ARCHITECTURAL TERRACOTTAS AND THE HISTORIAN

Classical Review 62 (2012), 646-8, 2012

The Horace villa Project 1997-2003, 221-230, 2006

rePorT on new Fieldwork and research sPonsored by american academy in rome soPrinTendenza Per i beni archeologici del lazio ucla uniVersiTy oF Virginia

2022

Decorated roofs with figured friezes in relief are characteristic of architecture in Etruria and Rome throughout the 6th century B.C., classified by Della Seta in his 1918 catalogue of the Villa Giulia Museum as the first phase of Etruscan architectural terracottas. Veii, the largest Etruscan city and the one closest to Rome, is one of the first Etruscan centers to produce roofs with figured friezes. The earliest example belongs to the so-called oikos on the Piazza d Armi, the ancient acropolis of Veii ( ) 1 . The roof is characteristic of a decorative system probably originating at Veii already in the first quarter of the 6th cent. B.C., but particularly popular throughout southern Etruria during the second quarter of the century, using revetment plaques with military scenes, antefixes with female head, and eaves tiles with painted floral patterns on the soffit. By decorative system, I mean that there are a series of roofs that include all three elements of this roof with the same type of decoration on each, even when found in different centers, made with different moulds and produced by different workshops.

Architecture in Ancient Central Italy. Connections in Etruscan and Early Roman Building, 2022

Following the reinvention of terracotta roof tiles in the second quarter of the seventh century BC, most probably in Corinth, the technology spread to other regions of the Mediterranean world. During the third quarter of the seventh century, several local and regional workshops can be identified at select sites in Greece and in Etruria. By the fourth quarter of the century, decorated roofs are found in other parts of Greece and Italy. The most prolific and highly decorative period is the first third of the sixth century BC, when local workshops actively copied elements from elsewhere and invention of new forms was at its peak. This discussion focuses on the interrelationship between the roofs of different regions, the sharing of technology and of décor, in order to show the special place of Etruscan terracotta roofs in the evolution of this distinctive architectural feature. Etruria not only followed trends in terracotta roofing found throughout the ancient Mediterranean world, but also can be shown to have contributed specific roof elements and types of roof decoration which had a wide impact on later generations of roofs.