it being understood that the Daunian were different from the Messapi, but since we are also talking about Messapi here, I consider the recent discovery (08.01.2022) which took place in the Lower Salento to be relevant.
New light on the Messapi, research in the necropolis of Alezio (Lower Salento). An excavation campaign unearths tombs and the ceremonial square of the site in Puglia. The grave of a child; olives as an offering to propitiate the afterlife. The Messapian necropolis of Monte d'Elia, in Alezio, thanks to an initial research campaign conducted by the Archeology Laboratory of the University of Salento, offers new evidence of an ancient civilization. The findings: a ceremonial square, numerous tombs, including that of a child, an ossuary, the remains of olives, are just some of the new discoveries. Having concluded the excavation operations in recent days, we now continue with the analysis of the finds. Over the course of a few weeks of research, new fundamental data emerged for the knowledge of Messapian civilization, first of all through the topographical reconstruction of the Monte d'Elia area and the recognition of the funerary rituals practiced there in ancient times. Of extreme importance is the fact that concerns the identification of a large ceremonial square around which, within enclosures built with large boulders, the groups of tombs belonging to nuclei of families or clans were concentrated. This was the arrival point of the processions that accompanied the deceased on the last journey from the house to the place of burial. More detailed elements come from the excavation of burials that were not intercepted during the investigations of the 1980s by the Archaeological Superintendence of Puglia. In fact, a pit was identified, with a floor in limestone blocks and a frame in carparo, inside which the remains of at least 12 individuals were accumulated. In short, an ossuary linked to the functioning of the necropolis and to the practice of reusing funerary structures for various depositions. Some objects belonging to the grave goods were found, such as a lamp, a plate, a trozzella, a typical Messapian vase, two loom weights and a javelin point.