Excavations beside the North-West Gate at Veii, 1957–58

Abstract

The excavations here described were undertaken by the British School at Rome on behalf of the Superintendency of Antiquities for Southern Etruria, through the courtesy of its Superintendent, Professor Renato Bartoccini, who has done so much to foster active archaeological research within an area that is undergoing drastic and archaeologically disastrous change, and with the active and cordial collaboration of his staff. The purpose of the excavations was the strictly limited one of examining, while there was yet time, one of the few remaining stretches of the defences of Veii where ploughing in recent years had revealed (and is now rapidly destroying) substantial remains of the ancient walls. In the course of the work such other features as came to light were examined and recorded so far as this limited purpose permitted; but no attempt was, or could be, made to follow up the larger implications of these discoveries, which must await another occasion and other hands.The work was undertaken in two short campaigns, each of between two and four weeks' duration. The first of these, in November and December 1957, was hampered by the ravages of Asian influenza, the work of supervision being shared in succession by Mrs. Selina Tomlin (now Mrs. Ballance), Mr. Guy Duncan and Mr. Michael Ballance; and it is greatly to their credit that, despite these difficulties, a satisfactory and coherent result was obtained. The second campaign took place in October-November 1958, and was supervised throughout by Mrs. P. W. Murray Threipland. Both in the field and the work-room a great deal of volunteer help was received both from students of the School and from friends and visitors, outstanding among the latter being Mrs. Anne Kahane and Mrs. Betty Eastwood and, during the second campaign, Mr. Eric Gray.

A century of prehistory and landscape studies at the British School at Rome

“…Together with the hugely important programme of excavations on Etruscan town sites of the Tolfa area by the Swedish School (with which the British School has always had particularly close associations), this marked the beginning of modern studies of Etruscan urban centres (as opposed to their cemeteries). Resources were lacking for a major British excavation, but there was a limited investigation, of considerable interest, at Veii's northwest gate (Ward-Perkins, 1959) and the initiation, in collaboration with Rome University, of the rescue work on the Villanovan cemetery at Quattro Fontanili, begun in 1960 (De Agostino et al, 1963;Ward-Perkins et al, 1965;1969b;Bernis Brizio et. al, 1972;Bedello and Fabbricotti, 1975).…”

The Tiber Valley Project

“…'' For example, the Etruscan and Roman settlement of Veii (Ward-Perkins, 1959;1961;Murray-Threipland, 1963), the Faliscan settlement of Narce (Potter, 1976), the Roman pottery dumps at Sutri (Duncan, 1964;, the Roman and medieval settlements of Castel Porciano (Mallett and Whitehouse, 1967), Mazzano Romano (Potter, 1972), Santa Cornelia and Santa Rufma (Christie, 1991).…”

Survey of an Etruscan City at Doganella, in the Albegna valley

“…A ditch is not usual with Etruscan city-walls, but the presence of a bank has been demonstrated at Veii (Potter 1979, 91;Ward-Perkins 1959). They generally, although not always, following the brow to enhance any natural defensibility of the terrain, whilst the banks at the neck of the peninsula further strengthened the most vulnerable area.…”

“…The question of an outer ditch and a bank along the northern edge of the terrace will only be clarified by excavation. A ditch is not usual with Etruscan city-walls, but the presence of a bank has been demonstrated at Veii (Potter 1979, 91;Ward-Perkins 1959). In comparison with other Etruscan walled centres, including Veii, however, the circuit of the walls at Doganella is rather distinctive in that it does not rigorously keep to the higher ground by following the natural contours of the terrace.…”