FIRS · Frontiers Inside Roman Sicily: Culture, Economy and Society between Late Antiquity and the Early Byzantine Period

The Late Antique and Early Byzantine periods are crucial ones for the understanding of Sicily's socio-economic and cultural evolutionfrom Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Recent research has shown that the island still played its centuries-old role then as aMediterranean linchpin, and this realization has awakened scholars' interest for a period that has been dogged by an adversehistorical bias (one of perceived ‘decline and decadence’) for a long time. A raft of new data from archaeological excavations and fieldsurveys have sketched the outlines of the nuanced complexities of Sicilian society and its vibrant economy at this period, and itsintegration into multiple Mediterranean trade routes. Despite some progress overall, delay in the publication of old excavations, thepaucity of syntheses available, and the difficulty in accessing existing datasets, are a hindrance to resolving some key problems aboutthis important transitional phase in Sicilian history. For this reason, many scholars believe that a new multidisciplinary analysis of theperiod is essential. The FIRS project therefore focuses on four key sites in western Sicily, investigated during the second half of the20th century but largely unpublished. These comprise the rural settlements of Campanaio and Castagna and the port cities ofPalermo and Lilybaeum (Marsala). By analysing the quantity of material culture from the excavations and exploring the distribution ofartefacts at a micro-regional scale, we aim to investigate the many and various causes that triggered changes in trading patterns,social behaviour, and cultural practices between the 5th and the 7th centuries AD. The expected results will undoubtedly affect theinternational scientific community dealing with similar issues in other Mediterranean regions. They will also positively impact Siciliansociety and the local economy, promoting an awareness of important but often neglected aspects of the Sicilian Cultural Heritage.