BUTERA
(“Omphake”) Sicily.
Probably
the site of an ancient Sikanian center, the first to come
into conflict with the Greek colony of Gela, founded in
689 B.C., ca. 20 km to the SE. Quite probably Butera
should be identified with ancient Omphake, the Sikanian
town which, according to Pausanias (
8.46.3), was conquered by Rhodio-Cretan colonists from Gela led by
its founder Antiphemos. The formidable location of this
site, on a high and steep mountain that dominates the
plain of Gela, explains both the presence of an important native town and the need for rapid conquest by the
Greek colonists in defense of the fertile plain.
Excavation has clarified, at least partially, the history
of the settlement. The large necropolis in the area Piano
della Fiera contained four levels of tombs; the deepest
layer (1st stratum) comprised grotto-like tombs (a
grotticella) with carved covers, indigenous vases with
painted or incised decoration, bronze fibulae and razors
datable from the 8th c. B.C. to the early 7th. A few vessels
already document Greek influence. The next layer (2d
stratum) dated to the second and last quarter of the
7th c. B.C., clearly reveals contact with the Greek colonists of Gela. Most of its burials (several hundred) show
close parallels with the archaic necropolis of Gela, while
others are of local type, with stone enclosures and, in
one case, a characteristic large “dolmen” tomb, still
preserved in situ. Funerary customs are also mixed, and
both inhumation and cremation occur. Frequent and
typical is the custom of partial cremation, with the skulls
of the dead preserved in vases. Funerary gifts include
Protocorinthian, Geloan, and local pottery. That this
necropolis was abandoned for over three centuries is
indicated by the lack of tombs with Corinthian, Ionic,
and Attic vases. The following layer (3d stratum) indicates a resumption of city life in the second half of the
4th c. B.C., probably as part of the reconstruction program carried out in Sicily by Timoleon. This phase is
characterized by monumental stepped tombs surmounted
by columns (epitymbia) and funerary gifts of Sicilian
red-figure vases. The topmost layer (4th stratum) revealed rather poor graves of the 3d c. B.C. containing unpainted alabastra (fusiform vases).
Investigation on the slopes below the modern city has
revealed a few protohistoric huts and a Hellenistic
building, but the chronological gap noticed in the necropolis remains unsolved. A few more items were yielded by
the excavation of a votive deposit in a rural sanctuary
below Butera, in the vicinity of Fontana Calda, along
the present torrent Comunelli. According to a graffito
on a vase, the sanctuary was dedicated to a female deity
referred to as Polystephanos Thea, probably a nymph
comparable to Artemis, whom the votive figurines represent with bow and hound. Some objects from the votive
deposit go back to the archaic period, but the vast majority of the offerings are vases and statuettes of the period
of Timoleon (second half of the 4th c. B.C.). The cult
continued, however, till Roman times, as shown by lamps
of late Republican and Imperial date. Further evidence
from the Greek and Roman periods can be found in
various areas of the Buteran territory. Greek farmhouses
datable between the 6th and 3d c. B.C. have been identified or excavated at the locations Fiume di Mallo, Priointo, Milingiana, S. Giuliano, etc. Graves of Roman Imperial date connected with farmhouses or small villages
have been explored in the vicinity of Priorato e Suor
Marchesa. All the material from the excavations of Butera and its territory is in the National Museum of Gela.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
D. Adamesteanu, “Butera,”
MonAnt
44 (1958); id.,
NSc 1958, 350ff; id.,
Kokalos 4 (1958)
40ff; P. Orlandini,
Kokalos 8 (1962) 77ff; id.,
Kokalos 7
(1961) 145ff.
P. ORLANDINI
