By way of a note to the classics list, Pierre-Louis Malosse has announced the discovery by his Université Paul Valéry (Montpellier III) colleague Thierry van Compernolle of an ostrakon bearing what appears to be an ancient map of the Salentine peninsula (the “boot-heel” of Italy), possibly dating to the 5th century BC. The item remains, as yet, unpublished, and there are no photographs presently available.
There is to be an international colloquium on this so-called “Mappa di Soleto”, at Montpellier University on 10-12 March 2005, with the title “La «Mappa di Soleto»: Échanges de cultures en Méditerranée ancienne (The “Soleto Map”: Cultural exchange in the Ancient Mediteranean). An online program for the colloquium, as well as a registration form in Adobe Acrobat PDF, are available from the colloquium website. I have taken the liberty of translating into English below the original French summary of the conference and the conference program.
English translation of the original French colloquium overview
The object discovered on the 21st of August 2003 at Soleto (province of Lecce, Italy), in the course of on-going archaeological excavations directed on behalf of CERCAM (Université Paul Valéry) by Th. Van Compernolle, is an ostrakon, i.e., a fragment of a vase, in this case, an attic black-glazed vase, on which is incised the coastline of the Salentine peninsula as well as thirteen toponyms whose positions are indicated by points. The “Soleto Map” is, to date, the most ancient geographic map of classical antiquity to have been discovered. It thus demands a reconsideration not only of the beginnings of ancient cartography, but also of regional history, in particular that of relations between the Messapian Iapyges and the Greeks. Indeed, two Greek toponyms appear together with eleven indigenous toponyms as well as five more previously unknown. The map thus testifies to the depth of interaction between these cultures in the fifth century before our era and offers, to date, for the Mediterranean, and more generally for Western civilization, the oldest map of a real space.
The interpretation of this document in its archaeological, historical, geographic, linguistic, artistic, philosophical and literary contexts requires recourse to multiple specialties. Therefore, we have chosen to prepare a collective publication, whose contributors will gather in Montpellier to present and discuss the contributions of their individual disciplines. The topics of the presentations and the structure of the colloquium have been established by the Organizing Committee and the Scientific Committee of the colloquium. The richness of the fields of investigation opened by this document brought together the research interests of two of CERCAM’s component teams:
- SEMA (Séminaire d'étude des mentalités antiques = Seminar for the study of ancient thought), which carries out investigations in the field of the history of representation, finding material for reflection in the cartographic image like the significance and function of toponyms, and thus continues its engagement in the organization of interdisciplinary conferences (most recently: Weapons in Antiquity: From Technology to Imagination, March 2003)
- GITA (Groupe interdisciplinaire sur le théâtre antique = Interdisciplinary Group on Ancient Theater) is, for its part, directly concerned with setting the epigraphic document in the context of a range of literary sources wherein the theater, comic and tragic, occupies an essential place.
The outcome of this colloquium will be thus to ensure the best possible publication of an absolutely unique epigraphic document, one which forces us to reconsider the beginnings of ancient cartography and the representation of the world, and to re-evaluate the depth of cultural relationships between peoples of the Mediterranean, a reciprocity that is not always properly perceived, because of the overwhelming testimony of the Greco-Roman literary tradition.
English translation of the original French colloquium program
Thursday, 10 March 2005
Amphitheater of the Regional Delegation of CNRS
Presentation of the “Soleto Map” and of the colloquium
- 9:00 a.m. — Reception of the participants
- 9:15-10:00 a.m. — Opening of the colloquium
- 10:00-10:30 a.m. — Presentation of the “Soleto Map” and the definition of the problems before the colloquium (Thierry VAN COMPERNOLLE, Univ. Montpellier)
- 10:30-10:45 — Discussion
10:45-11:00 — Break
The “Soleto Map” in context
- 11:00-11:30 a.m. — The “Soleto Map” in its archaeological and topographic context: the Salentine peninsula in the 5th century before our era (Francesco D'ANDRIA, Univ. Lecce)
- 11:30-12:00 noon — The “Soleto Map” in its linguistic context: study of the toponyms (Carlo DE SIMONE, Univ. Tübingen)
- 12:00-12:15 p.m. — Discussion
Lunch
Cartography and representations of the world
- 2:30 - 3:00 p.m. — Topographic analysis of the “Soleto Map” (Francesco PRONTERA, Univ. Perugia)
- 3:00-3:30 p.m. — The “Soleto Map in the history of cartography” (Christian JACOB, C.N.R.S. Paris)
- 3:30-4:00 p.m. — The “Soleto Map” and the history of representations of the world (Paul DEMONT, Univ. Paris IV)
- 4:00-4:15 p.m. — Discussion
4:15-4:30 p.m. — Break
Geography, mythology, philosophy
- 4:30-5:00 p.m. — The “Soleto Map”: toponomy and mythology (Pierre SAUZEAU, Univ. Montpellier)
- 5:00-5:30 p.m. — Myths and cultural exchange: the origin of the peoples of the western Mediterranean (Flavio RAVIOLA, Univ. Padova)
- 5:30-6:00 p.m. — Pythagorism and cultural exchange: the transmission of knowledge in southern Italy (Alain PETIT, Univ. Clermont-Ferrand)
- 6:00-6:15 p.m. — Discussion
Friday, 11 March 2005
Amphitheater of the regional delegation of CNRS
The “Soleto Map”: Writing and the uses of writing
- 9:00-9:30 a.m. — Epigraphic study of the “Soleto Map” (Mario LOMBARDO, Univ. Lecce))
- 9:30-10:00 a.m. — Incised writing in the western Mediterranean (Laurent DUBOIS, E.P.H.E. Paris)
- 10:00-10:30 a.m. — The uses of writing within the framework of cultural exchange (Rosalind THOMAS, Balliol College, Univ. Oxford)
- 10:30-10:45 a.m. — Discussion
10:45-11:00 a.m. — Break
Cultural exchange: religion and institutions
- 11:00-11:30 a.m. — Offerings, sanctuaries and cultural exchange (Anne JACQUEMIN, Univ. Strasbourg)
- 11:30-12:00 noon — Indigenous institutions and Greek institutions (Pierre CARLIER, Univ. Paris X)
- 12:00-12:15 p.m. — Discussion
Lunch
Cultural exchange: theater and literature
- 2:30-3:00 p.m. — From Artas to Artos: comedy and cultural exchange (Marie-Pierre NOËL, Univ. Montpellier)
- 3:00-3:30 p.m. — Tragedy and cultural exchange (Edith HALL, Univ. Durham)
- 3:30-4:00 p.m. — Greek language and barbarian language: borrowings and verbal creations (Michel CASEVITZ, Univ. Paris X)
- 4:00-4:15 p.m. — Discussion
4:15-4:30 p.m. — Break
Cultural exchange: iconography
- 4:30-5:00 p.m. — Mythological images and cultural exchange (Claude POUZADOUX, Univ. Paris X)
- 5:00-5:30 p.m. — Cultural exchange in the iconography of Italiote ceramics (Hélène CASSIMATIS, C.N.R.S. Paris)
- 5:30-6:00 p.m. — Greek and barbarian images of Greeks and barbarians (François LISSARRAGUE, E.H.E.S.S. Paris)
- 6:00-6:15 p.m. — Discussion
Saturday, 12 March 2005
Université Paul-Valéry
The “Soleto Map”: Material culture and cultural exchange
- 9:00-9:30 a.m. — The support of the “Soleto Map”: Attic ceramics and cultural exchange (Francesca SILVESTRELLI, Univ. Lecce)
- 9:30-10:00 a.m. — Ceramics and cultural exchange in the western Mediterranean (Jean-Paul MOREL, Univ. Aix-en-Provence)
- 10:00-10:30 a.m. — The “Soleto Map”: archaeometric study (Gianni QUARTA et Angela CALIA, I.B.A.M. C.N.R. Lecce)
- 10:30-10:45 a.m. — Discussion
10:45-11:00 a.m. — Break
Cultural exchange and forms of sociability
- 11:00-11:30 a.m. — Movable property, funerary rituals and cultural exchange (Angela PONTRANDOLFO, Univ. Salerno)
- 11:30-12:00 noon — To eat and drink differently (Pauline SCHMITT, Univ. Paris I)
- 12:00-12:15 p.m. — Discussion
Lunch
After the “Soleto Map”
- 2:00-2:30 p.m. — The “Soleto Map” and the historical geography of the Salentine peninsula in the hellenistic and Roman epochs (Jean-Luc LAMBOLEY, Univ. Grenoble)
- 2:30-3:00 p.m. — The “Soleto Map” and Messapian coinage (Aldo SICILIANO, Univ. Lecce)
- 3:00-3:30 p.m. — Discussion
3:15-3:30 — Break
The “Soleto Map”
- 3:30-4:00 p.m. — The “Soleto Map”: Results of the colloquium and research perspectives (Thierry VAN COMPERNOLLE, Univ. Montpellier)
- 4:00-4:45 p.m. — Final discussion (moderator: Jean-Paul MOREL, Univ. Aix-en-Provence)
- 4:45-5:00 p.m .— Conclusion of the colloquium (Christian JACOB, C.N.R.S. Paris)
- Acknowledgements
