Peucetian Babies : New Data from the enchytrismòi at Jazzo Fornasiello (Gravina in Puglia –BA)

This paper presents new data from the Peucetian site of Jazzo Fornasiello, a rich, fortified and rural settlement at the border between the territories of Gravina in Puglia and Poggiorsini (Italy-Bari). It was discovered in 2006 and since 2009 extensive research has been conducted by the Università degli Studi di Milano. The excavations have permitted the clarification of the different phases of the site, from the Archaic period (6th century BC) to the Hellenistic period (4th-3rd century BC).
The archaeological campaigns thus far have brought to light 17 well-preserved enchytrismòi, a burial custom that is well attested for infants among the Peucetians. Some of these enchytrismòi were placed vertically in the ground, while others horizontally, whether in large outdoor spaces close to houses or just along the walls inside the rooms. Only two of the enchytrismòi (TT. I and VII) were associated with grave goods. Anthropological analysis of the best-preserved vertical enchytrismòs (T. II) revealed a multiple infant burial (used in at least two different points in time), which seems to have no comparison in Peucetia, at least as far as the known osteological data are concerned.
The paper presents also data regarding the pathological profile of the Peucetian babies from Jazzo Fornasiello and finally investigates if these burials, whether of foetuses, stillborns or neonates who survived for a short while, might reflect a different funerary treatment, depending on being alive or dead at birth.