Butera

Butera (Sicilian: Vutera) is an Italian town and a comune in the province of Caltanissetta, in the southwestern part of the island of Sicily. It is bounded by the comuni of Gela, Licata, Mazzarino, Ravanusa and Riesi. It has a population of 4,932 (2011) and is 49 km (30 mi) from Caltanissetta, the province's capital. In the area of "Piano fiera" (a new neighborhood built below the old town) where a prehistoric necropolis still stands, is a construction called "dolmen cysts" made of stone slabs assembled in cubiform manner (a style found also throughout Sardinia). Used also in the Greek period, the monument is associated with cult practices, both Hellenic and indigenous, and characterised by the positioning of human remains inside urns (Gk:enchytrismόs) which, in turn, were placed inside these small chambers. The history of this territory, at the time of Greek colonization, is not documented by ancient historians, and can only be reconstructed on the basis of archaeological research. Until the eighth century BC the tombs of Piano fiera do not show any relationship with the Greek area, but starting from the second half of the seventh century they were associated with rich grave goods imported from Greece. During the sixth century BC, the town was abandoned and was rebuilt only during the period of Timoleon, shortly after the middle of the fourth century BC It was, however, a small village inhabited by farmers,subject to external aggression throughout the early Middle Ages(500-1100 AD). Butera was called Butirah, which means "steep place", by the Arabs. References ^ a b ISTAT ^ Piccolo, Salvatore; Darvill, Timothy (2013). Ancient Stones, The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily. Abingdon/GB: Brazen Head Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 9780956510624. ^ Filippo Coarelli, Mario Torelli, Sicilia, Guide archeologiche Laterza,1992. Twin cities Gevelsberg, Germany External links Media related to Butera at Wikimedia Commons