The LH IIIC Period in Arcadia and Imports from Southern Italy

Abstract

In the last decades the publication of some important Mycenaean cemeteries in Achaea and Elis has revealed the presence of several bronze artefacts which show close affinities with the Late Bronze Age metalworking in the Western Mediterranean. The aim of this paper is to investigate the archaeological evidence related to the LH IIIC period in Arcadia, where some significant data could be connected with the Late Bronze Age of Southern Italy. The archaeological record examined includes a bronze sword from Palaikastro belonging to the much-discussed Naue II category, and a group of violin-bow fibulae and bronze pins, which show strong parallels with the Terramare culture and northern Adriatic metallurgical workshops. Finally, to close this picture of relations beween Arcadia and the Italian peninsula, we can mention the evidence from Punta Meliso (Apulia, Italy), where diagnostic Mycenaean pottery includes a type of belly-handled amphora which was very popular in Achaea and Arcadia during LH IIIB2 and IIIe.