The origin of the Messapians is uncertain; it is probably due to migratory flows of Illyrian or Aegean-Anatolian origin who arrived in Puglia at the beginning of the Iron Age, around the 9th century BC. The Illyrian hypothesis, today the most accepted by scholars, is supported above all by linguistic considerations..
It is also possible that the Messapians were the result of the fusion between Cretans and, later, Illyrians. According to this hypothesis, the Cretans would have arrived in Italy in 3300 BC and the Illyrians would have conquered them centuries later.
The oldest Messapian finds were made in archaeological excavations and inside caves near Otranto and Roca; the first stable settlements were identified in the cities of Oria, Cavallino, Vaste and Muro Leccese and can be dated to the 8th century BC.
Around the 7th-6th century BC, the construction of huts with a plinth made of irregular stones, raised in raw bricks (clay and straw) and a roof made of woven branches (one was reconstructed in Vaste for educational purposes) changed to buildings with multiple rooms, of a quadrangular shape, with dry stone walls and bricks and a tiled roof.
Olio d'Oliva E.V. 500 cl.
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