Heraclea Lucania

Heraclea Lucania was an ancient city of Magna Graecia situated on the Gulf of Taranto between the Aciris and Siris rivers. The ruins of the settlement lie within the modern comune of Policoro in the Province of Matera, Basilicata, Italy. Founded in 432 BCE as a joint colony of Tarentum and Thurii, the city rose to prominence as the capital of the Italiot League and the site of the famous 280 BCE Battle of Heraclea between Pyrrhus and the Romans. Today, the site is an archaeological park featuring the remains of temples, an orthogonal urban plan, and a dedicated national museum housing excavated artifacts.

The city was founded in 432 BCE, considerably later than most Greek colonies in the region. It was established on territory previously belonging to the fallen Ionic colony of Siris, which had become a subject of contention between Tarentum and Thurii. A war between the two powers ended with an agreement to found a joint settlement, though Tarentum dominated and it was officially designated as a colony of Taranto. The remaining inhabitants of Siris were incorporated, and the settlement was initially established at the site of Siris before being transferred inland nearer the Aciris river, taking the name Heraclea while Siris functioned as its port. The colony rapidly prospered due to the fertility of its territory, and by 374 BCE it was chosen as the meeting place of the general assembly of the Italiot Greeks. In 280 BCE, King Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated the Roman consul Publius Valerius Laevinus at the Battle of Heraclea. Shortly after, around 278 BCE, Rome granted Heraclea a highly favorable treaty of alliance to detach it from the Tarentine sphere. The city surrendered to Hannibal under compulsion in 212 BCE, and its public records were destroyed by fire during the Social War. Despite this, it remained a flourishing municipium, and its inhabitants hesitantly accepted Roman citizenship under the Lex Plautia Papiria in 89 BCE. The city retained some significance into the imperial era before eventually declining, with the circumstances of its abandonment remaining unknown. Its medieval successor was the bishopric of Anglona.

The archaeological finds from the site are primarily housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Siritide, located north of modern Policoro. The museum preserves the majority of artifacts recovered from excavations at Heraclea. The collection includes materials documenting the city's history from its Greek origins through the Roman period, encompassing funerary goods from the necropolis, architectural elements, and ceramics. Recent excavations by an Italo-French mission have also uncovered evidence of the passage of Spartacus in 72 BCE, including traces of a siege on the wealthy district of the acropolis using war weapons, as well as ancient perfume residues over 2500 years old.

The most significant historical artifacts associated with the site are the Tables of Heraclea, discovered in 1732. These are bronze tablets featuring a Greek inscription from the 3rd century BCE detailing land boundaries and temple property. On the reverse side is a Latin transcription of the Lex Iulia Municipalis from 45 BCE, a document of paramount importance for understanding Roman municipal law. The tablets were found between Heraclea and Metapontum and are currently conserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. The Siritide museum in Policoro holds the broader corpus of localized excavated materials.

The archaeological park preserves the urban layout of the ancient city. The site features a regular orthogonal street plan. In the lower city, visitors can see the foundations of the Temple of Athena and the Temple of Demeter. The acropolis area contains better preserved remains, including the orthogonal road axes. A ceramists quarter is located to the west, characterized by houses with attached kilns. Necropoleis are situated to the south and west of the urban center. Archaeological investigations, including recent research directed by Stéphane Verger, indicate that a Greek city existed at the location prior to the Tarentine foundation, destroyed at the end of the 7th century BCE based on necropolis dating.

The ruins of Heraclea are located within the Parco Archeologico di Herakleia in the comune of Policoro, Province of Matera, Basilicata, Italy. The site is situated approximately five kilometers from the coast of the Gulf of Taranto and about 23 kilometers south-southwest of Metaponto. The excavated foundations and urban layout can be visited within the archaeological park, while the associated artifacts are displayed at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale della Siritide in Policoro. The official site is managed by the Italian Ministry of Culture.