The archaeological presences on the island of Lampedusa are distributed both in the suburban area and within the area now occupied by the urban centre. Among the presences in the extra-urban area are those of Capo Grecale, a rocky promontory on which there are a number of emergences known by the local name of "Timpuna". These are simple structures of irregularly ellipsoidal or circular shape, often grouped together and bounded by dry-stone walls, whose function and dating is uncertain.
Several strips of a late Roman and early Byzantine settlement were found within the urban area. The area of Piazza Brignone, in which several excavation campaigns were carried out until 2005, has yielded a large sector of the settlement; the excavation yielded a considerable quantity of ceramic material, in particular amphorae, African terra sigillata tableware and oil lamps, datable to between the 4th and 7th centuries AD. In the area of the so-called Castello, on the slopes of the promontory separating the inlet of the port from that of Cala Salina, an interesting craft complex was brought to light, set out on terraces and consisting of tanks lined with hydraulic mortar and a service area lined with cocciopesto. These structures are thought to have been used for industrial activities such as the salting of fish or the preparation of meat. ⠀It is connected to the late Roman settlement. We also know of an interesting strip of necropolis coeval with the settlement at Cala Palma, consisting of a sector of sub-devo pit burials and a hypogeum, partly used until recent times as a fish processing plant.
The hypogeum, partly natural and partly adapted by man, contained three levels of burials corresponding to the three phases of use of the necropolis. The tombs, in some cases dug into the rock and in others built with slabs, contained burials that have yielded very few grave goods. Some of the artefacts found in the archaeological excavations are on display in the "Pelagie Archaeological Museum", whose visit allows visitors to retrace the main stages of the population of the archipelago in ancient times.
The multimedia room, on whose walls evocative images of the islands flow, introduces the visit according to a chronological development through four rooms: the first is dedicated to the prehistory of Lampedusa and Linosa, with finds from the Neolithic (5th millennium BC) and the Ancient Bronze Age (2nd millennium BC). ); in the next room are exhibits from the Roman fish processing industry in Cala Salina (2nd century B.C. - 2nd century A.D.); this is followed by the room dedicated to the late-antique settlement and the early-Christian catacomb of Cala Palma in Lampedusa (5th-6th century A.D.); at the end of the tour is the marble statue of the goddess Fortuna (1st-2nd century A.D.), located in the last room, which is also dedicated to underwater finds.
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