ILLYRIANS AS MESSAPIANS

-1200 Illyrians arrive at South Italy. Inscriptions discovered in
south-eastern Italy, written in one of Italic alphabets, were identified as
using the language similar to Illyrian. After Illyrians occupied the regions
of Dalmatia and reached the Adriatic shores, they crossed the
narrow sea space and found themselves in Italy. This migration is believed
to take place together with similar mo ves of Italic tribes from
the Balkans to Italy - the second Italic wave-, including Osco-Umbrian
peoples. Illyrians also settled on the Apennine peninsula,
and lived there until they were completely assimilated by Roman settlers.
This Illyrian branch was called Messapic by ancient authors.
Nowadays we can state that the Messapic language was rather different from
Illyrian: first of all in lexical composition, where it shows
many "italianisms" [by substrate ?].

The Illyrian and Messapian are supposed to be close languages, as historical
testimonies and archaeological evidences point to an
Illyrian origin of the Messapians. In the other side the linguistic evidence
is scarce to confirm that since there are not Illyrian inscriptions
left, and Illyrian characteristics are based in personal names (anthoponymy)
and place names (toponymy).

It is quite certain that Messapic is of Illyrian descent, having been
brought over across the Adriatic as attested in classical authors.

Still later a migration from Illyria is thought to have brought the Messapic
language to Apulia in the seventh century. Messapian is an
Indo-European language, Illyrian rather than Italian.

By the eighth century Greek traders began to arrive, and in the seventh
century Messapians came from Illyria into Apulia. Iron forges
have been found in the southern region that show the Iron Age had already
begun prior to the arrival of the Greeks and Messapians.
In Campania, Calabria, and Sicily there was the Fossa Grave culture, while
in Apulia there was a distinctly different Iron Age culture.
However even after the new arrivals, features in the indigenous material
culture still resembled that of the Apennine culture from the
Italian Bronze Age.

IDEA: That would point to a more early arrival of the Illyrian tribes to
Apulia, maybe by -1200. The Fossa Grave
could correspond to the Pelasgian tribes.

At Ancona begins the coast of that part of Gaul known as Gallia Togata
[North Italy, Po Bassin]. The Siculi [Pelasgians] and the Liburni
[Illryians] possessed the greater part of this district, and more
particularly the territories of Palma, of Praetutia, and of Adria. These
were
expelled by the Umbri, these again by the Etrurians, and these in their turn
by the Gauls. (Pliny).

IDEA: The fact that a Illyrian tribe occupied the Po Basin before the
Italics point to an early date: maybe -1100 ? Also that
such tribe occupied the Po Bassin, and that the Massapics occupied the
Adriatic coast would point to a territorial unity in Italy.