Two unusual funerary deposits from the Migration Period at hypogeum D, Modica–Scorrione W (prov. Ragusa, Sicily/I)

Abstract

The excavation campaigns carried out in 2020 and 2021 at the hypogeal cemetery at Scorrione W (Modica, Ragusa, Sicily) have led to the recording of several architectural structures hollowed out of the natural rock walls, as well as of well-preserved graves and their deposits. Among the latter, two assemblages of metal accessories show an exceptional character in their regional background and are of remarkable interest from a Central European perspective. The deposit in grave 7 dates to the times of the Vandal raids and alleged sovereignty over Sicily, whereas the one in grave 6 belongs to the period of Odoacer and Theodoric. Both deposits display connections with Central European clothing and funerary traditions and might be related to military environments. It is argued that the Scorrione finds may mirror a timeline of military stationing in the peripheral territory of Syracuse between the mid and late 5th century.