VANDALS, OSTROGOTHS AND THE BYZANTINE FOOTPRINTS IN SICILY: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL-HISTORICAL REVIEW

Abstract

This paper presents the review of historical and archeological perspectives on Sicily in the period of Vandals

and Ostrogoths invasions, and Byzantine reconquest of the island, and includes new research (excavations

and surveys) and archaeological artefacts discovered recently on archaeological sites Akrai/Acrae in south

eastern Sicily. Sicily as the largest and centrally–located island on the Mediterranean Sea, rich in natural

resources and playing a key role in political shuffles, was a natural crossroad of trading routes, a melting pot

of diverse cultures. Therefore for many reasons it was a ring of various historical events, including Late

Antiquity. Since end of 430 AD, after the Vandals conquered the lands of North Africa, island reentered the

mainstream of history and became a disputed land and the main battlefield for the Vandals, Ostrogoths, and

the Byzantine Empire, which did not leave its economy and population untouched. The political reshuffling

and military actions were signalised in the literature mostly in the context of coastal towns of islands, but

recent studies of material culture, settlement distribution and roads, show that it surely influenced the cultural

landscape of the entire island. The paper also draws attention on the need to cross scientific disciplines (history

and archaeology) which might be useful in solving elusive ancient problem and issues, in this case thanks to

the archaeological material culture filling gaps in historical and written source sources associated with

presence of Vandals, Ostrogoths and Byzantine Empire in Sicily, with particular interest of its interior.