An Ivory Writing Tablet from Poggio Civitate (Murlo)

Abstract

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.