PREHISTORIC VILLAGE OF CAPE GRAZIANO
During the Culture of Cape Gratian- phase II, around 1700 B.C., the inhabitants of the village of Filo Braccio moved from the coast of Piano del Porto to the above Cape Graziano Montagnola, 174 m high, and occupied the natural terraces of the slope. The reasons for this move were due to the need for defense that had perhaps suddenly been determined by the danger of enemy incursions from the sea.
The prehistoric site occupies a large terrace at 100 m a.s.l. Archaeological excavations, conducted from 1952 to 1969, uncovered 27 oval-shaped huts very close to each other, with small clear spaces between them.
The dimensions of individual structures vary from 3 to 6 meters in diameter and are sometimes very narrow. They have dry-stone walls about 50-60 cm wide built in double rows of stones, collected in the surrounding soil. Hut VI also has an outer wall covering made of stone slabs placed vertically. Nearby is a small room VII, probably a storage room, which is preserved to a height of 1.50 m, which was accessed by a corridor (dromos) downhill. In general, the interior floors were at a lower level than the ground level, so the rooms were almost half-buried.
Hut XII, had been built with medium-sized stones arranged obliquely and alternating with large boulders. Adhering to the inner wall is preserved a bench made of stone plates placed horizontally, as if it were a wide seat. In this hut on the clay floor of the first phase of habitation, many intact pottery vessels with well-polished surfaces were found. This is the largest ceramic complex found in this settlement. From Huts I and II come typical bowls decorated with zig-zag incised motifs.
Important evidence of trade with the Mycenaeans comes from this village. Indeed, many ceramics imported from the Aegean are dated to Late Helladic I-II. They stand out because they are worked on the potter's wheel and decorated with designs painted in brown and red.
In the southern part of the village an urbanistic change is evident that corresponds to a different chronological period dated from 1500 to 1300 BC. Above the houses of the Cape Gratian culture, other dwellings were built or existing ones were reused by a new culture, this time of Sicilian origin, named Thapsos-Milazzese culture.
The pattern of the partially basement oval hut did not change. Instead, above the former hut XIV, which had been abandoned, a large square was built and paved with a compact beaten surface made of rubble mixed with a huge amount of tiny ceramic fragments.
This new cultural phase is characterized by a system of villages that are built perched and defended on every island in the archipelago (except Vulcan). Trade with the Aegean is rich and intense as evidenced by the oriental-made pottery and ornaments dated to Late Elladic III.
The artifacts found are displayed in the Aeolian Archaeological Museum “Luigi Bernabò Brea” in Lipari and in the detached section in Filicudi.
