A Surprise from Norchia: the Tomb “a casetta” of Vel at Sferracavallo

Volume 17 Winter 2015

period of excavation, were announcedat a press conference on July 4, 2014, atthe Museo Nazionale Archeologico diSiena by team members Nancy deGrummond (director; Florida StateUniversity), Francesco Cini (presidentof Ichnos: Archeologia, Ambiente eSperimentazione) and Nòra Marosi(conservator, Studio Art CentersInternational). The hilltop site ofCetamura is located ca. 30 km north ofSiena, on the property of the Badia aColtibuono (Gaiole in Chianti). The

Holy Waters at Cetamuraby Nancy De Grummond

Excavations ina sacred Etruscanand Roman wellat Cetamura delChianti havebrought forthsome 14 bronzevessels and hun-dreds of objectsthat show ritualusage of thewater source. Theresults, obtainedover a four-year

excavations areconducted underthe auspices ofthe Soprintend-enza per i BeniA r c h e o l o g i c idella Toscana(Andrea Pessina,Soprintendente).

The shaft on thetop zone ofCetamura (ZoneI) is perhapsmore properly

continued on page 4 continued on page 28

continued on page 6

Etruscans at OxfordDr. Charlotte Potts

Sybille Haynes Lecturer in Etruscanand Italic Archaeology and Art

Woolley Fellow, Somerville College,Oxford

The Etruscans seem to have well andtruly arrived at the University of Oxfordafter 18 months of high-profile events.

Following the creation of the newSybille Haynes Lecturership in Etruscanand Italic Archaeology and Art, Oxfordhas actively sought to raise the profile ofthe Etruscans in the study of the ancientworld both within and outside its walls.Students now have the option of takingundergraduate and postgraduate courseson Etruscan Italy as part of theirdegrees, including a new paper onEtruscan art taught with the collectionsof the local Ashmolean Museum andOxford University Museum of NaturalHistory, due to the kind support of keystaff. The Haynes Lecture also contin-ues to be a highlight of the annualOxford calendar, with Prof. Larissa

Uni and the Golden Giftof Thefarie

The 50th Anniversary of the

Discovery of the Gold Tablets of

Pyrgi

by Daniele F. Maras and Rex E. Wallace

As many of our readers know, Pyrgiis the site of the most famous Etruscan

sanctuary. The literary sources mentionthe port city and sanctuary because itwas pillaged by Dionysius the Elder,tyrant of Syracuse, in 384 BCE.

Excavation began at Pyrgi in 1956,after fragments of terracotta sculptures,antefixes, and painted tiles were discov-ered in an area a few hundred meterssouth of the Castle of Santa Severa.Thanks to an agreement between theSoprintendenza Beni Archeologica perl’Etruria Meridionale and La SapienzaUniversity of Rome, MassimoPallottino immediately began excava-tion at the site, with the help ofGiovanni Colonna, who served as theexcavation’s field director and later suc-

called a cistern, since it does not obtainwater from an aquifer, but rather accu-mulates it through seepage from thesandstone bedrock walls. But its greatdepth suggests comparison with otherEtruscan wells. The bottom was foundat ca. 32.5 m below ground level, adepth that was probably planned as 100Etruscan feet using the module knownat Cetamura of ca. 32/33 centimeters.

The lowest level of deposits suggeststhat the well was dug to this deptharound the beginning of the third centu-

Above, a wooden beam is prepared for hoisting.

Site of Pyrgi. Sybille Haynes

ETRUSCAN NEWS

Editorial Board, Issue #17, January 2015

Editor-in-Chief Jane Whitehead [email protected] and Classical LanguagesValdosta State UniversityValdosta, GA 31698

President of the U.S. Larissa Bonfante [email protected] of the Istituto Classics Department di Studi Etruschi ed New York UniversityItalici, ex officio 100 Washington Square East

Silver Building, Room 503New York, NY 10003

Language Page Editor Rex Wallace [email protected] DepartmentUniversity of MassachusettsAmherst, MA 01003

Book Review Editor Francesco de Angelis [email protected] History and ArchaeologyColumbia UniversityNew York, NY 10027

Layout-Design Editor Gary Enea [email protected]

Submissions, news, pictures, or other material appropriate to this newsletter maybe sent to any of the editors listed above. The email address is preferred.

For submissions guidelines, see Etruscan News 3 (2003).

Distribution of Etruscan News is made possible through the generosity ofNYU’s Center for Ancient Studies.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

Dear Editors:

Dear Editors:

Dear Editors:

Jean Gran-Aymerich with students at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

The winter 2014 issue of EtruscanNews is a very rich, informative andexhilarating one. And often eye-open-ing: I like most the photo of Larissa, EveGran-Aymerich and the crater of Vix.OK, one knows that the vessel contains1,100 liters, but I didn`t imagine it thathuge! Or the lying "boys" of Riace!Where else can one see such pictures?Those optical "revelations" are reallyunique.

I think the mystery of E.N. is thegood mixture of scientific earnestnessand relaxedness, information and enter-

I had the most wonderful time inFlorence. The sky was blue every dayand I did so much walking. Though Iloved the exhibit at the ArchaeologyMuseum there (and the special exhibiton the Medici collections), I foundmyself excited over the Museum of theNovecento. The combination of audio,movies, and documentary footage wasamazing.

I took the train round trip one day tosee the Etruscans in Bologna. Theexhibit is very involved with the evolu-tion of Etruscan Bologna and the historyof the city. Again, the technical presen-tation is something else: there wereprobably only 20 or fewer actual piecesin the entire exhibition, but film andaudio fill the space and the rooms. The“show” at the end was an unbelievableexperience. I was alone in this relative-ly large room as the clocks went back intime, ending with the disintegration ofthe Sarcophagus of the Spouses floatingall around me.

I am having trouble getting used toall of this. Every new exhibit inFlorence had so many videos and soundand so forth. I guess I have to get usedto a new way of looking and experienc-ing.

Con affetto, BarbBarbara Johnson

I am in Tunis, teaching a course in aMaster’s Program in Museum Studiesand the archaeology of Tunisia. it is thir-ty hours of classes in November. I willalso take advantage of the opportunityof presenting the new case they have setup in the Bardo Museum, on “Carthageand the Etruscans.” (see photo).After this, I will go to Rome, where mybook on bucchero is being published byL’Erma di Bretschneider.

Best wishes,Jean Gran AymerichNovember 10, 2014

Note from the Editors: While in Tunis,Professor Gran Aymerich also gave alecture on “La Femme Étrusque: duLouvre à Carthage,” November 12,2014.

tainment (in the best sense).Congratulations!

Some weeks ago I gave a lecture onthe Etruscans in the town hall ofKumberg and my wife displayed theresome of her "Etruscan" pictures.Enclosed please find two of them:"Little Arntha and the birds," and"Where am I?” (shown below).

All the best! FranzDr. phil. Franz ZebingerEichenweg 2A-8062 Kumberg

The Etruscans experience a polar vortex

Letter to our Readers

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The suggested contribution for an individual subscription to Etruscan News is $25.00per year. ($50.00 per year for institutions (multiple copies).We welcome donations of any amount. Please remit this form with a check payable to:ISSEI- Etruscan News, to Larissa Bonfante, Classics Department, 100 WashingtonSquare East, Silver Building , Room 503, New York University, New York, NY 10003.Please send me Etruscan News. I would like ______ subscriptions at $ 25.00 each.I would also like to make a donation of______________ to help develop and expand theprojects at the U.S section of the Istituto di Studi Etruschi ed Italici.

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Dear Readers,

Thanksgiving is just past as we write this letter to you. Joining us in workingon this issue has been our current guest editor, Daniele Maras, so the atmosphereremains festive.

We look forward to the next Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Instituteof America to be held in New Orleans, January 9-11, 2015. It will be held asusual in conjunction with our sister institution, formerly known as the AmericanPhilological Association, now renamed the Society for Classical Studies (SCS).The AIA meeting will again feature a session on an Etruscan city, this yearTarquinia. The session follows the newly established tradition of focusing onspecific cities, which began with Cerveteri in 2013 and Veii in 2014. Last year,a number of our Italian and American colleagues valiantly braved the elementsin order to present papers in the Veii session at the meeting in Chicago, but apolar vortex prevented many scholars (see photos below and opposite left),including two of our editors, from attending. Because of the weather, EtruscanNews could not be shipped from New York; nonetheless we (one of us viaSkype) welcomed the panel’s participants at a small gathering, and toasted themwith a modern version of Etruscan beer.

An important celebration of 2014 was the 50th anniversary of the discoveryof the Pyrgi tablets in 1964, duly recorded on our front page. Several confer-ences, lectures, and special events such as the international ceremony of theplanting of an olive tree, have commemorated the event in Italy.

Numerous exhibitions have featured the Etruscans, among them “Treasuresand Tales of Italy’s Art Recovery Team,” in Wilmington, organized by theInternational council of Delaware in agreement with Italy’s Guardia di Finanza.Museums in Italy, even though they are under difficult financial constraints,have been remarkably active. Behind the activity of the museums is the tremen-dous energy of the scholars who have organized the various events. AtVetulonia, Simona Rafanelli has organized exhibits, opened the museum to chil-dren, and established a gemellaggio with the Verucchio Museum. In Rome, animportant exhibit on the city of Caere took place at the Galleria Nazionale. TheVilla Giulia Museum, under the energetic direction of Maria Alfonsina Russo,has been a venue of frenetic activity. The museum at Tarquinia has also beenextremely active in presenting numerous lectures and tours. We particularlyliked their poster, “Tanaquilla sposa regale.”

Etruscan News congratulates Jacopo Tabolli, founder and director of the newvirtual museum of Narce (MAVNA), which was awarded a site preservationgrant by the AIA for the preservation and outreach of the ancient Faliscan townof Narce. The museum has from the beginning found imaginative ways toinvolve the community as well as visitors.

The Etruscan museum of Cortona, whose history stretches back to 1727, hasrecently been the venue for the important exhibition “Seduzione Etrusca,”organized by the British Museum. The first part of the exhibit described theGrand Tour and told the story of an 18th century collection of antiquities from astately home in England as an introduction to the exhibition, to which the Britishmuseum sent the largest number of objects ever sent abroad. These included aremarkable recent acquisition, brought to the attention of the Cortona Museumby our own editor Gary Enea: a bronze tablet with an Etruscan inscription iden-tical to one on a lead tablet that has long been housed in the Cortona Museum.The organizer of the show on the BM end, Judith Swaddling, has written a briefreport for this issue.

We know that many of you read the newsletter online, but we love the printedition, which we try valiantly to distribute, and we want to remind you that wevery much welcome paid subscriptions from loyal readers.

Larissa BonfanteJane Whitehead

Full scale model of the statue ofAthena in the Parthenon atNashville, TN. Larisssa Bonfantein foreground (Photo by BetseyA. Robinson).

Larissa Bonfante presented a lectureon human sacrifice, its meaning in anumber of cultures, and its power toprotect and destroy, at the feet of thegoddess — the gold statue of the Great

Goddess Athena, at the Parthenon,October 14, 2014. The lecture was spon-sored by Archaeological Institute ofAmerica and the Nashville Parthenon.

The original Nashville Parthenon wasbuilt for the Centennial Celebration ofTennessee’s statehood. It was the center-piece of the 1897 Fair, and because of itspopularity, it was preserved by the city,and restored at various times. The pres-ent Parthenon is in fact the second onthe spot; the first was made of stuccoand wood and had deteriorated toobadly by 1919 to be restored. It wasreplaced by the permanent, presentParthenon in the 1920s.

Situated in Centennial Park, the build-ing, a full-scale replica of the ancientoriginal, functions as an art museum,and sponsors lectures and other culturalactivities. In 1990, the full-scale replicaof the original statue of AthenaParthenos inside was added, modeled onthe long lost original with the advice ofscholars that included BrunildeRidgway, Eve Harrison, and OlgaPalagia. She stands 42 feet (13 m) high,and is covered, like the original, withmore than eight pounds of gold leaf.

Etruscan Veii: New Discoveries AIA Chicago 2014. From left, OrlandoCerasuolo, Alessandra Piergrossi, Annette Rathje, Gilda Bartoloni,Jacopo Tabolli, Iefke van Kampen, Ingrid Edlund-Berry.(photo S.Schwarz).

Pyrgi, continued from page 1

ARCHAEOCAT

POETRY

ceeded him as the chair of EtruscanStudies at La Sapienza.

During the first few years of the dig,the excavators uncovered the founda-tions of two temples, which werelabeled Temple A and Temple B. Thetemples were surrounded by a precinctthat included additional buildings, all ofwhich gave the site an impressive mon-umental layout.

50 years ago, in July 1964, threegold tablets incised with inscriptionswere discovered in a small precinctclose to Temple B, in the open space infront of Temple A. The smaller sacredarea, hosting two altars, one for heaven-ly deities and one for chthonic deities,was ritually closed in the 3rd c. BCE.The sacred buildings were dismantledand an enclosure was constructed usingterracottas from the roof decoration ofthe temple B. The gold tablets weredeposited in this precinct, along with abronze lamina inscribed with anEtruscan text (an invocation or a prayeraccording to G. Colonna.)

Two of the tablets were inscribed inEtruscan, one in Phoenician. TheEtruscan inscriptions are cited below,the longer inscription in (1a), the shorterinscription in (2). The Phoenicianinscription is in (1b), whose text is aparaphrase of the longer Etruscan text.In what follows we review the currentstate of our understanding of the texts.

(1a) Etruscan Tablet 1

ita . tmia . icac . he|ramaśva .

vatieχe | unialastres . θemia|sa . meχ .

θuta . θefa|riei . velianas . sal | cluve-

nias . turu|ce . munistas . θuvas |

tameresca . ilacve . | tulerase . nac . ci .

avi|l . χurvar . teśiameita|le . ilacve .

alśase | nac . atranes . zilac|al . seleitala

. acnaśv|ers . itanim . heram|ve . avil .

eniaca . pul|umχva (ET Cr 4.4)

(1b) Phoenician Tablet

l-rbt l-‘štrt ’šr qdš | ’z ’š p‘l, w-’š

ytn | tbry’ wlnš mlk ‘l | kyšry’ b-yrḥ

zbḥ

šmš, b-mtn’ b-bt, wbn | tw k-‘štrt

’rš b-dy | l-mlky šnt šlš, b-y | rḥ krr, b-

ym qbr

’lm w-šnt lm’š ’lm | b-bty šnt km h

kkb m’l (ET Cr 4.4)

(2) Etruscan Tablet 2

nac . θefarie . vel|iiunas . θamuce |

cleva . etanal . | masan . tiur | unias .

śelace . v|acal . tmial . a|vilχval . amuc|e

. pulumχv|a . snuiaφ (ET Cr 4.5)

The gold tablets date from ca. 510BCE and are connected with the con-struction and dedication of Temple Band the surrounding precinct and sacredstructures: referred to as “temple” and“sanctuary” in the Etruscan text (tmia ~heramaśva) and “sacred place” and“temple/sanctuary” in the Phoeniciantext (’šr qdš ~ bt).

The Phoenician inscription (1b)refers to the dedication of a sacred placein the sanctuary by Thefarie Velianas,the king of Caere, who dedicated it tothe goddess Astarte either as a sign ofgratitude or in answer to her request.The Etruscan text shares this generalmeaning but with some differences, tostart with the name of the goddess thatcorresponds to the Etruscan Uni.

The Phoenician text indicates thatthe sacred place was made and given “inthe month of sacrifice to the sun-god.”In the corresponding Etruscan text (1a),the date of the dedication is provided bya reference to a month (ilacve tulerase,probably June). A second date in theEtruscan text (teśiameitale ilacvealśase, perhaps in July) corresponds tothe Phoenician phrase “in the month ofKRR, on the day of the burial of thedeity.” This date may refer to the inau-guration of the temple, when a sacredceremony or ritual was celebrated.Tulerase might be the “month of theboundaries,” and the word teśiameitalemight refer to a meaning of “burial.”

The concept of the burial of a deityis apparently unknown to the Etruscanculture and has been connected by mostscholars to the myth and cult of Adonis,which originates in Near-Eastern reli-gion (see lastly Philip Schmitz).

In the Phoenician text, the year ofthe dedication is in the third year ofThefarie’s reign. The Etruscan textappears to refer to the dedication by ref-erence to the three years of the “magis-tracy *seleita” of Thefarie.

The final sentence of the Etruscantext (1a) mentions the number ofpulumχva that mark the years of theexistence of Temple B. This is appar-ently a reference to the ritual of clavi-fixio, which was performed every yearby the priests in the sanctuary in order tomark the flow of time (such as the ritualdescribed by Livy (Ab Urbe condita,7.3.6-7), which took place in theCapitoline temple at Rome and in thetemple of the goddess Nortia atVolsinii).

The Etruscan word pulumχva hasbeen compared with a phrase in thePhoenician continued on page 20

Crumbs Horsfall versus Lola Bonfante in an archaeologist’s bookcase standoff.

by Rika Lesser

ARTICLES

ings. The Circles therefore representedthe continuation of both the “interruptedcircles” of stone of the VillanovanPeriod, and the “foreign depositions,”with the most ancient attestation ofimported products within Vetulonian

burials.The interrupted circles of rough

stones, found by Falchi in 1886 exclu-sively on the Poggio alla Guardia, weremeant to contain within a widely spacedcircle of sandstones a fixed series of

pozzetti containing biconical cineraryurns or (more frequently) ceramic orimpasto hut urns, or one central holefilled to the brim with exotic objects. Incontrast, the “white stone circles” wereachieved with the aid of a compass on acord, and present a continuous sequenceof equal, white slabs of living rock,fixed one next to another in the virginsoil and slightly curved toward the out-side, in a wedge, fitted with chips creat-ed in the cutting of the slabs.

Falchi also identifies the locations ofthese funerary structures: starting withthe Poggio alla Guardia, they stretchforth toward the vast plain occupied inantiquity by the basin of the Lago Prile,today the Padule di Castiglione dellaPescaia. In the Agro Vetuloniese in theOrientalizing Period, the tombs clus-tered around the small Lake of Accesa,and extended in the direction of the min-ing area of Serrabottini and FeniceCapanne. As for Vetulonia, the distribu-

tion of deposits speaks for an orientationtoward the wharves in the swampy gulf,and for the emergence of people orgroups dedicated to commerce and mar-itime trade.

The final link in this evolutionarychain, from the foreign deposits to thecircles of interrupted stones, were the“white stone circles,” with a diameterbetween 15 and 20 meters. They couldcontain one or more graves of differentdimensions and depths. These graveslack stone revetments or covers, butthey held magnificent funerary furnish-ings made of valuable materials such asbronze, amber, gold, silver, ivory, alongwith ceramics, placed symmetricallyand neatly at the bottom. These wereoften separated according to class ofmaterial, as in the Circle of the Trident,and covered with stones. On the otherhand, Falchi notes that the most presti-gious deposit, that of the Tomba delDuce, the first “white stone circle”

The White Stone Circles

of Vetuloniaby Simona Rafanelli

“Around the pyre they planted a ringof stone revetments, piled the looseearth high in a mound above the ring,and once they’d heaped the barrowturned to leave…” Iliad XXIII, 249 ff.(Robert Fagles translation).

The scene described by Homereffectively evokes the sequence of oper-ations involved in raising a tumulus,starting with the tracing of a circle onthe ground. The stone circle isolates thespace of the dead from the rest of thecommunity, of the living as well as ofthe dead. Yet the circle also encloses,and this becomes clear when oneremembers that other individuals havethe right to share that space according toa phenomenon already affirmed inGreece in the Bronze Age, as the greatcircles of Mycenae seem to show. InEtruria the phenomenon occurs with acertain frequency in the OrientalizingPeriod. But the earliest attestation ofthis inclusive connotation of the circle isdocumented at Vetulonia.

Toward the end of the XIX century,Isodoro Falchi devoted a chapter of hisbook Vetulonia e la sua necropoliantichissima to the scattered tombs,which were composed almost exclusive-ly of stone circles, and observed that,although much has been written aboutthe enclosures that delimit a sepulchralarea in Italy and elsewhere, the Circlesof Vetulonia are different in their con-struction and their character. In the para-graph dedicated to these continuous cir-cles of white stones, Falchi stresses thisdiversity, shown by their exteriorappearance as well as by the particularsumptuousness of the funerary offer-

found by Falchi on the Poggio al Belloin 1886, was covered by a non-localsand, perhaps for its protection.

The stone circle, which defines andcircumscribes on the ground a conse-crated funerary space reserved for mem-bers of a community endowed with thesame rights, is the sign, in the words ofGiovannangelo Camporeale, of theorganization of an emerging social classbased on birth.

Stone circles can be understood asthe expression of a social distinctionalready evident in the concentration ofhut urns in the interrupted circles ofrough stones, and perhaps as evidenceof a particular role held in life by thedeceased in the community – a paterfamilias, head of a Curia, or founder ofa family group. In the necropolis of thePoggio della Guardia, the stone circlephysically marks the “phenomenon ofthe aristocratic alienation of communityland reserved for burials,” and ulti-mately glorifies the burial of a singleimportant person or of his limited fami-ly nucleus. The individual objects thatform the personal adornment of thedeceased are endowed with magnifi-cence and splendor, while the banquetservice and furnishings symbolize hishigh social rank and that of his family.The ultimate proofs of this are the silvercinerary urn and the amber necklacesfrom the Circolo del Duce; the glasspaste jewels and the miniature Egyptianidol from the Circle of Bes; the horsetrappings, chariot, and gold jewelry ofthe deceased woman in the Circolo deiAcquastrini; the insignia of power thatgave its name to the Circolo del Trident;and finally, from the Circolo dei Lebèti,the bronze cauldrons decorated withgriffins’ heads and handles in the formof Sirens with women’s heads, and maleJanus-like figures of sophisticatedEastern manufacture.

Vetulonia, white stones slabs surround Tomba a circolo del Duce III. (photo by Opaxir)

Bronze cauldron (lebes) from tomba a Circolo dei Lebeti di Vetulonia.

Double headed male Siren. Detail, head of griffin protome.

Holy Waters, continued from page 1

Remnants of an Etruscan winebucket (Situla L) from Cetamura,showing the rim, the base and ahandle attachment in the form ofthe sea monster Skylla.

A well-preserved wooden knobfrom the Etruscan levels of thewell.

Four situlae and an amphora, on display at the conference in Siena.

Conference at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Santa Maria dellaScala, Siena. Nancy de Grummond chats with Debora Barbagli of themuseum and Ichnos excavators Lorenzo Cecchini and Andrea Violetti.

ry BCE and was in continuous use untilthe first century CE. There are at leastsix phases of usage during the Etruscanand Roman periods, amounting to aspan of nearly 400 years. Above thatwas found an enormous amount of fillof brick, tile, stone and rubbish in gen-eral, probably the results of dismantlingand discarding the remains of Etruscanand Roman buildings (e.g., the Romanbaths) during the Middle Ages.

Cetamura, known for the Sanctuary ofthe Etruscan Artisans sacred to Lur andLeinth discovered in 2006 on the lowerZone II, has demonstrated with the newdiscoveries the sacred nature of the siteat this higher level. As yet no sacredbuildings have been confirmed on thatzone, but there can be no doubt that thewell was filled with ritual objects,including hundreds of miniature clayvessels, more than 125 tokens of ceram-

ic and stone, nearly 100 knucklebonesof sheep and pig, 70 coins of bronze andsilver, and an astonishing variety ofobjects that bear comparison with votiveofferings at other sites. These include aphallic amulet of carved bone, a prehis-toric serpentine axe, a Roman silverspoon, rings of bone, iron and bronze,ring stones of glass, a miniature bronzecalf or bull, the handle of an Etruscanwine strainer, tools of bone, bronze andiron, 42 ceramic weights of varyingsizes, and many hundreds of fragmentsof iron — sometimes recognizableobjects, sometimes severely corrodedfragments, sometimes lumps of slag. Astaggering amount of pottery in blackgloss, red gloss, grey ware, amphorae,lamps and local fabrics help to deter-mine the dating of the various phases.Many ceramic items had sigla (graffiti)incised upon them, of interest for writ-ing and ritual meanings at Cetamura.Also intriguing is a polished serpentine

disc inscribed in Latin. The culturalmaterial from the well is under intensiveresearch by Cetamura collaboratorsCheryl Sowder of Jacksonville, LoraHolland and Laurel Taylor of theUniversity of North Carolina atAsheville, and students at UNC-A andFSU.

Many of the objects were doubtlessoffered one at a time by those whoinhabited the site or by visitors who mayhave come to Cetamura for market orfor purely religious reasons. One phaseshowed such an enormous quantity ofmaterial that it suggested an episode ofsystematic discarding or dumping, per-haps the cleaning of a sacred area inorder to deposit the materials in a conse-crated water source, a practice knowncommonly at temples, where a cistern orother receptacle so utilized was called afavissa. In addition to these two aspectsof deposits — the direct offering and thefavissa — there must have been randomdropping or losing of objects in the well,and perhaps occasional intentional acts

of simple discarding. The numerous bronze situlae — ten

Roman, two certainly Etruscan andprobably a third as well — are of vary-ing shapes and sizes and dates, and alsoof varying conditions of preservation.Many other parts associated with situ-lae, such as bronze handles, iron collars,lead feet in the shape of a cockle shell ora rectangle, and a bronze handle attach-ment were found separated from anyvessels. While it is logical to assumethat the buckets simply fell in when theywere being used to extract water, it isquite conceivable that the parts that can-not be connected with any vessel wereofferings. Further, one of the Etruscansitulae (labeled L) is actually a winebucket, with fine tooling and sculpturedhandle attachments in the form of themonster Skylla; it does not seem to beutilitarian. Situla M was also decoratedwith sculpture, with the head of a felineattached to the bottom, and Africanheads (sphinxes?) for handle attach-ments. Along with numerous other

items that need conservation, the situlaeare undergoing treatment in the labora-tory of Prof. Marosi at Studio ArtCentres International (SACI) inFlorence.

The well-preserved organic materialsfrom the well at Cetamura are of espe-cial interest. Notice has been madebefore in Etruscan News of the discov-ery of waterlogged grape seeds; the finalcount of these is ca. 430 pips, found infive of the six phases, including bothEtruscan and Roman. Their great valuefor the investigation of the history ofviticulture in ancient Chianti is yet to bedelineated, but it is clear they provide aunique situation. They are under studyin the laboratory of Gaetano DiPasquale at the University of NaplesFederico II by Chiara Comegna, whohas applied a photography program forthe tiny seeds that allows for magnifica-tion, from which the remarkable varia-

tions in them can be seen. Already itseems likely that there are at least threedifferent types.

Of equal importance are the hundredsof specimens of wood coming especial-ly from the Etruscan levels, some piecesworked and quite recognizable, forexample, a knob, a spool, a spatula, anda number of fragments of an Etruscanwooden bucket. A dramatic find nearthe bottom of the well, where many ofthe wood finds were concentrated, was abeam of wood some 85 cm long. Nohypothesis regarding its usage will bemade until analysis is performed. All ofthe wood from the Cetamura well isnow under study under the care ofGianna Giachi at Pisa in the laboratoryof the Soprintendenza per i BeniArcheologici della Toscana.

A great quantity of animal bones was

Images of Childbirth in

Antiquitiyby Chiara Terranova

There is nothing more imperfect,wretched, naked, shapeless, impure thanthe sight of a human child at the momentof his birth: nature has given him animpure route toward the light, one soiledwith blood and full of filth, and, becausehe seems dead rather than just born, noone wants to touch him, pick him up andkiss him except the one who loves him bynature (De amore prolis, 3, 496 b).With these words Plutarch explains howgiving birth represented a moment in thelife of a Greek woman in which all thosewho were involved were contaminated,and thus needed divine protection. Evenearlier than Plutarch, Euripides,denouncing the conditions in whichAthenian women lived, caused hisMedea to exclaim, “I would rather enterbattle a thousand times than give birthonce.” He was evoking a well-knownSpartan law that compared women whohad died in childbirth to soldiers fallenin battle. Only these two social cate-gories were granted the right to inscribetheir names on their tombs as a perma-nent memorial.

Childbirth was a moment when awoman confronted her fate alone, eventhough she was in the company of otherwomen and attended by goddesseswhose role was to protect her life andthat of her child.

What did it mean for a woman,whether human or divine, to give birthin ancient Etruria; and what symbolic,religious, or social values were attrib-uted in Etruria to the moment of child-birth? To understand how the Etruscansperceived the moment of childbirth asnecessitating divine protection we canexamine a series of mirrors depictingthe divine births of Minerva, Bacchus,Venus, Adonis, and Maris. Even these

childbirths were attended by figuressuch as Thalna and Thanr, who arealways present in scenes of childbirth ordivine birth, Alpnu and Ethausva, whocorrespond to the Greek Eileithyia.These divinities, together with Uni(identified, according to the interpreta-tio Romana, with Juno Lucinia, whobrings babies “to the light”), were tradi-tionally associated with the protectionof the woman and child at the time ofbirth.

The theme of childbirth in Etruriahas recently returned to the spotlightthanks to an extraordinary find from theexcavation of the site of Poggio Colla,an Archaic Etruscan settlement in thevalley of the Mugello (Florence). Thiswas a small fragment of bucchero ofabout 600 BC, which depicted the imageof a woman in the act of giving birth toa baby (fig. 1). The parts of the babybeing born, the head and shoulders, areclearly visible, while the woman isshown with her face in profile and herright arm raised, perhaps in the act ofgrasping the plant that surrounds thescene. The pose of the woman givingbirth is similar to that of a womanshown in a splendid Greek votive reliefof the fifth century BC (fig. 2).

This exceptional find is one of themost ancient depictions of childbirthknown so far – the others are aPaleolithic figure, and the one on the sit-ula dell’Alpago. A noteworthy differ-ence between the Greek and Etruscanscenes of childbirth is the fact that theEtruscan woman – whether divine orhuman – is depicted with her hair boundinto a kind of ponytail. This hairstylecontrasts with the custom in Greece ofshowing the mother’s hair loosened dur-ing childbirth. Religious conceptsunderlie this Greek practice, for theloosening of the hair meant that thewoman would be able to give birth more

easily if every possible knot or obstacleto the birth was eliminated. Then, too,the Etruscan woman on the tiny PoggioColla image is depicted alone with thechild emerging from her womb. InGreece she was normally accompaniedor assisted by midwives or goddesses.Etruscan art shows only divine birthsassisted by such divine midwives.

The crouching position, which theseimages have in common, was associatedwith childbirth ever since the Paleolithicage. Egyptian culture represented thenotion of giving birth by the figure of awoman crouching, while a statuette of awoman giving birth, of unknown dateand provenience, was found in Ecuador(fig. 3), showing that quite different cul-tures had a similarly realistic manner ofperceiving and representing childbirth,using a type of image going back to thePaleolithic.

In Etruria the proximity of suchfinds to local cult places suggests thatthey had a religious meaning. Near theacropolis of Poggio Colla were foundthe remains of sacrificed piglets, ani-mals that in Greece were sacrificialofferings to fertility goddesses. Near thesanctuary of Colle Arsiccio, a statuetterepresenting a female figure pressingher breasts, a gesture related to nursing,is related to votive statuettes of swad-dled babies or seated children.Numerous healing sanctuaries of centralItaly have yielded rich series of terracot-ta votive anatomicals, including manyimages of swaddled babies or uteri,which are clearly associated with thecrucial moment of childbirth and theneed for divine protection for womenand children in the ancient world.

found, of pig, sheep/goat, and cow, andof birds such as chicken, pigeon, goose,swan, owl (two kinds) and songbirds,identified by faunal specialists OrnellaFonzo and Chiara Corbino. Their stud-ies thus far suggest that the Etruscanfood supply at Cetamura was boosted byfishing and hunting of wild boar anddeer, while the Romans relied more onpoultry. Numerous antlers of deer, bothworked and unworked, suggest artisanaland cult activity.

Bronze handle of a pitcher froma Roman level of the well.

Carved bone phallic amulet pen-dant of a type found in Italy,France, Spain and Sardegna.(150-50 BCE).

Feline from Etruscan BronzeSitula M.

Fig. 1

Fig. 3

Fig. 2

Fig.1: (Top) Tarquinia, Tombadelle Leonesse, c. 520 BC, backwall. Fig.2: (Below) Tarquinia,Tomba della Caccia e della Pesca,circa 510 BC, right wall, detail.(Right) Tarquinia, Tomba 5591,500-490 BC, left wall, detail.Fig.3: (Right) Tarquinia, Tombadei Giocolieri, c. 510 BC, rightwall, detail.

Dance and Visual System

in the Tomba delle

Leonesse in Tarquiniaby Audrey Gouy

In 1998 Françoise-Hélène Massa-Pairault proposed a new study of theTomba delle Leonesse in Tarquinia1 (fig.1). She emphazised in particular theorganization of the iconographic pro-gram and took up Francesco Roncalli’sidea that the center of the back wall ismarked by a vertical axis constituted ofthe painted console, the painted craterand the niche.2 I would like to focus onthe dance scene, which seems to be akomos. It appears to be central to theentire iconographic program of thetomb, in particular by its position on theback wall and in the center of the visualsystem. Furthermore this iconographicprogram could help us to better under-stand the komos’ movements and its rit-ual importance.

Two musicians are arranged arounda central crater. To the left a female fig-ure is shown with legs apart and armssymmetrically pointing in opposingdirections. This suggests a very limitedmovement. The right forearm is orientedupward and the hand points downward,the wrist stretched almost 180 degrees,forming thus an important flexion. Theleft forearm points down and the hand isturned to the inside and points upward.The legs indicate brisk movements,while the hands, incredibly flexed, seemto emphasize the drawings and thearabesques – or cheironomia – whichaccompany the movement of the arms.To the right, the gestures of the man andwoman are clearly opposed to those ofthe woman on the left. They are shownjumping up, performing a leap, in a sim-ilar way with the painted dancers in thefirst room of the Tomba della Caccia edella Pesca3 in Tarquinia, or in theTomba 55914 (fig. 2). One of their legsis flexed and raised high in front ofthem. The arms are pointing in oppos-ing directions. One is pointed down,another is flexed and pointing upward.The posture is characteristic of the end6th century B.C. and tends to look simi-lar to some sports postures.

The study of female clothes maygive complementary information to theclear opposition of movements.5 Thetwo female figures wear differentclothes. The left one wears a light andfloral patterns-adorned chiton and along blue and red himation held in placeon the shoulders by two pieces pulled

back over the chest. The female figureon the right is dressed with a long andtransparent chiton. The two femaledancers seem to wear two differenttypes of clothing. The first is like theone worn by the female figure at the left.The second type of clothing is com-posed of two overlapping tunics. Thefirst tunic is transparent and over it asecond tunic is tinted in red and blue, as

on the right wall in the Tomba deiGiocoglieri6 (fig. 3). Putting the iconog-raphy of Etruscan dance into seriesreveals that these clothes are represent-ed according to the moment of the danceshown. With the first type of clothes,the himation can be placed on one

shoulder before being knoted around thechest to perform the dance movementsmore easily.7 In the second case, theupper tunic is removed and only the sec-ond one, transparent and lighter, is kept.So here, the wearing of the transparentchiton only by the woman at the right

could refer to a final moment of thekomos while the wearing of the cloak onthe shoulders by the woman at the leftcould refer to an initial moment whenmovements are not amplified yet.Consequently, we can also suggest thatparticular figures could be in charge ofthe opening of the ritual, while otherswould be in charge of the ending.

It also seems possible to suggest asense of visual process of the entireiconographic program of the tomb. Thecentral crater seems to be the departurepoint for a visual system conceivedfrom the left, from the female figurerepresented in an initial moment of thekomos. Then it continues on the leftwall, and then on the right, before end-ing with the jumping couple at the rightof the back wall. This hypothesis can bebacked up by the men’s posture on theside walls. Those on the left wall areoriented to the left while those on theright are oriented to the right.8 So theiconographic program of the Tombadelle Leonesse appears as an envelopeprogram or an immersive device whichsurrounded the deceased, and thismaybe with a ritual and propitiatoryscope.9 Thus, the visual system of thetomb seems to be composed of twoaxes, one vertical and one horizontal.And in the center the dance is like avisual link between the two axes. Thedance scene appears in an intermediaryiconographical position, which mightprovide information on its social andreligious marginal position.

We can suggest that the entire pat-tern and in particular the vertical axisare a metaphor for the funerary ritualand of the deceased’s destiny in thehereafter. As we discussed above, thekomos was characterized by a gradationof movements. Beginnings seemmarked by calm steps before becomingbrisk and then orgiastic. The scope wasto enter into state of ecstasy, to anotherreality, and to a marginal state. Thisphysical performance in this contextwould have a religious and funeraryscope, probably to enter into communi-cation with the deceased.10 The komos– opened by one or several women withtunic, cloak and tutulus, and closed byorgiastic dancers – in a funerary contextmay have had the function of supportingthe dead in the hereafter and to helpinghim reach the world of the dead. So bythe means of its ritual and efficient ges-tures and movements it would con-tribute to a transformation of the deadto deify him and to permanently aggre-gate him to the world of the dead.continued on page 21

Fig.1

Fig.2

Fig.3

tery fragments from Honduras, dated to1400 BC. Its cacao aroma will go nicelywith the bird, a bit like a chocolate moleover chicken – a Mexican favorite.

What about for a beach barbecue?

If you were barbecuing fish orshrimp, I’d go for Midas Touch. It’s alittle like white wine, and it has deli-cious, piquant qualities which I thinkwould go well with fish. For barbecuedsteak, I’d go for our early Etruscan ale,Etrusca, whose recreation is based onevidence from 2800-year-old tombs incentral Italy. Its backbone is maltedheirloom barley and wheat, but it alsohas hazelnut flour and pomegranate,which would be a good match for thebeef. It even contains myrrh, for anadded Christmas motif.

Profile: Patrick McGovern directsthe Biomolecular Archaeology Projectfor Cuisine, Fermented Beverages andHealth, at the University ofPennsylvania Museum. Many of hisancient brews are sold by Dogfish Headbrewery in Delaware.

Earliest known wooden

toilet seat discovered at

Vindolanda

Finding something that you canrelate to is always a special moment onan archaeological dig. At Vindolandathis is a common occurrence, a sitewhere the special qualities lie not onlyin the discovery of gold and silver orartefacts which relate to the militarymight of the Roman Army but also ofeveryday ordinary items which nearly2000 years later become extraordinaryto the modern day visitors, volunteersand archaeologists alike. Personal let-ters, worn shoes, baby booties, socks,combs, jewellery, tools and textiles arejust some of the items preserved in aremarkable condition that provide youwith a unique window into the lives ofpeople stationed at this most northernoutpost of the Roman Empire.

Now archaeologists have anotherpiece of this very personal human hoardat Vindolanda, a wooden latrine (toilet)seat, was discovered by the Director ofExcavations, Dr Andrew Birley, in thedeep pre-Hadrianic trenches atVindolanda. There are many examplesof stone and marble seat benches from

across the Roman Empire but this isbelieved to be the only surviving wood-en seat, almost perfectly preserved inthe anaerobic, oxygen free, conditionswhich exist at Vindolanda. Althoughthis wooden seat is not as grand as amarble or stone toilet bench, it would befar more comfortable to sit on in thecool climate of Britannia. The seat hasclearly been well used and was decom-missioned from its original purpose anddiscarded amongst the rubbish leftbehind in the final fort at the site before

the construction of Hadrian’s Wall start-ed in the early second century.

Dr Birley commented on the find,“there is always great excitement whenyou find something that has never beenseen before, and this discovery is won-derful....” Andrew went on to say, “Weknow a lot about Roman toilets fromprevious excavations at the site andfrom the wider Roman world whichhave included many fabulous Romanlatrines but never before have we hadthe pleasure of seeing a surviving and

perfectly preserved wooden seat. Assoon as we started to uncover it therewas no doubt at all on what we hadfound. It is made from a very wellworked piece of wood and looks prettycomfortable. Now we need to find thetoilet that went with it as Roman loosare fascinating places to excavate - theirdrains often contain astonishing arte-facts. Let’s face it, if you drop some-thing down a Roman latrine you areunlikely to attempt to fish it out unlessyou are pretty brave or foolhardy.”

Discoveries at Vindolanda fromlatrines have included a baby boot,coins, a betrothal medallion, and abronze lamp. Archaeologists now needto find a ‘spongia’ the natural sponge ona stick which Romans used instead oftoilet paper, and with over 100 years ofarchaeology remaining and the uniqueconditions for the preservation of suchorganic finds a discovery may just bepossible.

The wooden seat will take up to 18months to conserve and once thisprocess is complete the artefact will beput on display at the Roman ArmyMuseum.

Source: Adapted and edited from apress release of the Vindolanda Trust,“Earliest known wooden toilet seat dis-covered at Vindolanda.”

Alcohol archaeology:

beverage with heritageA conversation with Patrick

McGovern

Resurrecting ancient beers andwines is a subtle alchemy, but PatrickMcGovern knows all the tricks. Who’sfor an Etruscan ale?

How did you start making ancient

drinks?

One of the first we made was theMidas beverage, based on residues inbronze vessels recovered from theMidas tomb in Turkey, which dates from700 BC. These pointed to an unusualdrink combining wine, barley beer andmead. There were also food remains inthe tomb that suggested a barbecuedlamb or goat stew with lentils andspices. We tried to recreate the funeraryfeast as a way of bringing the past tolife.

How do you go about recreating a

drink?

People give me either samples ofpottery or residues from ancient vesselspossibly used for making, storing ordrinking a fermented beverage. I identi-fy the markers of specific natural prod-

ucts: tartaric acid is a fingerprint com-pound for grapes in the Middle East, forexample, while calcium oxalate pointsto the presence of barley beer.

What did the Midas beverage

taste like?

We knew the three basic components– grapes, barley and honey – but we did-n’t know what the bittering agent was. Itcouldn’t be hops, as they only becameavailable in Europe around AD 700, sowe looked at the eastern Mediterranean

spices that would have been available:saffron, cardamom, bitter vetch, cumin.In a competition among microbreweriesto recreate the beverage, Delaware-based Dogfish Head used the best-qual-ity saffron as their bittering agent, aswell as Greek honey made from thymeblossom. Their winning beverage wason the sweet side, but the saffron gave itaromatic properties.

How does ancient booze compare

with the modern stuff?

Ancient beverages tended to bemuch more multidimensional. Peopledidn’t necessarily specialize in one bev-erage; the wine industry was inseparablefrom the beer and mead industry in theearliest periods. Also, they wanted to besure they had enough sugar to get thefermentation going, so they took what-ever they had that contained sugar andmixed them together.

Which of your recreations would

you pair with a traditional turkey

roast?

The turkey is an American bird, soI’d propose having your EnglishChristmas dinner with our Americanancient ale, Theobroma, which wasrecreated by chemical analysis of pot-

Ancient Roman wooden latrine toilet seat as found in situ.

Patrick McGovern at PennMuseum of Archaeology.

MUSEUM NEWS

Review: Poseidon’s

ancient, powerful world

on view at Tampa

Museum of Artby Lennie Bennett, Tampa Times

(Adapted by the Editors)

“Poseidon and the Sea: Myth, Cultand Daily Life” at the Tampa Museumof Art, shows 125 objects dating from800 B.C. to 400 A.D. and encompassingthe Greek, Etruscan and Roman cul-tures.

The subtitle, “Myth, Cult and DailyLife,” describes the organization of theshow, with objects illustrating thePoseidon myth, those used to honor andworship him and those reflecting hisinfluence day to day in people’s lives.

Greeting us at the entrance to theshow is an almost life-size marble statuewith Poseidon’s signature curly maneand beard (see right). A dolphin perchesbeside him on the crest of a wave. It’sthe largest and best-preserved statue ofhim in the United States, a prized part ofthe Tampa Museum of Art’s collectionand the inspiration for the exhibition. …Restoration efforts, probably in the 18thor 19th century, added holes that wouldaffix his signature trident to his body.The object came to the museum as partof the Joseph Veach Noble Collection,which the museum purchased in 1986.Its 150 works form the core of what istoday the finest assembly of antiquitiesin the Southeast.

Its presence in the show is serendip-

itous. Seth D. Pevnick, the museum’schief curator and the Richard E. Perrycurator of Greek and Roman art, wasformerly a curator at the J. Paul GettyMuseum in California before coming toTampa.

“I had seen many times this hugecrate with ‘Trident’ stenciled on it. Onlycolleagues who had worked there a verylong time knew anything about it. Ithadn’t been on view since the early1980s. I got someone to open it up so Icould look at it,” he said.

That was when the idea of a themedshow took hold. When he interviewedfor the curatorial position at the Tampamuseum in 2009, knowing about itssuperb statue, he laid out a plan for a

Poseidon exhibition. He got the job and,eventually, the trident (above) for theshow, along with about 100 more choiceobjects on loan from major museums.

One of the earliest is a ceramicalabastron, used to hold cosmetic oil,from around 580 B.C., adorned with animage of Poseidon (always with his tri-dent) riding a hippocamp, a water crea-ture that was part horse and part fish, areference to his dominion over the seaand horses.

Poseidon was one of 12 Olympiangods who, according to legend, defeatedthe Giants, a race said to be of humanproportions but with inordinate strength.Two amphorae (a decorated amphorawas usually used to hold wine duringmeals) illustrate the moment in the epicbattle, known as the Gigantomachy,when Poseidon broke off part of anisland and crushed Polybotes, buryinghim beneath the earth. The rumbles ofearthquakes were believed to be hismoans.

Many more figured exploits scrollacross the surfaces of the black and redvessels — the enormous kraters usedfor mixing wine and water, the drinkingcups, the pitchers.

During times of great import, livehorses were said to be thrown into thesea as sacrificial offerings to Poseidon,but more often, votives were used.Among those in this show are dozens oftiny lead fish, arranged in a frame as ifswarming in the water. A lovely mosaic,once inlaid in a Roman villa, is a scenemade from small pieces of stone andglass. In the foreground fishermen are

hauling in nets at water’s edge while far-ther ashore, people offer obeisance toPoseidon at a small outdoor shrine.Small boats were placed in tombs andcarved onto marble sarcophagi to con-nect the dead with the divine Poseidon.

In ancient Greece and Italy, the seawas an important form of transportationand source of food, and household itemswere constant reminders of its impor-tance. Plates, flasks and other containersare decorated with specific fish indige-nous to the Mediterranean. An askos, asmall clay vessel used to pour oil, isfashioned in the shape of a lobster claw,and glass flasks are blown into fishshapes. One of the most charmingobjects in the exhibition is a fish-shapedaskos that has, in addition to a spout, asmall handle and lip for drinking.Pevnick speculates (and with antiqui-ties, so much is speculation) that, givenits proportions, it was the ancient ver-sion of a child’s sippy cup.

Because water routes were usuallyfaster than land ones, ports in Greeceand Italy were important trade hubs anda lot of money changed hands in citieslining the coasts. Poseidon’s visage wasstamped into many coins not onlybecause he was a famous figure but alsoas another form of tribute in hopes hewould provide safe passage for ships.There are many examples here and theydo have a sameness, but Pevnick pres-ents some of them in a novel and cre-ative way with a terrific map of the arearepresented in this show dotted withcoins associated with particular citiesand regions.

Mario Bizzarri, archeologo fuori dagli

schemiExhibit celebrating the 100th

anniversary of his birthMuseo Archeologico Claudio Faina di

OrvietoSeptember 27 – January 11, 2015

Mario Bizzarri belonged to that hero-ic generation of archaeologists of themiddle of the last century, many of themindelibly connected to a particular city:Mario Moretti with Cerveteri, EnricoFiumi with Volterra, Massimo Pallottinowith Tarquinia.

This exhibit was dedicated by theFondazione per il Museo “ClaudioFaina” to Mario Bizzarri on the cente-nary of his birth. He collaborated with

the Fondazione ever since its beginningin 1957, carrying out excavations in thenecropolis of the Crocifisso del Tufo,and eventually being called to be thedirector of the Museum. In those yearshe also reorganized the rich Etruscancollection of the Museo CivicoArcheologico, which was at that timehoused in the historic building of theOpera del Duomo.

He consulted George Dennis’s Cities

and Cemeteries of Etruria and D.H.Lawrence’s Etruscan Places to write aguide that, though based on solidarchaeology, is a pleasure to read eventoday. The chapters in the book Magica

Etruria on Orvieto and Perugia, whichhe wrote in 1968 with Claudio Curri, arebeing reissued by the Nuova ImmagineEditrice di Siena as a separate volume,with photographs by Raffaele Bencini. x

Mario Bizzari exploring Orvieto’s Etruscan trails on his motorcycle.

Apa l’Etrusco

sbarca a Roma

23 October 2014 to 22 February 2015

Two museums dialogue with each otherin real time, thanks to digital installa-

tions and virtual windows.Rome

The National Etruscan Museum ofVilla Giulia will project - with an instal-lation that will become permanent - anew edition of the 3D stereo cartoon“Apa the Etruscan,” by Joshua CohenBoetto. The film, “Ati discovers Veio ”already in the works, will see the debutof Ati, cousin of Apa. In the Villa Giuliaversion, new scenes, specially made, tellthe link between the Etruscans of theNorth and South. The new character ofAti will guide viewers from the halls ofthe Roman museum to one of the mostimportant sanctuaries of antiquity, thatof Portonaccio Veii. The voice of the

agus of the spouses will be featured in avirtual installation of particular com-plexity: its digitized, full-scale recon-struction will be placed in an environ-ment of great beauty created by com-plex “3D mapping” and an originalsoundtrack, composed by MarcoRobino.

The virtual model of the sarcopha-gus will be built and rendered by thecomputer Cineca from scans in high res-olution (laser scans and photogrammet-ric reconstructions) edited byresearchers selected within the networkVMusT.net European Network ofExcellence on Virtual Museums.

All virtual installations of the exhi-bition, both in Bologna is in Rome, aredesigned with a focus on portability soas to facilitate their performance ininternational fora and thus spread viatransmedia images of the Museum ofVilla Giulia and the Etruscan civiliza-tion. (photos CINECA)

new character will be a famous Romanactress.

The film Apa won the first prizeFIAMP Unesco (medium-length filmsfor culture) at the Film Festival inMontreal in 2012.

In addition to the 3D animated film,the Villa Giulia will be installing a virtu-al “Certosa situla.” Thanks to a mix ofholograms and stereoscopic projectionsthe famous bronze vase - the original ofwhich is preserved in theArchaeological Museum of Bolognaand is one of the symbols of the culture

of Etruria — will be presented for thefirst time to the Roman public.

Bologna

The Museum of the History ofBologna, Palazzo Pepoli, will host anexhibition entitled “The Etruscans andthe journey to the afterlife,” curated byProfessor Giuseppe Sassatelli, directorof the Department of History of Cultureand Civilization at the University ofBologna. The exhibition will host aselection of the treasures of the NationalEtruscan Museum of Villa Giulia. Adigital clone of the well-known sarcoph-

Treasure the TalesTreasures and Tales of Italy’s

Guardia di Finanza Art

Recovery TeamGrand Opera House, Wilmington,

DelawareOctober 3 – December 21, 2014

Reviewed by Mark Nardone

Priceless antiquities. Ruthless graverobbers. High-tech counterfeits.International smuggling routes that runfrom the necropoleis of Tarquinia, Italy,to the posh auction houses of London,and from the seedy underbelly of theblack market to world-renowned muse-ums. Ripped from the case files of theGuardia di Finanza, stories like thesewill be told during Treasures and Talesof Italy’s Guardia di Finanza ArtRecovery Team, a groundbreaking exhi-bition of priceless works of Etruscan,Greek and Roman art along with exqui-site forgeries, on display at The GrandOpera House in Wilmington, fromOctober 3 to December 21, 2014. Eachancient vase, mosaic and statue tells astory, not just of the time of its creation,but also of its theft and recovery by the

illegal smuggling every year. Lt. Col.Massimo Rossi, chief in command ofthe Guardia di Finanza’s art recoveryteam, was in Wilmington for the open-ing of the exhibition in October. “Themasterpieces…shown in Wilmingtonwere recovered in cooperation withother national police forces outside ofItaly, or by foreign museum organiza-tions that believed them to be legal atthe time of their acquisition,” Rossisays. “Some of these works of art were‘grave goods,’ beautiful pieces buriedalongside the dead in Magna Graecia,Etruria and Samnium (an area in south-ern Italy), but also from other lesser-known places in Italy.” The exhibit alsoincluded a large number of master for-geries, beautiful pieces of antiquityexposed as fakes by the Guardia diFinanza.

The exhibit was curated by Prof.Giuseppina Ghini, archeologist directorof the Soprintendenza per I BeniArcheologici del Lazio, Italy since1981. She is also the director of theMuseo delle Navi Romane in Nemi andthe Museo Archeologico Nazionaledell’Abbazia di S.Nilo in Grottaferrata.

Capolavori dell’archeologia: Recuperi,ritrovamenti, confronti (Masterpieces ofArchaeology: Recovery, Findings,Comparisons), an exhibition at theCastel Sant’Angelo in Rome in 2013.Treasures and Tales marks the first timemany of these pieces, reclaimed for Italyand now in the custody of the Guardia diFinanza, have been exhibited outside oftheir homeland after being recovered.Italian authorities estimate that Italyloses more than 5,000 pieces of art to

indefatigable agents of the GruppoTutela Patrimonio Archeologico, the artrecovery team inside the Guardia diFinanza.

The Guardia di Finanza, with head-quarters in Rome, is the Italian lawenforcement agency that fights financialcrime and recovers stolen art and arti-facts. This exhibit, making its only U.S.appearance in Delaware, comes on theheels of several successful shows ofrecovered art in Italy, most recently the

Lt. Col. Rossi and the Guardia di Finanza’s Art Recovery Team.

Exhibition and Symposium

Assyria to Iberia at the

Dawn of the Classical Age

The exhibition

Reviewed by Daniele F. Maras

The exhibition Assyria to Iberia atthe Dawn of the Classical Age, createdby Joan Aruz (Curator of Ancient NearEastern Art), is one of the major eventsin the world of Mediterranean archaeol-ogy this year.

The show, on view from September22, 2014 to January 4, 2015, was dedi-cated to the widespread trade and cultur-al network that connected the kingdomsand potentates of the Near East and theLevantine region with the western civi-lizations of the Mediterranean, fromGreece to Italy and Spain. The materialson display came from the collections ofsome of the most important museums inthe United States, Europe, North Africa,and the Near East. This impressive cul-tural and scholarly effort involvedscholars from different countries, whoput together for the first time informa-tion and approaches from different dis-ciplines. The result is striking in termsof both knowledge and beauty.

The exhibition was divided intothree parts: the expansion of theAssyrian empire in the early first mil-lennium BCE, Phoenician trade routesthroughout the Mediterranean andbeyond, and the reception and adapta-tion of Near Eastern imagery and tech-niques by the cultures of Greece, Italyand Spain.

The conquests of Ashurnasirpal II,Sargon and Ashurbanibal, among oth-ers, enlarged the Assyrian empire fromthe high lands of Elam to the coasts ofthe Mediterranean; these are illustratedby monumental decorations of build-ings, such as the reliefs and sculpturesof the palaces of Nineveh and Nimrud,and a selection of marvelous small itemsof royal jewelry: seals, ivories, and stat-uettes. The attention of the viewer isinevitably drawn to the relevance ofAssyrian art in the formation of westernClassical culture. One of the major high-lights of the exhibition is the impressivewall-size relief from Nineveh represent-ing the battle of Til Tuba, whenAshurbanipal ultimately defeated theElamites (Neo-Assyrian, ca. 660-650BCE). An early example of continuousnarrative, it depicts synchronic anddiachronic events in one single monu-mental picture, with inscribedcuneiform captions that recount the

scenes.The show extends to the Syro-Hittite

states, which survived for a long periodas neighbors and then as protectorates ofthe Assyrian kingdom, and further toAnatolia, where the fabled rich king-doms of Midas and Croesus were once ameeting point of East and West. TheAssyrian empire came to rule over theLevantine potentates by conqueringIsrael and Judah, as recorded in theBible, while the Phoenician city statesof Tyre, Sidon, Byblos and Arwad sur-vived and flourished, thanks to theirtrade towards the Mediterranean sea.The Phoenician trade network graduallyextended to Cyprus — rich in copperand the seat of an early civilization —and northern Africa. Colonies werefounded along these routes, among themCarthage, and traders reached Spain andthe Atlantic Ocean. Splendid items trad-ed by the Phoenicians are on display:gold and silver Egyptianizing bowls,bronze horse-harness elements, ivoryreliefs, jewels, carved ostrich eggsturned into vases, and tridacna shells(giant clams) from the Red Sea, decorat-ed with Near Eastern incisions. Findsfrom Italy and Greece testify to thespread of the Phoenician network.

Some “stars” of Mediterraneanarchaeology are in the show, such as theinscription of Hazael, king of Aram-Damascus — the only ancient document

mentioning the “house of David” apartfrom the Bible — from the JerusalemMuseum, and the Nora Stele, inscribedin Phoenician with the names of theisland Sardinia and perhaps the mythicalTarshish of the Bible.

Thanks to loans from the MuseoGregoriano Etrusco of the Vatican andthe Archaeological Museums of VillaGiulia, Tarquinia and Florence,Etruscan participation was particularlysignificant, and the splendid luxurygoods of the Tomb Regolini-Galassi ofCerveteri were displayed for the firsttime side by side with their Near Easterncounterparts and models.

In light of the Mediterranean tradenetwork, world famous masterpiecesfind their ultimate cultural context, e.g.the lion-headed cauldrons of Caere andPraeneste, a faience situla from the tombof Bocchoris at Tarquinia, theOrientalizing jewels and silver urn fromVetulonia, ivories from Marsilianad’Albegna.

This exhibit provided an opportunityfor the public to appreciate the artisticand cultural value of Mediterranean“globalization” as early as the first mil-lennium BCE, and constituted a majorcontribution to research and scholarlydebate. The catalogue is an indispensa-ble reference volume for the culture ofthe Orientalizing period in theMediterranean.

The symposium

Reviewed by Maurizio Sannibale

In connection with the exhibition,the Department of Ancient Near EasternArt under Joan Aruz organized a sympo-sium in the Grace Rainey RogersAuditorium of the MetropolitanMuseum (November 6-7, 2014). Theparticipation of 17 scholars, from theMiddle East to Europe and the US, cre-ated an opportunity for debate andreflection in a multi-disciplinary andinternational perspective.

The theme of the symposium wasthe ancient Mediterranean from the endof the 2nd to the earliest four centuriesof the 1st millennium BCE, when thebirth of peoples and states, migrations,conflicts, contacts, and trades resulted ina far-reaching interconnection amongcultures, from the Levant and Egypt tothe coasts of the Iberian Peninsula,towards the Atlantic Ocean, the westernlimit of the known world.

This phenomenon was not restrictedto trade and figural arts, but involvedhuman relationships and the sharing andtransmission of knowledge and ideas indiverse fields. The period following themythical Trojan War, in the crucial cen-turies of the formation of Classical civi-lization, was a constant reference pointfor modern western Euro-American cul-ture. In this context the Etruscans, in thecenter of the Italian Peninsula, were rec-ognized as exchange partners, as well as“key players” in such historical dynam-ics.

The first session of the symposium,“From Bronze to Iron and theFoundation of Empire,” looked at his-torical, ethnographic and artistic aspectsof the critical moment of the passagefrom Bronze to Iron Age, major issuessuch as the appearance of the SeaPeoples (with reference to their Aegeancomponents), and the development ofthe Assyrian empire in relation to itsneighbors (Ann E. Killebrew, JoanAruz, Paul Collins, Mirko Novák).

The following session focused oninterconnections among Mediterraneancultures in the early 1st millennium,“Perspectives on the Levant:Interconnections in the Near East andthe Mediterranean.” Specific case stud-ies were considered, such as the analysisof Phoenician and Greek components inCilicia (Asli Özyar), and the complexhistorical and ethnographic frameworkof the Levant in the time of Sheshonq I(Israel Filkenstein). Subsequently, the

continued on page 21

Top, Bronze cauldron and ironstand. Cypro-Archaic, ca. 8th–7thcentury B.C. Top right, ivoryplaque with striding sphinxAssyria, 9th–8th century B.C.Right, Gold Necklace. Spain, ElCarambolo (Camas, Seville), 7thcentury B.C. Photos Met Museum

at the British Museum: “Our Etruscanfriends lay in silence. They lookedindeed as if they felt they were in astrange country, cold, comfortless andfar from home.”

Nonetheless, the importance attrib-uted by the British Museum to theEtruscans is demonstrated by the factthat the Etruscan artifacts were given aprime location between the Parthenonsculptures and famous Egyptian antiqui-ties; James Stephanoff, in his renownedwatercolor, Assemblage of Works of Art,from the Earliest Period to the Time ofPhydias (1845), placed Etruscan paint-ings and sarcophagi beneath theParthenon and Aegina pediments, in thecenter of his work. Tantalizingly, weknow that eventually by the late 1800sthere were reproductions of Etruscantombs at the British Museum, though noillustrations survive! (Fig.4)

Papers will

The Etruscans and

European culture: new

events at the British

Museumby Judith Swaddling

When one considers the Grand Tourand the Classical revival, it has oftenproved all too easy to overlook theimpact of major Etruscan discoveries onEuropean culture during the 18th and19th centuries, and even earlier. Aninternational conference at the BritishMuseum May 29-30, 2015, “AnEtruscan Affair,” will tackle this intrigu-ing topic; it will look at how Etruscanfinds influenced politics in Italy,European scholarship, architects, artists

and craftsmen, and not least, the imagi-nation of the public. (Fig.1)

It tends to be emphasized that in theearly period of Etruscan finds, much ofwhat was thought to be Etruscan wasactually Greek, and while that is certain-ly true of the fine painted vases with fig-ured decoration, surely what is impor-tant here is that they had become anEtruscan passion, defining Etruscantaste. Had it not been for the Etruscans,who imported copious numbers ofexquisite Greek pots, we would haveless than half the quantity now pre-served in our public and private collec-tions and their study would have beenseverely restricted. And were it not forthe acquaintance of Josiah Wedgwoodwith Greek vases from Etruscan andother tombs in Italy, via the collectionsof Sir William Hamilton and others, theEtruria factory in Staffordshire with itsprolific output of Wedgwood potterywould probably never have come into

existence. Opulent Etruscan jewelleryinspired the so-called ArchaeologicalStyle goldwork that was the preserve ofhigh society European ladies; it delight-ed them as much as it did their Etruscanpredecessors. (Fig.2) The finest villasand grand houses of Europe boastedtheir “Etruscan” rooms, admittedlysome more obviously to us being Greek-or Roman-influenced, but reproductionsof Etruscan tomb paintings frequentlyadorned their walls.

In terms of museological studies, theEtruscan exhibition staged by theCampanari brothers in 1837 in PallMall, London, surely deserves the acco-lade of being the first archaeologicalblock-buster exhibition in Europe. Inthis year, famed for the accession ofQueen Victoria to the throne, the showwas far ahead of its time; it abandonedthe tradition of lifeless museum displaysand recreated Etruscan tomb-chambers,complete with objects hanging fromwalls draped with copies of Etruscantomb paintings, imitation tomb door-ways, and, perhaps most evocative of

all, the lids of sarcophagi left slightlyajar so that visitors could peer in atskeletons preserved inside.

Mrs. Hamilton Gray, British femalepioneer of Etruscan studies, was suffi-ciently motivated by the exhibition tomake plans for her own Grand Tour toTuscany the next year, which resulted inher delightfully readable accounts ofEtruscan sites, meetings with the princi-pal characters then involved in Etruscanarchaeology, antiquarians and dealers,and the practices, sometimes lamenta-ble, employed to retrieve the most lucra-tive Etruscan finds. Her rival and criticGeorge Dennis, the more serious andheavy-weight Etruscologist of the two,was prompted by her writings (what hedescribed as her “gushing and giddyprose”) to undertake his own study, thelandmark Cities and Cemeteries ofEtruria, published in 1848, rightfullyargued by Denys Haynes to have beenmuch neglected as one of the major pub-lications in the field of archaeology.

The artist who accompanied Dennison his expeditions to often remote

Etruscan sites was, of course, SamuelJames Ainsley, remarkable for hisdetailed and emotive drawings ofEtruscan remains and landscape. Heboth illustrated Dennis’ work andrecorded the monuments for his ownpleasure and study. (Fig.3)

The “Etruscan” protagonists of theperiod and their research, and the moreromantic notions that sprang up aroundthe Etruscans, will all be explored at theconference. The reaction by museums tothis “new” culture will also be investi-gated. It would be some time before theevocative displays of the Campanariwould be taken up by museums, and wecan sympathize with Mrs. HamiltonGray who later saw many of theEtruscan sarcophagi and cinerary urnsfrom the Pall Mall exhibition displayed


Fig.1 Engraved print 1768-1805. Fig.4 Stephanoff watercolor, 1845.

Fig.5 The “Penelli” sarcophagus an Etruscan fake acquired in 1873.

Fig.3 Galassi tomb,Cerveteri 1843.Fig.2 Castellani Necklace, 1872.

NEWS FROM THE FIELD

News of the Baths at

Carsulae, 2014by Jane K. Whitehead

The ninth season of excavation ofthe baths at the Roman city of Carsulae,2014, was the third season under theprotection of a roof. These past sum-mers have been so rainy in Italy that,without the roof, our excavation wouldhave been impossible. The ruins of theancient baths, long pillaged by scav-engers and, in the 1970s, left exposed tothe elements by their most recent exca-vator, Umberto Ciotti, are extremelyfragile. Up until 2012, supporting andcovering our newly excavated areas hadbecome increasingly difficult, but sincethe construction of the roof, winter dete-rioration has been negligible. We havebecome emboldened to open a greatersurface area to excavation and also toexpose areas that had seemed particular-ly delicate. As a result, in the last twoyears we have doubled the excavatedsurface area of the site (fig. 1).

Because of the complex history ofthe baths, we are piecing together theirhistory on multiple levels: 1. the dateand purpose of their founding; 2. thephases of their use and rebuilding; and3. the characteristic traits of the various“hands” who have excavated or pillagedthe site over the course of centuries. Wehave made progress in all of these direc-tions of inquiry over the past two years.

In the 2012 and 2013 seasons, weopened considerable area on all sidesaround the square, apsidal room, whichwe have been calling the tepidarium,known from the scant published plans ofU. Ciotti. Five furnaces have come tolight; these have given us insights intothe phases of building and renovation ofthe bath structure. We have numberedthem more or less in the order in whichwe found them, from west to east.

Furnace 1 extends off the westernend of the apse, and its flue cuts throughthe center of apse’s curve to create aneast-west axis to the bath structure.Although it does not appear on any ear-lier plans of the baths, its presence, inthe form of its northern wall, made itselfknown in our first season of excavation,2004. We exposed its chamber fully thisyear (fig. 2).

The next to the east, Furnace 2,which is set on the northern side of theNW corner of the tepidarium, was

blocked up in antiquity, presumablywhen the apse and its furnace wereadded on. This gives us further confir-mation that the apse, with its muchshoddier construction, was a laterappendage. Furnace 3, which liesbeside and just to the east of Furnace 2,was not blocked up, and its chamberremains buried beneath the northern

provided heat for no more than half of it.It, too, had been blocked up in antiquity(fig. 3). Another chamber, whichappears from one of Ciotti’s plans to beabout the same size as that of Furnace 4,abuts it to the east. From the small por-tion that we have excavated of thischamber, it appears that it once had anopening into the hypocaust and that it,too, has been blocked. An opening intothe hypocaust through the south wall ofthe new East Room may originally haveserved to draw hot air across the roombeneath the suspensura and vent it out-ward; it was also blocked, presumably atthe same time. These blockages mustthus have turned the East Room into afrigidarium.

Furnace 4 is only the second of thefurnaces for which we have exposed thechamber. Its southern half had been pre-viously excavated, although no detailsof it appear on any of Ciotti’s plans. Thenorthern half of the chamber lay beneaththe 3-m. deep overburden of the north-ern slope. As we began to dig that

slope of the site, which is 3 m. higherthan the ground level on the south.

Furnace 4 did not service the tepi-darium, but rather a newly foundhypocaustal room that extends eastwardbeyond the area that we have dug. Thesouth wall of this new East Room is anextension of the south wall of the tepi-darium, but the room itself is only 5/8 aswide as the square room that it abuts.Furnace 4 is set on the northern side ofthis Eastern Room, but it could have

northern end, we quickly came down ona dense fall of bricks (fig. 4), the patternof which did not appear random. Werealized that this ust be the chamber’svaulted roof, still in situ, which we hadcome upon from the top, exterior side.We had always thought that the 3-m.dislevel between the north and southsides of the baths was the result of falland runoff from the cliff above; we nowrealize that it is the result of architec-ture. To our surprise and delight, thefull original height of the baths is pre-served on this north side.

Its presence so far only tentativelyidentified, Furnace 5 would have serv-iced the tiny South Room, which hadbeen appended to the tepidarium at thesame time as the apse, to judge from theequally shoddy nature of its construc-tion. This South Room had a window inits western wall; low lining walls belowthe suspensura, similar to those thatedge the apse, suggest that it may havesupported a pool. A large intrusive pithas cut away most of the floor, however.

Two openings into the hypocaustthrough the northern wall of this SouthRoom may originally have served as adraft for Furnaces 2 and 3. The evi-dence for the presence of Furnace 5 hereconsists of an opening in the south wallleading toward the fossa, and a lowwall, cut of the conglomerate bedrock,flanking the western side of the opening.This low wall resembles those that formthe flues within the chambers ofFurnaces 1 and 4.

These five furnaces have revealedtwo distinct building phases of the exist-ing Carsulae baths. In the first, whichmay date from the time of the emperorClaudius, the baths were composed oftwo heated rooms: the square one thatwe have been calling the tepidarium,which was heated by Furnaces 2 and 3and drafted by openings in its south andwest walls; and the East Room, heatedby Furnace 4 and perhaps a twin, anddrafted through its south wall. In thesecond phase, Furnaces 2 and 4 wereblocked up along with their draft open-ings, and the apse and South Roomadded, with their accompanying fur-naces. The second phase thus establish-es a pattern of rooms heated to three dif-ferent temperatures, as is canonical inRoman Imperial baths: the originalsquare tepidarium, two caldaria — onein the apse and the other in the SouthRoom, perhaps with pools — and afrigidarium newly created in the EastRoom.

The shelter of the roof has alsoallowed us to open areas that appearedmore delicate and difficult to protectfrom the elements. A large mound,which we began to excavate in 2012, layright in the center of the tepidarium andappeared to shore up the mosaic floorsthat rested on a double-story hypocaustadjacent to the apse. We began excavat-ing toward it from the eastern side andin 2012 turned up a fragmented butextended area of figural mosaics. Thewestern balk against the mosaicsshowed large fragments of mosaic floorturned on end or upside down, jumbledinto a loose context. We started to exca-vate this from the eastern side in 2013and continued this season up to the edgeof the high mosaic floors. We uncov-ered large fragments of figural mosaics,similar and apparently in situ on thesame level as the floors exposed in2012; these rested at a lower level and insome places underneath the higherfloors (fig. 5). This suggests that per-haps only a part of the tepidarium floor,that which abutted the apse, was at thehigher level.

Fig. 1: Plan of the excavation of the baths at Carsulae, 2005-2014.

continued above right

A newly re-discoveredEtruscan tomb: Grotte

Scalina (Viterbo)by Vincent Jolivet

The archaeological survey of the terri-tory of the Etrusco-Roman city ofMusarna—extensively excavatedbetween 1983 and 2003 by the Écolefrançaise de Rome, in close collabora-tion with the Soprintendenza per i BeniArcheologici per l’EtruriaMeridionale—brought about the re-dis-covery of one of the most importantrock-cut Etruscan tombs of theHellenistic period.

Until 1998, this monument wasthought to have been destroyed, and wasknown only through a picture and adrawing by Luigi Rossi Danielli, datedaround 1900, which showed part of ahuge rock-cut façade, with a false doorin its center and a staircase on its left.The funerary chamber was drawn assquare, small and with a single bed.

The collaboration among the CNRS(UMR 8546-AOROC), ÉFR andSBAM, made systematic excavationspossible from 2011 onwards, in order tobetter understand this outstanding mon-

ument, whose external architecture canbe now largely reconstructed.

Its façade is richly painted and showstwo levels of porticoes crowned by a tri-angular pediment. Two sets of stairs —on the left at the lower level (6m. inheight), on the right at the upper level(4m. ) — connected the terrace in frontof the monument with the roof.

At the floor level, the classical sotto-facciata of the Etruscan rock-cut tombspresents a lavish architecture: two largecolumns (diam. 2m.), framed by twopilasters, introduce to a banquet roomwith six beds carved out of the tufa,

divided into two parts by the dromos ofthe tomb (6.50m. deep, and 15 m. long).

The main funerary chamber containsat least 10 broken sarcophagi, and isexpected to be excavated in July 2015.On the right is a second, perpendicularand shorter dromos, indicating the pres-ence of a second funerary chamber,which probably has never been plun-dered.

This monument is very close to theTomb Lattanzi of Norchia, excavated inthe 19th century, whose reconstructionis unfortunately still very uncertain.Both tombs seem to have been carved

during the last quarter of the 4th centuryBCE. Therefore, since we do not knowof any examples of this kind of architec-ture in pre-Roman Italy, it is tempting tothink that it could have been inspired bythe great model of the prothyra of theMacedonian palaces in Pella andVergina, which also presented — obvi-ously with different architectural solu-tions — two levels of porticoes crownedby a pediment, and is known to haveinspired various monuments of theancient world.

The monument of Grotte Scalina couldthus be interpreted as evidence of adirect link between Etruria and theMacedonia of Philip II or Alexander,with no mediation of Tarentum (whereno such monuments have ever been dis-covered). A logical explanation of thisdirect relationship could be found in thepolitical situation of Etruria during thesecond half of the 4th century BCE. Thetwin tombs in Norchia and GrotteScalina could belong to Tarquinianambassadors, who had been struck bythe impressive architecture of theMacedonian palaces, when they weresent to requesting a military interventionof Macedonia in Central Italy.

A similar mound rested at the east-ern end of the East Room, and we hadalways thought that it was dump orexcavation debris left by our predeces-sors. Instead it turns out that the suspen-sura here rests on its original pilae, 13bricks high, whereas it had been dugaway in the western end of the room.Although the concrete floors are inplace, the mosaics that decorated theirsurfaces are much disrupted, some eventurned completely upside down.

The exposure of the mounds as wellas many of the architectural features hasgiven us insight into the motives andmethods of some of the previous exca-vators at Carsulae. The hand ofUmberto Ciotti is clearly recognizablefrom the distinctive concrete that heused to consolidate architectural fea-tures as he found them. This is evidentin the large mosaic found in 2012 in thetepidarium, where his repairs on theedges reveal that he found it in exactlythis fragmented and uneven condition.His repairs also consolidate scatteredfragments of mosaic in the East Roomthat are completely separated from theirsupporting suspensura; a split in thewestern wall of the apse reveals hisattempts to hold it together. He appears

to have excavated to the same grid as weare employing, and thus we can tellfrom the absence of artifactual materialwhether or not he has dug in a givenarea.

Another excavator, probably earlierthan Ciotti, partially dismantled thingsto see how they were made. Heremoved the southern half of the floor inthe apse and the western half in the EastRoom. He may be the one whoremoved and scattered the carved stoneelements that had been reused in thelater additions to the bath structure. Athird intruder, in his curiosity, dugthrough features destructively. He cutthrough the terracotta floor pavement ofthe flue in Furnace 1; he cut through thebase of the arch of Furnace 3 to exposethe flue; and he may have been the oneto cut through the floor in the SouthRoom. Another even more destructiveforce seems to have driven through thecenter of the tepidarium as if with aplow. A meter-wide band of broken andupturned mosaics lies between the lowermosaics and the higher-level hypocaust.

Plans will be made in the summer of2015 to consolidate the architecturalremains that have survived all thesedestructive intrusions.

Fig. 4: (above) Vaulted roof insitu over Furnace 4.Fig. 5: (below) Mosaics resting ata lower level in the tepidarium.

Fig. 2: (above) View of the cham-ber of Furnace 1.Fig. 3: (below) View of the cham-ber of Furnace 4 with its blockedopening.

View of the north facade of the Grotte Scalina Tomb complex.

The conservator removes anantefix representing a Nereid rid-ing a sea monster.

Fragment of an Attic lekane fromthe semi-subterranean shrine.

New research in the urban area of Caere

by Fabio ColivicchiQueen’s University

The Queen’s University of Kingston,Canada, is investigating an area locatedin the centre of the city of Caere, knownin the 19th century as Vigna Marini-Vitalini and renown for the discovery ofarchitectural terracottas. The excava-tions are a part of a research projectfunded by the Social Sciences andHumanities Research Council ofCanada that focuses on the developmentof urbanism in Etruria, and especiallythe role played by religion. VignaMarini was chosen because of its centralposition in the city space, its importancein all phases, and the presence of a high-ly significant monument, thehypogaeum of Clepsina, which mayhave been the ideal centre of the com-munity and the hub of the physicalspace of the ancient city.

The first campaigns provided a wealthof information on the urban history ofCaere, and especially on the least knownphases. Excavation was preceded bygeo-magnetic survey to gather prelimi-nary information on the urban setting ofthe hypogaeum and to verify the exis-

tence of a constant orientation observedin previously excavated areas. Two sys-tems of linear anomalies were detected.One is found only in a small area nearthe slope of the plateau and is probablyrecent. The other extends over all of thesurveyed area, overlapping the smallerone, and composes a grid of traces par-allel or orthogonal with one another, ori-ented like the hypogaeum and the otherbuildings excavated in the area.

The new excavations and the re-eval-uation of data from previous researchhave allowed the identification ofOrientalizing structures of high archi-tectural quality, with stone foundationsand plastered walls with painted decora-

tion. Traces of earlier occupation phasesdating back to the late Iron Age havealso come to light.

The orientation of the surviving wallsis the same that is followed in all subse-quent building phases, an extremelyimportant finding that should be verifiedover a larger area. Especially importantare the indicators of production ofbronze objects.

Even though the stratigraphy of theArchaic period is very disturbed, it isclear that structures were built withfoundations of stone blocks orientedlike the earlier Orientalizing buildings.The religious purpose of the area – or atleast a part of it - is confirmed by a

semi-subterranean shrine with niches, astructure that may have been used forchthonic cults. Given the subterraneannature and the location of the shrine, itcannot be ruled out that it might havebeen a sort of predecessor of thehypogaeum.

One of the most significant results ofthe ongoing excavation is the impor-tance of the 3rd century BCE phase.Between the Middle and the LateRepublican period were built not onlythe hypogaeum complex but also thestructures brought to light in Area 2. Thegently sloping terrain, terraced anddrained by a network of pipes and reser-voirs, was crossed by a street that con-tinued in the direction of one of the mainaccesses to the city, near the Manganellosanctuary. The wall flanking the streetperfectly corresponds to the trace previ-ously detected by the geo-magnetome-try. The new data make a strong case forthe general re-evaluation of the periodfollowing the establishment of theRoman praefectura in 273 BCE, untilnow regarded as one of steep decline forthe city of Caere.

The next campaign is scheduled fromMay 16 to June 12, 2015. For informa-tion see www.caeresite.com orhttp://www.archaeological.org/field-work/afob/17857

Villa APAHA Tibur 2014:

A New Excavation Project

at Hadrian’s Villa

by Francesco de Angelis

In June 2014 the Advanced Programof Ancient History and Art (APAHA) atColumbia University, led by ProfessorsFrancesco de Angelis and MarcoMaiuro, launched a multi-year archaeo-logical project at Hadrian’s Villa inTivoli. APAHA is a program createdunder the joint aegis of the ItalianAcademy for Advanced Studies inAmerica (Columbia University), andH2CU, the Honors Center for ItalianUniversities (La Sapienza University ofRome). It establishes archaeology andthe study of material evidence as com-mon ground for the fields of ancienthistory and the history of ancient art andarchitecture. The general aims ofAPAHA’s project at Tivoli are to investi-gate the place and role of everyday lifeat the Villa vis-à-vis the grandeur of itsarchitecture and decorative apparatus; todocument the post-Hadrianic life of thesite; and to study its boundaries andmore generally its transitional and limi-

nal spaces.The 2014 season focused on two dis-

tinct sectors of the Villa. The first exca-vation area coincided with the so-calledLararium. This area, located off theGreat Vestibule, is characterized by awell preserved wall enclosure lined withniches and built in front of a small tem-ple. It is a crucial node, whose explo-ration can shed light on the rituals gov-erning access to the Villa. The area hadbeen very partially excavated (andinsufficiently documented) through a

few small sondages in the 1930s.APAHA’s investigation not onlybrought to light new structures, butrevealed that the architectural history ofthe area is far more complex than previ-ously thought: both the wall enclosureand the temple itself consist of severalconstruction phases, some of whichlikely date to post-Hadrianic times.Moreover, the excavation uncoveredseveral dozens of architectural frag-ments coming from all parts of the Villathat were dumped in the Lararium area

in the late Medieval and early Modernperiod.

The second excavation area waslocated in the so-called Macchiozzo, apreviously unexplored sector placedroughly at the center of the Villa andhitherto covered with thickets. Theexcavation, which was preceded by geo-magnetic prospections, revealed theexistence of a large compound ofHadrianic age combining elements ofluxury architecture, such as marble-faced walls, with utilitarian structures.The great amount of kitchenware foundduring the dig—an unusual feature forHadrian’s Villa, which is better knownfor the finds of statues—resonates withE. Salza Prina Ricotti’s hypothesis thatthe kitchens of the complex were locat-ed there. No less important was theidentification of Late Antique andMedieval phases, attested by both archi-tectural structures and copious findings;their analysis is currently under way andwill contribute in a substantial way tofilling the gap in our knowledge of thehistory of the Villa between 400 and1400.

Twenty-four students at all levels,from both Columbia and other universi-ties, participated in the project; the dig

The 2014 field crew at work at Hadrian’s Villa.

NEWS FROM THE SECTIONS

News from the Beneluxby L.B. van der Meer, Leiden

University

Research at Crustumerium

Since 2010 the Groningen Instituteof Archaeology (GIA) has done researchon the Iron Age settlement ofCrustumerium. The aim is to provideinformation for the project called “ThePeople and the State: Material culture,social structure and political centraliza-tion in central Italy (800 - 450 BC).”

The settlement of Crustumerium islocated on a volcanic hill plateau alongthe ancient Via Salaria in the east TiberValley, about 15 km north of Rome. Theancient site was abandoned in antiquityand, despite its frequent occurrence inhistorical sources, it was lost for cen-turies. Its location was re-established byarchaeological field surveys in the1970s (Quilici, Quilici-Gigli 1980).Since then, the site and its surroundingshave been the subject of many research

initiatives under the supervision of Dr.Francesco di Gennaro of theSoprintendenza Speciale per i BeniArcheologici di Roma (SSBAR). Thesettlement plateau and part of its sur-roundings have even been turned into anarchaeological park by the Italian state.As a result the area has escaped the dev-astating effects of urbanization, and thus

Crustumerium has become a unique sitefor archaeological study.

The Groningen team started workingat Crustumerium in July 2006 under thedirection of Prof. Dr. Peter Attema andDr. Albert Nijboer. The objective was toexamine the burial grounds and create alearning environment for students of theGIA by participating in the SSBARexcavations of the Monte del Bufaloburial ground. In 2008 Sarah WillemsenMA was appointed to a PhD position toprepare a dissertation based on theresults of the GIA excavations at Montedel Bufalo. In 2010 Prof. Attema and Dr.Nijboer initiated the research project“The People and the State” to intensifythe studies of the burial grounds, settle-ment and territory of Crustumerium. Tothis end Dr. Barbara Belelli Marchesiniwas appointed as a post-doctoralresearcher; this position has enabled herto write a synthesis on the burialgrounds. Jorn Seubers MA obtained aPhD position that focuses on the actualsettlement and its territory. This websiteaims at presenting information on thearchaeology of Crustumerium and theon-going research of the GIA at this site.

Brief report from the

Vienna Section 2014:by Petra Amman

From February 2013, Univ. Prof. Mag.Dr. Petra Amann has been Professor ofEtruscan and Pre-Roman Italy at theUniversity of Vienna/Austria(Etruskologie und ItalischeAltertumskunde).

The new assistant since 2014 is Mag.Claudio Negrini. From 2014 it is possi-ble for students of all faculties tobecome acquainted with the Etrusco-Italic world at the University of Vienna.The short undergraduate program isentitled “Etruscans and Italic Peoples.Diversity in Pre-Roman Italy.”

In 2014, Petra Amann held lectureson the role of women in Etruscan socie-ty at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura inVienna and the École NormaleSupérieure in Paris, as well as on JohannJakob Bachofen, the founder of the

matriarchy theory, and his view of theEtruscans. She participated in severalconferences, including the InternationalConference of the ÖsterreichischeGesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichteat Fließ, Tyrol, Austria, on October 15-18, 2014, on “Zur bildlichenRekonstruktion des/der Verstorbenenund ihres Umfeldes im Etrurien der ori-entalisierenden Periode;” and theJournée d’études internationales,Autour des Sarcophages des Époux, atthe University of Amiens/France,December 5, 2014, speaking on“L’immagine della coppia etrusca nellapittura tombale arcaica.”

A multi-year research project financedby the Austrian Science Fund was com-pleted in 2014: “Banquet and Grave.Comparative Studies on a CentralSubject in Funerary Art and the MoralConcepts inherent in Etruscan-Italicareas, Mainland Greece and Asia Minortogether with the Levant and MiddleEast from the 8th until 3rd c. BC (2009-

2014).” Several articles are publishedor in press, for instance P. Amann,“Banquet and grave.” The materialbasis, aims and first results of a recentresearch project, and T. Mitterlechner,“The Banquet in Etruscan Funerary Artand its Underlying Meaning,” both in:C.M. Draycott and M. Stamatopoulou(eds), Dining and Death.Interdisciplinary perspectives on the“funerary banquet” in ancient art, bur-ial and belief, ColloquiaAntiqua, Leuven: Peeters (in press).Three monographs referring to the proj-ect are currently in preparation. See alsothe interview with Petra Amann:http://medienportal.univie.ac.at/uni-view/forschung/detailansicht/artikel/trinkgelage-der-antike/.

Furthermore, research on ancientItalic peoples, especially the Umbrians,goes on -- see P. Amann, Die antikenUmbrer zwischen Tiber und Apennin

unter besonderer Berücksichtigung derEinflüsse aus Etrurien, (Vienna 2011.) Luciana Aigner-Foresti is currentlypreparing two volumes on Etruscan his-tory, one of which, dealing with thepolitical, military and religious institu-tions of the Etruscans, will appear in2015: Amt und Ordnung bei denEtruskern. Ihre politischen, mil-itärischen und religiösen Institutionen,(Vienna 2015.)

Claudio Negrini, who specializes inEtruscan funerary and burial archaeolo-gy from the Villanovan period to the lateOrientalizing, working in Bologna,Marzabotto, Verucchio and Novilara, iscurrently studying the historical-culturalchanges in the Po valley between theseventh and fifth centuries BC. See C.Negrini with G. Di Lorenzo, P. von Eles,L. Manzoli, P. Poli, E. Rodriguez,Verucchio. The social status of children:a methodological question concerningfunerary symbolism and the use ofspace within the graves, in: E. Perego −R. Scopacasa (eds), Burial and SocialChange in First-millennium BC Italy:Approaching Social Agents, forthcom-ing Oxbow Books, and also C. Negriniwith L. Manzoli, P. Poli, “Legami di vitaoltre la morte: casi di deposizionidoppie o plurime,” in: Immagini diuomini e di donne dalle necropoli vil-lanoviane di Verucchio, InternationalConference April 20-22, 2011.

Villa, was complemented by workshops,onsite presentations, and fieldtrips. Agenerous scholarship program providedfinancial aid to many of the participants.

Program directors F. de Angelis andM. Maiuro were assisted by field direc-tor Daira Nocera (PhD candidate in theArt and Archaeology of theMediterranean World, University of

Pennsylvania), and by trench supervi-sors Emily Cook (PhD candidate in ArtHistory and Archaeology, ColumbiaUniversity) and Joe Sheppard (PhD can-didate in Classical Studies, ColumbiaUniversity), as well as by Anna Tartaro(PhD candidate in ClassicalArchaeology, La Sapienza University ofRome).

Above, field crew excavates.Left, a very typical impasto ves-sel from Crustumerium. Below, asmall bronze arc fibula.

Bouke van der Meer & CharolttePotts at lecture in Oxford.

EXHIBITS Exhibition: Satricum

Scavi e reperti

archeologiciIn June 2014 the archaeological

exhibition Satricum. Scavi e repertiarcheologici was opened in the formeriron factory of le Ferriere (ancientSatricum), situated ca. 60 km south ofRome in the present-day Italianprovince Lazio. The exhibition, organ-ized by the University of Amsterdam(Prof. Dr. Marijke Gnade), shows theresults of thirty six years of Dutcharchaeological research in one of thebest preserved sites in central Italywhich has revealed archaeologicalremains covering a period of continuousoccupation of nearly ten centuries (9thcentury BC - 1st century AD). Morethan 700 objects recovered during therecent excavations were selected toillustrate the long history of the Latinsettlement, which developed from amodest hamlet of huts in the 9th centuryBC, perched on top of an “acropolis”hill, into a prosperous urban centre inthe sixth century BC, covering an areaof nearly 40 ha, and which subsequentlywas occupied for nearly 150 years bythe indigenous Volscian, until the instal-lation of a Roman colony in 346 BC.

The site is best known for theArchaic sanctuary of Mater Matuta,goddess of dawn, consisting of threesuccessive temple buildings (625-500/480 BC), each of which with elabo-rate terracotta roof decorations, and pre-

Carthage exhibition in

Leiden,Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (Nov. 27,

2014 - May 10, 2015)

This exhibition is an introduction tothe illustrious history and archaeologi-cal treasures of one of the ancientworld’s most legendary cities. You willfind more than three hundred objects,including many highlights from the col-lections of renowned museums. Forillustration see website.

The past Exhibition “De Etrusken -Una Storia Particolare” (2013) inTongeren (Belgium) attracted 88,000visitors. It combined the exhibitions atAmsterdam (APM) and Leiden (RMO),both in 2012 (150,000 vistors), plus arti-facts from Italy, among which was thefamous Etruscan-Corinthian truia vase.

Exhibition: Immortal

Princes - Splendor of the

Etruscan Aristocracy in

Vulci. Musée du Cinquantenaire. Brussels

(Oct. 8, 2014 – Jan. 11, 2015)

This exhibition presents the remark-able discoveries made during excava-tions at the Osteria necropolis in 2013.Under a tumulus, in one of the funerarychambers, archaeologists uncoveredtwo silver hands with gilded nails.These exceptional objects must havebelonged to a composite monumentalstatue. Beads of gold, amber, glass andfaience as well as other metal ornamentswere also discovered in the same tomband must have been sewn on to clothesor strung as necklaces to adorn the dead.A ceremonial chariot was also buriedunder the tumulus, an additional sign ofthe high status of the deceased. Afaience scarab decorated with the car-touche of a pharaoh is an exceptionaltestimony to the taste of the Etruscanelite for objects imported from all overthe Mediterranean. For illustrations seewebsite.

ceded by a hut, which is generally con-sidered the earliest place of cult. Threeenormous votive deposits testify tooffering practices over a long period oftime. During the Archaic period, a num-ber of large courtyard buildings weresituated on and at the foot of theSatricum acropolis. To the NE, a net-work of roads, amongst which a “SacraVia,” in combination with a dense urbanlayout, has been traced, documentingvarious phases from the 6th to 4th cen-turies BC. Among the more surprisingrecent discoveries is the presence ofthree necropoleis dated to the 5th and4th centuries BC, within the agger ofthe Archaic city and attributed to theVolscians. A late Republican villa on theacropolis and a Roman villa dating tothe 1st century BC in the former urbanarea testify to the Roman presence in theformer Latin settlement.

Three New Galleries

Highlighting Greek Wine,

Theater and Poetry Open

at MFA BostonNew Interactive Displays Explore

Classical History and Mythology

Boston, MA (August 25, 2014):Ancient treasures took center stage thisSeptember, as the Museum of Fine Arts,Boston (MFA), opened three galleriesdedicated to Wine, Poets, andPerformers in Ancient Greece. The newgalleries, which opened on September16, focus on three themes: “Homer andthe Epics,” “Dionysos (at left) and theSymposium,” and “Theater andPerformance.”

less epics. Set in the George D. andMargo Behrakis Wing of Art of theAncient World (in the Museum’s origi-nal 1909 building), these three gallerieshave been renovated in order to presentthe MFA’s renowned Greek collection ina thematic way for the first time.Additionally, new interactive multime-dia displays complement the installationby offering detailed looks at complexworks of art, while the Museum’smobile MFA Guide features a new nine-stop tour of the golden age of Greek cul-ture.

“Boston has long been known as theAthens of America and there is no morefitting place than the MFA for a suite ofgalleries that bring alive the artistic andliterary traditions of the ancientGreeks,” said Malcolm Rogers, Ann andGraham Gund Director at the MFA. “Iam particularly excited that technologyenables us to watch scenes from theTrojan War as they unfold on vases thatare thousands of years old.”

The poetry and drama of this storiedcivilization come alive through 230works, primarily from the sixth centuryto the fourth century BC, including mar-ble and bronze sculptures, ceramic andmetal vases, and terracotta figurines.Many objects on view have been metic-ulously restored, some for the first timein a century. The fascinating displayswill captivate anyone who has beeninspired by Greek theater, mythology orthe legendary heroes of Homer’s time-

Satricum, The Temple of MaterMatuta.

Supreme Carthaginian god, BaalHammon, from the Bardo, Tunis.

Southern Italian vases in the newgalleries in Boston.

The Chariot of

Monteleone di Spoleto:

History and Restoration”Castle of Postignano

September 13 - October 31, 2014by Eleonora Brunori

For many years, archaeology hasmade use of new technology, especiallywith regard to virtual reconstructionsand 3D; in this context, the use of holo-graphic images is surely destined togrow. Holograms are particularly usefulas a system for the three-dimensionalvisualization of archaeological recon-structions, both objects and structures.Although holograms have been in usesince the 1960s, the technology to pro-duce and view them has always beenlimited, expensive, and complex. Thenewly developed technology hasbrought holographic imaging to theforefront and has proved to be a signifi-cant tool in the medical, military andarchitectural sectors.

The intent and purpose of this typeof imaging is to provide the viewer withthe illusion of three-dimensionality. Ahologram is produced when a laserprinter stamps hogels (imagine pixels

cubed) onto a holographic film which isthen applied to a sheet of plastic materi-al; it is then sufficient to simply projecta beam of light onto the surface to bringout the image from its base and see it inthree dimensions. The optical illusion,particularly surprising, gives the viewer

the impression of being able to touch areal object. It is precisely because of thisrealism, three-dimensionality, and easeof use that these holographic images areparticularly suitable for museums andmultimedia exhibitions, as well as foreducational purposes.

Employing this technology, theItalian towns of Monteleone di Spoletoand Postignano in Umbria collaboratedwith HOLOGAM in hosting the exhibi-tion “The Chariot of Monteleone diSpoleto: History and Restoration”(September 13 - October 31, 2014) atthe Castle of Postignano. It was curatedby Adriana Emilliozzi and CarlaTermini; the holographic reconstructionon display was a reduced scale model ofthe wooden frame of the Monteleonechariot.

Consequently, in the newly restoredmuseum of town of Monteleone diSpoleto, the full holographic reconstruc-tion, at a scale of 1:50, of the completeEtruscan chariot found at the beginningof the century at Colle del Capitano, willbe produced and displayed; it will uti-lize a three-dimensional scan of theoriginal 6th century BC bronze vehiclethat has been in the the MetropolitanMuseum of New York for over a centu-ry. The new multimedia museum ofMonteleone di Spoleto is the first andonly museum of its type in Italy.

For further information contact GaryEnea or Massimo Legni atwww.hologam.net.

Perugia’s Etruscans in

BratislavaSlovak National Museum,

Bratislava CastleOctober 31- March 29, 2015

by Daniel Bovi

Bratislava and Perugia have unitedin the name of culture, history and artthrough an archaeological exhibitiondedicated to the Etruscans and, in partic-ular, to the Etruscans of Perugia. Theexhibition displays 80 major piecesfrom the National ArchaeologicalMuseum of Umbria. It was open to thepublic from October 31 to March 29,2015, at the Slovak National Museum,

within the Bratislava Castle. Promotedby the Slovak National museum, theItalian Cultural Institute, and theNational Archaeological Museum ofUmbria, the showcase came to lifethanks to the collaboration of theEmbassy of Italy, the City of Bratislavaand the City of Perugia.

The first exhibition devoted exclu-sively to Perugia staged in the capital ofSlovakia will aim to raise awareness ofthe Etruscan civilization, which is littleknown in these latitudes. And theexchange could be mutual: a similar ini-tiative may in future be organized in Perugia to focus on the civilization ofthe Celts.

The Bratislava exhibition offers,through more than 80 items from thestorerooms of the ArchaeologicalMuseum, an overall picture of"Etruscan Perugia." In the first part, 24two-meter panels give general informa-tion on the history from the VillanovanPeriod to the first century AD. On dis-play are votive bronzes dating from thesixth century BC, along with newermaterials: mirrors, ceramics, and pre-cious vases, such as the black-figureamphora attributed to the Micali painter.These all come from an excavation nearthe acropolis.

In the second part there are modelsdepicting the walls of Perugia and therecently restored Etruscan Arch. Thissection includes finds from the excava-tions under the cathedral, the Etruscan

alphabet from Viale Pellini, buccherifrom the necropolis of Palazzone, typi-cal Hellenistic urns of marble from thequarries of Santa Sabina, and first centu-ry AD funerary objects that reveal howPerugia had recovered after BellumPerusinum. Among the most valuablepieces are some Cacni family inscrip-tions retrieved by police last year.

Assessor Severini of Perugia hascalled the gemellaggio between Perugiaand the Slovak capital “a far-sightedpairing;” it has been fed over the yearsby many exchanges at various levels,particularly in culture and sports. "Thisvery prestigious exhibition,” he said,“projects our city into a truly interna-tional dimension; it brings Perugia intothe world and the world into Perugia."

Hologram of Montelone chariot. The mayor of Montelone explains.

Press conference at Postignano. A captivated customer.

Mario Pagano points out detailsto Slovakian colleagues.

LANGUAGE

Pyrgi continued from page 4

text, presumably poetic phraseology,that means “these stars.” The use of thedemonstrative in the phrase indicatesthat it refers to something visible to thereader, something located near thetablets when they were in their originalposition.

Originally, the tablets were nailed toa wooden surface, as is shown by tenholes pierced along the borders of thegold tablets. When the tablets werefound, they were folded into three rollsthat contained a number of small ironnails and eight larger nails with goldenheads that were too large to be used tohang the tablets. It is probable, there-fore, that these gold-headed nails werepurposefully deposited with the tablets,because they formed part of their origi-nal context of use.

Literary comparanda (e.g. Polyb.12.11.2) suggested to Colonna that thetablets were nailed to the inner jamb ofthe main door of the temple, in order tobe in plain sight to visitors. Thishypothesis would also jibe with theEtruscan custom of writing dedicatoryinscriptions directly on votive objects.

The eight gold-headed nails foundtogether with the tablets were presum-ably part of the series driven into thesame wooden jamb of the door, pre-served as a sample of the original col-lection when the temple was dismantled(literally a pars pro toto: possibly thefirst row?).

Another reference to the nails, whichwere called pulumχva, is in the secondEtruscan tablet (2), which was writtenand posted after the first one. The finalclause of the text reads tmial avilχvalamuce pulumχva snuiaφ, which may betranslated as “the nails (?) of the years ofthe temple were twelve” (the numbertwelve is a hypothesis of GiulioGiannecchini). That is to say, when thesecond tablet was inscribed, twelveyears had passed from the date of thededication of the temple.

The reason for posting this secondtablet is not particularly clear, althoughit may refer to the construction of thesanctuary itself (thamuce cleva) andperhaps also to the annual ceremony ofthe posting of the clavus annalis, “theannual nail,” in the cella of Temple B,which started with the inauguration ofthe sanctuary. According to a recenthypothesis of Daniele Maras, the tabletrecords the institution of an annual fes-

tival of the goddess Uni (in genitiveUnias), which was to be held in themonth of Masan (probably December).

Recent epigraphic discoveries haveshed some light on the historical figureof Thefarie Velianas. As a matter of fact,the publication by Giovanni Colonna ofthe Tomba delle Iscrizioni Graffite inthe necropolis of the Banditaccia atCerveteri, with its impressive corpus ofinscriptions (dating from just before thelast decade of the 6th century BCE),provides information on the gensVelianas (written in the variant

Veliinas).This important discovery shows how

an aristocratic figure of archaic Caere,apparently belonging to the generationbefore Thefarie (possibly his father,according to Colonna’s hypothesis), washonored with a funerary ritual involvinghis wife Ramatha Spesias and a largegroup of participants who appear tobelong to different social classes.

The participants were probably

clientes and sodales — that is to say,comrades in war and tablemates inpeace — who were associated with thedeceased as well as with his family andheirs, as is known in the Roman world,for instance, for the Tarquinian dynastyand for some early Republican politicalfigures. Such associations played animportant role in the political sphere, asthey were especially supportive of therise to power of tyrannical figures; thisappears to have happened in the case ofThefarie Velianas.

The position of the tomb in the mid-dle of Archaic and Orientalizing tumuli,in the core of the aristocratic necropolisof Caere, shows that the Veliana familybelonged to the old aristocracy of the

town. This is the reason why Colonnathought that they had ascended topower, not only because of their noblelineage, but also thanks to a network offriends and allies in the emerging socialclasses.

The tyrannical aspiration of the ded-icator of Temple B is evident in the dec-oration of the roof, entirely dedicated tothe deeds of Hercules, and crowned by arepresentation of the divinization of the

demi-god accompanied by a goddess,presumably Uni herself, who pusheshim forward to achieve his triumph.Most probably, through a process ofself-identification with the hero,Thefarie would have liked to obtainsuch an honor as well. This visual repre-sentation would fit very well with thetranslation proposed by GiovanniGarbini for a passage of the Phoeniciantext: “for Astarte raised him with Herhand to reign for three years.”Unfortunately the passage is still notclear and other translations have beenproposed.

The duration of Thefarie’s tyrannicalrule at Caere lasted a few decades, butwas finally overthrown by a politicalchange, as testified by the impressivetransformation in the sanctuary of Pyrgiwith the construction of Temple Aaround 470 BCE. A parallel withRoman history allows us to suppose thata new oligarchic regime was estab-lished, and the old tyrant Thefarie wasbanished together with his supporters. Itis possible that this is reflected in theonomastic record by the disappearanceof the family name Velianas from theflourishing epigraphy of Caere.

A recent attempt at detecting a clueto the destiny of the Velianas family hasfocused on the documentation of therelated gentilicium Vilianas (DanieleMaras). In fact, although this seems tobe an older, archaic form of Velianas, itoccurs in recent inscriptions that show aslow migration from generation to gen-eration northwards along the Tiber val-ley, to Tolfa, Narce and Chiusi.

Such a migration is known also forother gentilicia, which start from archaicVeii and at times continue towardsFelsina and the Po valley; the insertionof the Veliana family is perhaps a hint oftheir flight from Caere, along with theunexpected change of the name (per-haps the restitution of an archaic form).A comparable change occurred with theLatin gentilicium Tarquitii, which origi-nated from the necessity of not beingcontaminated by the hateful name of theTarquinii.

Photo upper right , The 3 foldedgold plaques shown as found.


b

focus shifted to the Phoenician diasporawestwards (Maria Eugenia Aubet)through Aegean routes and settlements,Cyprus (Annie Caubet), and the rela-tionship between Greece and the NearEast (Wolf-Dieter Niemeier).

On the second day in the session“Art and Literature of Interaction,”aspects of material and figural culture,art and craftsmanship were investigated.Iconographies, with contents, messagesand symbols conceived in the NearEastern courts, were conveyed andselectively received by the diverse cul-tures that interacted in the ancientMediterranean.

The impressive corpus of Levantinefigural ivories in different styles(Phoenician, North- and South-Syrian),jealously preserved in the Assyrianpalaces of Nimrud and Arslan Tash,constitute an essential iconographicdocument for analyzing and understand-ing the ideal and the symbolic figuralreferences of local cultures (Irene J.Winter). These are imitated in the metal-work, and in the circulation and re-elab-oration of specific forms of vases andparaphernalia found in sanctuaries inGreece and in elite contexts in the West(Hartmut Matthäus)

The role of major islands in the

Symposium continued from page 12

Notes dance, continued from page 8

1. This work was presented at the EcoleNormale Supérieure in Paris, 24October 2012. I am duly grateful toProf. Dominique Briquel for hishelpful comments. Françoise-Hélène Massa-Pairault, “La Tombedes Lionnes à Tarquinia: emporion,cultes et société,” Studi Etruschi 64,(1998) 43-70.

2. Francesco Roncalli, “La definizionepittorica dello spazio tombale nella‘età della crisi,’” in Crise et trans-formation des sociétés archaïques del’Italie antique du Ve siècle av. J.-C.,Actes de la table ronde organiséepar l’Ecole française de Rome etl’Unité de recherches étrusco-italiques associée au CNRS (UA1132), Rome, 19-21 November 1987(Rome 1990) 229-243.

3. See Stephan Steingräber, Catalogoragionato della pittura etrusca(Milan 1984) 299-300.

4. Ibid., 373-374. 5. Audrey Gouy, “La représentation du

costume des danseuses étrusques(VIe-Ve siècles avant J.-C.)” in Ladistinction par le costume. De lafabrication à la représentation,Journées d’étude de l’équipeHistara, 6-7 mai 2011 (send topress). See the pioneer work ofLarissa Bonfante, Etruscan Dress,2nd ed. 2003 Baltimore-London,

1975 and then “Aggiornamento: ilcostume etrusco,” in SecondoCongresso Internazionale Etrusco.Firenze 26 Maggio – 2 Giugno1985. Supplemento di Studi Etruschi3, (1989) 1373-1393.

6. See Stephan Steingräber, Catalogoragionato della pittura etrusca(Milan 1984) 315-316.

7. See for example the Tomba delTriclinio in Tarquinia.

8. On Etruscan visual sense, see alsoJocelyn Penny Small, “Left, right,and center: direction in Etruscanart,” Opuscula Romana XVI:7(1987) 125-135.

9. Elisabeth Magne, “Entrer dans lesimages. Analyse anthropologique etesthétique des dispositifs immer-sifs,” in Marc Jimenez, Regards surl’image (Klincksieck 2009) 161-172.

10. See for example Anca Giurchescu,“The dance symbol as a means ofcommunication,” ActaEtnographica Hungarica, vol. 39, n°1-2 (1994) 95-102 and “A questionof method: contextual analysis ofdancing at the Vlach Hora inDenmark,” in L. Torp, The DanceEvent: a complex cultural phenome-non, Proceedings from the 15thSymposium of the ICTM StudyGroup on Ethnochoreology(Copenhague 1989) 40.

Exceptional Gallic chariot

tomb discovered in France

Inrap [June 27, 2014]: A combinedteam composed of archaeologists fromthe Ardennes departmental archaeologyunit and from Inrap is currently excavat-ing a Gallic aristocratic tomb at Warcq(Ardennes). Curated by the State (DracChampagne-Ardenne), this site is locat-ed on the route of the A304 motorwaybeing constructed by the Dreal betweenCharleville-Mézières and Rocroi.

Starting on 3 June 2014 for a threeweek period, archaeologists and ananthropologist have been working touncover this chariot tomb. This type ofaristocratic tomb emerges in the 7th cen-tury B.C. – during the first Iron Age –and ends with the end of the Gallic peri-od. The oldest chariots have four wheels(like that found at Vix), while thosefrom the second Iron Age have onlytwo. The deceased person – who couldbe male or female – was generallyinhumed on the chariot, which was anobject of prestige and a symbol of socialstatus. Champagne-Ardenne is famous

The bilingual dedication of TempleB, as well as the identification of theEtruscan goddess Uni with Astarte testi-fy to the personal connections and inter-national policies of Thefarie Velianas inthe same period when the RomanRepublic, according to Polybius, sub-scribed its first treaty with Carthage (seelastly Maurizio Harari, “Thefarie com-mittente.” Annali Faina 21, 2014, p.573-84).

The important anniversary of thisyear has been celebrated in Italy withseveral events, including a ceremony atSanta Severa (see page 29), organizedby the Soprintendenza per i BeniArcheologici dell’Etruria Meridionalein presence of the ambassadors ofTunisy and Lebanon (June 21, 2014), anevent at Villa Giulia on the “burials ofdeities” (December 26, 2014), a studyday at La Sapienza University of Romewith the participation of several scholarsinterested in the sanctuary of Pyrgi(January 30, 2015), and a monographicvolume of the series “Studi epigrafici elinguistici sul Vicino Oriente antico,”edited by Paolo Xella, to be published in2015.

process of interaction in the early 1stmillennium is illustrated by Crete, acrossroads between East and West,South and North, towards Greece andthe Balkans (Nicholas Ch. Stampolidis).

The Etruscans figure among the pro-tagonists of this cultural distribution andinteraction, which determined long-last-ing features of their identity. TheLevantine component and a fascinationfor the Egyptian world reach theTyrrhenian coasts through imported,prestigious, rare goods, or local produc-tions by immigrant craftsmen (MaurizioSannibale).

Forms of craftsmanship and pictorialarts were investigated in a broader per-spective, in the historical framework ofthe Neo-Assyrian empire (Ann C.Gunter), and in light of the spread ofOrientalizing luxury goods (MarianFeldman).

Finally, contact between East andWest seems to have gone further thanthe material aspects of trade and thenon-verbal contents of symbols andiconographies. New, fascinating per-spectives are opened by considering theuses of writing, literature and the com-munication of knowledge under NearEastern influence (Carolina López-Ruiz, Marc Van De Mieroop).

for such tombs (particularly at Bourcqand Semide in the Ardennes), which aregenerally dated to the start of the secondIron Age (5th-4th century B.C.).

The excavation has currentlyrevealed only the upper levels of this 15m² funerary chamber. The chamber wascovered with wood in the form of plankssupported by a central span and withsupports on the pit walls.

Several elements of the chariot havealready been revealed: the iron wheelbands, whose interiors are covered withgold leaf, probable hub decorations inbronze set with glass paste, and someplanks. Finally, in the southeast angle,

decorative elements in bronze still con-nected to the wood of the shaft havebeen discovered. These atypical objectsdo not as yet enable an accurate deter-mination of the chronology of the chari-ot tomb.

Another rare feature is the discoveryalong the western wall of two smallhorses whose bones are still articulated.All of these elements appear to offervery few parallels with previously exca-vated chariot graves, and emphasize stillfurther the exceptional nature of thisdiscovery.

The Ardennes departmental

archaeology unit

The purpose of the Departmentalarchaeology unit of the ArdennesGeneral Council is to reduce interven-tion times and to promote and commu-nicate archaeological discoveries to thecitizens of the department and to the sci-entific community. Employing six per-manent agents, it was certified on 22June 2009 by the Ministry of Cultureand Communication for the realizationof diagnostic operations within thedepartment, and for the excavation ofGallo-Roman and Medieval sites. Overthe past five years, this departmentalunit has realized 84 diagnostic opera-tions across 458 hectares.

The remains of two small horseswhose bones are still articulated.

CONFERENCES

Quinto Convegno Internazionale

APM

Musei Accoglienti:

una nuova cultura

gestionale per i

piccoli museiViterbo, September 26-27, 2014Museo Nazionale Etrusco, Rocca

Albornoz

The Associazione Nazionale PiccoliMusei, founded by Prof. GiancarloDall’Ara, organizes an annual confer-ence of scholars and specialists in theareas of museums, tourism, communica-tion, and economy to discuss andaddress themes inherent in small muse-ums, erroneously defined as “minor,”but which in every town in the worldvery often represent the most vital cul-tural fabric and that nearest to the com-munity. It is important that small muse-ums not be regarded as “reducedcopies” of the large museums, but insti-tutions with their own specific charac-teristics and whose greatest strengthsare the capacity to welcome and bothculturally and socially to give life to theterritories of which they are a part.

Program

26 September 2014

First session: I piccoli musei in Italia.Idee e strumenti per la progettazionee la gestione.

“Lo scenario attuale dei piccoli musei,”Giancarlo Dall’Ara, PresidenteAPM.

“Micromecenatismo 2.0,” FrancescoD’Amato, “Sapienza” Università diRoma.

“L’allestimento dei piccoli musei franuove tecnologie e tradizione,”Valeria Minucciani, Politecnico diTorino.

“L’importante ruolo degli ‘Amici’ per ipiccoli musei,” Vittorio Falletti,l’Accademia Albertina delle BelleArti, Torino.

“Il museo, il suo territorio: etica edestetica di una realtà storica esociale,” Fulvio Ricci, Museo delCostume Farnesiano di Gradoli.

Second session: Musei 2.0 “Musei e social media,” Francesca De

Gottardo, Movimento #sveglia-museo.

“Il Museo virtuale di Narce (MAVNA),”Jacopo Tabolli, MAVNA, MazzanoRomano, RM.

27 September 2014

“Documentari, televisione e produzionedi contenuti visivi per i musei,”Caterina Pisu, APM, MaurizioPellegrini, Soprintendenza per iBeni Archeologici dell’EtruriaMeridionale.

Third Session: Normative e finanzia-menti per i piccoli musei

“Normative per la qualità nei piccolimusei,” Anna Boccioli, IncipitConsulting Società Cooperativa.

Fourth Session: gestire un piccolomuseo. Esperienze e Buone Prasse

“Il Museo della Ceramica dellaTuscia,”. Silvia Valentini, Museo della Cera-. mica della Tuscia, Viterbo. “Piccoli Musei metropolitani: Il Museo. della Scuola Romana,” Maria Italia. Zacheo, Museo e Archivio della. Scuola Romana di Villa Torlonia.“Mostrare l’invisibile/ Il vento come. esperienza. Il Museo della Bora di. Trieste,” Rino Lombardi, Museo. della Bora, Trieste. “La Lanterna Magica in Veneto,” Laura. Minici Zotti, Museo del Precinema,. Padova. “Il Sistema museale del Lago di. Bolsena,” Pietro Tamburini, Siste-. ma museale del Lago di Bolsena.“Il ruolo sociale dei musei: una nuova. sfida culturale,” Isabella Serafini,. Musei Capitolini, Roma.

XXII Convegno Internazionale di

Studi sulla Storia e l’Archeologia

dell’Etruria

La delimitazione dello

spazio funerario

in Italia dalla protostoria

all’età arcaica.

Recinti, circoli, tumuliFondazione per il Museo “Claudio

Faina,” OrvietoDecember 19-21, 2014

December 19

Giovanni Colonna (AccademiaNazionale dei Lincei), “I tumuli inEtruria.”

Alessandro Naso (Istituto di Studi sulMediterraneo Antico del C.N.R.),“Tumuli nei paesaggi funerari delMediterraneo e dell’Europa cen-trale.”

Silvia Paltineri (Università degli Studidi Padova e di Pavia), “Architetturafuneraria e società: recinti, circoli eforme di delimitazione dello spazionella necropoli di Chiavari.”

Mariolina Gamba, GiovannaGambacurta, Angela Ruta Serafini(Soprintendenza per i BeniArcheologici del Veneto), “Paesaggie architetture delle necropolivenete.”

December 20

Daniela Locatelli (Soprintendenza perBeni Archeologici dell’Emilia-Romagna), “Nuovi dati sull’organiz-zazione degli spazi sepolcrali emodalità di aggregazione delletombe dall’Orientalizzante all’età

arcaica a Bologna e in Emilia.”Andrea Gaucci (Università degli Studi

di Bologna), “Organizzazione deglispazi funerari a Spina e in area del-tizia.”

Paola Desantis (Soprintendenza per iBeni Archeologici dell’EmiliaRomagna), “Aspetti di topografiafuneraria e tipologia tombale nellanecropoli di Spina-Valle Pega: l’e-sempio del Dosso E.”

Stefano Bruni (Università degli Studi diFerrara). “Il tumulo di Pisa.”

Adriano Maggiani (Università degliStudi di Venezia), “Entro il recinto:l’arredo scultoreo delle tombe atumulo di Vetulonia.”

Simona Rafanelli (Museo Archeologico“Isidoro Falchi”), “Circoli e tumuli aVetulonia.”

Giovannangelo Camporeale(Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei),“I circoli nelle necropoli di MassaMarittima.”

Luca Fedeli, Ada Salvi, Maria AngelaTurchetti (Soprintendenza per i BeniArcheologici della Toscana), “I cir-coli funerari del Sodo a Cortona.”

Carlotta Cianferoni (Soprintendenza peri Beni Archeologici della Toscana),“Riflessioni intorno ai circoli diMarsiliana.”

Enrico Pellegrini (Soprintendenza per iBeni Archeologici dell’EtruriaMeridionale), “Un aspetto dellenecropoli etrusche di Grotte diCastro: le tombe a fossa con circolodi Vigna La Piazza.”

Maria Bonghi Jovino (Università degliStudi di Milano), “Cultura funerariae aristocrazie tirreniche. Il tumulo diPoggio Gallinaro a Tarquinia.”

Alessandro Mandolesi (Università degliStudi di Torino), “La Doganaccia diTarquinia: organizzazione di unsepolcreto principesco.”

December 21

Laura Ponzi Bonomi (Soprintendenzaper i Beni Archeologicidell’Umbria), “Tombe a tumulo e acircolo nell’area italica centrorien-tale: tipologia e ideologia.”

Maria Cristina De Angelis(Soprintendenza per i BeniArcheologici dell’Umbria),“Proposta per una lettura dellanecropoli delle Acciaierie di Terni.”

Vincenzo D’Ercole (Direzione Generaledelle Antichità del Ministero deiBeni e delle Attività Culturali), “Lospazio funerario nell’area abruzzese

dal Bronzo finale all’età arcaica.”Mariassunta Cuozzo, Carmine

Pellegrino (Università degli Studidel Molise e Università degli Studidi Salerno), “Delimitazione dellospazio funerario e dinamiche socialinella Campania meridionale.”

Gianluca Tagliamonte (Università degliStudi del Salento), “Archeologiafuneraria nel mondo messapico.”

Claudio Bizzarri, David B. George,Paolo Binaco (Parco Archeologico eAmbientale dell’Orvietano), “Loscavo della cavità n. 254 in Via RipaMedici, Orvieto.”

“I piccoli musei della Sardegna: buone. pratiche,” Ilenia Atzori, APM Sard-. egna, and Mario Paffi, Museo delle.. Maschere Mediterranee e del Museo... della Cultura e del Lavoro, Mamoiad

Sixth International AmberConference, Riga, Latvia

2014by Veronica Gallo

Riga was the Culture Capital ofEurope for 2014, and it was in this con-text that the international scholarly con-ference, Baltic Amber Across Time and

Borders, took place at the University ofLatvia, on September 19 and 21, 2014.The event brought together scholarsfrom all parts of the world: Latvia,Estonia, and Lithuania (referred to as“Amberland”), Finland, Sweden,Poland, Bielorussia, Slovenia, Austria,France, Spain, Italy, Jordan, UnitedStates, and China. In the course of thetwo days, numerous sessions dealt withspecific aspects of Baltic amber, such asits geology, its geographical range, andits chemical nature, as well as the archa-eology of amber, from the Stone Agedown to the Middle Ages and moderntimes.

Amber, and especially Baltic amber,has been the subject of study for a num-ber of years, because objects made ofthis material found from the Balticcoasts down to the Mediterranean andbeyond have allowed archaeologists totrace some of the trade routes leadingacross Europe and related maritime rou-tes. Amber has always attracted man’scuriosity because of its warm colors andits brilliance, which early on related it toa solar cult and endowed it with thera-peutic and apotropaic properties, quali-ties that it is still thought to possess inthe Baltic regions. It continued to beused well into the Roman and medievalperiod, and is greatly valued even todayin various parts of the world.

The conference thus offered a largegroup of scholars the opportunity of pre-senting to an international audience theresults of their own studies, as well as anoccasion to compare their work andforge new collaborations on variousprojects.

The conference ended on September21 with a field trip to Lake Lubans, andvisits to local archaeological sites andmuseums.

All the sessions were videotaped, andcan be accessed at: www.riga2014.org.A number of presentations dealt withEtruscan and Italic amber. Present at theconference, among many others, wereIlze Loza, the organizer, Joan Todd,Nuccia Negroni Catacchio, SimonaRafanelli, Faya Causey, LarissaBonfante. Alessandro Naso’s report waspresented in absentia.

Interdisciplinary International

Conference

Family and Family

Relationships in

AntiquityUniversity of Wrocław

Wrocław, 11-13 June 2014

June 11, 2014

First Session. Chair: GościwitMalinowski

Yongliang Shang, Chengdan Wang,“Yijiu’s Abandonment. A Family-State Pattern in Antiquity China andits Adoption in Classical ChineseLiterature.”

Hanzhen Liu, “The Romanticism ofFamily, State and Universal.”

Alice Yu Cheng, “Family Relation andIts Impact on the PoliticalLandscape in the Western ZhouDynasty (1046—771 B.C.) ofancient China.”

Second Session. Chair: WangChengdan

Teresa Miążek, “Emotional states andrelations between them as leading tothe aesthetical tastes of literature inancient India. The Rasa theory fromNātyaśāstra and its applications.”

Mateusz Kłagisz, “Incestuous Marriagein Ancient Iran.”

Third Session. Chair: Petr CharvátDaniele Umberto Lampasona,

“Reconstructing Ur III family tiesthrough letter-orders.”

Stefan Nowicki, “Legitimization ofkingship and power through familyrelations in Ancient Mesopotamia.”

Simeon Chavel, “The Biblical Idea ofIntergenerational Punishment in

Sociological and HistoricalPerspective.”

Fourth Session. Chair: Simeon ChavelLeire Olabarria, “Relatively speaking:

display and kin group developmentin Middle Kingdom Egypt (ca.1900–1700 BCE).”

Paulina Nicko, “Communication of thedeceased with living members offamilies in ancient Mesopotamia.”

June 12, 2014

Fifth session. Chair: Stefan NowickiDaniel Justel, “Children inside the

Family in Late Bronze AgeMesopotamia and Syria.”

Paweł Nowakowski, “Family VotiveStrategies in Late Antique AsiaMinor.”

Sixth session. Chair: Joanna JanikHugh Thomas, “’Greetings to you also,

dearest husband.’ The Dexiosis andFamily: Interpreting FamilialRelationships on Classical AtticTombstones.”

Brenda Griffith-Williams, “‘No-one isadopted out of his mother’s family:’inheritance through a female line inclassical Athens.”

Katerina Mandalaki, “Care of theElderly in Greek Antiquity.”

Seventh session. Chair: BrendaGriffith-Williams

Joanna Janik, “Problematic Heritage:The Cases of Alcibiades the Youngerand the Son of Eucrates.”

Roksana Chowaniec, “Small finds as areflection of everyday life of family.Case study: Hellenistic-RomanAkrai, Sicily.”

Eighth session. Chair: Hugh ThomasDominika Grzesik, “How to become a

hero? A case study of the mostprominent family in Delphi.”

Gilles Andrianne, “Eurytos and hisProgeny: an Archer Family in GreekArchaic Culture.”

Magdalena Myszkowska-Kaszuba,“Defining Mothers of Sparta. TheLiterary Portrait of a SpartanMother.”

June 13, 2014

Ninth session. Chair: RoksanaChowaniec

Dobromiła Nowicka, “Family Relationsin Cases concerning Iniuria.”

Joanna Pieczonka, “Family Life in theAtellan Farce – Few Remarks on theInfluence of Fabula Palliata onAtellana.”

Agnieszka Tomas, “Roman MilitaryFamily at the Borders of the Empire.A Case of the Legio I Italica.”

Tenth session. Chair: Joanna PieczonkaAura Piccioni, “Domestic cults and fam-

ily religion in archaic Italy.”

Paulina Komar, “Wine, women andhonor killings: family relations inarchaic Rome.”

Maciej Marciniak, “Roman field trophy:a short family tradition?”

Eleventh session. Chair: MałgorzataZadka

Maciej H. Dąbrowski, “Familia isiacaand the Ptolemaic royal family.”

Tomasz Dziurdzik, “Emperor’sKinsmen: Family Ties as a Role-Model for Relations BetweenRoman Emperors and Soldiers inOfficial Propaganda, Social Orderand Religious Ceremonies.”

Rose-Marie Lewent

Conference

Animals In AntiquityNew York University

The Center For Ancient Studiesin conjunction with the

Animal Studies Initiativeand the

Department Of Classics

February 13, 2014

Welcome and Opening Remarks:Matthew S. Santirocco, Senior ViceProvost, Professor of Classics, andAngelo J. Ranieri Director ofAncient Studies, NYU; JoyConnolly, Dean for the Humanitiesand Professor of Classics, NYU.

Keynote Address: “Thinking WithAnimals: Hybridity And The GreekImagination,” Jeremy McInerney,

Giornata di studio

Produzione artigianale in

Grecia arcaicaUniversità degli Studi di Salerno

Fisciano, 28 May 2014

Eleni Hasaki (Archaeological Instituteof America, University of Arizona),“Potters and Penteskouphia Pinakesat Ancient Corinth: From PracticePieces to Prayers.”

Bruno d’Agostino (Università degliStudi di Napoli “l’Orientale”),“Poseidon Damasios e Hippios e ilsuo rapporto con gli artigiani.”

Maria Grazia Palmieri (Università degliStudi di Napoli “l’Orientale”),“Vasai e cavalieri sui pinakes arcaicidi Penteskouphia.”

Albio Cesare Cassio, (Università degliStudi di Roma “La Sapienza”),“Atena, la fornace e i demoni (epi-gramma “omerico” 13).”

Angela Pontrandolfo and MicheleScafuro (Università degli Studi diSalerno), “I pinakes attici: pro-duzione, contesti, iconografia.”

Luca Cerchiai (Università degli Studi diSalerno), “Lo status di artigiano inEtruria arcaica.

University of Pennsylvania.February 14, 2014

Session 1: Chair, Pam Crabtree, NYU“Images of Anthropomorphized

Animals in Ancient EgyptianFigured Ostraca and Papyri,”Jennifer Babcock, Institute of FineArts-NYU.

“Tracing Identity Through Pig Sacrifice:the Greco-Punic Cult of Demeter atSelinunte,” Andrew Farinholt Ward,Institute of Fine Arts-NYU.

Session 2: Session Chair, Joan BretonConnelly, NYU

“Are Animals Naked? A View FromGreek Art,” Annetta Alexandridis,Cornell University.

Comment: Patricia Johnson, BostonUniversity.

Session 3: Chair, David Levene, NYU“Animals in Love: Images from Greek

and Latin Literature,” CraigWilliams, University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign.

Comment : Mark Payne, University ofChicago

Session 4: Chair, David Sider, NYU“Intellect and Morality in Animal

Emotions: Ancient and ModernViews,” Stephen Newmyer,Duquesne University.

Comment: Dale Jamieson,NYU/Institute for Advanced Study.

IV Incontro sulle Religioni del

Mediterraneo Antico

Politeismo

Costruzione e Percezione

delle Divinità

nel Mediterraneo AnticoJune 10-14, 2014

Velletri and Lanuvio

June 10,2014,Velletri

Sessions 1-3

Marisa Tortorelli Ghidini (Universitàdegli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”),Riflessioni sulle personificazionidivine nella Grecia antica: la coppiaprimordial.

Ileana Chirassi Colombo (Universitàdegli Studi di Trieste), Politeismo emito: osservazioni intorno al “per-fetto” caso greco.

Nicola Reggiani (Universität “RuprechtKarl,” Heidelberg), Demokratia ePoliteismo. La rifunzionalizzazionedelle divinità nell’Atene della “rivo-luzione democratica”. Il caso diHermes

Ezio Pellizer (Università degli Studi diTrieste), Politeisti, pagani, idolatri.Riflessioni portative sui grandi temireligiosi

June 11, 2014, Velletri

Fabio Cavallero (Sapienza Università diRoma), L’altare come luogo e mezzodi comunicazione tra l’uomo e glidèi: le arae romane.

Session 4: Chair: Ileana ChirassiColombo (Università degli Studi diTrieste)

Carmine Pisano (Università degli Studidi Napoli “Federico II”), Come “sicostruisce” un dio in Grecia: l’e-sempio dell’Inno omerico a Hermes.

Giulia Pedrucci (Alma Mater

Studiorum, Università di Bologna),Politeismo e Gender Studies: ricon-siderando la maternità di Hera.

Luigi Zotta (Universität Zürich),Dioniso. Identità, polimorfismo,immaginario.

Session 5: Chair: Claudia Santi (SUN,Seconda Università degli Studi diNapoli)

Marios Kamenou (University ofCyprus), Costruzione e percezionedel divino a Cipro: il caso di ApolloKyprios.

Alessandro Coscia (Pinacoteca di Brera,Soprintendenza per i beni storiciartistici di Milano), Gli dèi della col-onizzazione romana in GalliaCisalpina: costruzione e definizionedei pantheon coloniali tra propa-ganda ideologica, koinè ellenistica evarianti locali.

Federica Fontana (Università degliStudi di Trieste), Ancora su Apolloin Cisalpina tra Iperborei e misticis-mo orfico-pitagorico.

Lyuba Radulova (Università di Sofia“St. Kl. Ohridski”) and Rita Sassu(Sapienza Università di Roma),Forme di ibridazione nellacostruzione di una divinità in uncontesto multietnico: il culto diApollo Kendrisios a Philippopolis.

Carla Del Zotto (Sapienza Università diRoma), Iside e Nehalennia nelmondo germanico: interpretatioRomana o culto straniero?

Anna Gasparetto (Università Ca’Foscari, Venezia), Politeismo epoliteismi alle porte dell’Imperobizantino. L’incontro culturale nellapenisola balcanica nei secoli VII/IX.


Session 6: Chair: Diana Segarra Crespo(Universidad Complutense deMadrid)

Jorge García Cardiel (UniversidadComplutense de Madrid), Los elegi-dos de la diosa: divinidad y elitesgobernantes en el mundo ibérico.

Claudia Santi (SUN, SecondaUniversità degli Studi di Napoli),Demitizzazione e ritualismo nelpoliteismo di Roma repubblicana.

Diego M. Escámez de Vera(Universidad Complutense deMadrid), La divinidad como legiti-madora del poder: prodigia e ide-ología imperial en época Flavia.

Caterina Schiariti (Università degliStudi di Messina), Il “problema”Senofane. Riflessioni sulla criticadel filosofo di Colofone agli dèi diOmero.

Ilaria Ramelli (Università Cattolica del

Sacro Cuore, Milano), Gli dèi nel-l’allegoresi teologica stoica: trapoliteismo e reductio ad naturam.

Anna Multari (Università degli Studi diMessina), Iside e Osiride nell’inter-pretazione platonica di Plutarco.


Session 7: Chair: Alessandro Saggioro(Sapienza Università di Roma)

Sergio Botta (Sapienza Università diRoma), Gli dèi in viaggio verso ilNuovo Mondo: appunti per unagenealogia del politeismo in Etàmoderna.

Marianna Ferrara (Sapienza Universitàdi Roma), “Tremilatre, trecentotre,trentatre, sei, tre, due, uno e mezzo,uno.” Il politeismo vedico come“discorso” tra tradizione e inno-vazione.

Giuseppina Paola Viscardi (Universitàdegli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”),Tra “esseri supreme,” “iddii supre-mi” e “iddii unici.” Qualche osser-vazione a margine della riflessionepettazzoniana sulla natura e gliattributi della divinità tra pensieromitico e pensiero logico-causale.

Santiago Montero (UniversidadComplutense de Madrid), Gli dei e ilMale a Roma.

Miriam Blanco (Universidad deValladolid), Dèi, daimones, angeli ealtri spiriti divini: il conflitto tra ilUno e il Molteplice nella magiagreca antica.

June 14, 2014, Lanuvio

Teatro comunale di via S. Lorenzo

Session 9: Chair: Giancarlo Rinaldi(Università degli Studi di Napoli“L’Orientale”)

Talisa Tavella (Durham University), LeDee Velate. Viaggio nella“costruzione” simbolica delledivinità femminili.

Maria Grazia Palmieri (Università degliStudi di Napoli “Federico II”),Poseidon con il fiore di loto aCorinto: nota sulla simbologia diuna variante iconografica.

Mariafrancesca Berretti (Accademiadelle Belle Arti, Roma) and MarcoNocca (Accademia delle Belle Arti,Roma), Le divinità antiche nellasimbologia dell’arte cristiana.

Animal and Profession Taboos.”Peter Machinist (Hebrew Bible/

Assyriology), Harvard University:“Periodization in BiblicalHistoriography: With Help fromMesopotamia.”

Dirk Meyer (Chinese Studies),University of Oxford: “ShangshuSpeeches.”

Piotr Michalowski (Sumerology/Assyriology), University ofMichigan:

“The Domestication of Stranger Kings:Making History by List in AncientMesopotamia.”

Na’aman Nadav (Jewish Studies), TelAviv University: “Writing the EarlyHistory of Israel as a Decisive Stepin the Formation of ‘BiblicalIsrael.’”

Christopher Pelling (Classics),University of Oxford: “Waiting forHerodotus: the Mindsets of 425.”

Tim Rood (Classics), University ofOxford: “Thucydides, Myth, andEthnography.”

David Schaberg (Chinese Studies),University of California, LosAngeles: “The Scene of Inquiry inEarly Chinese Historiography.”

Rosalind Thomas (Classics), Universityof Oxford: “HistoricalConsciousness and the ‘Aetiology.’”

Henriette van der Blom (Classics),University of Glasgow/University ofOxford: “Mythmaking and TurningPoints: Cicero’s Creation of anOratorical Past at Rome.”

Tim Whitmarsh (Classics), Universityof Oxford/University of Cambridge:“Atheist Histories and theResistance to Empire.”

Roger Woodard (Classics/Indo-European Studies), University ofBuffalo, SUNY: “Coriolanus:Writing the Primitive DysfunctionalWarrior into the History ofRepublican Rome.”

Conference

Historical Consciousness

and Historiography

(3000 BC–AD 600)Oxford, September 17-19, 2014

This conference brings together 20experts, representing 12 research insti-tutions, from Anthropology,Assyriology & Sumerology, Biblical &Jewish Studies, Classics, East AsianStudies, Egyptology, Hittitology, andIndo-European Studies to address threemain issues:

(1) the ways different traditions ofhistorical consciousness informed orcontributed to the rise of formal histori-ography;

(2) the ways formal historiographyand other traditions of historical con-sciousness interacted during their trans-mission; and

(3) the implications of such interac-tions for cultural heritage, collectivememory, and later understandings ofhistory.

Speakers and Presentation Topics:

Nick Allen (Anthropology), Universityof Oxford: “Secession of Plebs,Secession of Achilles: RomanPseudo-history and Indo-EuropeanHeritage.”

John Baines (Egyptology), Universityof Oxford: “History andHistoriography in the MaterialWorld: An Ancient EgyptianPerspective.”

Emily Baragwanath (Classics),University of North Carolina,Chapel Hill: “Myth and HistoryEntwined: Female Agency andFraternal Strife in the GreekHistorians.”

Richard Buxton (Classics), Universityof Bristol: “The Cyclopes: Myth andHistoriography.”

Ken Dowden (Classics), University ofBirmingham: “Tlepolemos, and theDialectic of Mythology andHistory.”

Amir Gilan (Hittitology), Tel AvivUniversity: “The Hittites and TheirPast—Forms of HistoricalConsciousness in Hittite Anatolia.”

Jonas Grethlein (Classics), Universityof Heidelberg: “Alternative Versionsin Pindar and Herodotus.”

Christina Kraus (Classics), YaleUniversity: “Fabula and History inLivy’s Narrative of the Capture ofVeii.”

Alasdair Livingstone (Assyriology),University of Birmingham: “The

Workshop

La digitalizzazione

del Sarcofago degli SposiTecnologie e nuovi linguaggi

per un museo dinamico e

diffusoAuditorium CINECA, Rome

13 June 2014

Rita Cosentino, Maria Anna De Lucia(SBAEM), Antonella Guidazzoli(CINECA): Il Sarcofago degliSposi: Storia di un capolavoro dalritrovamento ad una nuova vitanella dimensione digitale.

Giosuè Boetto Cohen (Giornalista RAI):Il padano APA e l’etrusca ATI siincontrano: un progetto di gemel-laggio transmediale tra Bologna eRoma.

Francesco Antinucci (CNR - ISTC):Considerazioni sul progetto Apa l’Etrusco sbarca a Roma.

Fabio Remondino, Erica Nocerino,Fabio Menna (Fondazione BrunoKessler): Rilievo e modellazione 3Ddel Sarcofago degli Sposi con tecni-ca fotogrammetrica.

Marco Callieri, Matteo Dellepiane,Roberto Scopigno (CNR-ISTI):Acquisizione laser e modello 3d delSarcofago degli sposi.

Andrea Adami, Emanuel Demetrescu,Eva Pietroni (CNR ITABC):Valentina Albano (Leica): Il rilievo3d del Sarcofago degli sposi: solu-zioni a confronto.

Anna Maria Manferdini (DipartimentoArchitettura Università di Bologna):Ricerca universitaria e didattica perla valorizzazione del patrimonio cul-turale. La digitalizzazione delSarcofago degli Sposi.

Franz Fischnaller (F.A.B.R.I.CATORS):Tecnologie per installazioni evocati-ve.

Tavola rotonda: Le tecnologie ICT trareale e virtuale: dalla valorizzazionedei capolavori antichi all’analisidelle percezioni sui visitatori.Participants: Francesco Antinucci(CNR-ISTC), Claudio Bocci(Federculture), Carlo Infante(Performing media).

Premier colloque International

Géographie historique du

Maghreb antique et

médiéval: état des lieux

et perspectives de

recherchesSousse, 14-16 March 2014

This international conferenvce featuresour Etruscan colleague:

Jean Gran-Aymerich, “De Carthage àMalaga et au-delà. Les Étrusques etle réseau colonial punique.”

Conference

Popular Medicine in the

Graeco-Roman World (NYC, April 18-19, 2014)

Center for the Ancient MediterraneanColumbia University History

Department,Program in Classical Studies, and

Stanwood Cockey Lodge Foundationof the Classics Department

April 18th

Opening Remarks: William HarrisFirst Session: Religious and

Psychological Aspects

Session chair: Francesco de AngelisPatricia Baker, “Conceptions of a

Salubrious Environment:Construction and Design of Greco-Roman Healing Sanctuaries.”

Olympia Panagiotidou, “AsklepianTherapy as an alternative healingchoice: A case of placebo effect.”

Session chair: Katja VogtChiara Thumiger, “Prometheus’ gift:

healing and hope in popular andtechnical reflections on medicine.”

Rebecca Flemming, “Anatomicalvotives in Republican/HellenisticItaly: How popular and how med-ical?”

Second Session: Recipes And

Remedies

Session chair: Deborah SteinerIsabella Andorlini, “Crossing the

Borders between Egyptian andGreek medical practice: papyri andrelated archaeological tools.”

Julie Laskaris, “Metals in Medicine:from Telephus to the Greek MagicalPapyri.”

Laurence Totelin, “Pharmakopolai: a re-evaluation of the sources.”

Arsenio Ferraces Rodriguez, “Medical

recipes from Antiquity to the earlyMiddle Ages: who made them, how,and for whom they were made.”

April 19th

Third Session: Some Major Texts

Session chair: Rebecca FlemmingHeinrich von Staden, “The relationship

between ‘popular’ and ‘scientific’medicine in Celsus’ Medicina.”

Danielle Gourevitch, “PopularMedicines and Practices in Galen.”

Vivian Nutton, “Popular medicine in theGalenic Corpus.”

Ann Ellis Hanson, “The barnyard andthe bedroom, the Geoponika andHippocrates’ women.”

Fourth Session: Doctors And Others

Session chair: William HarrisLiz Irwin, “Imperial ambitions and the

popularization of medical theory atAthens.”

Catherine Hezser, “ ‘Honor YourPhysician Even Before You HaveNeed of Him’ (y. Taan. 3:6, 66d):Representations of the Physician inJewish Literature from Hellenisticand Roman Times.”

David Leith, “How Popular Were theMedical Sects?”

Ido Israelowitch, “Medicine in theRoman Army.”

Conference

Saeculum Aureum:

Tradizione e

innovazione nella religione

romana di

epoca augusteaVelletri, July 8-12, 2014

Centro Studi di Preistoria eArcheologia

XII Incontro di Studi: Preistoria eProtostoria in Etruria

Ornarsi per comunicarecon gli uomini e con gli deiGli oggetti di ornamento come status

symbol, amuleti, richiesta di protezione

September 12-13, 2014 Valentano, Museo della preistoria della

Tuscia e della Rocca Farnese

LECTURES & SEMINARSAccordia Lectures on Italy

2014-2015

January 14, 2014“Writing on Etruscan walls: Vitruvius

and the Tuscanicae Dispositiones,”Charlotte Potts, Somerville College,Oxford.

February 18, 2014“Massive buildings, intangible prac-

tices: making sense of the Tas-Silgprehistoric megalithic sanctuary inMalta,” Giulia Recchia, Universityof Foggia.

March 4, 2014“Indigenous cults in Roman North

Italy,” Ralph Häussler, University ofWales, Trinity St David.

May 6, 2014“Perceptions of prophecy: divination

made visible in Ancient Italy andGreece,” Nancy de Grummond,Florida State University.

October 21, 2014“’...the columns are unfinished to this

day!’ - new excavations in the forumof Pompeii,” Christoph Rommel,German Archaeological Institute.

November 4. 2014“Art and death in Neolithic Sardinia: the

decorated Domus de Janas rock-cuttombs,” Guillaume Robin,University of Edinburgh.

December 2, 2014Accordia Anniversary Lecture:

“Frattesina: an entrepôt in the pre-historic Mediterranean world,” AnnaMaria Bietti Sestieri, EmeritusProfessor, University of the Salento.

January 13, 2015“Getting the bigger picture from a minor

site: the Roman and Late Antiquemansio of Vignale (Tuscany),”Enrico Zanini, University of Siena.

February 17, 2015“Perfume, flowers and deities in the

Western Greek World: the case studyof Gela,” Claudia Lambrugo,University of Milan.

March 3, 2015“Advertisement, marketing and compe-

tition: performing auctions inRoman Italy,” Marta GarciaMorcillo, University ofRoehampton.

May 5, 2015“Interpreting the Etruscans: between

republicanism and princely rule(12th to 16th centuries,” CorinnaRiva, UCL Institute of Archaeology.

Institute of Fine Arts

Seminar on Greek and

Roman Art

and Architecture

The Seminar on Greek and RomanArt and Architecture invites scholars toshare their current research with theresearch community on Ancient Art andArchaeology at the Institute of Fine Artsand in the metropolitan area, and tomeet and talk with IFA graduate stu-dents.

The study of Greek and Roman Artand Architecture is at a critical stage inits development. In recent years, thisfield has been characterized by an ever-increasing range of approaches, underthe influence of various disciplines suchas Sociology, Semiotics, GenderTheory, Anthropology, ReceptionTheory, and Hermeneutics. The scope ofthis Seminar is to explore key aspects ofGreek and Roman Art and Architecture,and to assess the current state of the dis-cipline by reviewing and subjecting itscurrent larger theoretical implications,methodologies, and directions ofresearch to critical scrutiny.

All lectures are on Thursdayevenings at 6:00 PM. Please check backfor RSVP information.

Upcoming Lectures 2015January 29, 2015

Stefano Vassallo, Superintendency ofPalermo, “The New Excavations inthe Necropolis of Himera.”

February 26, 2015

Jenifer Neils, Elsie B. Smith Professorin the Liberal Arts, Department ofClassics, Case Western ReserveUniversity, “The Shield of theAthena Parthenos: A NewReconstruction.”

April 2, 2015

Verena Gassner, Professor, Universityof Vienna, “The HellenisticSanctuaries of Velia.”

April 14, 2015

Paul Zanker, Professor of Storiadell’Arte Antica, Scuola NormaleSuperiore, Pisa: Lecture title forth-coming.

April 29, 2015

Michael Squire, Lecturer, King’sCollege, London, “Homer and theEkphrasists: Text and Image in theElder Philostratus’s Scamander(Imagines I.1)”

Past lectures of interest

Alessandro Naso (Direttore dell’Istitutodi Studi sull’Oriente Antico delCNR), “Verucchio fuori Verucchio:intagli in ambra dall’Artemision diEfeso),” on the theme of Balticamber, of which the excavations inthe sanctuary of Artemis at Ephesushave yielded over 700 pieces, whichcompare with Etruscan and Italicmanufacture. August 26, 2014,Museo di Verucchio.

Steve Lauritano (Yale University andFellow in the Berlin Program forAdvanced German and EuropeanStudies, Freie Universität, Berlin),“Have Caryatids, Will Travel: KarlFriedrich Schinkel’s Architecture inMotion,” May 1, 2014, DaheshMuseum of Art, New York.” Whenan unknown ancient craftsman firstdecided to substitute a sculptedfemale body for a load-bearing col-umn, a curiously contradictory ele-ment entered the architecturalvocabulary: a “caryatid” is a fixed,structural member who, by virtue ofher human form and gesture, sug-gests a capacity for movement. Suchfigures appeared only rarely duringantiquity, yet the nineteenth centurywitnessed a surge in the caryatid’spopularity, with female architecturalsupports popping up acrossEuropean cities from London toBerlin. This lecture follows asequence of these “modern” cary-atids in the projects of Karl FriedrichSchinkel.

Rocca Albernoz Lecture Series, Viterbo,Museo Nazionale Etrusco:

Simona Carosi, “Demetra in Grecia,Etruria e Roma: storie dal mito e dalculto,” April 12, 2014.

Enrico Parlato, “Agnoscite heroesvestros: Annio, Viterbo e le immagi-ni,” May 8, 2014.

Stefano De Angeli, “Testimonianzedella cultura artistica augustea egiulio-claudia a Falerii Novi,” May22, 2014.

Franco Campus, “L’isola dei nuraghi e ilMediterraneo tra II e I milennioa.C.,” February 26, 2014, MuseoNazionale di Villa Giulia, in connec-tion with the exhibit “La Sardegnadei 10,000 nuraghi: simboli e mitidal passato.”

Ken Lapatin (Associate Curator ofAntiquities, J. Paul Getty Museum),“What’s in a Name: Signatures onClassical Gems, Ancient andModern,” Greek and Roman

Seminar, February 27, 2014, TheInstitute of Fine Arts, New YorkCity.

Paolo Xella (Università di Pisa, ISMA-CNR), “Il tofet: tradizioni rituali easpetti del culto nel mondo fenicio-punico,” May 9, 2014, MuseoNazionale di Villa Giulia.

Museo Civico Archeologico “IsidoroFalchi” Vetulonia: Archeologia sottole stele 2014: Circoli di pietra inEtruria:

Giovannangelo Camporeale, “Tomba esocietà a Vetulonia: dai pozzi aitumuli monumentali,” August 2.

Enrico Pelegrini, “Le tombe a circolo diGrotte di Castro, nella Val di Lago,”August 9.

Giuseppina Carlotta Cianferoni, “I gran-di circoli femminili di Vetulonia,”August 16.

François Lissarague (Ecole des HautesEtudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris;2014 Sather Lecturer, University ofCalifornia at Berkeley), “Body andArmor: the Aesthetics of HeroicWarriors in Attic Vase Painting,”May 13, 2014, New York University.

Giovani Belardi and Elvira Cajano(Funzionari architettiSoprintendenza per i BeniArchitettonici e Paesaggisti),“Pantheon, Manutenzione e restaurodella cupola e della porta monumen-tale,” and “Sant’Andrea della Valle:Argumentazione sul restauro e con-servazione del travertino,” March 6,2014, Museo Nazionale di VillaGiulia.

Irad Malkin (Tel Aviv University),“Mobility, migration, and the emer-gence of the polis: critical approach-es to Greek colonization,” October6, 2014, New York University.

Nancy T. de Grummond (Florida StateUniversity), “Divination by Thunderand Lightning in EtruscanReligion,” Third Annual Mario delChiaro Lecture, March 5, 2014,University of California at Berkeley.

Massimo Osanna, “I santuari di Pompeiin età augustea,” in Oebalus lectureseries VII, Piano di Sorrento: Unastoria di terra e di mare, November21, 2014, Città di Piano di Sorrento.

Jean Macintosh Turfa (University ofPennsylvania), “Foretold byThunder: An Etruscan Book ofOmens Revealed,” December 7,2014, University of Pennsylvania.

Pietro Pucci (Cornell University),“Iliad, Book 22: Hector andAchilles,” October 10, 2014,Fordham University, Lincoln CenterCampus.

Laurent Haumesser (Conservateur enchef, Département des antiquitésgrecques, étrusques e romaines,Musée du Louvre), “EuropeanArchitects and the rediscovery ofEtruria in the 19th century: from SirJohn Soane to Charles Garnier,”Annual Eva Laurent MemorialLecture, May 2, 2014, BritishMuseum.

Pontificia Accademia Romana diArcheologia, April 3, 2014, Le ricer-che dell’Università “La Sapienza” aVeio:

Gilda Bartoloni, “Il cane di terracotta.”Francesca Boitani, Folco Biagi, Sara

Neri, “Mura e porte urbiche.” Ugo Fusco, “I culti nel sito di Campetti,

area S-O, dall’età arcaica a quellaimperiale.”

The Center for the AncientMediterranean, The ItalianAcademy, Columbia University:

Angelos Chaniotis (Institute forAdvanced Study, Princeton),“Greece after Sunset: From nightstories to a history of the night.”February 13, 2014.

T.V. Buttrey, “Caesar at Play: ThreeInstances in 44 BC,” September 5,2014.

Anna Boozer (CUNY, Baruch College),“An Archaeology of ImperialBorderlands: A View from RomanEgypt and Sudan,” September 12,2014.

LecturesPontificia Accademia

Romana di Archeologia

Le ricerche dell’Università

“La Sapienza” a VeioApril 3, 2014

Gilda Bartoloni: “Il cane di terracotta.”Francesca Boitani, Folco Biagi, Sara

Neri: “Mura e porte urbiche.” Ugo Fusco: “I culti nel sito di Campetti,

area S-O, dall’età arcaica a quellaimperiale.”

The tumulus is bordered by thin stone slabs inserted vertically intothe ground, beyond which are equidistant pairs of larger monoliths.

The tumulus of San Jacopo, Pisa(Photo by Opaxir)

The Etruscans & European Culture,

continued from page 13

also look at new evidence for the publi-cation of Thomas Dempster’s DeEtruria Regali by Thomas Coke in1723, the role of the Etruscan Academyat Cortona in promulgating the Etruscandiscoveries, and the curiously success-ful and adventurous nature of Etruscanfakes during this period. (Fig.5)

Needless to say, the important exhi-bition at the Museo dell’AccademiaEtrusca e della Città di Cortona in thesummer of 2014, “Seduzione Etrusca,”was a major influence in the choice ofthe theme for the conference. TheBritish Museum loaned over 40 objectsto the project, the largest single Etruscanloan to any venue from the BM to date,chosen by the Cortona organizers toreflect the archaeology of the localregion.

The essential theme of “SeduzioneEtrusca” was the attraction of the Britishto Etruscology, while the role of theAccademia Etrusca di Cortona as theearliest institution devoted to Etruscanstudies was fully explored. The twoinstitutions vie with each other as theearliest museums open to the public, theMAEC opening in 1727 and the BritishMuseum in 1759. The British Museumwas proud to support the exhibition aspart of its significant loans program,since it is the foremost lender of antiqui-ties in the world.

The conference will include theBritish Museum’s annual Etruscan lec-ture, which we are very pleased to

announce is now the Barker Etruscanlecture, kindly funded by the Romannumismatist and British MuseumMember Graham Barker. The event waspreviously known as the Eva LorantMemorial Lecture, but when the fundingfrom Ms. Lorant’s bequest expired,Graham generously stepped in and isalso supporting the conference, one ofthe principal benefits being that we arenow able to offer twenty free places tostudents.

The inaugural Barker lecture will begiven by Dr. Tom Rasmussen, EmeritusProfessor, Manchester University, enti-tled “Burials, bandits and bucchero:Dennis of Etruria.” It is a particularpleasure to welcome Tom back as hegave the inaugural Lorant lecture fifteenyears ago in 1999.

Confirmed speakers at the conferenceinclude Laurent Haumesser (Musée duLouvre), Giovannangelo Camporeale(Emeritus Professor of Etruscology andItalic Antiquities, University ofFlorence, Chairman of the IstitutoNazionale di Studi Etruschi ed Italiciand Lucumo of the MAEC), PaoloBruschetti (Soprintendenza ai BeniArcheologici di Orvieto), Nancy DeGrummond (Florida State University),Suzanne Reynolds (FitzwilliamMuseum), Ingrid Rowland (Universityof Notre Dame, Indiana), Susanna Sarti(Soprintendenza per I Beni Archeologicidella Toscana), Corinna Riva(University College London), JudithSwaddling and Dirk Booms (bothBritish Museum).

International Conference

An Etruscan affair: the

impact of early Etruscan

discoveries on

European cultureBritish Museum

May 29 - 30, 2015

This conference considers how richand exciting Etruscan discoveries inTuscany, Lazio and Umbria inspiredartists, architects, scholars, and some ofthe earliest tourists.

The conference includes 15 papersand the Barker Etruscan lecture, kindlyfunded by Graham Barker. The lecturer,Dr. Tom Rasmussen of the University ofManchester, will present “Burials, ban-dits and bucchero: Dennis of Etruria.”

Etruscan Art to

Roman Art?A Reappraisal

Oxford University

October 1-2, 2014

October 1, 2014

”Mid-Italic Hellenism,” MaurizioHarari (Pavia).

”Etruscan Influence on PraenestineMirrors and Cistae,” L. Bouke vander Meer (Leiden).

“The Roman Scarab Beetle: TheReception of an Etruscan Tradition,”Claudia Wagner (Oxford).

”Architectural Mouldings and LatinIdentity,” Stephen Smith (RoyalHolloway).

”Etruscan, Faliscan, and RomanPortraits, 4th-2nd Century BC,”Nigel Spivey (Cambridge).

”Sources of Roman Hellenism:Consuetudo Italica and LocalReception,” Mario Torelli (Perugia).

October 2, 2014

“The Triumph in Rome and Etruria,”Nancy de Grummond (FloridaState).

”Insights and Innovations of EtruscanWall Painting and its Influence onRoman Art,” Lisa Pieraccini(Berkeley).

”Etruscan Influence in Roman Wall-Painting,” Katharina Lorenz(Nottingham).

”The Mausoleum of Augustus andEtruscan Precedents,” PeterHolliday (California StateUniversity, Long Beach).

”The Corinth Puteal and EtruscanizingRoman Art,” Susan Walker(Oxford).

In 2014, the National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia,launched "12 faces of the Etruscans, year at the Museum ofTarquinia" free monthly tours, and a series of beautiful posters.

Bonfante delivering a fascinating talkon “Runes and Amber: The Etruscans asmediators between the Classical Worldand Central Europe,” in June 2014, andProf. Jean MacIntosh Turfa scheduled tospeak in May 2015.

Our most recent event was a work-shop on October 1 and 2, 2014 entitled“Etruscan Art to Roman Art? AReappraisal,” organized by the ClassicalArt Research Centre with generous sup-port from Jean-David Cahn, the ThomasWhitcombe Greene Fund, and the LorneThyssen Research Fund for AncientWorld Topics at Wolfson College.Unlike a traditional conference designedto disseminate research via conferenceproceedings, the workshop format waschosen in order to bring scholars fromdifferent fields together to discuss freelynew perspectives with the potential toinfluence future studies of ancient art.Thought-provoking topics included thenewest perspectives on “mid-ItalicHellenism,” the sophistication ofpatrons and artisans, the problematicnotion of identity, possibly indigenouselements of Augustan propaganda, andconnections between Etruscan andRoman wall painting. It was shown thatthe Republican and early Imperial peri-ods are particularly engaging contextsfor studying the Etruscans and theirlegacy and offer much for scholars ofboth pre-Roman and Roman Italy.

Over the next five years we aim toconsolidate these advances and to con-tinue to increase the number of studentsworking on pre-Roman material inOxford. To that end, approaches fromprospective students are most welcome,particularly at masters and doctorallevel; please help us to spread the word!

The Etruscans at Oxford,

continued from page 1

JOURNALSIn the Journals

Herom: Journal on Hellenistic andRoman Material Culture (2-2013Leuven University Press), thematicissue on, “Artefact Variability,Assemblage Differentiation, andIdentity Negotiation: DebatingCode-Switching in MaterialCulture,” composed and edited byKristina Winther-Jacobsen. Alsoincludes Kathryn Lomas, “Languageand Iconography: the Identity ofSubgroups in Italian FuneraryMonuments.”

Ralph M. Rosen, “Homer and Jazz,”New Ohio Review 7 (Spring 2010)153-161.

Journal of Intercultural andInterdisciplinary Archaeology (JIIA)announces the forthcoming thematicissue: “Consumption of perfumedoil in the ancient Mediterranean andNear East: funerary rituals and othercase studies / Consumo di olii profu-mati nel Mediterraneo e Vicino eMedio Oriente: riti funerari ed altriusi,” Antonella D’Ascoli, editor.

Ocnus 21 (2013):

Michele Scalici, “I cantaroidi in areanord-lucana. Proposta di classifi-cazione.”

Franco Cambi, Caterina Xue HaiChiesa, Enrico Maria Giuffré, LuisaZito, “Le mura dell’acropoli diPopulonia. Inquadramento crono-logico ed elementi per una nuovadatazione.”

Giuseppe Lepore, Federica Galazzi,Michele Silani, “Nuovi dati sullaromanizzazione dell’ager senogal-liensis: un pagus a Madonna delPiano di Corinaldo?”

Gaia Roversi, “Contributo allaconoscenza del popolamento antico

nella Valle del Reno attraverso lostudio dei materiali del sito delSassatello (Marzabotto), con Nota diLuisa Mazzeo Saracino.”

Simone Rambaldi, “La chiave romana atesta di cane da Mevaniola.”

Andrea Valmori, “Frammenti di deco-razione architettonica romana dalsito di S. Maria Maggiore a Trento.”

Massimiliano David, “Un nuovo comp-lesso edilizio pubblico a Ostia anti-ca. Prime annotazioni sulle Termedel Sileno.”

Antonio Curci, “Working with 3D datain Zooarchaeology: potential andperspectives.”

Margarita Gleba, Jean MacIntosh Turfa,“Digging for archaeological textilesin museums: New Finds in theUniversity of Pennsylvania Museumof Archaeology and Anthropology,”Proceedings of the 9th NorthEuropean Symposium forArchaeological Textiles (2005).

Tomaso Di Fraia, “Alle origini di unostatus symbol etrusco-romano: latessitura in Etruria tra Bronzo Finalee primo Ferro,” Preistoria eProtostoria in Etruria: Atti delDecimo Incontro di Studi, L’Etruriadal Paleolitico al Primo Ferro: lostato delle ricerche, volume II(Centro Studi di Preistoria eArcheologia Milano).

Giovanni Verri, Margarita Gleba, JudithSwaddling, Timothy Long, JanetAmbers and Tomasina Munden,“Etruscan Women’s clothing and itsdecoration: the polychrome gypsumstatue from the ‘Isis Tomb’ at Vulci,”Technical Research Bulletin, BritishMuseum 8 (2014) 59-71.

Paola Di Silvio, “L’incanto perduto.”On Norchia, the Etruscan “Petra.”ARCHEO 30 (2014) 40-50.

TARQUINIA (VT) - Necropoli Scataglini: from left, StephanSteingräber, Adele Cecchini, Beatrice Casocavallo, Chiara SciosciaSantoro, Sara Costantini. “I DIAVOLI ROSSI” organizational staff ofone of the events that the Association "Friends of the painted tombsof Tarquinia" promoted in 2012 to raise funds for the preservation andmaintenance of the painted tombs of Tarquinia, in accord with theSoprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell’ Etruria Meridionale.

www.amicitombeditarquinia.eu

Previous Haynes Lectures

at Oxford2009: David Ridgway: “Greece, Etruria,and Rome: relationships and reciproci-ties.”2010: Jette Christiansen: “The Etrusc-ans in their Mediterranean Setting.”2011: Friedhelm Prayon: “Tombs andPalaces in Archaic Etruria and Latium.”Available as podcast: see “Online” sec-tion.2012: Stephan Steingräber: “FiveCenturies of Etruscan Painting, 700–200 BC: Recent discoveries andresearch.”2013: Nancy De Grummond: “Etruscan

The Pyrgi Plaques:

A ceremony to celebrate

the 50 Year Anniversary of

their DiscoveryThe plaques were found in July 1964

by Prof. Giovanni Colonna. Theanniversary of the important discoverywas celebrated in June during a ceremo-ny organized by the current director ofthe archaeological superintendency,D.ssa Rossella Zaccagnini, theSuperintendent for the archaeologicalsites of southern Etruria. Consideringthe plaques’ bilingual significance, themaintainance of strong friendshipsbetween peoples on opposite sides ofthe Mediterranean is key. To this end,the Ambassador of Tunisia and theLebanese consul in Italy were invited to

the ceremony representing the ancientpeoples of both Carthage and Phoenicia.They then planted near the archaeologi-cal site two trees as a harbinger of peacein the Mediterranean: a cedar ofLebanon and an olive tree. The superin-tendent for southern Etruria, D.ssaAlfonsina Russo, introduced the cere-mony bt thanking the Tunisian and

On beach at Santa Severa, Alfonsina Russo and ambassadors from Carthage and Lebanon plant trees.

Human Sacrifice in Ritual and Myth.”2014: Larissa Bonfante: “Runes andAmber: The Etruscans as MediatorsBetween the Classical World andCentral Europe.” Available as podcast:see “Online” section.2015: Jean McIntosh Turfa, “’Pirates ofPopulonia?’ The myth of Etruscan pira-cy in the Mediterranean.” Jean Turfawill also be speaking in May 2015 inLondon, for the classical seminar at theInstitute of Classical Studies, on “TheBrontoscopic Calendar: MeldingEtruscan wisdom with Mesopotamiantablet texts;” and in Cambridge, againon “The myth of Etruscan piracy.”

Lebanese diplomats, local authorities(mayors were present from Cerveteri,Ladispoli and Santa Marinella, also rep-resenting the people of ancient Kaisra),volunteers from the archaeological

group for the territory of Cerite, whohad restored for the occasion the circuitof polygonal walls surrounding RomanPyrgi. She also introduced the re-enact-ment of the discovery.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Workshop

The Fabric of Life:

Approaches to

Textile Resources,

Economy and

Production in Ancient ItalyBritish School at Rome/ Villa Giulia

26 February 2015

Organizers: Margarita Gleba andRomina Laurito

In the past few years the field ofarchaeological textile research has wit-nessed a major dynamism as demon-strated by numerous conferences andpublications on the topic, as well asestablishment of large-scale interdisci-plinary collaborative programs, such asthe Centre for Textile Research fundedby the Danish National ResearchFoundation (2005-2015) and the pan-European project Clothing andIdentities - New Perspectives onTextiles in the Roman Empire (DressID)funded by the European UnionEducation, Audiovisual and CultureExecutive Agency (2007-2012). Theseactivities demonstrate not only that thefield holds great potential in elucidatingmany aspects of past cultures, such aseconomy, technology, trade, fashion andreligion, but also that at the momentthere is a developing energy, expertiseand collaborative will to draw from. Thenecessary next step is to lead this grow-ing field into answering some of thefundamental questions of archaeology,where evidence for textiles has hithertobeen virtually unexplored.

Compared to Central and NorthernEurope, textile research in Italy has beena rather neglected field. The reason mostoften cited for the absence of studies onancient textiles in Italy is their extreme-ly poor preservation. Textiles, however,are much more common finds than gen-erally thought and survive in originalorganic state but also as carbonized andmineralized traces, as well as in theform of imprints. In addition, there arenumerous other sources of evidence,such as textile tools, palaebotanic andarchaeozoological remains, as well asiconographic and literary sources,which permit us to gain valuable infor-mation about many and varied aspectsof textile production in ancient Italy.The scientific methods have been or arebeing developed within archaeology

(such as ancient DNA studies, isotopictracing) that can be applied to gain newknowledge about ancient textiles on anunprecedented scale. The interdiscipli-nary workshop will gather specialiststogether to discuss the various methodsand approaches to textile and fibre stud-ies in ancient Italy. The overall aim ofthis session is to demonstrate the poten-tial of archaeological textiles for theinvestigation of ancient Italian econo-my, technology and agriculture and todiscuss new methods that can be appliedto the investigation of ancient textiles.

AM - British School at Rome

IntroductionChristopher Smith (Director, BSR):

Welcome.Margarita Gleba (Cambridge):

“Archaeological textiles of Italy.” Susanna Harris (UCLA) : “Textile

iconography.”Session 1: Raw materialsMauro Rottoli (Musei Civici di Como):

“Flax, hemp and wool: new data oniron age from pollen, macroremainsand fabrics in Northern and CentralItaly.”

Angela Trentacoste (Sheffield), onArchaeozoology, sheep.

Session 2: Textiles and textsMarta Bazzanella (Museo Trento):

“Prehistoric textile production innorthern Italy.”

Annemarie Stauffer (FachhochschuleKoeln): “Men’s garments fromVerucchio 700 BC.”

Peder Flemestad (Copenhagen): “Italictextile terminologies.”

Berit Hildebrandt: “Roman statues andtheir clothing: What can we deduceabout textiles from our evidence?”

PM – Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Etrusco di Villa Giulia

Introduction Alfonsina Russo (Soprintendente

dell’Etruria Meridionale): Welcome. Romina Laurito (Sopr. Etruria

Meridionale/Uni CPH): “Strumentida filatura e da tessitura nell’Etruriameridionale.”

Session 3 - Textile ProductionHedvig Landenius Enegren: “Archaic

Sicily - loom weights and identity.”Francesco Meo ( Salento): “Textile pro-

duction in pre-Roman southernItaly”.

Maria Stella Busana and AnnaritaTricomi (Padova): “Textile

Archaeology in Roman Venetia.”Session 4 - Experimental archaeology Cristina Lemorini (Roma) and Assunta

Perilli: “Textile tools and experi-mental archaeology.”

Ettore Pizzutti: “Textile tools fromVerucchio.” “

Jacopo Tabolli (MAVNA): “From the1890 notebooks to the MAVNAMuseum: the identity of Narcethrough spinning and weaving at LaPetrina.”

AIA Site Preservation

Grant Awarded to Ancient

Necropolis Site in Italy

The Archaeological Institute ofAmerica awarded its most recent “SitePreservation Grant” to “AdoptingNarce,” a preservation and outreachproject at the ancient Faliscan town ofNarce, Italy; it is directed by Dr. JacopoTabolli of the Archaeological & VirtualMuseum of Narce. The grant will sup-port a series of programs to encouragethe rediscovery and adoption of thearchaeological site by the local commu-nity.

Narce is home to over twentynecropoleis, the longest used and mostimportant of which is La Petrina. LaPetrina, used consistently from the 8thto the 3rd centuries BC, includes a seriesof tombs that provide a wealth of infor-mation on the evolution of the townfrom its foundation to its ultimatedestruction in Roman times. Despite itsrarity and importance, La Petrina facesseveral serious threats, including lack offunding for maintenance, looting, litter-ing, and plant overgrowth. AIA supportwill help distinguish the boundaries ofthis necropolis through the creation ofan archaeological trail with interpretivesignage and establish a volunteer-basedmaintenance crew that will help in thecleanup and general protection of thesite year round.

In addition to involving the localcommunity in direct preservation of thesite, the Adopting Narce project willprovide residents and visitors withopportunities to delve deeper into therich history of Narce through a series ofarchaeology activities for schoolgroups, site tours, and seminars foradults. The project’s goal is to encour-age the local community to establish aconnection with its ancient heritage thatwill lead to the long-term preservationof the necropolis.

Call For Papers

Motherhood

and PolytheismThe multi-author volume will analyse

some of the ways in which a polytheisticsystem is constructed and represented,with a focus on the issue of divine moth-erhood.

When a deity is represented in anthro-pomorphic form, is it male or female?And if represented as a female being, isit also a mother? A long-lasting traditiondefines a divine category as femalebased on women’s characteristics,focusing on the most important aspectof women’s life, motherhood. However,the meaning of such an apparently uni-versal concept as “mother” can signifi-cantly change depending on historicaland geographical context. What we, callmaternal might not match what ancientpeople and/or people from other geo-graphical zones call maternal. How is divine motherhood represent-

ed in other polytheistic religions?

The goal of this volume is to con-tribute to a better understanding ofmechanisms used in the construction ofpolytheistic religions. We have perhapsfocused our attention too much on poly-theism as it presents itself in theMediterranean Basin, too little on poly-theism elsewhere. We especially wel-come contributions that offer a glimpseof polytheism outside the classicalworld and / or help to enrich the debateon the desirable theoretical encounterbetween religious studies, gender stud-ies and motherhood studies.

The proposals, which should notexceed 500 words, must be received byMarch 31, 2015 to the following emailaddresses:[email protected];[email protected].

The accepted papers must be submit-ted in final form by September 2015.The final publication, from the publisherAracne, is scheduled for the end of2015. Organized by Giulia PedrucciChiara Terranova, and in Florence I.Pasche Guignard.

Abandoned tomb at Narce.

Dominique Frère and Laurent Hugot,eds., Étrusques. Les plus heureux deshommes. Études offertes au pro-fesseur Jean-René Jannot. PresseUniversitaire de Rennes 2014.

In the first section on Etruscan music,Dominique Briquel leads the way withan essay on the story of the invention ofthe trumpet by Tyrrhenos. This is fol-lowed by Claire Joncheray’s note on therelation of the trumpet to the goddessesJuno and Athena, and Jean-PaulThuillier’s note on music and sports inEtruria.

Section 2 takes up archaeologicalexcavations and the study of the materi-al: Françoise Gaultier updates the sur-vey of Etruscan material found inGreece with a report on the history oftwo recently cleaned Orientalizingbronze bands from Capena found atTiryns, and Jacques Santrot and Marie-Hélène Santrot study an Etruscanbronze olpe in the context of Etruscanfinds in Western Gaul and exchangesbetween the Atlantic and theMediteranean. Two contributions reporton the excavation of La Castellina,south of Civitavecchia, Gran Aymerich,and Jean Jacques Maffre, who studiessome fragments of Attic red-figure warefrom the site. Armando Cherici exam-ines some charming images of domesticanimals in Etruscan art often neglectedby scholars.

In the third section, on sanctuariesand religion, Bouke van der Meer sug-gests the gloss arse verse was a prayer;Vincent Jolivet looks at the use of theaedes for gods, men and the dead;Françoise Hélène Massa-Pairaultremarks on Etruscan elements in thearchaic temple of Apollo in Pompeii andthe meaning of the hydra; and Marie-Laurence Haack considers some eco-nomic aspects of the Etruscan sanctuaryof Gravisca.

The later history of Etruscan monu-ments, motifs and ideas in Section IVincludes the story of sale of the frescoesof the François tomb (LaurentHaumesser), the idea of the mundus inDante’s Inferno, Canto 31 (Jane K.Whitehead), and Romanesque lions onthe capitals of the church atMontefiascone that continue theOrientalizing motif of the leg-in-mouth(Larissa Bonfante). There follow logi-cally, in the section on Rome and theEast, Etruscan elements transmitted inRoman education of the youth (ThierryPiel), Mezentius and wine(Giovannangelo Camporeale), and howLycian and Etruscan sports contrasted

gious and social roles represented on thevases (Fernando Gilotta). SimonaRafanelli’s careful inventory of a tombgroup from Vetulonia says much aboutthe continuity of styles and types inVetulonia in the Classical period.

Finally, the fourth section on theHellenistic period brings us to red-fig-ure and Genucilia plates. The vasesstudied here include two new works bythe red-figure Painter of theCentauromachia (Stefano Bruni), a red-figure crater from Casole d’Elsa(Benedetta Adembri), and the Bostoncrater with Admetus and Alcestis(Françoise-Hélène Massa-Pairault); thelast discusses Del Chiaro’s interpreta-tion of side A as showing ServiusTullius, and compares it to the historicalart of the François tomb. An unpub-lished red-figure oinchoe in theCapitoline Museum is presented byVincent Jolivet, with his usual unusualtitle, “The Usual Suspects.” Two contri-butions deal with the Genucilia plates:Mario Torelli takes up the question oftheir function, the identity and meaningof the female head, and the name ofGenucilia, while the related study ofLaura Ambrosini connects the strikingimage of an eye seen in profile in themiddle of a plate with the frontal face,and examines the possible significanceof this motif. Dominique Briquel finds,among the Etruscan inscriptions of theLouvre, an askos stamped with the nameAtrane, a gentilicium from Perugia,probably the owner of the workshopwhose askoi (now numbering 25 or 28)were distributed in northern Etruria.The last contribution brings us intoEtruria in the Roman world, with astudy of the origin and influences ofmetal, thin-walled pottery and glass onthe popular skyphos and Kantharosshapes.

characters of the different cities; GildaBartoloni (with Acconcia and tenKortenar) compares the grave goodsfrom Veii, Cerveteri, Tarquinia, andVulci in order to better understand theways that the custom of wine drinkingwas taken over from the Greeks by theEtruscan aristocracy in southern Etruria.Closely related is a study of amphoraefrom Veii (Francesca Boitani, FolcoBiagi, and Sara Neri). The recovery ofa group of Etruscan objects in Americalets us participate in a museum detectivestory. Part of the material from a tombat Vulci had been bought by the FieldMuseum in Chicago from ArthurFrothingham in 1896; over a hundredyears later, twenty-eight more vaseswere found in the University ofPennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia,and the tomb group was recovered infull (Richard De Puma, Ann Brownlee).Articles on the distribution of White onRed pottery in Italy (Marina Micozzi),and of bucchero in Etruria and the west-ern Mediterranean (Jean GranAymerich) are followed by my personalfavorite, the Etruscan “leg in mouth”motif (Tom Rasmussen), which waseagerly taken up by Celts to the north,and proliferated in the decoration ofRomanesque churches. Etruscan pot-tery at Gabii (Gabriel Zuchtriegel),Etrusco-Corinthian amphorae(Vincenzo Bellelli), and Etrusco-Corinthian and Etrusco-Geometric pot-tery in the Marche (Alessandra Coen),round out this rich section.

The Archaic period sees the use ofstamped decoration of braziers andpithoi from Caere (Luigi Donati, LisaPieraccini), the adventurous travels ofthe works of the Codros Painter (JeanMacIntosh Turfa), and many contribu-tions on Black Figure (CharlotteScheffer, Anna Maria Moretti Sgubiniand Laura Ricciardi, Marina Martelli,Giulio Paolucci). I was intrigued by theaccount of the market for Attic vases inVulci (Adriano Maggiani), and Etruscanfeatures of architecture represented onEtruscan vases (Ingrid Edlund-Berry).

The third section has four contribu-tions. Marta Scarrone suggests that theinscriptions on the Praxias vase, arnthe

and praxias, usually taken to be signa-tures, actually record the gift that thenaturalized Etruscan citizen Arnthegives his Greek friend Praxias. In thefifth century, stamnoid amphorae aretypical of Vetulonia (Mario Cygielman).The complicated relationship betweenEtruria, Greece and Magna Graecia inthe “Interimzeit” is reflected in the reli-

Brief Book Reviewsby Larissa Bonfante

Two French Festschrifts honor MarioDel Chiaro and Jean-René Jannot, twoscholars who have made their mark onEtruscan studies and advanced the disci-pline in meaningful ways.

Laura Ambrosini and Vincent Jolivet,eds., Les Potiers d’Étrurie et leurmonde. Contacts, échanges, transferts.Hommages à Mario A. Del Chiaro.Paris 2014, Armand Colin,Recherches.

The volume, dedicated to Mario A.Del Chiaro, whose works on theGenucilia plates marked a turning pointin the study of Etruscan pottery andworkshops, opens with a brief biogra-phy by Lisa Pieraccini and a bibliogra-phy by Laura Ambrosini, one of the co-editors, and ends with a welcomeConclusion by Vincent Jolivet, the otherhalf of the editorial team.

The 32 contributions are organizedchronologically in four parts: I.Orientalizing period, the banquet andthe symposium; II. Archaic period,Etruria conquers new markets; III.Classical period, craftsmen and com-missions; IV. Hellenistic period,towards mass production.

The focus on the banquet and sympo-sium gives a unity to the first section,which includes the study of metal andimpasto kantharoi (GiovannangeloCamporeale), and the medical observa-tion that reclining on the left side helpsthe digestion and avoids acid reflux(Maurizio Harari, on the Aristonothosvase). The importance and function ofdrinking wine has been much studied inrecent times, as have the individual

REVIEWS

Index. What sets this one apart is thatthe author was quite appropriatelyallowed to have illustrations – there are17 of them, including useful maps, ofItaly and Etruria, and of some of thecities, all of them in sober black andwhite, but important in that they remindthe reader that most of the evidence forthe Etruscan past is archaeological andvisual.

The book is organized into twelvebrief sections, the first dealing with theobligatory account of the question of theorigin of the Etruscans and the secondon the language, including a table ofalphabets. Historical sections follow, onthe development of the city state, theVillanovan revolution, and the transfor-mation of Etruria, which looks atVerucchio, the arrival of the Greeks andPithekoussai, natural resources, theEtruscan and the sea. Chapter 6, onEtruscan tomb painting and Etruscanart, and Chapter 8, on religion, is inter-rupted by a historical tour de force,Empire, crisis and response, 600-300BC. Chapter 10, entitled “Clothing andthe Roman Body,” has a good deal tosay about Etruscan women, citingTheopompus’ account of Etruscan cus-toms, which seem to include orgies, butmay actually have some factual basis,skewed by fourth-century Greek moral-ity and prejudice. Chapter 11, ImperialEpilogue, offers some interestinginstances of continuity. And finally, thechapter looks at the past, present andfuture of Etruscan studies.

Readers of Etruscan News will enjoythis bird’s eye view of the field by a his-torian. One hopes, too, that some whoare not aware of the existence of thisclassical civilization will come awaywith a basic idea of their geography,character and importance, and will becurious enough to read D.H. Lawrence’sCities and Cemeteries of Etruria, andperhaps even follow Dennis of Etruriain his exploration of the Etruscan coun-tryside, where olives and grapes are stilltransformed into prized wine and oliveoil, and where much is the same as inthe days of the Etruscans, and of theartists of the Renaissance who foundthere their inspiration.

originally accompanied the 2013-2014exhibit at the Musée Maillol in Paris,sponsored by the UNESCO, in collabo-ration with the Italian Ministero deiBeni Culturali e del Turismo, and con-tains essays by specialists in the field.

The first chapter, by FrancescoBuranelli, surveys the Villanovan revo-lution and the beginning of Etruscancivilization. Chapter 2 deals with thecontacts with other Mediterranean civi-lizations, and includes a section by AnnaMaria Moretti Sgubini followed byEnrico Benelli’s observations on thebirth of writing. In Chapter 3,Francesca Boitani introduces the topicof princely luxury, and she and AnnaMaria Moretti Sgubini, her collaboratorfor so many years at the Villa Giulia,tackle the introduction to the section onEtruscan achievements. These includethe temple (Claudia Carlucci), the godsand the etrusca disciplina (LuigiMalnati), houses (Claudia Carlucci),and daily life, including banquet andsymposion, eros, and sports (LauraAmbrosini). Finally, Michel Graswrites about the Etruscans and interac-tions in the Mediterranean, with contri-butions by Francesca Boitani onGravisca and Caterina Cornelio onSpina.

Christopher Smith, The Etruscans. AVery Short Introduction. Oxford,Oxford University Press, 2014.

At last, the Etruscans have their veryown Very Short Introduction, written bya Roman historian, who as Director ofthe British School at Rome, is in afavored position to keep up with the lat-est conferences, controversies, lecturesand discoveries, as well as being a nextdoor neighbor of the Etruscan Museumat Villa Giulia. The Very ShortIntroduction format calls for extremebrevity, a bit of Further Reading and an

exports and trade; the striking photo-graphs of Etruscan bridges, hills andrivers, roads with tagliate in the rocksthat we see in this and other books doc-ument various instances of this varied,dramatic and picturesque landscape.The volcanic nature of the land carveddeep gorges for the rivers that theybridged, and created the possibility ofusing the thermal waters that came tothe surface. But on a deeper level, itinfluenced Etruscan life and thinking.Volcanic soil favors lightning. Theauthor, aware of the importance of thun-der and lightning in Etruscan religion,cites recent discoveries in this area,which provide an interesting back-ground for Jean MacIntosh Turfa’srecent study of their BrontoscopicCalendar. The cuniculi, the rock-cuttombs, the thunderbolts of Tinia andJove all take on a deeper meaning – theycome from the earth, and the sky.

The book also examines the travels ofVergil in the Underworld in the light ofgeological phenomena. The author illus-trates this section with a charming set ofmedieval miniatures showing nakedwomen frequenting the baths that willcure infertility, as well as with thedescriptions of poets who came to visit,and experience, Vesuvius. A chapter ongems is inspired by a passage in Dante;there is a short, beautifully illustratedchapter on Leonardo and the Nature ofThings, and one on caves and their psy-chology. All in all a wonderful read,whose often curious information andnew ideas come from a different disci-pline to intrigue and enrich us.

Étrusques. Un Hymne à la vie. 2013.Paris, Fondation Dina Vierny - MuséeMaillol.This volume of essays on the Etruscans

with Greek athletic traditions (FabienneColas-Rannou).

Jean-René Jannot’s bibliography clos-es the volume. His publications, whichare elsewhere described as adding colorand perfume to archaeological studies,include Jane Whitehead’s translation ofhis Devins, dieux et demons (1998) asThe Religion of Ancient Etruria (2005).

Ann C. Pizzorusso. Tweeting Da Vinci.New York, Da Vinci Press, 2014. Alsopublished in Italian, with the title,Twittando Da Vinci.

The author is a professional geolo-gist, formerly with the EPA, who turnedher technical talents to art historical andarchaeological questions. An ardentlover of Italy and an Etruscophile, shenow lives in Naples. She famouslysolved the long-standing controversyabout the two versions of Da Vinci’sMadonna of the Rocks, one in theLouvre in Paris and the other in theNational Gallery in London; she camedown decisively on the side of theMadonna in the Louvre on the basis ofthe perfect mastery of geology of therocks represented. This article, and sev-eral others, equally intriguing, areincluded in the book, which has as itssubject the geology of Italy. The titlerefers to her remark that Leonardo, if hewere alive today, would be in the fore-front of technological and scientificinnovations.

“Italy, Born from the Sea” sets thestage. Then the reader is taken to theland of the Etruscans, characterized by“gases, radiations, thermal waters, mag-netic anomalies and thermodynamiceffects.” The geological make up of theEtruscan area provided them with theirmineral resources, and grew the vinesand olive trees that nourished their

context. Those from Rome and Carthagewere first thought to be tesserae hospi-

tales, pledges of hospitality for travel-ers. Because they were found in suchdifferent contexts, the authors suggestthat they were used at a variety of socialfunctions, which would explain thepresence of women’s names.

First Words continued from p.33,

Josephine Crawley Quinn, NicholasC. Vella, eds., The PunicMediterranean. Identities and Identification fromPhoenician Settlement to Roman Rule.British School at Rome Studies.Cambridge University Press, 2014.

The role of the Phoenicians in theeconomy, culture and politics of theancient Mediterranean was as large asthat of the Greeks and Romans, anddeeply interconnected with that “classi-cal” world, but their lack of literatureand their oriental associations mean thatthey are much less well-known. Thisbook brings state-of-the-art internation-al scholarship on Phoenician and Punicstudies to an English-speaking audi-ence, collecting new papers from fifteenleading voices in the field from Europeand North Africa, with a bias towardsthe younger generation. Focusing on aseries of case-studies from the colonialworld of the western Mediterranean, itasks what “Phoenician” and “Punic”actually mean, how Punic or westernPhoenician identity has been construct-ed by ancients and moderns, andwhether there was in fact a “Punicworld.”

BOOK REVIEWS

Paolo Xella, ed. The tophet in the

Phoenician Mediterranean. Studi

Epigrafici e Linguistici sul Vicino

Oriente Antico 30 (2013).

In “Tophet: An Overall Interpretation,”Paolo Xella, the editor, introduces thevolume with the following abstract:“This study aims at offering a generalinterpretation of the tophet-phenomenonin the light of present knowledge. Directas well as indirect sources are reexam-ined, and the hypothesis of the tophet aschild-necropolis is excluded. On thecontrary, it is analyzed as a cult-placewhere newborn or very young children(and lambs and kids) were sacrificed tothe gods as a consequence of a vow,made by a single, a family or a collectiv-ity. To be sure, ritual infant killings werenot the only ceremonies carried there,but archaeological evidence testifiesthat the very core of the rites was thechild-sacrifice. As a consequence, aninterpretive model is proposed, based onthe vowing-dynamics: if a vow wasmade, and the prayer was fulfilled bythe gods, the promise must be kept at allcosts. This interpretation matches withall our sources and can explain both thevotive character of the inscriptions andthe eventual (even if rare) presence offoetuses in the urns, i.e. children vowedto the gods already before the birth, anddead during the pregnancy, but carriedto the tophet, sacrificed and burnt to thegods all the same.”

The function of the tophet, hasaroused a great deal of controversy,especially in the context of the recentinterest in human sacrifice. Two articlesin recent issues of Antiquity have takenopposing views of the infant burials inthe “Tophet,” the precinct at Carthage,sacred to the goddess Tanit, that con-tained funerary urns of thousands of cre-mated infants. The first (Smith et al.2011) held that these must be evidenceof the infant sacrifice that was so loudly

Vincenzo Bellelli, ed., Le origini degliEtruschi: Storia, archeologia,antropologia. (Studia Archaeologica186). L’Erma di Bretschneider, Rome2012. Reviewed by Eóin O’Donoghue, AJA

Reviews Online, July 2014 (118.3)The volume under review emerged

from a conference held in Agrigento in2011. The theme was dedicated to theold, and highly controversial, questionof Etruscan origins. Traditionally thistopic has been studied singularly, typi-cally with historians, archaeologists, lin-guists, and others offering their owninterpretations independently of oneanother. Here Bellelli has successfullybrought scholars from these and otherdisciplines together to discuss new evi-dence and interpretations. This in itselfis worthy of note and represents a much-welcomed new standard in investigatingcontentious subjects in Italian archaeol-ogy. The aim of the volume is to inves-tigate Etruscan origins in light of thescholarship of Massimo Pallottino andothers. Pallottino had argued theEtruscans were autochthonous, but heallowed for a limited migration of NearEastern groups and ideas to Italy. It isthe extent of this latter contact and pos-sible small-scale migration that thisbook investigates…

Anthony Tuck and Rex Wallace, FirstWords. The Archaeology of Languageat Poggio Civitate. Catalogue ofExhibition in Murlo, Poggio Civitate,2013.

This brief (50 pages) catalogue offersinformation on the inscriptions fromMurlo exhibited at the site in thesummer of 2013. The ClassicsDepartment of the University ofMassachusetts Amherst and the PoggioCivitate Excavation co-sponsored theexhibit at the Murlo ArchaeologicalMuseum, the antiquarium in theComune of Murlo, dedicated to thePoggio Civitate excavation site.Anthony Tuck, the director of excava-tions at Poggio Civitate, curated theexhibition with the assistance ofClassics faculty and students at theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst.

The exhibit presented materials recov-ered from the University ofMassachusetts Amherst excavation site,an aristocratic Etruscan settlement ofthe 8th though 6th centuries BCE.Unlike most Etruscan sites, which areknown mainly through their cemeteries,Poggio Civitate preserves evidence of arange of different types of monumentalarchitecture. Over many years of exca-vation, different types of inscribedobjects have been recovered from thevarious buildings. Their archeologicalcontext provides the texts, and evidencethat helps us understand the social,political and economic forces that drivethe adaptation of literacy.

The companion catalog presents thevarious inscribed objects. Particularlyintriguing are the eight inscribed boneand ivory pieces, two of them inscribedwith women’s names. Two fragmentsbelong to a piece in the shape of a lion,inscribed on the back. It is remarkablysimilar to such lions from Rome andCarthage, which interestingly enough,come from completely different socialcontexts: the one from the sanctuary ofSan Omobono, in Rome, was found in avotive deposit, the Carthage examplecame from a burial, the Poggio Civitateexample was found in a residential left

Museo Nazionale Etrusco“Pompeo Aria”

e area archeologica dell’antica città di Kainua

Via Porrettana Sud n. 13 Marzabotto

Inverno con gli EtruschiAppuntamenti legati alla mostra

“Il Viaggio Oltre la Vita.

Gli Etruschi e l’Aldilà tra capolavori

e realtà virtuale”

at the Museo della Città di Bolognauntil February 22, 2015

OBITUARIESStephen G. Daitz

1926-2014

Stephen G. Daitz died June 19, 2014at home. He was Professor Emeritus ofthe Department of Classical Languagesand Hebrew at The City College and theCUNY Graduate Center.

His principal interest was the oralreading of ancient Greek and Latin, withgreat attention given to the “restoredpronunciation” of those languages aswell as the metrics of their poetry. Silentreading had no place in the study of theClassics, he maintained; their literaturewas composed to be recited aloud. Herecorded the entire Iliad and Odyssey,Euripides’ Hekabe, Aristophanes’ Birds,Plato’s Portrait of Sokrates, as well asselections of ancient Greek poetry andoratory. His recordings, made between1978 and 1998, are still available fromBolchazy-Carducci Publishers, as arethose teaching the pronunciation andreading of Ancient Greek and ClassicalLatin. He gave recitals and workshops atuniversities and scholarly meetingsthroughout North America and Europeas well as in Australia and Argentina. In1999 his recital of Greek literature waspresented at the Metropolitan Museumof Art to celebrate the opening of thenewly restored halls displaying ancientGreek art. He was the first president ofSORGLL, the Society for the OralReading of Greek and Latin Literature(see their web site). A group of studentsand teachers studied the Homeric hexa-meter with him on Saturday mornings inhis Upper West Side apartment.

Stephen Daitz’s education at Yale,the Sorbonne, and Harvard initially leadhim to the publication of critical edi-tions, but his love of music underpinnedhis resuscitation of the sounds ofClassical literature. He taught at CUNYfrom 1957 to 1991 and at the Universityof Paris in 1971-73 and 1979-80. Histeaching at the Ecole Normale

Donald Bailey

1931-2014by Catherine Johns

My husband Donald Bailey, who hasdied aged 83, was an internationallyrespected scholar of classical archaeolo-gy, especially in the field of Romanceramic studies. He combined meticu-

Superieure inspired the creation ofTheatre Demodocos, which presentsstaged productions of Classical drama inthe original language. A confirmedFrancophile, he spoke French at home,teaching all his children to speak thelanguage.

A lifelong outdoorsman, reachingthe summits of the Matterhorn and MontBlanc were among his proudest achieve-ments. He spent forty-five summers atGreat East Lake in Acton, Maine, nearNew Hampshire’s White Mountains,where he enjoyed hikes with family andfriends. Stephen Daitz was born onAugust 16, 1926 in New York City.

He is survived by his wife, Mimi S.Daitz of New York City, his sonMaurice and daughter-in-law SharonJaycox Daitz of Scarsdale, NY, his sonBenjamin of New York City andGardiner, NY, and his sister, SoniaLazar of Culver City, CA. He was pre-deceased by his daughter, Francesca. Amemorial gathering was held Sunday,September 21, 2014.

condemned by Greek and Roman writ-ers, since the infants were not perinatal,although most were under two monthsold at the time of death. In a rejoinder,Schwartz et al. (2012) argued that theCarthage Tophet was the place of burialfor the very young regardless of thecause of death. They estimated age atdeath between prenatal and six months,consistent with the recorded incidenceof perinatal mortality in certain societiesin recent periods. Here we close thedebate with two related papers. In thefirst of these, Patricia Smith and her co-authors return to argue that infant sacri-

Joan Breton Connelly, The Parthenon

Enigma. New York, Knopf, 2014.

The year 2014 saw the appearance ofwhat would seem at first glance anunlikely best seller, a book about theParthenon. But Joan Breton Connelly’sThe Parthenon Enigma was widelypraised – by Mary Beard in The NewYork Review of Books, among others --and widely bought, ranking in the lowfive figures in Amazon’s rating, and

near the top of the list for books onHistory or Greece. The author, aProfessor of Art History and Classics atNew York University, once received aMac Arthur “genius” award for herinterpretation of the central scene of theParthenon frieze, later published in AJA100 (1996) 53-80.

A child hands a folded cloth to thepriest. Up to now most scholars haveseen here a scene connected with thePanathenaic festival – the little boyhands the new peplos of Athena to thepriest as a gift to the goddess. In con-trast, Joan Connelly interprets the sceneas related to a story of early Athens toldin a play of Euripides. King Erechtheus,a founder of Athens, gives up hisyoungest daughter to be a human sacri-fice for the good of the new city. Herwell argued, controversial interpretationsees the little girl taking the tunic inwhich she will be dressed for the sacri-fice from her father, Erechtheus, whilethe women around them represent therest of the family.In this scenario, the girl who is sacri-ficed is as much a heroine as the youthwho is killed in war. The book tells thestory of the Parthenon from both the his-torical and the art historical point ofview, and is a very good read as well asa remarkable scholarly contribution.

found in the Mediterranean. Greeksculptures of the type did not ariseuntil several centuries later.

On a more speculative level,researchers have questioned whatabout these most recently discoveredsculptures prevented them from beingshattered by the Phoenicians ofCarthage that are currently believedto have been responsible for the site’sdestruction between the 10th and 8thcenturies B.C.

Culturally, it seems, remnants of

the Nuragic civilization responsible forthe sculptures was allowed to survive allthe way to the modern day. NicholasCastangia told La Repubblica thatgrooves along the giants’ faces, amongother elements, suggest that they werewearing masks quite similar to thosestill worn in traditional Sardinian cele-brations. While Castangia cautions thatit is unlikely that the masks were identi-cal, it suggests that certain ancestralrites have been passed down on theisland for more than 3,000 years.

Giants, continued from page 36

Tophet continued from page 34 fice is still (in their view) the most likelyinterpretation of the data, based on theage distribution of the deceased. In thesecond, Paolo Xella and colleagues, too,are convinced that infant sacrifice tookplace. They step aside from the detailsof the cremated remains, however, toemphasize a range of other social andarchaeological aspects of the Tophets inCarthage and elsewhere that are criticalfor understanding these sanctuaries andtheir rituals. See Paolo Xella, JosephineQuinn, Valentina Melchiorri and Petervan Dommelen, “Phoenician bones ofcontention.” Antiquity 87 (338) 2013,1199-1207.

lous curatorial work with research andpublication of the highest quality,inspired by, but by no means confinedto, the unrivalled collections of theBritish Museum, where he was a curatorfrom 1955 until his retirement in 1996.

His work made accessible large andimportant areas of the collections andwill have laid the foundation forresearch projects by archaeologists andhistorians in the future. He also pub-lished widely, and wrote the exhaustivefour-volume A Catalogue of the Lampsin the British Museum (1975-96). In1992 he received a doctor of lettersdegree based on a Council for NationalAcademic Awards assessment of hispublished work.

Donald was born in London. Hiseducation was disrupted by the SecondWorld War; when he attended WilliamEllis school in Highgate, it was knownas the North London Emergency sec-ondary school for boys. His interest inarchaeology started as a pupil there andhe first became involved in fieldworkwhile still a teenager, taking part in the1947-49 excavations of the Iron Agehillfort of Blewburton Hill, and also inIvor Noël Hume’s pioneering postwarurban archaeology in London. But therewas no academic or professional tradi-tion in Don’s family, so the possibilityof a university education never evenoccurred to him.

After leaving school and completinghis national service, he started work inPaddington public library. It was there,in 1955, that he saw a newspaper adver-tisement for museum assistant posts inthe British Museum, and decided toapply.

From the mid-1970s he regularlytook part in fieldwork in Libya, Greece,Italy and above all in Egypt, becomingrecognised as one of the leading schol-ars in the formerly somewhat neglectedfield of Romano-Egyptian archaeology.His expertise included not only ceramicstudies, including lamps and terracottas,but also many other aspects of classicalart and architecture in Egypt and else-where. His final publication, a report onthe pottery from several seasons offield-survey work in the Faiyum oasis inEgypt by a German papyrologist,Cornelia Römer, is due to be publishedthis year.

Donald was a gentle, generous andmodest man, with a quirky sense ofhumour. He is survived by me, his threechildren, Alison, Justin and Laura, fromhis first marriage, to Beryl, four grand-children and one great-grandson.

A thirty year dream:

Memories of

Angelo Bartoli,Experimenter of life and archaeology

by Francesca Ceci

There are many people who dream ofliving in a world of their own dimen-sions; few are those who manage tohave this dream and turn it into a suc-cessful and long-lasting reality. Onewho able to create and achieve this goalwas Angelo Bartoli, who passed away aton the night of February 25 at age 70.He was known to all readers, editors andcolumnists of the publication LaLoggia; they appreciated him for hisactivities in the cultural and economicdevelopment of archeology in Viterboand Etruria generally. I will not speakof my decades-long friendship with thisexceptional person, but what he builtduring his intense and passionate life.

In 1987 in Civitella Cesi, a remotevillage near Blera, Angelo conceived ofthe idea for the Center of ExperimentalArchaeology “Antiquitates,” which hethen created and directed. The center isstill a national and international land-mark in experimental archaeology, adiscipline that is still little known inItaly but very strong in other nations.

Experimental archaeology is basedon the practical approach to the ancienttechnology: how to mint a coin, how toforge a weapon or a metal tool, how tocraft a piece of jewelry or glass cup,decorate or paint ceramic vases, or howto recreate ancient essences and cosmet-ics. All are objects of daily life familiarto archaeologists. Experimentation,teaching, research practice, sharing anddebate characterize the spirit in whichAngelo Bartoli wanted to bring forthand develop “Antiquitates.”

He chose to build it in an isolatedand almost untouched landscape, nes-tled between valleys and necropoleis, inthe tiny village of Civitella Cesi, with itsclean streams, wild animals and stillunpaved ancient roads. Here, after firstdedicating the center to horseback rid-ing, he developed and expanded his pas-sion for archaeology and research intoancient techniques, with the support ofthe scientific community, archaeologistfriends and experts in the field. Out ofthis passion came the Villanovan hutsand the reconstructions of proto-historichouses with their complete furnishings;he dedicated technical labs and work-shops to the production of fragrances;he simulated excavations, and repro-

duced textile looms and musical instru-ments; he re-enacted ancient cere-monies.

And he recreated one of the mostbeautiful first gestures made by man inthe history of human development, thelighting of fire. Whenever I led a groupof friends and scholars around the cen-ter, I saw how this technique, the cre-ation of fire from some dry straw or fun-gus, is essential to understanding thevalue of fire, and of how the knowledgeof managing it was always surroundedby a silent aura of sacredness. Perhapseach of us who has aassisted in thisoperation has experienced the samethrill and reverential awe that ancientman had to feel before this act of domi-nation over nature.

Angelo Bartoli, with his staff ofyoung archaeologists, always said yes toanyone who wanted to share and experi-ence fundamental aspects of ancienttechnology; confirmation of this is theregular attendance and participation ofschools and universities in the activitiesof the Center, either for a day or a week.These experiences have not onlyenriched knowledge but also createdindelible memories.

Other events that took place at theCenter were international congresses inexperimental archeology, dedicated pri-

marily to metals, weapons, jewelry andcoins. In these the theoretical orresearch-based papers were followed bypractical activities: the reconstruction ofkilns, forges, or ancient villages. Theinternational experimenters would bringtheir research to life and more deeplypenetrate the soul of the times by dress-ing like the ancients.

Angelo has made Civitella Cesi andBlera better known internationally thanperhaps in Italy. The present towncouncil has not fully exploited this freeadvertising; no official telegram was

read at the funeral. The internationalscope of Antiquitates results from a longfriendship with the Swedish Institute,experiments carried out at the site ofPyrgos in Cyprus, the convention in Ptujin Slovenia, and Angelo’s frequent tripsto conferences around the world fromthe United States to Japan. It has beenfurther enhanced by collaborations withthe Capitoline Museums, the Markets ofTrajan, the National Etruscan Museumof Viterbo, and the Etruscan Museum ofVilla Giulia.

Angelo left us, but the Center ofExperimental Archaeology Antiquitates“Angelo Bartoli” remains and progress-es. It offers a rare opportunity ofemployment for many archaeologistsand trained personnel, but also contin-ues to be a point of reference for schol-ars and students. Evidence of this is theFifth Congress on ExperimentalArchaeology “Angelo Bartoli,” whichwas held on April 25-26, 2014, and ded-icated to weapons technology.

I want to conclude with a thought: atthe Center one can leave the misery andworries of everyday life, forget one’stroubles and thus return to daily liferecharged, calm, and with a smile bornfrom the dear and exceptional companyof Angelo Bartoli.

Angelo and his crew forging bronze using the Etruscan technique.

Ancient Sculptures in

Sardinia Rewrite

Mediterranean Historyby Alexander Forbes

The Mont’e Prama archeologicalsite, located in Sardinia’s Oristanoprovince, is not exactly a fresh find forthe archeological community. The sitewas discovered 40 years ago by a farmernamed Battista Meli whose plow hit aparticularly stubborn rock in 1974. Thatrock turned out to be one of an estimated33 fragmented statues, which have cometo be known as the Giants of Mont’ePrama. Archeologists recovered over5,000 pieces of the statues over the nextfive years and have reconstructed manyof them. Many suppositions about theirorigins and significance to the island’sancient Nuragic culture (18th c. BC –2nd c. AD) have arisen since their dis-

covery. But little has been proven.That changed at the end of last

month, according to La Repubblica, astwo new giants were found at the site,almost entirely intact. A third giant maystill lie beneath the first pair, accordingto ground-penetrating radar used by

New finds from the

Pantanacci Votive Depositby Luca Attenni

In July 2012, the intervention of theArchaeological Heritage ProtectionGroup of the Guardia di Finanza halteda clandestine excavation at the site ofPantanacci in Lanuvio and recoveredhundreds of votive offerings destinedfor the international antiquarian market.Given the emergency situation related tothe find, together with the unquestion-able archaeological interest of the site, afirst excavation campaign was promptlyinitiated under the scientific direction ofGiuseppina Ghini and Luca Attenni.(see Etruscan News vol.15). This year in2014 a new investigation at the siterevealed an astounding new find:

Recently found, on the perimeter ofthe cave, were four blocks of granite(peperino) of a trunco-conical shape, ofabout 30 cm. in diameter and bearingengraved scales (Fig.1). The four blocksmay well date chronologically to thethird century BC and pertain to parts ofa large statue of a serpent.

We know from the testimony ofancient authors; Propertius (IV 8, 3-14)and Aelian (On animals XI, 16), of cer-emonies in honor of the serpent sacredto the goddess Juno Sospita which wereheld annually in Lanuvio . These cere-monies consisted, specifically, of a pro-cessions of young virgins wrapped instrips of cloth making offerings of speltbread to the serpent located in a cavelocated in a lucus sacred to the goddessof Juno Sospita. If the serpent ate theoffering it was a sign of future prosperi-ty; to the contrary, if the girl who hadoffered the bread to the serpent was nota virgin and therefore impure, therewould be a bad harvest. If impure, thegirl was sacrificed in order to propitiatethe favor of the goddess Juno. Thewords attributed to the ancient sourcesthat describe this impressive ritual of theserpent sacred to Juno Sospita, representone of the main pillars underpinning theattraction and the importance of the cityof Lanuvium whose echo spreadthroughout time through the centuries

and up to the present day.Nevertheless, the cave of the serpent

has never been located with certainty; ithas been speculated that it was in a tun-nel whose entrance is at the end of thenorth side of the late Republican Porticolocated on the western part of the sanc-tuary of Juno Sospita. Alberto Galieti, a19th century historian from Lanuvio,theorized, that the cave of the serpentwas in a place called Stragonello, aname derived from the corruption ofDragonello.

Returning to the three blocks of gran-ite, without doubt scientifically signifi-cant, it cannot be not be ruled out thatthey are integral parts of one of the cultstatues of the serpent, from the abovementioned ancient sources. If thishypothesis turns out to be true, thearchaeological site of Pantanacci couldonly be this famous cave. From this itfollows that not only that the Pantanaccicave, but also a tunnel on the Ajelloproperty, about 80 meters to the east ofthe cave, where in the mid-1970s a few

thousand miniature black glaze vasesfrom the 3rd century BC were found,may not be related to a temple structuresupposedly built nearby, of which notrace has been found, but the to thesacred grotto of the serpent.

The votive deposits at the Pantanaccisite therefore provide a framework thatallows, even with the evidence gatheredin the investigation of the excavation, tooutline a well defined sacred context,whose connections to the territory canonly be deepened by further investiga-tions.

The destination of the material fromthe deposit, as written by theSuperintendent Elena Calandra, "is anexample of the synergy between the dif-ferent public entities that have collabo-rated and participated in the entireoperation: the Superintendency for theArchaeological Heritage of Lazio hasalready exhibited a small part of thefinds at the Museum of the RomanShips of Nemi, to quickly present ananthology of all the votive offerings ofthe area, while entrusting most of thePantanacci votive deposit to the CivicMuseum of Lanuvio.”

researchers. The scans have producedwhat they have thus far only qualified as“anomalies.” But with the initial pairhaving been lifted from the site andtransported to the Museo civico diCabras, further deeper excavations cannow begin.

The new pair of Mont’e PramaGiants is estimated to date to the 8thcentury B.C. and are approximately twometers in length (6 feet). Their near-complete state has led researchers toalready make several significant suppo-sitions that pundits have said couldrewrite the history of the Mediterraneanregion.

Most significant is the position inwhich the two giants are depicted. Theearlier, fragmented sculptures werefound to be holding their shields abovetheir heads. However, these latestexamples hold their shields next to theirtorsos. According to archeologists withwhom La Repubblica spoke, the posi-tion is strikingly similar to that of anEtruscan bronze from the same periodfound in Italy’s Viterbo province on themainland, north of Rome. If the link canbe proven, it would make the pair theoldest examples of colossi (giant sculp-tures)..ever ever

Fig.1

A silver denarius from 64 B.C with the head of Juno Sospita wearinga goat's skin. On the reverse it shows the ritual of a female standingright feeding an erect serpent coiled before her. “FABATI” in exergue.


They might be giants, a new boxer emerges in Sardinia. (photo ansa)

LATE NEWS ONLINENews from the Etruscan

Museum of Villa Giulia

The year 2014 was another busytime for the Etruscan Museum of VillaGiulia, whose beautiful setting in theRenaissance papal villa of Julius IIImakes it one of Rome’s jewels. Therehave been lectures, workshops, tours,evening openings, and events toonumerous to list. Visitors can now seetwo actual tombs, one from Cerveteriand the newly installed Tomb of theFuneral Bed from Tarquinia. We canonly note a few special projects, organ-ized and carried out by the inventiveDirector and Soprintendente, MariaAlfonsina Russo, with the assistance ofthe energetic Marco Sala.

Three projects were particularlyimportant. The digitalization of theSarcofago degli Sposi took place as partof the gemellaggio between Villa Giuliaand the Museo Civico of Bologna. Itwas included in a project, Il Viaggiooltre la vita – Journey to the Afterlife.Between Masterpieces of Etruscan Artand Virtual Reality. The exhibit is high-

ly appropriate given the importance thatthe Underword had in the world of theEtruscans. It will be on view in Bolognain the Palazzo Popoli, Museo dellaStoria di Bologna, from October 25,2014, to February 2015. The multidisci-plinary project, APA l’etrusco sbarca a

Roma opened in Rome at the same timeas the Journey to the Afterlife as part ofthe special relationship with Bologna,and includes technological innovations,and a 3D film.

New museum galleries include theMuseo virtuale della valle del Tevere, aninnovative exhibition inauguratedDecember 16, 2014. Likewise inaugu-rated December 16 were the newly rein-stalled galleries with the remarkablearchitectural sculptures from the Templeof Falerii. Both old favorites and newsculptures can be seen in the Faliscangalleries, featuring Gli Dei di Falerii —The Gods of Falerii.

Unleashing Harvard’s Art Museums

(From Harvard Magazine, November-December 2014, p. 21)

Abundant light and glass will greetvisitors to the Harvard Art Museums,which re-opened at 32 Quincy Street onNovember 16.

… The cultural exchange illustratedin the American gallery is emblematicof the way art is considered throughoutthe museum, and was made possible bytwo major changes. First, the museums’10 tiny curatorial departments werecombined into three larger divisions –Asian and Mediterranean, European andAmerican, and Modern andContemporary – to facilitate scholarly

exchanges. Second, the new buildinghas brought the three separate collec-tions – the Fogg, the Busch-Reisinger,and the Arthur M. Sackler museums –together in one location, so that, asLentz describes it, “they can finallybegin talking to one another. We cannow begin to establish the multiple visu-al, intellectual and historical linkagebetween these collections.”

Thus sculptures by Auguste Rodinand Louis Bourgeois are woven into adisplay of Roman sculpture organizedaround themes of dynamism, the humanbody, and materials. A spirit of experi-mentation, even playfulness, character-izes some of the newly installed gal-leries. High on the wall above theRoman sculptures, a word portrait byFélix Gonzales Torres acts like a frieze.“I was very excited about this guest, asit were,” says Hanfmann curator ofancient art Suzanne Ebbinghaus. “Wordportraits are actually something that wehave a lot of in the ancient world. Thinkof the deeds of Augustus or inscriptionsin the palaces of Assyrian kings.”Because “the frieze is an element that isderived from classical architecture, Ithought [it] would fit very well andchime in very interesting ways with the

ancient works of art displayed, but openthem up to the twenty-first century.”

In the adjacent gallery of Greek vases,the installation reflects how these cere-monial objects would have been seenwhen used. A krater for mixing wineand water, its decorations depictingDionysus and a procession of misbehav-ing satyrs, has been “consciously placedat the center of the gallery, just as itwould have been placed at the center ofthe ancient Greek drinking party,”Ebbinghaus says. A nearby case dis-plays drinking bowls on their sides, asthey would have been seen when raisedto the lips, revealing the interior designvisible to the drinker. The display alsoshows the bottom of the cup whenraised, what your companions see asyou are drinking,” she continues. “Itshows you how these objects would

All this activity has been carried outfor the benefit of enthusiastic visitors, inspite of the looming specter of the elim-ination of the Soprintendenza ofSouthern Etruria – the Soprintendenzathat includes Vulci and Falerii, and suchfamous sites as Cerveteri and Tarquinia,which were inserted onto the UNESCOWorld Heritage list ten years go, in2004, because they constitute a uniqueand exceptional testimony of the ancientEtruscan civilization. We can only hopethat the public outcry will persuade thegovernment to change its mind and real-ize the importance of having an archae-ological Soprintendeza that looks afterand protects these unique sites.

look like in motion” – a suggestion ofwhat “people can really experience a lit-tle bit in the study center,” where theseancient objects may be handled.

On the fifth floor, one up from thestudy center, the so-called lightboxgallery offers the visitors the opportuni-ty to explore the museum’s collectionsdigitally.

Greek drinking vessels displayed sothe decorations can be seen as theywould have been when in use.

Light from Calderwood Courtyardis ideal for the display of ancientsculptures, like this EtruscanSphinx (above) and Roman work(below). Photos by Jim Harrison.

Rome’s Colosseum could

again host shows — but

first it needs a floorby Tom Kington,

WorldNewsEuropeArchaeology

A tweet by Italy’s culture ministerhas Rome talking about bringing showsback to the Colosseum. A proposal toinstall a new floor over the ruins of thebasement to allow for concerts and otherevents has the government’s backing.

In a subterranean corridor of theColosseum, a guide pointed to aninnocuous-looking lead plate fixed tothe floor. “That once formed part of apulley system, operated by 16 men, thathoisted wild animals in a cage upthrough a trapdoor in the arena aboveduring gladiatorial shows,” he said. Afew yards on, the guide stopped againby a dark, cavernous space where boatsonce lined up to enter the arena when itwas flooded for mock naval battles.

In a city of iconic structures, the cylin-drical Colosseum looms large, its archedtiers a symbol of ancient Rome. Butonly when you get up close do youappreciate the staggering efforts thatwent into keeping 35,000 bloodthirstyRomans entertained almost two millen-nia ago.

This month Rome has been talkingabout bringing regular, less bloody,shows back to the Colosseum, thanks toa tweet by Italy’s culture minister, DarioFranceschini, in which he backed theidea of resurfacing the full surface of theancient oval arena. “All it will take is abit of courage,” he tweeted.

Franceschini was echoing the senti-ments of Italian archaeologist DanieleManacorda, who has urged constructionof a new surface over the excavated

remains of the two-story warren of cor-ridors and chambers beneath the arena,from which animals and scenery couldbe raised through any one of 80 trap-doors dotted around the original woodfloor. That floor was removed in the 6thcentury after the last gladiator battleswere staged, before the basement wasfilled in with earth. Today, visitors lookstraight down into the excavated,labyrinthine basement area and struggleto get a feel for where the gruesomefighting took place.

Though not calling for the return offull-blown gladiators, Manacorda said“contemporary events” could be held;this comment spurred U.S. investorJames Pallotta, owner of pro soccerteam AS Roma, to boast that he coulddraw millions of viewers for a pay-per-view soccer match in the arena.Franceschini scotched that idea lastweek, but did suggest plays and classi-cal music concerts, which, with an“intelligent” reconstruction of the arena,could raise vital funds for upkeep of themonument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Opened in AD 80, the Colosseumheld its last gladiator battle in AD 508,according to the Colosseum’s director,and it was later used as temporary hous-ing, a fort, even a place of worshipthanks to an in-house chapel — not tomention as a hangout for prostituteswho once loitered under the street-levelarches. The arches were so handy forliaisons that scholars believe the Latinword for “arch,” fornix, gave us theword “fornicate.”

In the 1800s, archaeologists began toexcavate the corridors under the arena,and dug up half of it, though they leftenough for fascist dictator BenitoMussolini to hold rallies in theColosseum and for Roman waiters tostage races around it, dressed in whitecoats and holding laden trays. “Let’ssay it’s always been lived in,” saidColosseum director Rossella Rea, whois overseeing an overdue scrubbing —with brushes as small as toothbrushes —of the pollution encrusted on the arches.

In the 1990s, a section of woodenfloor was laid over the basement corri-

From the arena of theColosseum to the history

of FerraraReflections on the Promotional

Potentialities of Reenacting

by Valentino Nizzo,Soprintendenza per i Beni

Archeologici dell’Emilia Romagna

“The Colosseum is not a play-ground:” this was the title of an articleof the celebrated art historian Cesare DeSeta in an Italian newspaper. A majorcultural polemic in the fall of 2104 start-ed with a tweet from the Italian Ministryof Culture, Dario Franceschini. Hiscomment on the idea of restoring thearena of the Colosseum was, “I like the

idea very much. We just need thecourage to do it.” Elsewhere, the reac-tion in Italy to the proposal by thearchaeologist Daniele Manacorda wascomparable to that aroused by the newsof walls collapsing in Pompeii.Technical and historical reasons weremarshaled against the suggested restora-tion, and it was argued that the results ofan improper exploitation would be inad-equate and even catastrophic for theemblematic role and the dignity (Italian“decoro”) of the monument.

The Ministry adopted a reassuringtone, rejecting bizarre sports optionslike soccer, and looking into proposalsthat were “more appropriate for the site,such as classical music or ancient

dors, replicating a third of the originalarena floor. The space was used for ahandful of small concerts, including oneby Paul McCartney, who played for 400people in 2003. Now, if Franceschinigets his way, that floor will be extendedto cover the entire arena, allowing largerevents.

But one concern, Rea said, is howmany visitors would then be able to seethe old animal chambers, pulley systemsand boat docks. Visitors would have toclimb down steps underneath a newarena floor to get a look at them. “Wecan only take groups of 25 down at atime, so of the 24,000 visitors we get aday in peak times, very few would beable see the corridors if they are coveredover,” Rea said. “And that’s a shame,because after being buried for centuries,they are the best-preserved part of theColosseum, a monument within a mon-ument.”

Then there’s the water. Gurgling itsway through the underground corridorsis a stream that emerges inside the bow-els of the Colosseum before disappear-ing into an ancient drainage pipe. Atleast most of the time. “The old Romandrainage pipe was wide, but wasblocked by construction of the nearbysubway line,” Rea said. “A bypass pipewas installed, but it is much narrower.”

The result is that heavy rains causethe flooding of the Colosseum, withwater rapidly rising 18 feet, right up tothe level where Franceschini wants thenew arena floor. Fixing that, said Rea,would involve widening the water pipes,an expensive job at a time when thecash-strapped government is reduced toproposing crowd funding to pay for theupkeep of other historical sites. SaidRea: “Tunneling down under the sub-way line to widen that drainage systemwould incur biblical costs.”

The partial reconstruction of the floor in the arena of the Colosseum.

During the event Spina rivive in the Archaeological Museum ofFerrara, the author explains a reenacted Etruscan symposium.

drama,” that take place in the arena ofVerona and the theater of Taormina.

The lack of imagination of suchexamples encourages us to reflect aboutdeeper problems, such as the manage-ment of the Italian cultural heritage, andthe fact that the general public perceivesit as something alien to everyday life.The attitude towards antiquities oftenranges from considering them as relicsto be shown to a selected public of initi-ates, to letting them become degraded aswrecks, overwhelmed by the surround-ing urban landscape that ignores them.

It is therefore surprising that such areaction followed upon the harmless, ifnot trivial proposal of restoring a monu-ment of the past to its original function.It seems as if the emblematic value ofthe Colosseum could generate a positiveemulative trend that would save our pastfrom oblivion.

In my opinion, however, we shouldask ourselves whether activities such asancient drama and classical music —certainly high-toned — are effectivelymore fitting than other options in restor-ing the meaning and function of “places

of memory” such as the Colosseum.Mixing different cultural languages iscertainly positive; but the lack of sharedintentions and policies highlights notonly methodological problems, but alsohistorical questions, as well as issues ofcontents, and — from an anthropologi-

cal point of view — of relativism. (Afterall, drama and music have similar logis-tic problems to those of the dreaded soc-cer…).

Such issues have been debated onthe occasion of an important event ofhistorical reenactment that took place inNovember in Ferrara (Usi & Costumi).Several experts in the field of reenact-ment reacted favorably to the idea ofreenacting gladiator shows in theColosseum, thus making it a center ofexcellence for such cultural events. Thisidea, too, looks trivial, though it is suc-cessful in the media, as shown by therenewed interest for the Roman worldthat followed Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator”movie.

As a functionary of theSoprintendenza, I have recently had theopportunity of taking part in the “histor-ical choreography” of popular events,such as the Bundan Celtic Festival atBundeno and reenactments in theMuseo Archeologico in Ferrara. In thelatter case, for instance, reenacting andarchaeological narrative have collabo-

rated as dynamic and suggestive meansfor presenting the wonders of theEtruscan town of Spina to a bewilderedpublic (Spina Rivive). At another event,7000 years of the history of Ferrara —from the Neolithic Age to theRenaissance — were staged as a contin-uous narrative with the help of morethan 120 actors (Echi del Tempo).

The results of these experimentshave been extraordinary, both in termsof public reactions and of high-levelcontents, reviving historical narrativesin their original setting and context. Allthis is quite removed from the conceptof a “playground,” and though an auraof fun remains, it is legitimate and nec-essary in any educational experience.Any attempt at separating educationfrom fun would result in a future haunt-ed by spectres like the old blind Jorge inUmberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose,who preferred to die rather than to letAristotele’s manuscript on comedy andhumor survive — symbol of a knowl-edge that many would like to preventbeing shared.

Etruscan necropolis in loc.

Lauscello – Municipalities

of Castel Giorgio and

Orvietoby Claudio Bizzarri

The tombs of Lauscello are locatedalong one of the most important routesthat run through the District of Orvieto,connecting Orvieto and Bolsena, the set-tlement subsequently called Volsinii bythe Romans. The entire area is charac-terized by an imposing volcanic depositthat made it easy to dig hypogeumtombs, although there were a few prob-lems regarding the stability of the soil.The earliest tombs in the necropolis dateto the end of the fourth century BC.Initially investigated in 1865 byGiovanni Paolozzi, the burials found onthe property of the Marchese Gualteriocontained rich tomb furnishings, includ-ing bronze vessels. Outstanding amongthe many finds are two oinochoai withbeak-like spouts and three situlae, all inbronze lamina and bearing the inscrip-tion “larth methies sutina” (CIE 10876-10880); these are now in the BritishMuseum. The word “sutina” indicatesthat they were funerary objects. Furtherinvestigation carried out around 1870 onthe Gualterio property yielded “sil-vered” vessels, clay vases decorated inrelief and overlaid with a white-grey tin

film meant to reproduce the color andappearance of silver. (Egg white wasprobably used in applying it to the exte-rior of the vase).

Subsequently in 1889 fourteenchamber tombs were discovered on landbelonging to Count Eugenio Faina, hon-orary inspector of Monuments andExcavations. Almost all were no longerintact and had been plundered. Thehypogea located north of the Roman ViaCassia yielded a considerable quantityof ceramics, some silvered and somewith black gloss, a cippus with anunidentifiable inscription, objects inbronze (of particular note a mirror and acasket or cista with the inscription “suti-na” and iron firedogs, knives and spits).After almost a century of neglect, sys-tematic excavations were carried outbetween 1993 and 2007 by theSoprintendenza per i Beni Archeologicidell’Umbria. It was thus possible toclean ten chamber tombs that had beenseriously damaged by tomb robbers.

The hypogea consist of an uncov-ered dromos leading to an undergroundcorridor. Originally closed by tufa slabsand/or ashlars, it leads to the inside ofthe funerary chamber, which is almostalways square with funerary beds alongthe sides. There are also tombs with anupside down “T”-shaped chamber. Insome cases niches for the deposition ofthe burials were dug into the funerarybench. Tomb 10, the last one to be stud-ied, yielded objects in iron (a knife, fire-dogs), a bronze fibula and an abundanceof pottery (whole forms in achromepurified clay, a patera in silvered clay).The pottery had survived because it hadbeen deposited in the entrance corridor,which the robbers had overlooked.

In the summer of 2014 collaborationbetween the Soprintendenza, the ParcoArcheologico ed Ambientaledell’Orvietano, the GruppoArcheologico Alfina and St. AnselmCollege in New Hampshire (USA) ledto the partial recovery of two tombs, dis-covered when woodland belonging tothe Fondazione per il Museo C. Faina in

Orvieto was thinned. At the time, theobjects recovered, aside from numerousceramic finds, included the remains oftwo clay cremation ollas, one that of awoman with a cap-like hair ornament inbronze wire, and lead weights, and oneof a child, with an achrome ceramicfeeding bottle. Of note also a bronzethymaterion (censer) and ceramic formswith painted decoration.

The data available permit the identi-fication of a widespread burial complexconsisting of more than a score of cham-ber and fossa tombs. The necropoliswas in use between the end of the fourthand the middle of the second centuryBC. The rather homogeneous tomb fur-nishings are characterized by the pres-ence of ceramics and bronze finds ofexcellent quality, which makes it possi-ble to speculate that the burialsbelonged to a moderately upper middle-class family group, which settled in thearea before the destruction in 264 BC byRome of Orvieto-Velzna, whose fatethey probably shared.

Top, The tombs at excavation.Right, Pottery from Tomb 10. Far right, a recently discoveredbronze hippocamp.

A Surprise fromNorchia: the Tomb“a casetta” of Vel at

Sferracavalloby Francesca Ceci and

Daniele F. Maras

In 2010, during a survey promoted bythe association Archeotuscia of Viterbo,Mario Sanna discovered a new rock cuttomb at Sferracavallo, in the north-eastsector of the necropolis of Norchia. Thetomb is shaped like a house (“a caset-

ta”) and has been carved out of the tufawalls of the Biedano valley, on theslopes of the so-called Casone plateau,within a funerary area with severaltombs of diverse types, all already pro-faned by tomb robbers.

The new funerary monument belongsto the semi-”dado” type, with false doorand pitched roof on the façade (3.15 x2.30 m.); three beam-ends at the uppercorners imitate the columen and themutuli. An overhanging edge protectsthe sidewalls, and the roof top continuesin depth for a brief distance, providing a

tridimensional effect. The false door inthe front is decorated by a relief frame-work reproducing the architrave withside T-projections curving down(“becco di civetta”). The funerary cham-ber lies under the monument, and wasaccessible through a dromos that has not

yet been excavated.In the upper part of the frame of the

false door, an inscription on three lineshas been incised with letters 7-10 cm.high. Damages to the tufa surface makereading difficult, especially as regardsthe second line:

eta śuθi velus

××(×)c×nas[-]×××[?]×a××s(×)a

The first line is better preserved andconsists of the standard opening formulaof funerary inscriptions: “this (is) thetomb of Vel.” Unfortunately, the familyname (gentilicium) that followed in thesecond line is almost completely lost,except for the possible ending [—-

11° Incontro Nazionale

di Archeologia Viva

tourismAFlorence, February 21 - 22, 2015

February 21

Franco Cardini (Scuola NormaleSuperiore), “Cavalieri nelMedioevo: fra mito e realtà storica.”

Presentation of the book Alle radicidella cavalleria medievale.

Elisabetta Susani (Accademia di BelleArti di Brera), “Ritorno in Vietnam:

l’apertura al turismo e la rinascitadel patrimonio culturale.”

Cristiano Tiussi (director, FondazioneAquileia), “Aquileia rinasce in 3D.Il passato con gli occhi del futuro.”

Alberto Angela (author), “Pompei: ilgiorno prima e il giorno dopo.”

Presentation of the book I tre giorni diPompei (Rizzoli).

February 22

Dario di Blasi (Museo Civico di

]canas.In the following, albeit with many

uncertainties, it is possible to integrate apatronymic formula: presumably[larθ/t]ialisla (“the (son) of Larth”), or,less probably, [lar]isalisla (“the (son) ofLaris”).

The monument dates from the mid-fourth century BCE, and constitutes anew example of the rare attestations ofthe house-shaped type in the region(known at Tuscania, Blera, BarbaranoRomano, Castro).

A fortunate collaboration of the ownerof the estate where the tomb stands(Pietro Stelliferi), and of the local asso-ciations Archeotuscia and TerzoMillennio with the Soprintendenzamade the excavation of the tomb possi-ble in 2013. Archaeologists and mem-bers of the associations took part in acleaning operation, which unearthed theunderground funerary chamber, andbrought to light a funerary bed on the

right side and a number of funerarygoods on the ground.

Even though the excavation of thechamber and the dromos still remains tobe completed, a fragmented bronzestrigil and 17 vases of the late 4th toearly 3rd century BCE have been col-lected. Among these a fine Faliscan red-figure skyphos stands out, decoratedwith the heads of a satyr and a maenad.

As usual, the lack of funding forarchaeological institutions jeopardizedthe possibility of restoring the finds. Butin this case, following personal contactsat scientific meetings, Lorenzo Benini’sKostelia group supported the rescueproject, and thus allowed the team torestore quickly the funerary goods of thetomb.

Consequently, a permanent exhibitionof the tomb was inaugurated onDecember 7, 2014 in the EtruscanNational Museum of the RoccaAlbornoz in Viterbo: an impressive, for-tunate case of synergy and cooperationof public and private institutions andvolunteer associations for the cause ofarchaeology.

More about the new tomb can befound in: L. Proietti, M. Sanna, D.F.Maras,”Ager Tarquiniensis: Norchia,”in Studi Etruschi LXXV (2011) 245-248. F. Ceci, ed., Dallo scavo al museo.

La tomba a Casetta dalla necropoli di

Sferracavallo di Norchia. Un esempio

riuscita sinergia tra pubblico e privato

(Firenze 2014).

Rovereto)Presentation and projection of the film Il

Perú millenario: la storia inesplo-rata, di José Manuel Novoa,Spagna, 52’.

Maria Fancelli, (Università di Firenze),“Winckelmann, Firenze e gliEtruschi: due giubilei per il padredella storia dell’arte antica.”

Giovanni di Stefano (Museo regionaledi Camarina), “La storia dal mare:naufragi anonimi nel Mediterraneotardoantico.”

Cento anni dalla Grande Guerra

Franco Nicolis, (Soprintendenza per iBeni Culturali di Trento), “La storianel ghiaccio. Archeologia e memoriadella Prima Guerra Mondiale.”Dedicato a Riccardo Francovich

Alessandro Barbero (Università delPiemonte Orientale e Vercelli),“Raccontare il Medioevo: viaggio diriflessione nei cosiddetti ‘secolibui.’”

Giuliano Volpe (Consiglio Superiore deiBeni Culturali), “Una vita per capiree comunicare il Medioevo: RiccardoFrancovich.” continued on page 41

Funerary goods found in the tomb after their restoration.

Daniele Maras studies the Etrus-can inscription on the false door.

Etruscan scholars gatherin New Orleans for

Archaeological Institute ofAmerica conference and

drink an ancient aleby Todd A. Price

NOLA.com/Times-Picayune

The scholars of ancient cultures werein town Saturday (Jan 10) for theArcheological Institute of Americasannual conference. As happens whentravelers descend on New Orleans, theirthoughts turned to drinking — but notjust any drink. They had brought a caseof Dogfish Head’s Birra Etrusca, arecreation of what got people buzzed inthe area now called Tuscany before theera of the Romans.

An archaeologist named PatrickMcGovern worked with Dogfish Headto create that beer. As he explained in aninterview for the latest issue of Etruscannews, ancient alcoholic drinks weremore complex than modern ones, com-bining grapes, honey and grain. “Theywanted to be sure they had enough sugarto get the fermentation going,” he said

in the interview, “so they took whateverthey had that contained sugar and mixedthem together.”The Birra Etrusca hadbarley, wheat, hazelnut flour, honey,pomegranates and even myrrh. It wasrich, balanced, a little sweet and proba-bly tastes better than anything theEtruscans ever drank. (Dogfish Headbeers are not currently distributed inLouisiana.)

The Institute forMediterranean

Archaeology: a new society for Orvieto

and its territoryby Claudio Bizzarri

The IMA, or Institute forMediterranean Archaeology, a nonprofitorganization for the development of cul-tural activities and promotion of archae-ological tourism, was finally recognizedin Italy, in January 2015, in affiliationwith the institute of the same nameestablished in the US a few years ago(http://www.imarchaeology.com/). Thelatter had already begun to collaboratethrough PAAO on a series of projects inthe territory of Orvieto; among thesewere the excavations of Coriglia in the

municipality of Castelviscardo (anEtruscan-Roman site) and in via RipaMedici in the historical center ofOrvieto. The latter exposed a hollow inthe shape of a truncated pyramid of theEtruscan period. (See Archeo, January

2015 issue.) In the interest of interna-tional cooperation, the IMA aims to pro-mote mainly North American and north-ern European research institutes, andattract various economic resources,including private and overseas founda-tions, toward projects within the area ofOrvieto. In the past, the IMA has col-laborated with the University of Ghent,Belgium, in the archeometric analysis ofmobile materials (ceramics) from theexcavations of the territory, as well asanalysis of the pigments used in thefrescoes in the chapel of St. Ansano inthe town of Allerona. The recognition ofthe operating unit in Italy of this non-profit organization will then convey thestrong potential of Orvieto and its areain archeoturismo, in which visits to

archaeological sites are combined withthe promotion of the local food andwine. There are also ongoing contactswith a North American museum toexplore the possibility of organizing anexhibition related to the Etruscans andthe history of the district of Orvieto,with an eye to the neighboring areasoutside the region.

It is no coincidence that the logo ofthe IMA is the famous terracotta headrepresenting the face of the Gorgon thatis located at the Foundation for theMuseum C. Faina; it is a symbol ofpower chosen by Athena for her aegis.The hope is that the goddess of wisdomwill guide the steps of the Institutetoward the development and promotionof this richly complex cultural area.

Gary Enea, an editor of the EtruscanNews, explained how the beer illustratesa shift in recent decades in how archae-ologists treat artifacts. “It used to be youtake the pot out, you clean it, you put itin a museum,” Enea said. Now archae-ologists preserve and analyze the organ-ic matter in the pot. They might find avessel was used to store beer or even

Il caso dei Marmi di Elgin

Louis Godart (accademico dei Lincei),Dusan Sidjanski (Università diGinevra), “Sculture del Partenone:quando il ritorno ad Atene?”

Simona Rafanelli (Museo archeologico“I. Falchi” di Vetulonia), ElenaRodriguez (Museo archeologico diVerucchio), “Sovrani etruschi deidue mari. Tesori d’oro e d’ambra daVetulonia e Verucchio.”

Raimondo Zucca (Università diSassari), “Un caso archeologico inSardegna: Mont’e Prama e il santu-ario degli eroi infranti.”

breed dormice, an Etruscan delicacy.The scholars, however, were not eatingmice with their Etruscan beer. They hadgumbo.

Nancy de Grummond, who is fromLake Charles, La., and Professor atFlorida State University, was the guestof honor. The day before, she had wonthe AIA award for undergraduate teach-ing at the group’s annual meeting, whichran through Jan. 11. De Grummondwasn’t interested in the beer. TheEtruscans, she said, drank wine.

Andrea Augenti (Università diBologna), “Nella grande storia diRavenna. Dalla villa al monastero:archeologia del complesso di SanSevero a Classe.”

Andrea Pessina (soprintendente archeol-ogo della Toscana), “La Toscana dalcielo. Meraviglie dell’archeologianelle foto di Paolo Nannini.”

Valerio Massimo Manfredi (archaeolo-gist and author), “Questa volta par-liamo delle Sette Meraviglie.”

Presentation of the book Le meravigliedel mondo antico (Mondadori).

Etruscologists salute! (front l-r) Fabio Colivicchi, Lisa Pieracini, Nancyde Grummond, M.Lynette Thompson, Orlando Cerasuolo, MatildeMarzullo, Claudia Piazzi, Giovanna Bagnasco Gianni. (rear l-r)Francesco Cini, unknown reveler, Stefano Valtolina, Andrea Garzulino.

Nancy de Grummond receivesher AIA award together withgold medal winner Brian Rose inNew Orleans.

Nancy de Grummondwins Excellence in

undergraduate teachingaward from AIA

FSU Classics Professor Nancy deGrummond, one of the nation’s leadingscholars of Etruscan studies, hasreceived the Archaeological Institute ofAmerica’s 2015 Excellence inUndergraduate Teaching Award for herinvaluable service to the archaeologicalcommunity as an educator. The award,which is the only teaching award givenin the field of Classical archaeology,was presented Jan. 9 during the insti-tute’s annual meeting, held in NewOrleans. De Grummond is FSU’s M.Lynette Thompson Professor of Classicsand a Distinguished Research Professor,famed for her 31 years of archaeologicalexcavations at Cetamura del Chianti,Italy.

Some EtruscanPublications, 2013-2014

Luca Cerchiai. 2014. “Una festa etr-usca per Dioniso?” In F. Fontana andE. Murgia, eds. Sacrum facere. Atti delII seminario di Archeologia del sacro.Contaminazioni: forme di contatto,traduzione e mediazione nei sacra delmondo greco e romano. Trieste, 95-105.

Sophie Bergerbrant and Sølvi HeleneFossøy, eds. 2014. A Stitch in Time:Essays in Honour of Lise BenderJørgensen. Gotarc Series A.Gothenburg Archaeological Studies.Humanities Department, Departmentof Historical Studies, GothenburgUniversity.

In this volume, the article byMargarita Gleba on “Italian textilesfrom prehistory to Late Antique times”demonstrates once more how much canbe learned from a careful study of tex-tiles, a subject that is arousing muchrecent interest (see elsewhere in thisissue).

Tuck, A. and R. Wallace. 2013.“Alphabetic and non-AlphabeticCharacters on Roof Tiles from PoggioCivitate (Murlo).” Etruscan Studies16: 210–262.

Rex Wallace. Forthcoming. “Writingand Literacy.” Oxford Handbook ofPre-Roman Italy.

Carlo de Simone and SimonaMarchesini, eds. 2013. La lamina diDemlfeld. Mediterranea. Pisa, Rome,Fabrizio Serra Editore.

The linguistic study of an inscriptionon a bronze tablet from a sanctuary inthe Raetic area, near Innsbruck, Austria.After an account of its archaeologicalcontext, a close study of the text showsthe connection of this Raetic languageboth to Etruscan and to the language ofthe Lemnos inscriptions.

Dagfinn Moe, Montagne incise. Pietreincise. Archeologia delle risorse nellamontagna mediterranea. Atti delConvegno (Borzonasca, 20-22 ottobre2011). Università degli Studi diGenova, Laboratorio di Archeologia eStoria Ambientale, pp. 311-322.

During the Bronze Age (between2000-1400 BC) a marked increase inhuman impact is found in several places.Increased pressure and stress on thevegetation is found at about 800-500

BC. While Roman activity is well docu-mented, the pre-Roman cultures andmany tribes must have adapted or them-selves introduced new ideas and tech-niques into north Italy. The humanactivity in this last period in the alpine/subalpine zones, it is suggested, wereconnected to seasonal farming, withproduction of dairy products like cheesein the Val Febbraro area, mining in oth-ers. The initiating factor needs to befound within the cultures in the lowland,with an increasing population. It is sug-gested that the Etruscans with theiradvanced mining, their agriculture withintensive farming, and their trade activ-ity have played an important role inspreading elements of their culture out-side the traditional Etruscan areatowards higher latitudes and altitudes.

M. Vencato, S. Zala, A. Willi, eds,

Ordine e trasgressione. Atti del

Convegno (Istituto Svizzero, Roma

2005). Viella. 2008.

Massimiliano Di Fazio. “La trasgres-

sione del survival: Charles G. Leland

e l’antica religione etrusca.” Pp. 125-

145.

“There is in Northern Italy a moun-

tain district known as La Romagna

Toscana, the inhabitants of which speak

a rude form of the Bolognese dialect.

These Romagnoli are manifestly a very

ancient race, and appear to have pre-

served traditions and observances little

changed from an incredibly early time.

[…] Among these people, stregheria, or

witchcraft – or, as I have heard it called,

‘la vecchia religione’ (or ‘the old reli-

gion’) – exists to a degree which would

even astonish many Italians. This

stregheria, or old religion, is something

more than a sorcery, and something less

than a faith. It consists in remains of a

mythology of spirits, the principal of

whom preserve the names and attributes

of the old Etruscan gods […].”

With these words of Charles G.

Leland, Di Fazio begins this article on

the controversial figure of the American

anthropologist of the late 19th century,

who has been defined as an “explorer of

sub-cultures.” In the last decades of the

century, Leland lived in a hotel in

Florence with his wife and collected

information on the “old religion” that he

believed to have discovered among the

agricultural population of the Italian

inland. A number of farmers of the

Tosco-Romagnolo Appennine moun-

tains, along with some strange middle-

persons, and a self-declared witch, pro-

vided the anthropologist with nursery

rhymes, short poems, and unusual anec-

dotes. Leland was struck by the coinci-

dence of many names mentioned in this

oral material with the names of the

ancient Etruscan deities. He started to

believe that an entire, intact “alterna-

tive” religious system was emerging

from the mist of history, having sur-

vived the end of the Etrusco-Roman civ-

ilization within the Italian country cul-

ture.

Annalisa Tasso, Pylai Aidao: Un per-corso iconografico e letterario sulladiffusione del tema delle Porte dell’Adeda Oriente a Occidente (BARInternational Series, 2524.), Oxford:Archaeopress. 2013.

According to its title, this bookwants to present a kind of encyclopedicoverview on the theme of the “Gates ofHades” in ancient cultures ranging fromthe Near (or Middle) East to theMediterranean West. After dealingrather cursorily with Egypt,Mesopotamia and Phoenicia, however,it devotes most of its space to the con-ceptions of the ancient Greeks and the

L. M. Michetti and I. van Kampen,

eds., Il Tumulo di Monte Aguzzo a Veio

e la Collezione Chigi. Ricostruzione del

contesto dell’Olpe Chigi e note sulla

formazione della Collezione archeolo-

gica della famiglia Chigi a Formello

(Monumenti Antichi dei Lincei, serie

misc., 16), Rome, Giorgio

Bretschneider, 2014.

The tumulus of Monte Aguzzo con-stitutes the most conspicuous monu-mental and visual landmark of the terri-tory of the Etruscan city of Veii.Therefore, it is not surprising that theonly tomb that has been discovered isthe find spot of two outstanding objects,which are displayed in the Museo

Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia. Oneis the Olpe Chigi, the most famousexample of Proto-Corinthian vase paint-ing, reproduced in every manual ofGreek art. The other is the so-calledFormello abecedarium, a small buc-chero amphora covered with inscrip-tions — including two abecedaria, agift-text, and a craftsman’s signature —that make it one of the most preciousEtruscan epigraphical documents of the7th century BCE.

The new monograph dedicated tothe tumulus has been edited by Laura M.Michetti and Iefke van Kampen, withcontributions by Marisa Di Bisceglieand Daniele F. Maras. It accounts forwhat we know today on the discovery ofthe tomb in 1882, and for the funerarygoods, about 120 items. The objects,which have long been part of the unpub-lished Chigi collection, are now present-ed for the first time in their entirety,along with the findings of some minortombs that came to light in the area ofMonte Aguzzo in the course of the sameexcavations, directed by RodolfoLanciani. These materials were also pre-served in the Chigi collection, as well asin the Villa Chigi of Ariccia, south ofRome.

Ultimately, the excavation reportand the complete catalog of the findsprovide the long-awaited and indispen-sable information on the context of thecelebrated Olpe Chigi, which in the pasthas been dealt with as an isolated, out-standing masterpiece of Greek art, withlittle reference to its Etruscan context.Thanks to the cooperation of theauthors, who shared the results of theirwork before the publication of the vol-ume, certain reevaluations of the newdata were recently presented in twobooks on the subject: Eliana Mugione,ed., L’Olpe Chigi. Storia di un agalma,Proceedings of the Conference(University of Salerno, 2010), Salerno:Pandemos, 2012; Matteo D’Acunto, Ilmondo del vaso Chigi. Pittura, guerra esocietà a Corinto alla metà del VII seco-lo a.C., (Berlin-Boston: De Gruyter,2013.)

On November 25, 2014, the publica-tion of this volume as the 16th of themiscellaneous series of the MonumentiAntichi dei Lincei was the occasion for ameeting, at La Sapienza University inRome, which focused on the tumulus ofMonte Aguzzo and on the phenomenonof the tombs “a tumulo” in the territoryof Veii. Participants in the symposiumwere Gilda Bartoloni, FrancescaBoitani, Giovanni Colonna, Anna DeSantis, and Enzo Lippolis.

Museum and Site: A new

phase in the real and

virtual history of

the Etruscan town of

Acquarossa (Viterbo)by Margareta Strandberg Olofsson

The important finds from the Etruscantown of Acquarossa, north of Viterbo,have for some time been beautifullyexhibited in the Museo NazionaleEtrusco di Viterbo, Rocca Albornoz.Individual objects are placed in a recon-structed context of how they would havebeen used in daily life, and the architec-tural terracottas are mounted to indi-cate the roofing systems of the manyhouses uncovered at the site.

Until very recently, however, the siteitself has been more or less inaccessible,and even difficult to read for the occa-sional visitor. But, thanks to the initia-tive of many individuals and the supportof the Soprintendenza per i BeniArcheologici dell'Etruria Meridionaleand the Swedish Institute in Rome, thesite has been reopened and enhanced bya set of informative posters to beenjoyed by visitors to the area of

Viterbo.The itinerary at the site of Acquarossa

takes the visitor from the entrance onthe west side of the city hill up to theplateau known as Pian del Sale. The text(in Italian and English, supplementedwith QR links) of the ten panelsexplains the history of the site (mid-7thc. B.C. to ca. 550 B.C.) and the build-ings excavated there in the 1960's andearly 1970's by the Swedish Institute inRome. Each panel focuses on one areaor type of building, and combines maps

and drawings with images of finds andreconstructions, accompanied bydetailed explanations. Since the findsfrom the excavations are still understudy, the material presented in thesepanels provides an extremely valuablesynthesis of the importance of the sitefor our understanding of Etruscanurbanism and architecture, as well as thecommercial and cultural role ofAcquarossa within Etruria. Althoughmany of the individual finds and build-ings are well known from excavationpublications and general handbooks, itis very useful to be able to stand at theexact location of an individual houseand to study the plan and the find con-text of architectural terracottas as wellas other finds, according to the excavat-ed area or zone (for example, Zone F) orby the names of the houses. In additionto the Monumental Area, the housesinclude the House of the Rams, theHouse of the Acroterion, and The House

of the Griffins.

Our thanks go to Alfonsina Russo andRoberto Caruso, Soprintendenza per iBeni Archeologici dell'EtruriaMeridionale, Kristian Göransson,Swedish Institute in Rome, Margareta

Strandberg Olofsson, University ofGothenburg, who fulfilled the dream ofmany of us by initiating and completingthis project, and Stefania Renzetti,Swedish Institute in Rome and manyothers, inclluding the landowner,Raffaele Rocchi, for making Acquarossacome alive, and for allowing all of us toenjoy and to learn more about the socie-ty and culture of this fascinatingEtruscan city!

And, as eager as all the readers ofEtruscan News will be to visit the site ofAcquarossa in person, we are apprecia-tive of the fact that the informative textand accompanying pictures on the web-page allow us to enjoy a virtual visit atany time! For more information:Web page: http://www.acquarossa.org/(includes an instructive video of all thematerial exhibited in the MuseoNazionale Etrusco di Viterbo, RoccaAlbornoz}Web page for the Swedish Institute inRome: www.isvroma.itmuseum:Museo nazionale etrusco di Viterbo,Rocca Albornoz, piazza della Rocca,Viterbo Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 8:30-19:30 entrance: € 6 (reduced € 3)

A big turnout for the new Etruscan interest group at the 2015 AIAmeeting in New Orleans.(www.facebook.com/etruscaninterestgroup).

The first museum dedicat-

ed to Etruscans has

opened in Naples

At the Istituto Denza in Posillipo,the new “Leopoldo De Feis” EtruscanArcheological Museum has opened.

The collection originated in the nineteenth century, and was linked tothe Florentine College Alla Querce,where Father Leopoldo De Feis, profes-sor of Latin and then Rector of theInstitute, chose, for educational purpos-es, archaeological examples of Etruscanculture. Over the years he expanded thecollection with artifacts of differenttypes and historical periods.

The Alla Querce closed in 2005 andlater merged with the Istituto San PaoloBarnabiti. Since July 2014, at therequest of Father Pasquale Riillo, Rectorof the Neapolitan institute, the artifactshave been relocated to a wing of theIstituto Denza in Naples.

The collection, curated byNeapolitan archaeologist FiorenzaGrasso, includes roughly 800 pieces thatspan a period of time between theBronze Age and the third century AD.Of these objects, 250 come fromOrvieto; these include many buccheroceramics. Another 47 red figure ceram-

ics originate from Caudina, the site ofMontesarchio, one of the most flourish-ing of the Samnite cities. Another groupof objects, including Roman imperialinscriptions, comes from smaller sites.The museum’s showpiece is an Etruscanterracotta sarcophagus depicting anunknown woman; it is dated betweenlate third and early second century BC.

The museum is open to the public byappointment.

Left, Terracotta sarcophagusfrom the late third - early secondcentury B.C, formerly housed atCollegio alla Querce, Florence.

Princely Celtic tomb from

5th c. B.C. found in

Lavau, FranceThe History Blog

Not content with digging up massgraves under Paris supermarkets,France’s National Institute forPreventive Archaeological Research(INRAP) announced at the begining ofMarch 2015 that archaeologists haveunearthed a large princely tomb fromthe early 5th century B.C. in theChampagne region town of Lavau.Excavations on the site began inOctober 2014 in advance of construc-tion of a new commercial center. Theteam found a tumulus 40 meters (130feet) in diameter that had been used as afunerary complex for more than a thou-sand years. The earliest tombs are cre-mation burials and small mounds encir-

cled by moats that date to the end of theBronze Age (1,300-800 B.C.). Next areearly Iron Age inhumations of an adultmale warrior buried with an iron swordand an adult woman buried with solidbronze bracelets.

At the center of the tumulus archaeol-ogists found a burial chamber 14 squaremeters in area containing adult humanremains, a chariot and extremely sump-tious grave goods. At an angle from theskeletal remains are a group of vessels,a bronze bucket, fine ceramics decorat-ed with a fluted pattern, and a knife stillin its sheath. At the bottom of the cham-

ber is a bronze cauldron one meter(three feet) in diameter. This is a metal-lurgic and artistic masterpiece, each offour circular door knocker-like handlesdecorated with the bearded, behorned,bull-eared and moustachioed visage ofthe Greek river-god Achelous. Eightlion heads adorn the rim of the cauldron.

Inside the cauldron are more treas-

ures: a perforated silver spoon, likelyused to strain wine into drinking cups,smaller bronze vessels, and most signfi-cantly, an Attic black-figure oinochoe(wine jug) depicting the wine godDionysus sitting beneath a vine acrossfrom a comely lass. It would be preciousjust as the rare Greek vase it is, butsomeone went above and beyond withthis example by gilding the lip and footof the jug and adding a gold filigree bor-

der in a meander design. The vase is ofeither Greek or Etruscan manufactureand is the northernmost discovered todate.

The Champagne-Ardenne region innortheastern France on the border withBelgium marked the westernmost reachof the Hallstatt culture, the Late BronzeAge, Early Iron Age predecessor of the

La Tène culture. The presence of Greekartifacts in the wealthiest burials inHallstat-period Gaul are evidence of avigorous trade in luxury goods betweenGreece and its colonies and pre-RomanFrance. The end of the 6th century andbeginning of the 5th saw the city-statesof Attic Greece, Etruria and the Greekcolonies develop new economic ties towestern Europe. Greek traders soughtslaves, metals, gemstones, amber and

other valuables from the Celts whoseelites then acquired artifacts of excep-tional quality from Greece.The city of Massalia, today’s Marseille,

was founded as a Greek colony in 600B.C. and became an important center forluxury imports from Greece like Atticblack-figure pottery and massive bronzecauldrons. So valued were these objectsthat they were buried in monumentaltumuli with their owners. The Vix krateris probably the most prominent Greekbronze object found in a Celtic gravefrom the late Hallstatt, early La Tèneperiod. This massive volute krater is5’4″ tall and weighs 450 pounds. (seeissue of Etruscan News 16, p.3) It is thelargest metal vessel known to survivefrom antiquity. The krater was discov-ered in the grave of a woman who wasburied around 500 B.C. in Vix, northernBurgundy, about 40 miles south ofLavau.

Just as we have no idea who the Ladyof Vix was, we are unlikely to ever put aname to the occupant of the princelytumulus. He was a person of august rankand great fortune: that much is madeundeniable by the rich contents of hisgrave and the fact that he was buried inthe center of an already sacred funerarycomplex. His burial and the ones thatpredate him were only united into onemonument in around 500 B.C. whenditches were dug deep around theperimeter to create a single large enclo-sure. The complex was still in use dur-ing the Gallo-Roman era when peoplewere buried in the tumulus’ moat.

Burial monument complex for Hallstatt elite, with the oldest, externalcremations tombs dating to the Late Bronze Age and two interior bur-ial mounds, with valuables, dating to the Early Iron Age. The centraltumulus, containig the burial chamber of the fifth century prince,dates to the Halssstadt Late Iron Age. All are unified into a singleburial monument joined by trenches nearly 10 feet deep.

Head of Greek god Acheloos oncarrying ring of wine cauldron.

One of eight lion heads adorningthe rim of the wine cauldron.

Excavation of the bronze wine cauldron, Hallstatt prince tumulus.below left, Iron wheel and chariot parts. below right, Gold borderedblack-figure oinochoe. (All photos by Denis Gliksman, INRAP)

A Surprise from Norchia: the Tomb “a casetta” of Vel at Sferracavallo

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Transcript of A Surprise from Norchia: the Tomb “a casetta” of Vel at Sferracavallo