di Alessandra de Nardis
SOURCE: La Repubblica
Smaller than a coin, the idol was found in Pulo di Molfetta, where another find had come to light in October;
On 18 January 2021, while they were carrying out a reconnaissance to check the state of the places, the archaeologists found on the ground a little idol obtained by processing a circular limestone pebble, slightly smaller than a two-cent coin, on which the nose, eyes and that that looks like a hair or the net weaving that reminds us a lot "headphones".
In the same place, another idol was found in the summer, also dating back to the fifth millennium BC, and therefore to the Neolithic, both currently kept in Palazzo Simi in Bari which houses the Operations Center for archeology.
The archaeologist Anna Maria Tunzi, manager of Palazzo Simi says: “During the preparatory work for the inauguration of the Pulo – which took place in October – before the summer, we had already found an idol. Even the latter was found not in the primary position, which indicates the place where the ancient Neolithic had left it, but secondary, that is, it slipped from another part always within the Pulo”.
Last week, two archaeologists, Alessia Amato e Nicholas de Pinto, during a check they found the little idol. “It is much smaller than the previous one, even if it is still a floating stone, a pebble. It has engraved characters that may suggest an anthropomorphization: there are the nose and eyes surrounded by upper and lower eyelashes, as if it had mascara, and also a sort of fringe and, on the back, signs indicating the hair".
The small "head" could refer to female features. "It is not surprising - continues Anna Maria Tunzi - because the Neolithic were strongly connected to the cult of fertility, and their main divinity was always connoted as a goddess. Neolithic farmers were very focused on this: it meant good harvests, fertility of women and domestic animals".
Now the idol, just like the one found a few months ago, will be studied and the subject of publications in scientific journals; an exhibition is also planned: "We hope to be able to exhibit both idols, together with other unpublished finds from the towns of the metropolitan city of Bari, such as Adelfia, Capurso and Bitetto, in the exhibition "Whispers from the earth", which will be set up in Palazzo Simi as soon as possible, to show finds from places that were not thought to be of archaeological interest. In the case of Pulo, no one would imagine that these objects could still be found at the bottom".
Furthermore, the ultimate goal is to bring the idols back to Molfetta: “They have a beautiful museum, very well set up, in which we all hope that the two idols will finish when the exhibition activities in Bari are over. It is right that they go home”, concludes Anna Maria Tunzi.
“Pending the reopening of the Pulo in the yellow zone – concludes the mayor of Molfetta Tommaso Minervini – wonders continue to emerge from the soil of our Neolithic site. As we have seen, only by making it safe has it been possible to bring out treasures that will rewrite the history of the city. We will finance further works for other excavations and we will bring the two idols back from Bari with the aim of setting up a large archaeological museum of Pulo”.
Alessandra de Nardis
