Pompei e la valle del Sarno in epoca preromana

During the Iron and Archaic Ages, the Sarno River Valley functioned as a strategic cultural crossroads between indigenous Samnite populations and Greek colonists from Pithekousai. Archaeological investigations across key necropolises—specifically San Valentino Torio, San Marzano sul Sarno, and Nuceria Alfaterna—reveal the complex spatial organization and evolution of the regional Fossakultur (tomb-trench culture). Extensive mortuary evidence demonstrates a highly organized territorial strategy, where designated burial zones were bounded by natural watercourses and systematically partitioned into family plots using drainage channels. The gradual integration of imported Euboean, Corinthian, and Italo-Geometric ceramics alongside traditional impasto wares illustrates how local communities adapted Hellenic cultural practices without forfeiting their indigenous identity. Furthermore, the presence of stone-circle incineration tombs at Nuceria highlights direct Pithekousan influence. The Sarno Valley thus offers critical insight into pre-Roman Campania, tracing a transition from early egalitarian societies to sophisticated pre-urban networks shaped by maritime trade.