Etruscan Archaeology

Livestock husbandry played a fundamental role in the economy of ancient Mediterranean communities. In central Italy, archaeological evidence for a significant re-organisation of animal production appears during the first millennium BC alongside the rise of urban settlements and an aristocratic class. Urban sites are interpreted as having a central role in the organisation of agricultural production, through control over their territories and the re-distribution/exchange of agricultural products. However, these hypotheses have never been bio-archaeologically demonstrated. Here, we present a detailed multi-isotope pilot study of sheep management and mobility the first isotopic study dedicated to fauna from late prehistoric or Roman Italy-which investigates animal management and agricultural provisioning in two Etruscan sites (675-430 BC). We used ZooMS to confirm species identifications, and isotopic analyses (87 Sr/ 86 Sr, δ 18 O, δ 13 C, and δ 15 N) to gain insight into differences in animal management at the ancient city of Velzna (5th century BC), modern Orvieto, and the aristocratic residence of Poggio Civitate (7th century BC). Results demonstrate that Orvieto received sheep raised in at least three distinct locations, while data from Poggio Civitate were compatible with herding in a single area. These results reinforce interpretation of Orvieto as a central place that collected resources from its hinterland, while Poggio Civitate employed a more isolated production strategy. Analyses did not produce evidence for long-distance vertical transhumance at either site, with results suggesting more local variation in herding patterns, consistent with seasonal herding in the general hinterland of each location. This pilot study offers a first step towards higher-resolution understanding of animal management in the region, and demonstrates the potential of further isotopic studies to provide new insights on agricultural provisioning and territorial control in proto-historic Italy.

This paper examines the patterns of Etruscan urbanism by the innovative use of newly available rural data, employing rank size, and indices of centralization. The detailed case study looks at the development of urbanism of pre-Roman Etruria where both robust and delicate urbanism were present alongside one another. To achieve this end, the paper will draw on the complementary features of two recent articles-Redhouse and Stoddart (2011) and Palmisano et al. (2018)-to provide a synthesis that both examines the large places and the supporting rural settlement. The territorial boundaries of the major urban places were predicted by the XTENT model in the first article. The cumulative numbers of rural settlement (and other proxies of population) over time were examined in the second article. This paper will look at the regional variation in landscape organization within the predicted territorial boundaries of the major robust centres and the more delicate transitory centres, as well as the buffer zones in between. At least three phases of boundary development can be examined, equivalent broadly to the Iron Age, Orientalizing/Archaic and Post Archaic periods, seeking to match these with the correspondingly dated rural settlement. The results will be critically examined in terms of broader knowledge of the economic and political development from current fieldwork in Etruria. The ethnographic analysis of Kopytoff (1989) will also be applied to assess the application of the internal African frontier to the central Italian context. In this way, the quantitative will be matched with the qualitative to provide a deeper understanding of urban development in an under-assessed example within the Mediterranean world.

Despite the importance of weapons and armour as part of material culture in the Mediterranean during the first millennium BCE, such objects have generally not been studied beyond stylistic analyses. Bronze was extensively used in the construction of these materials; however, its characterisation is complicated due to patination and the different manufacturing techniques used. We used portable XRF (pXRF) to non-destructively characterise bronze material in a way that mitigates the distorting effects of patina. Analysis was conducted on 23 pieces of pre-Roman Italian bronze armour. Assays were taken using two different techniques; ‘single point’ assays and ‘cluster’ assays. There is variability visible across assays both on and between items, grouped both geographically and chronologically. We highlight significant trends visible in the results over time and different object types and discuss the utility of pXRF on ancient bronze with recommendations for best practice.

OPEN ACCESS Attema, P.A.J., Carafa, P., Jongman, W.M., Smith, C.J., Bronkhorst, A.J., Capanna, M.C., de Haas, T.C.A., van Leusen, P.M., Tol, G.W., Witcher, R.E. and Wouda, N.A. (2021) “The Roman Hinterland Project: Integrating Archaeological Field Surveys around Rome and Beyond,” European Journal of Archaeology 25(2): 238-258. doi: 10.1017/eaa.2021.51.

This article presents the background to and prospects for a new initiative in archaeological field survey and database integration. The Roman Hinterland Project combines data from the Tiber Valley Project, Roman Suburbium Project, and the Pontine Region Project into a single database, which the authors believe to be one of the most complete repositories of data for the hinterland of a major ancient metropolis, covering nearly 2000 years of history. The logic of combining these databases in the context of studying the Roman landscape is explained and illustrated with analyses that show their capacity to contribute to major debates in Roman economy, demography, and the longue durée of the human condition in a globalizing world.

Archaeological excavations carried out in Early Iron Age Vetulonia (northern Tuscany, Italy) brought to light a funerary urn particularly noteworthy for the presence of an unusual decoration obtained by plastering the vase surface with an organic dark grey substance, on which metal strips were originally fixed. In order to reveal the origin of such coating, it was chemically studied by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Chemical analysis not only revealed that birch bark tar was used as coating/adhesive material for the manufacture of the urn, but also allowed us to discuss the significance of the vessel in terms of eco-technological knowledge and possible cultural connections on a large geographical scale.

The artistic evolution of the Volterran cinerary urns is a good representation of Etruscan painting from the fourth to the first century bc. The interest generated by this type of object directed our research towards the study of the Volterran artefacts, including the analysis of the pigments as well as that of the rocks used for the coffers. The entire colour range shown by the painted urns has been sampled and investigated through Raman microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Rock samples were taken both from the urns and from outcrops in ancient carbonate rock quarries near Volterra, from where they may potentially have been sourced. A set of 30 samples was collected and submitted to stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses. The results obtained showed that the pigments used for the decoration of the Volterran urns were basically constituted by red ochre, Egyptian blue, carbon black and gypsum. The identification of lead-based pigments and barium sulphates further informed us about old restorations undergone by several urns. As far as the provenance issue is concerned, the isotopic data indicate that the rocks used for the four urns were favourably comparable to those outcropping at Pignano, while two other urns were more similar to those sampled along the Elsa River at Colle Val d'Elsa.

This paper tracks a world of instruments and global designs in a new era of archaeology, spearheaded by Froelich Rainey in his role as Director of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Post-WWII scientific development, industrial-military-academic partnerships, and American adventurism were all brought together through Rainey's archaeological expeditions. During the 1960s, Penn's field projects were strategically positioned across the globe, with many trialing a novel technique or different device: Rainey launched a prototype submarine off the Turkish coast, magnetometers and sonic devices across Italy, resistivity in Mexico, and infrared aerial cameras over the Mediterranean. Archaeological innovation was tied to, and developed directly out of, US nuclear ambition and the leveraging of 'peaceful' atomic research, and American Cold War collaborations that united science, exploration, and culture for mutual benefit. Here we underscore the connectivities between diverse actors and activities, nuclear science, tech companies, private foundations, and philanthropists, coupled with the military and intelligence community.

This paper aims to highlight the cultural biography of a small alabaster vessel in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. This anthropomorphic alabaster scent bottle, which is dated to ca. 575–550 BCE and thought to have been made in Naucratis in Egypt, is presented as a Greek artifact in the Getty Villa’s permanent exhibition. This paper challenges this description and argues instead that the vessel is better understood as a cultural hybrid. We suggest that, by merging Egyptian, Phoenician, Greek, and/or Cypriot influences into a single object, the artists that created such interesting vessels were catering to a surprisingly international market. Thus, objects such as the Getty alabastron can be understood as emblems for an increasingly connected world and as symbols of the eclectic nature of Classical Greek culture.

The organic residues in the form of black layer spots inside amphoras found on the sites of the former ancient ports of Pyrgi and Castrum Novum on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea were investigated using GC–MS and HPLC with fluorimetric detection. According to our hypothesis, the residues could be from waterproofing materials from pine trees, which ensured that amphoras could be used for transportation and the storage of liquids. Samples of the residues were removed, extracted with hexane and separated into three parts. The first part served directly for GC–MS analysis of hydrocarbons. The second part after the evaporation of hexane and silylation of the residue with MSTFA was used for the analysis of fatty and resin acids. Finally, the third part after evaporation of hexane and dilution of the residue with methanol was used for HPLC analysis of pinosylvin mono methyl ether and confirmation of retene presence using a fluorimetric detector. 18-Norabieta-8,11,13-triene, 19-norabieta-8,11,13-triene and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroretene were found in the hexane extract, which are intermediates from the tar/pitch production process. The most abundant peak in the chromatogram of the hexane extract was dehydroabietic acid and retene. The latter is considered to be a marker for pine pitch. The most abundant compound in the derivatized hexane extract was also dehydroabietic acid, which occurs only as a minor component in fresh resins. This molecule is formed during the oxidative dehydrogenation of abietic acid, which predominates in original resins. Pinosylvin mono methyl ether was found in the methanolic extract using HPLC with fluorimetric detection and, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first finding of this substance in archaeological samples. Together with the abovementioned compounds, it supports the hypothesis of the resin's origin from trees of the Pinaceae family.

Etruscans were deemed “the most religious of men” by their Roman successors and it is hardly surprising that the topic of Etruscan religion has been explored for some time now. This volume offers a contribution to the continued study of Etruscan religion and daily life, by focusing on the less explored issue of ritual. Ritual is approached through fourteen case studies, considering mortuary customs, votive rituals and other religious and daily life practices. The book gathers new material, interpretations and approaches to the less emphasized areas of Etruscan religion, especially its votive aspects, based on archaeological and epigraphic sources.

Extensive studies have been carried out on Etruscan architectural decoration, but so far, little attention has been paid to their polychromy. This article presents the results of various technical analyses of six Etruscan antefixes in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. The antefixes were examined with a variety of non- invasive and invasive methods. The results emphasize the high level of technical competence of the craftsmen. The present study also shows that Etruscan artists often utilized the same pigments and decorative techniques independent of the medium, although important differences have been ascertained for fired and unfired polychromy. The examinations attest the earliest use of Egyptian blue for the rendering of human skin, a custom so far only documented on artefacts belonging to the Roman Period. The overall results of these analyses demonstrate the potential of different scientific techniques as a supplement to traditional research methods in the study of ancient architectural decorations and their polychromy.

A fibula with a lion and a pair of cluster earrings from the collection of the Florence National Museum of Archaeology, attributed to the Etruscans and said to originate from Populonia but suspected to be modern productions, were studied in the framework of the European project AUTHENTICO. They were compared to genuine objects from this same collection and from the collection of the National Museums Scotland. The study was carried out in situ in Florence with a stereomicroscope equipped with a digital camera, a handheld XRF spectrometer, and the portable LIPS prototype developed by AUTHENTICO. Some objects were studied with SEM and X-radiography. The aim of the study was to show that portable techniques of examination and analysis provide information on gold jewellery that allow the differentiation of modern and ancient productions.