Istalia

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Fara sul Merevino: the oldest Doron necropolis in Istalia discovered

A team from the University of Romula unveils further testimoniancies of the assimilation of the Doron clans that arrived in the Augustan era, whose cultural influences contributed to shaping the character of our lands

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June 5652

FARA SUL MEREVINO - A small piedmont town in the province of Milona has leapt to the center of Istalian archaeology thanks to the publication of a study by Doctors Maurizio Cattelan, Debora La Malfa and Antonella Cignini of the Faculty of Archaeological Sciences of the State University of Romula "Enrico Bergson". The study documents the discovery and subsequent exploration of what is to date the oldest Doron burial site found in Istalia, a discovery destined to deepen the knowledge of our most ancient history.

The necropolis, located in the hills of Fara sul Mrevino, testifies to the arrival in Istalia of Doron clans as mercenaries hired by the Augustan Empire in a critical phase of their history, to maintain order in the eastern provinces while the imperial army was engaged in the heart of the Majatran continent to face the proto-Deltarian populations.

The Empire exploited the weak cohesion between the ethnic groups that would eventually be reunited by the Tukundiani tribe, to hire groups of warriors among themselves, in particular of the Doron ethnicity, a specif singularity within the other proto-deltarians, distancing possible hostile forces from the central front and employing them as mercenaries, if not vassals, to maintain order in the eastern provinces of the Empire. But once settled in the eastern regions of Majatra, these groups managed to consolidate their own power, making themselves increasingly autonomous from the Empire and eventually independent.

Although they were groups made up of a few tens of thousands of people, all the men were expert and well-armed warriors (so much so that in the chronicles of the time about the Dorons, the selucian term "exercitus" was used to refer to both the army itself and all the people) and managed to pacify and control large territories although inhabited by millions of people, however mostly farmers, settlers, servants, and then highly urbanized people (merchants, priets, scholars, magistrates, etc... not at all warriors), and where for centuries the only ones to bear arms had been the Emperor's soldiers and even before the soldiers of the Colsamian Kings, governing on an even more centralized Empire where, like for the Augustans, the use of force where exclusive prorogative of the State.

The Doron elite ended up imposing themselves as the local ruling class, founding the independent potentates that through wars, alliances and unions would eventually give life to the so-called "Seven Kingdoms", between Solentia and the Sarrentina Peninsula. Of these, to realize this phenomenon, only the Kingdom of Neapulia was led by a Seleucid-Colsamite dynasty, all the others were instead governed by familiies descended totally or partially from the Doron. So much so that some scholars go so far as to speak of "Augustan-Doron" or "Doron-Colsamite Kingdoms".

The archaeological study has allowed us to follow the process of integration and assimilation of these clans almost chronologically, revealing a precise cultural evolution within the funerary site. The oldest burials, scattered around, contained objects linked to pagan proto-Deltarian beliefs: from simple terracotta or wooden amulets and tools, for the humblest burials, to chain mail armor, weapons, shields, gold bracalents, rings, necklaces and earrings, brass and iron tablewere and tools, for the most illustrious tombs. Three of these tombs, the richest in finds, have been attributed to two warrior princes and a princess among the Doron, identified as prominent figures of the first communities settled in the area. One of them is even flanked by the burial of a horse, presumably sacrificed to accompany its master to the afterlife.

As one moves away from the ancient nucleus, one observes a progressive alignment of the tombs, the disappearance of ornaments, and the bodies were buried wrapped in simple shrouds, of which fibrous traces have been found. This change testifies to the adoption of Hosianism by the Doron communities, a sign of their growing religious and social integration in the Augustan-Colsamite and proto-Estalian context.

The integration process was rapid and profound: the Dorons gradually abandoned their language and culture, adopting the idiom, cults and customs of the local populations, also to get closer and gain the loyalty of the local religious and civil authorities and elite. Proper names such as Liutprand, Romuald, Beremunde or Ataulf were those that the Dorons brought with them, but over time their descendants bore names such as Martino, Giuliano, Salvatore, Cristoforo, perhaps like their servants, stablemen and millers: they had adopted local names, a sign of a mixed and deep-rooted identity.

Despite this assimilation, the Dorons have still left tangible traces of their presence, not only archaeological remains. For example in toponymy, such as Fara sul Merevino (Fara derives from a Doron roots that indicated an armed division or band), or Campi Doroniani, home of the new Scuola Normale Superiore. But it is the Istalian language itself that is a very strong testimony of the influence left by the Dorons. Although they abadonned quite rapidly their language, from which derived the modern Doron language in Deltaria, and indeed there are very few written testimoniances of their language (but in the end at the time one would write just in Selucian or Kalopian, it was an obvious thing that they were the only suitable languages to be written), they left a linguistic legacy that perhaps offers a glimpse into the spirit and identity of those warriors: well-known terms in common use in the Istalian language that derive from Doron roots, words such as guerra (war), zuffa (scuffle), faida (feud), tregua (truce), trappola (trap), spranga (bar), panca (bench), sala (hall), verbs such as spaccare (break), arraffare (grabbing), scherzare (joking), russare (snoring), strofinare (rubbing), or parts of the body such as guancia (cheek), schiena (back), nocche (knuckles), ciuffo (forelock) or zazzera (mop of hair).

The Dorons, who became Lords, warriors and rulers at the same time, considered war a legitimate means of resolving disputes, indeed usual in ancient time, but given the social organization of this people, even minor disputes: it was enough for the noble neighboring Lord to have grazed his cattle beyond a stream signing the border of the two fiefs to unleash armed reprisals. Their campaigns, although not too bloody (it was more remunerative to take hostages for handsomely ransoms), were nonetheless lived with enthusiasm and competitive spirit, and it was from this mentality that the embryo of the feudal system emerged, which also spread at the time to this part of the continent.

Even the law was influenced: the legitimacy of private revenge was absorbed into the legal culture. For many centuries, avenging a murdered relative was considered a natural right, no one would have dreamed of turning to a magistrate, and to be regarded as a true man, one was bound to avenge such a offense, or risk the loss of honor before his family, his community, his people and even his rivals; the honor, another fundamental concept for that society. A mentality that survived until contemporary times, and which is even found in the psychology and code of honor of modern criminal organizations.

In almost the entire Sarrentina Peninsula, the Doron legacy remained tangible for centuries. In Piero dei Pieri's Fidelia, centuries after their arrival, it was still normal for a widowed woman to appear before notaries or officials accompanied by a "Mundualdo", the holder of the right of "Mundio", the power of protection of the head of family over the other family members, thus a male guardianship figure for women under the paternal house or unmarried, a role usually played by the eldest son for the widows, a role that has its roots in the legal customs of the Doron society.

With this study, the University of Romula not only brings to light a first-rate archaeological discovery, but offers further elements to provide a vivid and structured cross-section of an important passage for Istalia: the arrival, integration and assimilation of an external and distant people who ended up profoundly shaping the character, language, institutions and even the psychological reflexes of the nation.

An excellent result for Istalian archaeology, which confirms the central role of national research in the study of the historical origins of our people, a work that combines academic rigor and historical passion, giving us back not only ancient tombs, but entire mentalities and buried civilizations, which still speak through us today.