Un centro fortificato sulla laguna. Coppa Nevigata e l’interazione con l’ecosistema umido alla foce del Candelaro durante l’età del Bronzo

The settlement of Coppa Nevigata, located on the inner shore of an ancient coastal lagoon known as the “Lago Salso”, now reclaimed, to the south of the Gargano Promontory, represents an exceptional case study for understanding the relationship between communities and sub-coastal wetlands during the late Prehistory. Long-term research at the site, initiated by Salvatore Puglisi between 1955-1975, and then continued with annual ongoing field seasons from 1983 onwards, has provided extensive data on both the Neolithic settlement (from the beginning of the 6th millennium to the end of the 5th millennium BC) and especially on the Bronze Age - Early Iron Age long-living settlement, which was continuously occupied from the early 2nd millennium BC to the late 8th century BC). This paper aims at discussing paleoenvironmental data, subsistence activities, craftsmanship, and exchange activities in their diachronic transformations, particularly considering the environmental characteristics that facilitated the recovery of certain resources, such as murex shells, from which purple dye was extracted in the Bronze Age, and both maritime and terrestrial contacts. During the Bronze Age, the lagoon also played a defensive role from who approached the settlement from the sea, as navigating it was difficult without an in-depth knowledge. The defense of the settlement was further enhanced with the construction of imposing dry-stone walls (around 1700 BC) and later (around 1400 BC) with the excavation of a large ditch. Human occupation ceased at the end of the 8th century BC, due to the silting up of the lagoon nearby the settlement.