Heritage · Anapo Valley
Archaeological heritage
The Anapo Valley is best known for its many archaeological remains linked to the civilisation of Pantalica.
Among the most important archaeological remains, dating back to the Bronze and Iron Ages, are certainly its tombs. Besides being burial places, they were real symbols of social and community status, as their different shapes and sizes probably reflected the hierarchy between families.
01 · Bronze and Iron Ages
Tombs
These tombs were carved into the living rock with flint tools such as axes and knives, a sign of the remarkable technical skill and patience of the ancient builders, as the many tools found near the burials show.
The workers, probably hanging from ropes along the rock faces, worked first from the outside and then from inside the cell, while the bodies were laid in the tombs together with personal belongings and food offerings, according to Sicel animistic beliefs. Finally, the tombs were sealed with monolithic slabs.
Bronze Age
The oldest tombs, generally small with an elliptical plan.
Iron Age
Often with double burials, with rectangular or square chambers and benches carved into the rock.
The types
- Tholos
- Grotticella
- Dromos
- Forno
- Cista
Their distribution across the different areas of the Necropolis tells the historical and cultural evolution of the site.
02 · Byzantine period
Oratories and villages
The necropolis also features ancient oratories from the Byzantine period. Among them stand out the Oratory of San Nicolicchio, the Oratory of San Micidiario and the Oratory of the Crocifisso. Close by are the so-called Byzantine villages, groups of dwellings that reflect the Byzantine strategy of taking refuge in places easy to defend from attacks and raids. These oratories, especially the Oratory of San Micidiario, were also places of religious and community worship for the inhabitants.
Only one Byzantine village has no oratory nearby: the Byzantine Village of the Cavetta, which lies right along the regional road leading to Ferla.
03 · Karst cavities
Caves
The caves of Pantalica are also particularly important: shaped by the nature of the ground, by water and by time, they are uniquely beautiful. Among the largest cavities of Pantalica is the Grotta dei Pipistrelli (Bat Cave), also known as the Grotta delle Meraviglie a suo Ponte.
The cave, once used to produce saltpetre, is home to a variety of bats, one of the many examples of the wildlife that can be admired along the trails of Pantalica. Its walls also bear the carved names of everyone who has visited Pantalica over time.
You can also admire the Grotta della Bottiglieria and the Grotta Nuova, or Trovata: the first is named after the river that flows in front of it, the second because it was found, or discovered, unexpectedly during a hike.
The caves along the trails
04 · 12th – 11th century BC
Anaktoron
The Prince's Palace
Another key site is the Anaktoron, also known as the Prince's Palace, a building from the 12th–11th century BC that shows the political and cultural importance of the Necropolis during the Late Bronze Age.
The Anaktoron lies in the western part of Pantalica, in the area of the Filiporto Necropolis. Its value was recognised by the Italian archaeologist Paolo Orsi, who attributed a pre-Hellenic origin to the building, hence the Greek term “Anaktoron” for its royal function. During the excavations, inside or right next to the building, Orsi found traces of a bronze foundry, a sign of advanced metalworking that helped date the building to the Late or Final Bronze Age.
05 · Paolo Orsi Archaeological Museum, Syracuse
From the tombs to the museum
Over the years, in all these areas of the Necropolis and in the tombs, many cultural objects or finds have been unearthed that represent and bear witness to an unmistakable Sicel origin. These finds were discovered by the archaeologist and scholar Paolo Orsi during his excavation campaigns and are now kept at the Paolo Orsi Archaeological Museum in Syracuse. There you can admire vases of great artistic value, finely worked, inlaid and finished knives, axes and spears, metal mirrors, ivory and metal pins, rings and other accessories of particular beauty, signs of a level of progress and wealth that allowed women many precious ornaments.
Living Pantalica use case
Developed as part of the Data-Highway project 'Creation of a "Linked Open Data" platform for innovative applications for tourism and cultural promotion' , funded by the Complementary Operational Programme (POC Sicilia) 2014-2020 – Axis 1 'Supporting competitiveness and sustainable, innovative digital transformation', Action 1.1.1 'Qualified investments for the development and strengthening of research and innovation capacity' - Completion of the ranking of Action 1.1.5 of the PO FESR Sicilia 2014/2020.
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