Basento valley and control movement to the interior on the parallel route with the Bradano.

Info: Myers Lucania

Brett Andrew Myers, Visual Connectivity and Control in Ancient Lucania, MPhil thesis 2018, Univ. of Sydney

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