Li Castelli Archaeological Site

An experience not to be missed, just over a kilometre to the east of San Pancrazio Salentino, is the archaeological site of Li Castelli, a vast area that over the years has unearthed important evidence of ancient settlements, the earliest of which date back to the Iron Age.
Excavations have revealed in the original nucleus a village of huts (VIII-VI), which in the following century underwent a process of urbanisation with a more complex structural development in terms of dwelling units and the addition of fortified structures with large blocks of limestone, testifying to the strategic importance acquired by the site over time. For reasons that remain unclear, the settlement was abandoned for a long time, only to be used by the Romans as an outpost for their troops when they crossed the territory, a period that has left traces in the form of artefacts and coins from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
Unfortunately, the site has been the subject of major robberies that have left very little evidence, but these are remarkably important in marking the history of this place. Among the most noteworthy finds in the necropolis are an Iron Age bronze axe, an Italic goblet painted in black and engraved with the name of the deceased in the archaic Greek alphabet, dating back to the 5th century BC. In addition, there are a number of other artefacts: a red jug, a glass with a red bell, clearly of Attic origin, and various black-glazed ceramic vessels dating from the 3rd to 5th centuries BC.