The Etruscan sanctuary at Cerveteri, Sant'Antonio: preliminary report of excavations 1995–8

Abstract

IL SANTUARIO ETRUSCO DI CERVETERI, SANT'ANTONIO: UNA RELAZIONE PRELIMINARE DEGLI SCAVI 1995–8Quale parte di un progetto di collaborazione fra il Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche e la Soprintendenza Archeologica per l'Etruria Meridionale, un piccolo gruppo britannico è stato coinvolto nello scavo di parte del sito di santuario a Sant'Antonio, Cerveteri (1995–8). Lo scopo principale di questo lavoro era l'analisi paleobotanica. Questa relazione fornisce informazioni preliminari sulla struttura stratigrafica e presenta l'analisi dei resti vegetali da un'area del sito.

Form and Meaning in Etruscan Ritual Space

“…At both temple sites, the blocks of the base were faced with a different stone from the rest of the temple; this stone was nenfro (Fig. 2(c)) (for recent excavations at Cerveteri see Izzet 2000). This is significant enough in itself in drawing attention to this part of the temple, and alerting us to the fact that something is at stake here.…”

“…The archaeological remains of Etruscan sanctuaries should not be considered en masse as reflecting meaning in a passive manner simply because they exist. Nor should they be seen as symptomatic, or symbolic, of overarching social or cultural changes Cerveteri, it has been suggested that eight sanctuaries existed in the urban area (Mengarelli 1935; though see Nardi 1989); of those, only two have been investigated and published: the supposed Temple of Hera at the Vigna Parrocchiale and the small Manganello sanctuary (Mengarelli 1935;1936); a third is currently under excavation at Sant'Antonio (Izzet 2000). If the numbers from Cerveteri are anything to go by, we have a very small sample of the original whole.…”

“…This is a particular problem when considering temples excavated earlier in this century, before systematic excavation practices were adopted on Etruscan sites. There are, in fact, few sites which have been excavated recently, giving us very little information from modern techniques such as stratigraphic or palaeobotanical data (notable exceptions to this are Pyrgi: Colonna 1988-89, 131-8, 233-4; Punta della Vipera: Torelli 1967; and the ongoing investigations at Sant'Antonio at Cerveteri: Izzet 2000). Finally, though it is easy to talk of an 'Etruscan Temple', no two surviving examples are the same, and none fits Vitruvius' description exactly.…”