Returning to the Disc Brooch from Grave 422 in Chiaromonte, San Pasquale (Prov. Potenza / I): Observations and Interpretative Proposals

Abstract

Returning to the Disc Brooch from Grave 422 in Chiaromonte, San Pasquale (Prov. Potenza / I): Observations and Interpretative Proposals

The disc brooch from the Early Medieval cemetery of Chiaromonte, San Pasquale (prov. Potenza / I), represents a valuable goldsmith’s product from Southern Italy and has been known about since the mid-1990s. The extensive study of the technical and decorative analysis of the brooch allowed a broader reflection on the manufacturing process of the piece of jewellery and on the relationship between the craftsman and his client. This information, together with the data from the discovery context, is extremely useful for tracing the effective purchasing power of an elite group who settled and were buried in the central Sinni Valley during the 7th century. A little girl (grave 422) was part of this group and she was buried near an assumed Early Medieval church with the richest funerary assemblage of the cemetery.