Area archeologica di Serra di Vaglio

Serra di Vaglio preserves the remains of a pre-Roman settlement on a high plateau above the Basento valley. Houses, paved streets and defensive walls record the changing architecture of an inland community in contact with the Greek coastal world.

Why it matters

The site reveals indigenous settlement before Roman rule. Imported objects and changing building techniques illuminate exchanges with communities beyond the plateau.

What to notice

An oval hut survives beneath the later House of the Pithoi, named after large storage jars found inside. The house’s reconstruction used ancient building techniques. Nearby Braida produced a substantial building with terracotta architectural decoration and rich burials containing weapons, ornaments and imported vessels.

Context and history

Permanent occupation began in the second half of the eighth century BC. Fifth-century rebuilding introduced a more regular street plan, followed by Lucanian defences whose blocks carry Greek-letter quarry marks. Destruction around the middle of the third century BC ended the settlement’s ancient urban history.