Excavation during the 2023 field season at Poggio Civitate focused on areas immediately west of P... more Excavation during the 2023 field season at Poggio Civitate focused on areas immediately west of Piano del Tesoro and further refined our understanding of the form and development of the building known as Early Phase Orientalizing Complex Building 4 (abbreviated EPOC4). In addition, excavation reexamined the western area of Orientalizing Complex Building 2/Workshop (abbreviated OC2/Workshop) as well as areas immediately north of OC2/Workshop.
An Ivory Writing Tablet from Poggio Civitate (Murlo), 2023
Four non-joining fragments of an ivory object were recovered in the vicinity of Poggio Civitate's... more Four non-joining fragments of an ivory object were recovered in the vicinity of Poggio Civitate's OC2/Workshop, an industrial structure associated with the community's intermediate phase of development (c. 650-600 BCE). The ivory fragments preserve elements of a similar decorative design-an incised guilloche pattern-indicating that they were constituents of the same object. One fragment (PC20080011) preserves a corner of the object. Inside the decorative border, a squared recessed area of between 1 mm and 2 mm is visible, which suggests that these ivory fragments are pieces of a writing tablet similar in shape and size to the one recovered from Marsiliana d'Albegna. This paper explores the archaeological context of the find and the tablet's implications for literacy and recordkeeping at Poggio Civitate.
The 2014 excavation season extended our investigation of the domestic spaces revealed in 2013. Wh... more The 2014 excavation season extended our investigation of the domestic spaces revealed in 2013. While this cluster of architecture did not extend west, excavation did reveal a large, open space with a well in its center. The well’s aperture was heavily impacted with architectural debris associated with Poggio Civitate’s Archaic phase of building, suggesting the well was in-filled at the same point in time as the site’s final destruction and abandonment. DOI 10.1515/etst-2015-0003 Poggio Civitate, a hill situated on the eastern edge of Tuscany’s Colline Metallifere, preserves evidence of a settlement dating from the late Iron Age through the Archaic period (fig. 1). The site is perhaps best known for its surviving evidence of a sequence of architectural complexes built on the hill’s largest plateau, known locally as Piano del Tesoro. The earlier of these two phases of building consisted of at least three known buildings: an elite residence, an industrial structure and a building that appears to have served a religious function (fig. 2). This complex was destroyed in a fire around the end of the seventh century B.C.E. and replaced by a single edifice that stood until the second half of the sixth century B.C.E. This building consisted of four wings surrounding a colonnaded courtyard (fig. 3). To the west, a defensive work extended the façade an additional 30 m, forming a southern courtyard that encompassed a well which is discussed in brief below. The relationship of this area of apparent aristocratic activity to Poggio Civitate’s non-elite population has been an area of inquiry for many years. The presence of a large workshop with workers needed to fulfill the site’s industrial capacity has long hinted at varied social roles, but until 2013, direct evidence for non-elite occupation on Poggio Civitate remained elusive. However, in 2013 excavation revealed the presence of architecture indicative of non-elite habitation in the area of Civitate A, a property zone immediately adjacent and west of Piano del Tesoro dating to approximately 600 BCE. While the 2013 season’s area of Anthony Tuck: Dept. of Classics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts 01060, United States, E ˗ Mail: atuck@classics.umass.edu 1 Nielsen and Tuck 2001. 2 Phillips 1993. Etruscan Studies 2015; 18(1): 28–39
Excavations over the course of the 2012 and 2013 seasons at Poggio Civitate (Murlo) have revealed... more Excavations over the course of the 2012 and 2013 seasons at Poggio Civitate (Murlo) have revealed the presence of domestic architecture in an area immediately to the southwest of the Piano del Tesoro plateau, the portion of Poggio Civitate that preserves evidence of monumental building from the Orientalizing and Archaic phases of the site’s occupation. At least two building phases have been discovered in the eastern extent of the hill’s Civitate A property zone and they reveal that a small rectilinear structure dating to the late seventh century BCE was superimposed on an earlier, curvilinear structure. These architectural discoveries indicate that the opulent Orientalizing structures on the Piano del Tesoro plateau were not only visible to people on nearby hilltops, but also to a community that stood to its immediate west. While additional excavation is needed to clarify a number of questions about Civitate A, it is striking that its inhabitants appear to have had access to at leas...
THE ARCHAEOLOGY Of LANGUAGE AT POGGIO CIVITATE (MURLO, 2019
http://www.bretschneider.it/it/home/1243-tuck-wallace-the-archaeology-of-language-at-poggio-civit... more http://www.bretschneider.it/it/home/1243-tuck-wallace-the-archaeology-of-language-at-poggio-civitate.html Some of the materials discussed here were recovered during the very first days of excavation in 1966 under the direction of Kyle Meredith Phillips Jr. Other examples were recovered during the years when directorship of the site passed to Phillips’ student and successor, Erik Nielsen. While our methods of excavation and data collection have evolved over the years, the essential quality of their work creates a remarkable and robust foundation for everything that follows in their considerable footsteps.
The Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate has preserved a small corpus of inscriptions dating to the 7... more The Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate has preserved a small corpus of inscriptions dating to the 7 th century BCE phase of the site. Among them is one outlier: a fragmentary text inscribed on the rim of a utilitarian vessel manufactured at the site. The text and alphabet appear Umbrian rather than Etruscan. The find spot and date of the fragment are discussed, possible interpretations of the text are offered, and attempt is made to situate the inscription within its social context.
Excavation during the 2023 field season at Poggio Civitate focused on areas immediately west of P... more Excavation during the 2023 field season at Poggio Civitate focused on areas immediately west of Piano del Tesoro and further refined our understanding of the form and development of the building known as Early Phase Orientalizing Complex Building 4 (abbreviated EPOC4). In addition, excavation reexamined the western area of Orientalizing Complex Building 2/Workshop (abbreviated OC2/Workshop) as well as areas immediately north of OC2/Workshop.
An Ivory Writing Tablet from Poggio Civitate (Murlo), 2023
Four non-joining fragments of an ivory object were recovered in the vicinity of Poggio Civitate's... more Four non-joining fragments of an ivory object were recovered in the vicinity of Poggio Civitate's OC2/Workshop, an industrial structure associated with the community's intermediate phase of development (c. 650-600 BCE). The ivory fragments preserve elements of a similar decorative design-an incised guilloche pattern-indicating that they were constituents of the same object. One fragment (PC20080011) preserves a corner of the object. Inside the decorative border, a squared recessed area of between 1 mm and 2 mm is visible, which suggests that these ivory fragments are pieces of a writing tablet similar in shape and size to the one recovered from Marsiliana d'Albegna. This paper explores the archaeological context of the find and the tablet's implications for literacy and recordkeeping at Poggio Civitate.
The 2014 excavation season extended our investigation of the domestic spaces revealed in 2013. Wh... more The 2014 excavation season extended our investigation of the domestic spaces revealed in 2013. While this cluster of architecture did not extend west, excavation did reveal a large, open space with a well in its center. The well’s aperture was heavily impacted with architectural debris associated with Poggio Civitate’s Archaic phase of building, suggesting the well was in-filled at the same point in time as the site’s final destruction and abandonment. DOI 10.1515/etst-2015-0003 Poggio Civitate, a hill situated on the eastern edge of Tuscany’s Colline Metallifere, preserves evidence of a settlement dating from the late Iron Age through the Archaic period (fig. 1). The site is perhaps best known for its surviving evidence of a sequence of architectural complexes built on the hill’s largest plateau, known locally as Piano del Tesoro. The earlier of these two phases of building consisted of at least three known buildings: an elite residence, an industrial structure and a building that appears to have served a religious function (fig. 2). This complex was destroyed in a fire around the end of the seventh century B.C.E. and replaced by a single edifice that stood until the second half of the sixth century B.C.E. This building consisted of four wings surrounding a colonnaded courtyard (fig. 3). To the west, a defensive work extended the façade an additional 30 m, forming a southern courtyard that encompassed a well which is discussed in brief below. The relationship of this area of apparent aristocratic activity to Poggio Civitate’s non-elite population has been an area of inquiry for many years. The presence of a large workshop with workers needed to fulfill the site’s industrial capacity has long hinted at varied social roles, but until 2013, direct evidence for non-elite occupation on Poggio Civitate remained elusive. However, in 2013 excavation revealed the presence of architecture indicative of non-elite habitation in the area of Civitate A, a property zone immediately adjacent and west of Piano del Tesoro dating to approximately 600 BCE. While the 2013 season’s area of Anthony Tuck: Dept. of Classics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts 01060, United States, E ˗ Mail: atuck@classics.umass.edu 1 Nielsen and Tuck 2001. 2 Phillips 1993. Etruscan Studies 2015; 18(1): 28–39
Excavations over the course of the 2012 and 2013 seasons at Poggio Civitate (Murlo) have revealed... more Excavations over the course of the 2012 and 2013 seasons at Poggio Civitate (Murlo) have revealed the presence of domestic architecture in an area immediately to the southwest of the Piano del Tesoro plateau, the portion of Poggio Civitate that preserves evidence of monumental building from the Orientalizing and Archaic phases of the site’s occupation. At least two building phases have been discovered in the eastern extent of the hill’s Civitate A property zone and they reveal that a small rectilinear structure dating to the late seventh century BCE was superimposed on an earlier, curvilinear structure. These architectural discoveries indicate that the opulent Orientalizing structures on the Piano del Tesoro plateau were not only visible to people on nearby hilltops, but also to a community that stood to its immediate west. While additional excavation is needed to clarify a number of questions about Civitate A, it is striking that its inhabitants appear to have had access to at leas...
THE ARCHAEOLOGY Of LANGUAGE AT POGGIO CIVITATE (MURLO, 2019
http://www.bretschneider.it/it/home/1243-tuck-wallace-the-archaeology-of-language-at-poggio-civit... more http://www.bretschneider.it/it/home/1243-tuck-wallace-the-archaeology-of-language-at-poggio-civitate.html Some of the materials discussed here were recovered during the very first days of excavation in 1966 under the direction of Kyle Meredith Phillips Jr. Other examples were recovered during the years when directorship of the site passed to Phillips’ student and successor, Erik Nielsen. While our methods of excavation and data collection have evolved over the years, the essential quality of their work creates a remarkable and robust foundation for everything that follows in their considerable footsteps.
The Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate has preserved a small corpus of inscriptions dating to the 7... more The Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate has preserved a small corpus of inscriptions dating to the 7 th century BCE phase of the site. Among them is one outlier: a fragmentary text inscribed on the rim of a utilitarian vessel manufactured at the site. The text and alphabet appear Umbrian rather than Etruscan. The find spot and date of the fragment are discussed, possible interpretations of the text are offered, and attempt is made to situate the inscription within its social context.
The Department of Classics at Trinity College Dublin is pleased to announce the international con... more The Department of Classics at Trinity College Dublin is pleased to announce the international conference ‘From invisible to visible: new data and methods for the archaeology of infant and child burials in pre-Roman Italy’ to be held at Trinity College Dublin on 24-25 April 2017, with the support of the Trinity Long Room Hub, the School of Histories and Humanities, the Italian Cultural Institute in Dublin and Fàilte Ireland, and in collaboration with the Centre for Gender and Women's Studies and the Trinity Research in Childhood Centre. This conference is part of the research project “Childhood and the Deathly Hallows: Investigating Infant and Child Burials in Pre-Roman Italy (c. 1000-500BC)”, funded by the Irish Research Council and carried out by Dr. Jacopo Tabolli. On the basis that an infant and child tomb is itself an archaeological entity, whose analysis cuts across disciplines - mainly archaeology, bio-archaeology and anthropology, but also philology, ancient literature, gender studies, pedagogy, medical humanities and digital humanities - and in order to promote an interdisciplinary approach, the conference at Trinity College Dublin involves scholars from international institutions, experienced in interdisciplinary methods, in order to create a network specifically focused on the analysis of childhood in ancient societies. The role of this network is to function as an interdisciplinary incubator, offering a platform for dialogue between disciplines around infant and child burials. We have invited scholars working on the archaeology of Italy from the Early Iron Age through the Archaic Period (c. 1000–500 BC) to present the results of their recent researches on the topic of infant and child burials. We envision that this platform can be a model for other archaeological studies in the future as well as ideal for developing a new methodological approach to the excavation of infant and child tombs, following best practices in archaeology.
Publication plan The prestigious series of Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology (SIMA) has already agreed to publish the proceedings of the conference.
Poggio Civitate, an Etruscan site 25km south of the modern city of Siena, preserves some of the E... more Poggio Civitate, an Etruscan site 25km south of the modern city of Siena, preserves some of the Etruscan world’s earliest monumental architecture. In the second quarter of the 7th century BCE, inhabitants constructed a complex of socially related buildings on the hill’s Piano del Tesoro plateau, an elite residence, an industrial center and a tripartite religious structure. Each of these structures was extremely large for the time and all displayed an ornately decorated terracotta roofing system that icongraphically reflected the social and political concerns of the site’s local aristocracy. Until recently, evidence for the domestic architecture of Poggio Civitate’s non-elite population remained elusive. However, in 2007 and 2008, excavation revealed the presence of a hut situated on a terrace immediately south of Piano del Tesoro and added a significant new facet to our understanding of the social form and development of this early Etruscan site.
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On the basis that an infant and child tomb is itself an archaeological entity, whose analysis cuts across disciplines - mainly archaeology, bio-archaeology and anthropology, but also philology, ancient literature, gender studies, pedagogy, medical humanities and digital humanities - and in order to promote an interdisciplinary approach, the conference at Trinity College Dublin involves scholars from international institutions, experienced in interdisciplinary methods, in order to create a network specifically focused on the analysis of childhood in ancient societies. The role of this network is to function as an interdisciplinary incubator, offering a platform for dialogue between disciplines around infant and child burials.
We have invited scholars working on the archaeology of Italy from the Early Iron Age through the Archaic Period (c. 1000–500 BC) to present the results of their recent researches on the topic of infant and child burials.
We envision that this platform can be a model for other archaeological studies in the future as well as ideal for developing a new methodological approach to the excavation of infant and child tombs, following best practices in archaeology.
Publication plan
The prestigious series of Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology (SIMA) has already agreed to publish the proceedings of the conference.
For further information please email Jacopo Tabolli (tabollij@tcd.ie) or Hazel Dodge (hdodge@tcd.ie).