ABSTRACT. Introduction. Phase 1

Transcription

1 ABSTRACT Introduction Because of its complex system of rivers and streams, the Elsa Valley was already crossed by several important local and inter-regional roads starting in the late Iron Age The basins of the Arno, the Chianti, the Ombrone and the Cecina rivers assured contact respectively with Northern Tuscany and the trans-apennine passes, the territory of Chiusi and the Val di Chiana, the maritime Etrurian towns of Rosellae and Vetulonia and, with the coast around Populonia and the territory of Volterra. The intense contacts and the fertile soil gave rise to an extensive settlement of the area starting in the late VIII century B.C., and this accelerated the beginning of the Orientalizing period, an aspect which is particularly evident in the tomb architecture and furnishings. After a series of fortuitous discoveries, the need for further study of the dynamics involved in this settlement, and in particular, the problem of the identification of the village related to the vast necropolis of Casone, caused attention to be focused on the site of Campassini,, located on the slopes of Monte Maggio facing the Medieval town of Monteriggioni, overlooking the plain of Casone. Excavation campaigns were conducted from 1986 to 1989 by the Office of the Superintendency of Archaeology for Tuscany and again starting in 1992 without interruption by the same authorities in collaboration with the Universities of Siena and La Sapienza University on Rome. Results of this research indicate that there had been three phases in the occupation of the site, which coincided with the earliest use of the necropolis. Both the geographical position and the material evidence demonstrate close contacts and cultural affinities between the site and the territory of Volterra, whose influence is evident in the grave goods from Casone. Phase 1 The first phase of occupation of the in Monteriggioni-Campassini site coincides with the creation of a small village, probably on account of the availability of water in the area due to the presence of a natural basin which, 251

2 because of the particular conformation of the terrain and the impermeability of the clay-rich soil, was perfect for collecting rainwater. In the area to the North, at a higher elevation, there were two oval huts, placed with the same orientation. Hut B, located next to the basin, had an entrance on the short, western side and included a series of annexed structures used for different purposes. Beyond the threshold, there are four oval rubbish pits, each related to a different period in the life of the house. Farther north, three post holes set in line suggest the probable existence of a fence intended to enclose an area or perhaps with a specific use like a pen for animals or to mark off the area belonging to the hut. This area was probably used for domestic activities to be conducted outdoors, and is remarkable mainly for the presence of two burials: the cremation burial of a male individual in a biconical jar placed in a shallow pit which is almost contiguous with the south-east end of the hut, and a female inhumation burial with no grave goods, placed further out.. Approximately 60 meters north of the basin, in an isolated position there is hut A, which was built using the same technique. Unlike hut B, the entrance is on the long south side. The presence of an outdoor fireplace demonstrates the utilisation of the area nearby. Phase 2 After the destruction of the previous structures, the area was reorganised for a more complete and efficient exploitation of the natural reservoir. The cistern, was built in a square shape, and completely covered on three sides with a lining of stones for purposes of draining; on the fourth side there is a step, with a small wall of the same height of the step, in order to facilitate both entry and cleaning operations. The oldest life phase of the cistern yet discovered was identified next to this wall, above the stone lining. Around the cavity, there were ditches of different shapes and dimensions which were related to the manufacture of pottery. Little oval ditches used for decanting the clay, as well as remains of the kilns in which the pottery was fired indicate the different phases of ceramic production. The kilns are of the simple pile kind or double chambered, consisting of a chamber with perforated wall slabs which probably had a removable cover where the pottery was stacked for firing and a second contiguous chamber where the fuel was burnt. The recovery of iron minerals baked in a ditch with walls which had been turned red from exposure to heat, indicates that there were also furnaces for metal working. These types of activities required great quantities of water which could be drawn or poured into the cistern by means of the shallow channels connecting the main structures. The installation and the utilization were not simultaneous, but were 252

3 organized using an internal series of ditches, which were destroyed at the end of the period, in some cases using a complex sequence of actions with a probable ritual meaning. In the case of kiln (US -799), the ditch was systematically cleaned and a deep cut was made at the bottom, followed by the deposition of a sheep in a niche in the wall, after which the ditch was completely filled in. Phase 3 In this phase, although the area kept its previous function, it acquired a new spatial organisation. After the ditches were filled in during phase 2, a small dry wall was-built along three sides of the cistern, and a fence was built on the eastern side. The creation of a unoccupied area around the water reservoir caused the artisans workshops to be moved to the peripheral limits, including a small potter s workshop with two rooms, built on the north side. On the west side, there was also a pottery kiln probably specialised in the production of red clay pots, and a two dry walls. The first of these extends for about 4 metres from East to West, and supported a roof which probably covered an open porch where the unfired pots were left to dry. The second wall is located farther South, and is perpendicular to the first. Both of the walls seem to represent the outer limits of the pottery workshop. In the final phase of occupation, the zone immediately adjacent to the cistern was abandoned and the ditch to the north which was being used as a kiln was destroyed. Shortly after the ditch was filled in, a fragmentary jar surrounded by a circle of stones was inserted in a cut made at the destruction level, which was afterwards immediately filled in again. In a similar manner, after the destruction of the eastern area, the head of a pig was placed in the earth used for filling in a small oval ditch, and the skull of a dog was placed upside down in the adjacent level of beaten earth. Phase 4 The last phase of occupation identified in the Campassini site reveals a general reorganisation of the site and a radical change in the uses to which it was put. Clearly, all manufacturing activity had totally ceased, as is evident from the sudden abandonment of the cistern, which contained massive layers of fill material which included the remains of the little dry wall which had collapsed or been deliberately torn down. The whole area, which had already been levelled when the ditches were filled in, was totally obliterated by the creation of a living floor, of which some traces remain. The building of this floor, which is totally lacking in 253

4 structures of any kind and easy to cross, is a tangible demonstration of the change in the function of the area. The presence of the beaten earth floor, in fact, assured access to the zone and prevented the stagnation of the rain water which would have been cause by the conformation of the terrain and the presence of the ditches, even though they had been filled in. It is possible that the workshops were simply moved to another area which has not yet been identified; the recovery of a terracotta architectural fragment in the layers of the beaten earth which presents analogies to artefacts found at the site of Piano Tondo, suggests the existence of an aristocratic residence in the district. Etruscan steles in the Upper Elsa Valley The writing system used in the upper Elsa Valley starting in the early Orientalising period, by the end of the century which followed was employed chiefly for objects related to burials and to graves, like steles, cippi and urns. Etruscan steles with inscriptions from the upper Elsa valley are an interesting example of grave furnishings, even though their specific use is not always apparent; they may have acted as grave markers, memorial monuments, doors of tombs or perhaps even as dividers for organising the space inside of the tomb. Steles used for the similar purposes in the countryside around Volterra, Rosellae and the Arno Valley are datable to the VI century BC. In most cases, the shape is tapered at the top and follows a pattern that was also widespread in the Etruscan areas of the Po valley at the end of the V century BC. The steles discussed in this article were discovered in the Valleys of the Elsa river and Rosia stream which is a tributary of the Merse river, separated by the watershed of the Sienese Montagnola. The steles have no pictorial images and since we must rely on the inscriptions alone for all information regarding the deceased, they become of essential importance in the plan of the monument. The steles are made of a local travertine, which is easy to carve and is found in a small area concentrated between Staggia Senese and Gracciano dell Elsa. The final stages in the production sequence of the steles has been confirmed by mineralogical and petrographic analyses; the work sequence did not require specialised labour despite the fact that it was intended in to satisfy the requirements of a small but socially and culturally emancipated clientele. The task of writing was the exclusive prerogative of scribes, most of which came from upwardly mobile families, and were able to work with the new graphic scripts. Some recently discovered inscriptions pertaining to the 254

5 Etruscan family of the Shekuntena (in Latin, Secundii) evince a particular treatment of the sibilant initial letter of the family that uses a digram (sh) which was created ex-novo to indicate a phoneme that had not been previously recorded in Etruscan. Lithological properties of the Etruscan steles The results of an archaeometric study on the production, during the second half of the VI century BC., of Etruscan funerary steles from the Valdelsa area (northwest of Siena, Italy) are reported here. Five inscribed steles, were found in a small area located in the valleys of the Elsa River and the Rosia Stream. All of the steles were carved from a kind of laminated limestone which consists of alternating compact and porous bands, with petrographic characteristics similar to travertine, a stone deposited by thermal spring waters. While continental carbonates lacustrine limestones calcareous tufas, and the less abundant travertine are found extensively in the upper Elsa Valley, they are entirely lacking in the Rosia Valley. Comparison between archaeological finds and lithologic properties suggests that during early Etruscan times, quarrying of stone suitable for carving funeral steles was limited to the well stratified, easily mined travertine, while the more massive continental carbonates, such as the lacustrine limestone, the calcareous tufa, and the Cavernoso limestone, as well as the harder marbles of the Montagnola Senese, were discarded. Since the petrologic characteristics of the stone suggest a provenance from a thermal deposit, and since known mining centres of travertine are very rare in southern Tuscany and far from the Valdelsa area (Volterra/Pignano on the west and Rapolano Terme on the southeast), the extraction centres of these steles must have been located in the area around the upper Elsa Valley (between Poggibonsi, Colle Val d Elsa and Monteriggioni). The workshops where local craftsmen polished the stone and carved the inscriptions were most likely also located in this same area. 255