Chapter Ricerche archeologiche recenti nelle città medievali della Puglia centrale. Il caso di Canosa e Bari

Abstract

The contribution intends to present the study of an unpublished fragment of an inscribed ciborium, found during excavations conducted in 2001 by the then Archaeological Superintendence for Puglia in the area of the former Historical Museum, near the Basilica of San Nicola. Between the end of the 9th century and in the 11th century this sector of the city of Bari (which has been the subject of our research for years) welcomed the structures of the Byzantine administration, the Praetorium, a fortified citadel located inside of the urban space and overlooking the sea, including, in addition to the Catapano palace, an environment for the troops, housing and craft structures, small cultivated fields, cemetery areas and several churches. The small ciborium, whose text presumably came from one of them written seems to refer to a space with a baptismal function.