— c h a p t e r i i : The N u r a g i c heritage in Etruria —tang or simple base, richly decorated with engraving (see Fig. 11.5, nos. 1—3) and reported
mostly in Populonia and Vetulonia (Lo Schiavo 1981). The link of these weapons with
the masculine world, as indicators related to gender and social prerogatives, is attested
by their frequent offering in Nuragic temples and shrines/sanctuaries (?), where the
daggers were deposited in large amounts, affixed in stone plaques specially prepared to
hold dedicants’ offerings or inserted between the stone blocks of the walls (Lo Schiavo
2003). We are dealing with objects of intense personal relevance and their arrival on the
peninsula seems connected with the acceptance of individuals of Sardinian origin among
the local population.
Prevalent, if not exclusively so, in northern Etruria are some of the most typical
categories of small Nuragic bronzes such as pendants and “pilgrim flasks” (Fig. 11.6,
nos. 1-3), a vase form of oriental style attested early in Sardinia (Lo Schiavo 2000), or
the objects, on the other hand typically Sardinian, called “faretrine” (“small quivers,” Fig.
11.6, nos. 4-7), not really reproductions of quivers for arrows, but rather representing
an actual dagger sheath (Deriu 2009), preserving on one side a pocket where the weapon
could be sheathed and on the opposite side usually one to three slots to accommodate
the long, tough Nuragic pins probably used not only as ornaments, but also as daggers
and throwing weapons (stilettos). A greater and more even distribution in Etruria seems
instead to encompass other categories of bronzes, like the so-called “buttons,” actually
appliques to be sewn onto clothing, often characterized by a finial that can be zoomorphic,
with images of doves, oxen or mouflon (Fig. 11.7, nos. 1-6), and, more rarely, a stylized
nuraghe or hunting scene (Fig. 11.7, nos. 7-10). Obvious stylistic differences are found
between the faretrine and the buttons of peninsular origin and those discovered on the
island, leading us to believe that some of the examples found in Etruria constitute local
re-workings of more traditional, older Nuragic models (Milletti 2008), on the basis of
Figure 11.5 Nuragic daggers with short tangs from Sardinia: 1. Vetulonia, Colle Baroncio
(Milletti 2012); 2. Duos Nuraghes, Borore (Lo Schiavo 1997); 3. Marcellano di Gualdo Cattaneo,
Perugia (Bonomi Ponzi 1991).2
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