An integral part of the visit to the monumental castle of Gioia are the rooms of the Archaeological Museum where a systematic exhibition of the numerous grave goods from the necropolises of Monte Sannace and Santo Mola is present, covering a wide chronological span: from the beginning of the 6th to the 3rd/2nd century BC. Geometric and figurative vases, bronze weapons, fibulae, and terracotta figurines define the usual composition of the funerary equipment of the glorious indigenous center as well as of the broader Peucetian communities.
The National Archaeological Museum of Gioia del Colle is located in the ground floor rooms of the Norman-Swabian castle and houses archaeological finds from excavations in the areas of Monte Sannace and Santo Mola, which unearthed an ancient Peucetian settlement.
History
A municipal museum was originally hosted in the former convent of San Francesco, in Piazza Plebiscito, when in 1959 the Superintendency for Antiquities of Puglia and Matera approved the establishment of a museum to collect finds from excavations carried out in the areas of Monte Sannace and Santo Mola between 1940 and 1953. Following further excavation campaigns at the Monte Sannace site, the National Archaeological Museum was established in 1977, set up in two rooms on the ground floor of the Norman-Swabian castle. Later, some finds from excavations at Murgia San Francesco enriched the museum collection.
Part of the material found at Monte Sannace is held at the Provincial Archaeological Museum of Bari, at the museum in Taranto, and other museums. Other finds, originating from illegal excavations, are scattered worldwide or are part of private collections.
Collection
The exhibited finds date back to the Neolithic and the Bronze and Iron Ages. Items on display include geometric and figurative vases, weapons and objects in bronze, fibulae and personal ornaments, terracotta figurines that made up the burial kits; domestic and table ceramics, pots, stoves, mills, and various tools relating to the daily life and activities of the ancient population. Among the exhibited objects, there are also some bronzes that were part of the armor of 5th century BC warriors (a Corinthian-style helmet and a shoulder guard).
data source: Wikipedia
Information about the National Archaeological Museum of Gioia del Colle
Piazza dei Martiri
70023 Gioia del Colle (Bari)
0803481305
museoarch.gioiadelcolle@beniculturali.it
https://www.archeopuglia.beniculturali.it/
Source: MIBACT
