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Modern Description: Montescaglioso is located at the eastern extent of the study area, near the border of modern‐day Puglia and Basilicata. It is located on a not particularly high plateau but given the flat nature of the surrounding landscape it affords long ranging views of the surrounding countryside ‐ especially towards the north‐east in the direction of the ‘murge’ (or high plain) of Puglia. Little is known of the Lucanian settlement at Montescaglioso as it lies beneath the modern town, however stretches of the isodomic Lucanian era fortification wall were exposed during excavations. Using these along with the outline of the medieval fortifications and the natural topography of the site D’Andria has proposed an outline of the original Lucanian fortification wall. Montescaglioso is intervisible with three sites: Pomarico Vecchio, Cozzo Presepe and in the north, Timmari. Given its visibility network and its large viewshed along the Bradano Valley north of Difesa San Biagio it seems to form a very complimentary control network with Cozzo Presepe. Cozzo Presepe could handle the 20 or kilometres to the coast and Montescaglioso handles the 20 kilometres north‐west along the Bradano valley. In fact, the only section that is not covered in this arrangement is a small stretch of the Bradano not visible by either site. However Difesa San Biagio (and its sister site Cugno la Volta) completely cover this section and are both intervisible with Cozzo Presepe. With the addition of Difesa San Biagio, the Cozzo Presepe control network could cover over 50km of the Bradano river valley from Metaponto to past Timmari.

Info: Myers Lucania

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

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